Collaborative science projects supported by the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Science Collaborative must address a management and/or knowledge exchange need of one or more reserves. This document is a compilation of the current management and knowledge exchange needs within NOAA’s reserve system. These needs are submitted by the reserves and updated on an annual basis. Two opportunities are available this year: the 2025 Collaborative Research RFP and the 2025 Catalyst/Knowledge Exchange RFP. More details about both can be found in the RFP documentation.
This reserve management and knowledge exchange needs summary supports the development of proposals in response to the 2025 NERRS Science Collaborative Requests for Proposals. Potential applicants are encouraged to review the management and knowledge exchanges needs described here and reach out to the point of contact listed for a reserve to discuss the reserve’s current needs and opportunities for collaboration. Project ideas that emerge after this document was developed and do not align perfectly with a specific need statement, including project ideas that engage multiple reserves, can be considered for funding if the relevance and value to the reserve system and intended users are well justified in the proposal narrative and a letter of support from the relevant reserve(s).
Science Collaborative research priorities and reserve needs reflect both NOAA and reserve priorities set forth in the NERRS strategic plan (climate change, water quality and habitat protection) as well as individual reserve needs at the local level.
Key words by region:
National Reserve Needs | Contact: Kerstin Wasson, Elkhorn Slough Research Coordinator, [email protected]
SYNTHESIS OF SWMP DATA: Reserve staff have pioneered NERR syntheses, AND have led assessments of marsh resilience and crab dynamics across 15 Reserves, thin-layer sediment addition across 8 Reserves, and habitat change across all 30 Reserves, BUT there is no clear national plan for regular syntheses to be conducted repeatedly, THEREFORE we welcome multi-sectoral, collaborative efforts to develop and test templates for regular, repeated national syntheses of marsh resilience, water quality, or habitat mapping and change.
Keywords: National; Habitat; Water quality; Syntheses
NOVEL MONITORING APPROACHES: The Reserves conduct rigorous system-wide monitoring using selected methodologies and indicators. Newer approaches could complement existing Reserve monitoring, and eventually be incorporated systemwide. For example, unoccupied aerial vehicles can provide monitoring complementary to field vegetation transects and to habitat mapping. Environmental DNA monitoring could be conducted on the same water samples collected monthly for nutrient analyses. The Reserves thus would benefit from tests of the feasibility and applications of new methodologies that would be affordable and sustainable as future components of system-wide monitoring.
Keywords: National; Drone; UAV; eDNA; Monitoring
WETLANDS AND WATER LEVELS APPLICATIONS: The Reserves have developed monitoring to evaluate the resilience of coastal vegetation in the face of changing water levels, specifically to inform management and support education and outreach. As the Reserves move towards implementing this approach system-wide, it would be valuable to have templates for applications, such as for workshops for coastal managers where the new data are used for spatial planning, or for interactive activities and curriculum for students. We therefore welcome projects that design and test templates effective for Reserve use that apply NERR wetlands and water levels data to management or education needs.
Keywords: Coastal resilience; Workshop; Curriculum; Vegetation
Jobos Bay, Puerto Rico | Contact: Angel Dieppa, Research Coordinator, [email protected] for needs 1 & 2. Milton Muñoz, Stewardship Coordinator, [email protected] for needs 3 & 4.
