Through a 2020 catalyst project, the Heʻeia and Kachemak Bay Reserves worked to advance the equitable representation of cultural ecosystem services in estuary stewardship by providing practical information and opportunities for facilitated exchange.

Cultural ecosystem services (CES), one of four main categories of ecosystem services, are often described as the non-material benefits that humans receive from their interactions with the environment.

This table summarizes the key findings related to the fish capture, transport and husbandry practices tested in the 2020 catalyst project led by the Kachemak Bay Reserve to catalyze future research on the mechanisms of paralytic shellfish toxin transfer from forage fish to upper trophic populations.

Staff from the Kachemak Bay NERR expanded research collaborations and completed proof of concept activities to catalyze future research on the mechanisms of paralytic shellfish toxin transfer from forage fish to upper trophic populations– an increasing concern after statewide seabird die-offs and

Project Lead Nikki Dix (Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve) gives a 5-minute introduction to "Refining Techniques for High-frequency Monitoring of Chlorophyll Alpha in the NERRS," a catalyst project funded in 2020 by the NERRS Science Collaborative.

This poster, created by a Hollings Scholar who worked with Kachemak Bay NERR on a 2017 collaborative research project, describes the project and results.

This video was created by two high school students from the Alaska Native village of Tyonek, documenting their communities groundwater uses, and represents one output from engaging with students from a 2017 collaborative research project.

eDNA (environmental DNA) refers to the genetic material found in an environmental sample (water or sediment). eDNA comes from feces, gametes, scales, and cells that an organism sheds, and is easily collected from water and sediment samples.

To foster greater engagement in science learning among deaf and hard of hearing K-12 students and increase the number of deaf people entering science professions, The Learning Center for the Deaf, Boston University, and three national estuarine research reserves in New England collaborated to dev