NERRs' Graduate Research Fellowship program

National Estuarine Research Reserves Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Overview: The NERRS Graduate Research Fellowship Program is one of the largest graduate programs supported by NOAA. Fellows conduct their research within a National Estuarine Research Reserve and gain hands-on experience by engaging with reserve staff and participating in their host reserve’s research, education, stewardship and training programs.

Fellows use reserves as living laboratories to address NERRS natural and social science priority issues based on the reserves’ local coastal management needs.

Application Deadline: November 1, 2011

Funding Opportunity Description: The National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) consists of estuarine areas of the United States and its territories which are designated and managed for research and educational  purposes. Each Reserve within the system is chosen to reflect regional differences and to include a variety of  ecosystem types in accordance with the classification scheme of the national program as presented in 15 CFR Part 921.

Each Reserve supports a wide range of beneficial uses of ecological, economic, recreational, and aesthetic values which are dependent upon the maintenance of a healthy ecosystem. The sites provide habitats for a wide range of ecologically and commercially important species of fish, shellfish, birds, and other aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. Each Reserve has been designed to ensure its effectiveness as a conservation unit and as a site for long-term research and monitoring. As part of a national system, the Reserves collectively provide an excellent  opportunity to address research questions and estuarine management issues of national significance.  For detailed descriptions of the sites, refer to the Reserve System Web site at www.nerrs.noaa.gov or contact the on-site staff listed in Appendix I, Reserve Staff Contacts.

More Information: http://www.nerrs.noaa.gov/Fellowship.aspx