- Seagrass; Invasive species; Endoparasites; Ecology
- Corals; SCTLD; Restoration
- Mangroves; Resilience; Socioeconomic; Services
- SWMP; Water Quality; Data Management; Modeling
Lake Superior, Wisconsin | Contact: Deanna Erickson, Manager, [email protected]
- Forested wetlands; Invasives; Restoration
- Submerged Vegetation; Monitoring
- Phytoplankton; Detection; Monitoring; Management
- SWMP; Analysis; Synthesis; Outreach
- Biocultural Restoration; Resilience; Indigenous Knowledge
Old Woman Creek, Ohio | Contact: Janice Kerns, Manager, [email protected]
- Nutrient Budgets; Spatiotemporal Variability; Trend Analysis; Wetlands
- Soil; Sedimentation; Carbon; Hydrology
- Nature-based shorelines; Living shorelines; Erosion; Coastal engineering
- Marine debris; Great Lakes; Microplastics; Water quality
- Restoration; Ecosystem services; Habitat management; Invasive species
Apalachicola, Florida | Contact: Jennifer Harper, Manager, [email protected]
- Fisheries; Ecosystem health; Socioeconomic analysis
- Socioeconomic analysis; Ecosystem services;
- Habitat change; Climate change; Tropicalization; Ecosystem services
- Shoreline stabilization; Erosion; Ecosystem services
- Plankton; Food web; Abiotic drivers
Grand Bay, Mississippi | Contact: Ayesha Gray, Manager, [email protected]
- Restoration; Research; Effectiveness monitoring
- Physical processes; Ecological processes; Sediment dynamics; Populations
- Contaminants; Impacts; Mitigation
- Population distribution; Population ecology; Ecology
- Socio-economic impact; Ecosystem restoration; Coastal habitats
Mission-Aransas, Texas | Contact: Katie Swanson, Reserve Manager, katie.swanson @utexas.edu
- Climate change; Sea level rise; Invasive species; Contamination
- Habitat; Protection; Assessment; Adaptive Management
- eDNA; Sound; Invasive; Biodiversity
- SWMP; SET; Managers; WLWL
- SWMP; Seagrass; Management
Rookery Bay, Florida | Contact: Danielle Ogurcak, Interdisciplinary Science Manager, [email protected]
- Mangrove migration; Sea level rise; Marshes; Habitat shifts
- Stormwater management; Best practices; Restoration; Communication
- Rapid assessment; Monitoring; Imperiled species; Disturbance events
- Archaeology; Visitors; Cultural history; Communication
- Arthropods; Invasive species management; Species diversity; Indicator species
Weeks Bay, Alabama | Contact: Angela Underwood, Manager, [email protected]
- Marsh migration; Living shoreline
- Social science; Community resilience
- Marine debris; Social science
- Prescribed fire; Marsh migration
- Land-use/Land-change; Watershed dynamics; Water quality
Chesapeake Bay, Maryland | Contact: Kyle Derby, Research Coordinator, [email protected]
- Data Discovery; Trend Analysis; Environmental Data
- Wetland Migration; Sea Level Rise; Coastal Resilience; Saltwater Intrusion
- Submerged Aquatic Vegetation; Monitoring; Restoration; Population Dynamics
- Community engagement; Social Science; DEIJ; Human Dimensions
- Community engagement (Education Community); Human Dimensions; Networks
Chesapeake Bay, Virginia | Contact: Carl Friedrichs, Research Coordinator, [email protected]
- Surface water supply; Groundwater supply; Water use impacts; Water use planning
- Wetlands; Seagrass; Restoration; Saltwater intrusion
- Algal blooms; HABs; Toxins; Aquaculture
- Nutrients; Sediments; Oxygen; Water clarity
- Community; Conservation; Behavior change; Human dimensions
Delaware | Contact: Rachael Phillos, Reserve Manager, [email protected]
- Monitoring; Habitat; Climate Change; Ecosystem
- Ecosystem Services; Visitor Use; DEIJA; Communication
- Climate Change; Habitat Resilience; Ecosystem Services; Water Quality
- Climate Change; Habitat Resilience
- Climate Change; Habitat Resilience; Ecosystem Services; Water Quality
Hudson River, New York | Contact: Sarah Fernald, Reserve Manager, [email protected]
