We are accepting pre-proposals for our 2024 biennial research competition through Jan. 20. Find out more here.
Resilient Communities and Economies
Restoration and sustainability of Maryland’s natural resources mean different things to different interest groups or stakeholders. Traditional drivers such as commercial fishing and agricultural patterns are changing, and recent policy decisions and management actions are creating new and different economic opportunities in traditional tidewater communities. Communities and local governments face new challenges to adapt to climate change and meet new TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) requirements to limit nutrient and sediment pollution.
Maryland Sea Grant will support research to:
- Understand linked environmental-socioeconomic responses to environmental change and efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay. Issues include water resources management, stable shorelines, tourism and recreation, marine spatial planning, etc.
- Understand community and ecological responses to Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and Watershed Implementation Plans (WIPs).
For additional detail, visit our recent Request for Proposals or the Maryland Sea Grant Strategic Plan.
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Featured Fellow
Leone Yisrael is a cephalopod-loving scuba diver, cook, and loves to try new activities. She conducts genetic analysis and fieldwork at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center through the Coastal Disease Ecology Lab.
Featured Research Project
Exploring the Use of Benthic Microbial Fuel Cells to Remove Sulfide While Harvesting Energy from Oyster Aquaculture Biodeposits
Oyster aquaculture is a rapidly growing industry in Maryland’s Chesapeake waters which stimulates economic activity and may provide a host of ecosystem benefits. A potential concern associated with the intensification of the oyster aquaculture is the local production and accumulation of oyster biodeposits, which can lead to a porewater sulfide accumulation and declining bioturbation, symptoms of declining ecosystem function. Sulfide is naturally removed from the seafloor by the interactions between bioturbating infauna and sulfide oxidizing bacteria.
