Field Research Grant: Marine Conservation

Marine ecology is defined as relationships among aquatic organisms and their interactions with the abiotic environment. Keystone species are defined as primarily apex predators that, while small in number, have correspondingly large positive impacts on whole food webs. Marine ecosystems are oceans, seas, and coastal areas, including estuaries and mangrove forests. Marine ecology includes climate-change impacts on ocean acidification, marine carbon sequestration, sea-level rise, and food-web impacts of human use of marine natural resources.

The Earthwatch Marine Conservation RFP invites pre-proposals from scientists for research that will take measurable action to address global change in marine ecosystems by:

• Increasing scientific knowledge and public awareness of environmental challenges to marine ecosystems, while providing locally relevant solutions;
• Increasing partnerships with local people, communities, governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and corporations at local and international levels; and
• Informing management plans and environmental policies.

Pre-proposals that are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and that will improve human livelihoods and support scientists in emerging nations are strongly encouraged. 

All proposed projects must:

• Have quantifiable goals and measurable impacts of action taken on the project;
• Incorporate field-based research and data collection, with participants sufficiently trained while in the field;
• Have data gathered primarily by citizen-scientist participants recruited by Earthwatch;
• Field a minimum of four research teams per year (the average project fields 6–8 teams per year), with 4–15 participants per team as needed for data collection;
• Field research teams are typically 7–9 days in length, with some projects hosting 10–14 day teams;
• Provide reputable housing for participants within a 45-minute drive from the site;
• Field adult, high school, and college student, teacher, and/or corporate groups;
• Be run in English, with all communications by field staff and supporting documents in English;
• Educate participants about the project’s science and its relevance to global priorities;
• Prioritize locally run vendors, partners, and businesses in preparing the field logistics (including food), with a focus on those that adhere to sustainable business practices;
• Collaborate with local community stakeholders through engagement, outreach, and contributions to conservation actions;
• Share project data with stakeholders, and contribute to open-source datasets as possible;
• Partner with collaborators and receive support from at least one other source of funding.