- Education programs; Environmental justice communities; Underserved groups; Indigenous Tribes
- Submerged aquatic vegetation; Fish distributions; Ecosystem services; Habitat restoration
- Data synthesis; Fisheries data; Habitat maps; Water quality data
- Submerged aquatic vegetation; Habitat restoration; Contaminants; Mitigation
- Blue carbon; Tidal freshwater wetlands; Biogeochemical processes; Methane emissions
Jacques Cousteau, New Jersey | Contact: Mike De Luca, Manager, [email protected] for needs 1, 4 & 5 | Thomas Grothues, Research Coordinator, [email protected] for needs 2 & 3
- Nature-based solutions; Living shorelines; Beneficial use; Resilience
- Bioacoustics; Animal composition; Species biodiversity
- Predictive models; Ecosystem dynamics; Water quality; Habitat quality
- Human dimensions; Values; Social science
- Community resilience; Technical assistance; Evaluation; Resilience metrics
Connecticut | Contact: Kevin O'Brien, Research Manager, kevin.o'[email protected]
- Eelgrass; Shellfish; Restoration; Resource management
- Data Synthesis; Quantitative Analysis; Water Quality; Habitat
- Nature-based Infrastructure; Monitoring; Social science research; Climate risk
- Nutrient load mitigation strategies; Macroalgal and microalgal harmful algal blooms; Hypoxia
- Blue carbon; Economic valuation; Biogeochemical processes; Coastal wetlands/forests
Great Bay, New Hampshire | Contact: Cory Riley, Reserve Manager, [email protected]
- Estuarine monitoring; Innovative; Data analysis; Cross disciplinary
- Salt marsh, Migration, Restoration
- Social science; Human dimensions; Behavior change
- Oysters; Eelgrass; Restoration
- Dams; Culverts; River restoration; Fish passage
Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island | Contact: Caitlin Chaffee, Reserve Manager, [email protected]
- Climate change; Resilience; Habitat; Community
- Ecosystem services; Behavior change; Management
- Habitat; Resilience; Wildlife; Restoration
- Stormwater; Water quality; Management; BMPs
- Monitoring; Trends analysis; Management; SWMP; Data synthesis
Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts | Contact: Tonna-Marie Rogers, Reserve Manager, [email protected]
- Nutrient pollution; Management solutions; Efficacy; cCmmunity engagement
- Sea level rise; Resilience; Ecosystem services; Nature-based solutions; Blue carbon
- Climate impacts; Anoxia/hypoxia; Species response; Monitoring data
- Restoration; Biogeochemical processes; Submerged aquatic vegetation; Benthic
- Sense of place; Services; Value; Community
Wells, Maine | Contacts: Jason Goldstein, Research Director, [email protected]; Jessica Brunacini, CTP Director, [email protected]
- Nature-based solutions; Coastal resilience; Ecosystem services; Equity
- Sea level rise; Coastal resilience; Community engagement; Human dimensions
- Submerged aquatic vegetation; Best practices; Long-term monitoring; Environmental drivers
- Biophysical monitoring; Invasive species; Anthropogenic impacts; eDNA
- System Wide Monitoring Program; Environmental drivers; Spatio-temporal changes; Teachers on the Estuary
Southeast Regional Need | Contact: Nikki Dix, GTM Research Coordinator, [email protected]
Oysters and oyster reefs present unique management challenges as one of very few ecosystem engineers that are also the subject of commercial and recreational harvest. Oyster management commonly focuses on fishery-based harvest limits, but reserves and resource managers lack tools to quantify the 'condition' of reefs as well as the impacts of harvest (and other disturbances) on the resource. Therefore, reserves and resource managers throughout the southeastern U.S. need 1) novel techniques to better understand harvesting impacts and 2) inter-state collaboration on approaches to manage oyster reefs and protect the functions they provide.
