NARRAGANSETT – Three University of Rhode Island graduate students each have each been awarded a $12,000 grant from The Nature Conservancy to fund marine conservation research, the university announced.
URI Graduate School of Oceanography student M. Conor McManus received a grant to use larval habitat models to evaluate the suitability of Atlantic mackerel spawning areas along the Northeast continental shelf.
Anna Gerber-Williams, a graduate student in the URI Department of Natural Resources Sciences, will use her grant to evaluate the effects of various erosion control strategies on invertebrates living in sediments of the Narrow River.
Melanie Gerate, URI graduate student in the Department of Biological Sciences, has received a second year of funding for her study of the effects of anthropogenic nutrient pollution on Caribbean mangroves.
These three students are the most recent of 16 grant recipients from TNC over the last decade.
TNC’s Global Marine Initiative and the URI Coastal Institute have annually provided up to $12,000 in funding to at least two graduate students since 2006. Nearly $200,000 has been awarded for student research since the program was initiated.
“The students’ research has helped advance coastal and marine conservation science and policy on a variety of topics and in multiple geographic locations where TNC and URI have a shared interest,” said Lynne Hale, senior marine conservation fellow with TNC’s Global Marine Initiative based at the URI Narragansett Bay Campus. “The students have developed relevant and insightful research questions and conducted important work on many ecosystems, from mangrove forests and coral reefs to salt marshes, coastal ponds and pelagic (open ocean) environments.”
McManus, of Milton, Mass., said his research will identify critical areas for mackerel spawning, and what environment is critical for initiating spawning, as well as how spawning may change with future climate changes.
Gerber-Williams, a Vermont native who lives in South Kingstown, said her research will provide insight into the detrimental effects of erosion on coastal habitats.
A native of Chile, Garate’s research examines whether mangroves are a “carbon sink” that can offset climate change even while heavily affected by human nutrient pollution. The pollution may change nutrient and carbon cycling in the ecosystem and cause mangroves to emit nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas.
The students say that the funding from TNC is vital to the success of their research.
“The Nature Conservancy grant is critical for me to fully develop this project to its full potential by covering travel costs and allowing me to create opportunities for other students by hiring a research assistant in Puerto Rico,” Garate said. “Without the support from TNC, I would not be able to successfully pursue this project, which is so critical for climate mitigation strategies and local outreach.”
Said Gerber-Williams, “The funding I received from TNC has allowed me, as a young scientist, to solely focus on my research and provide me the opportunity to be independently responsible for managing a project. Not many researchers my age are given such an opportunity, and I am extremely thankful for their support.”
