2009 Application Guidelines:
Mia J. Tegner Memorial Research Grants in Marine Environmental History and Historical Ecology

Application Deadline: September 21, 2009

Click here for a PDF version of the application guidelines.

Dr. Mia Tegner in a California kelp forest (Photo: Eric Hanauer)

Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI) is pleased to announce the 2009 Mia J. Tegner Memorial Research Grants Program in Marine Environmental History and Historical Marine Ecology.  Initiated in 2001, this program supports research documenting historical ocean conditions prior to large-scale human impacts.

This program honors the late Dr. Mia J. Tegner, an esteemed marine biologist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography who conducted seminal work in the field of historical marine ecology.  Through her studies of long-term changes in abalone populations and kelp forest communities, Dr. Tegner demonstrated the importance and utility of developing ecological baselines for our oceans. Dr. Tegner’s work was shortened prematurely after her untimely death in 2001, while diving off the coast of California.

Research Grants Program

Goal - To fund studies that develop ecological baselines for our oceans, and help policymakers and conservationists better conserve and restore marine biodiversity.

Scope- The program supports natural and social scientists seeking to uncover interactions between natural and human history in marine and estuarine environments worldwide.

MCBI is particularly interested in studies describing systems prior to large-scale human impacts and industrialization.  Research may draw on sources ranging from culturally- and geographically-derived information, to biological and physical data.   Examples of possible information resources include fishery data, letters, journals, interviews, oral histories, historical documents, maps, photos, field surveys, etc.  

MCBI looks to support projects where our funding can significantly contribute to a key phase or project outcome.

Programmatic Focus – MCBI seeks novel proposals that study, document, and describe historical marine ecology throughout the world.  We particularly encourage projects related to:

1. The Pacific Remote Islands and Rose Atoll Marine National Monuments;
2. US marine protected areas and National Marine Sanctuaries;
3. The High Seas, which are those areas outside of nation’s jurisdictions;
4. Deep and shallow water coral ecosystems; and
5. The historical impacts of fishing on marine populations and ecosystems.

Eligibility- MCBI invites individuals and collaborative teams from both US and international academic institutions and non-governmental organizations to apply.  Preference will be given to graduate students, post-graduate researchers, and early career scientists.  For more information contact Dr. Larissa Sano (Larissa@mcbi.org) or visit www.mcbi.org/what/tegneroverview.html. 

Eligible Expenses and Limitations – Individual proposals with budgets up to $10,000 (USD) are welcomed.  Acceptable funding requests include computing costs, equipment purchases, page charges, supplies, materials, salaries, consulting fees, travel expenses to conduct research, and expenses for residing at research sites.  Funds from this program cannot be used for administrative overhead, capital expenditures, general funding and conference travel.

Application Guidelines- The deadline for submission is 21-September 2009.  Grant decisions will be made by early November.

To apply, please include:

1. A concise project description, including a justification for the proposed project, a summary of proposed methodology, expected impacts, and the project's relevance to marine conservation (2 pages maximum).
2. Supporting documentation, which should include:
   • A one-page budget (with justification for expenses and details regarding additional funding sources, if any);
   • An estimated timeline;
   • A list of project collaborators and their affiliations;
   • A curriculum vita for the principal investigator;
   • A letter of support from a primary academic advisor if the applicant is a student or postdoctoral researcher;
   • Contact information for at least one referee or reference.

Applicants should e-mail all proposal materials by 11:59 p.m. PDT on 21-September 2009 to tegnerawards@mcbi.org. PDF documents are preferred, but MS Word and Excel documents are acceptable. 

This year’s program is made possible through a generous grant from the Oak Foundation and other donors to MCBI’s mission.