Keywords: Oysters; Habitat condition; Fisheries; Harvest
ACE Basin, South Carolina | Contact: Julie Binz, Manager, [email protected]
- Conservation values; Cultural; Ecosystem services; Human dimensions
- Habitat management; Adaptive management; Restoration; Climate change
- Socio-economic indicators; Behavior change; Green infrastructure; Stormwater
- Sea level rise; Salt marsh; Restoration; Climate change
- Data synthesis; Water quality; Integrated assessment; Data visualization
Guana Tolomato Matanzas, Florida | Contact: Lia Sansom, Manager, [email protected]
- Plankton; Food web; Toxin
- Change drivers; Marsh fragmentation; Oyster rake; Habitat function
North Carolina | Contact: Justin Ridge, Research Coordinator, [email protected]
- Remote sensing; Habitat mapping
- Biodiversity; eDNA; Ecosystem services
- Water quality; Water level
- Vulnerability; Resilience; Sediment dynamics; Restoration
- Water quality; System-wide monitoring program
North Inlet-Winyah Bay, South Carolina | Contact: Erik Smith, Manager, [email protected]
- Marsh; Sea level rise; Spatial variability; Adaptation
- Habitat provisioning; Natural resource use; Ecosystem-based management;
- Stormwater; Water quality; Sustainable development
- Oysters; Habitat provisioning; Reef biota; Assessment
- Climate change; Eutrophication; Estuarine fauna; Coastal habitats
Sapelo Island, Georgia | Contact: Rachel Guy, Manager, [email protected]
- Green infrastructure; Community resilience; Economic
- Mangroves; Range expansion; Climate change
- Water quality; Coastal Development; Impervious Surface
- SWMP; Climate change; Biota; Communities
West Coast Regional Need | Contact: Kerstin Wasson, Elkhorn Slough Research Coordinator, [email protected]
All five Reserves on the contiguous Pacific coast are engaged in native oyster conservation science, through monitoring and/or restoration activities. They worked together to launch the Native Olympia Oyster Collaborative, a community of practice for diverse stakeholders, from Reserves to Tribes to oyster growers to restoration practitioners. This collaborative has identified a strong need for consistent oyster monitoring protocols that could be developed and used across the Region, pioneered by Reserves and then adopted by other stakeholders. Likewise, there is a need for coordinated restoration experiments, to develop and test effective approaches to be implemented by Reserves and partners.
Keywords: Shellfish; Oyster; Restoration; Monitoring
Elkhorn Slough, California | Contact: Kerstin Wasson, [email protected]
- Restoration; Recovery; Resilience
- Eutrophication; Invasion; Diking
- Sea-level rise; Adaptation; Resilience; Community
Kachemak Bay, Alaska | Contact: Katherine Schake, Reserve Manager, [email protected]
- Climate; Applications; Data; Change
- Humans; Habitats; Ecology; Intertidal
- Communities; Indigenous; Ecosystems; Biocultural
- Monitoring; Datasets; Analysis; Synthesis
Padilla Bay, Washington | Contact: Jude Apple, Manager, [email protected]
- Climate change; Eelgrass; Sociocultural systems; Resilience
- Ecosystem services; Land use; Eelgrass; Agriculture; Carbon sequestration
- Biocultural restoration; Communities; Resilience; Ecosystem services
- Data synthesis; Data literacy, Education; Land use
- Remote sensing; Eelgrass; Resilience; Change analysis
San Francisco Bay, California | Contact: Matt Ferner, Reserve Manager, mferner @sfsu.edu
- Oysters; Living shorelines; Sustainable aquaculture
- Invasive species; Feral pigs; Invasive plants
South Slough, Oregon | Contact: Patricia Fox, Reserve Manager, [email protected],
- Environmental challenges; Environmental justice
- Indigenous; Knowledge; Biocultural; Resilience
- Restoration; Resiliency; Invasive species
- Humans; Climate change; Behavioral change
- Monitoring; Data; Education; Water quality
Tijuana River, California | Contact: Jeff Crooks, Research Coordinator, [email protected]
- Restoration; Water quality; Habitats; Species
- Sediment; Beneficial Re-use; Restoration
- Marine debris; Plastics; Watershed
- Tidal prism; Inlet; Ocean-estuary exchange
- Climate change; Tribal engagement; Cultural heritage
Heʻeia, Hawaiʻi | Contact: Shimi Rii, Research Coordinator, [email protected]
- Indigenous Knowledge; Biocultural restoration; Human dimensions; Well-being
- Indigenous resource management tools; Training; Skills; Technology
- Collaborative educational programming; Assessment; Capacity; Dual fluency
- Knowledge exchange; Tools; Future visioning; Synthesis
- Climate change; Drivers; Spatial-temporal; Ecosystem processes