COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE DRIVERS AND ROLE OF IMMIGRATION IN THE DYNAMICS OF THE LARGEST POPULATION OF WE…

Assistance award details

Assistance award identifier

ASST_NON_2147553_049

FAIN

2147553

Recipient

MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY

Awarding agency

National Science Foundation

Funding agency

National Science Foundation

Assistance listing (CFDA)

47.078

Total obligated

$1,408,421

Period

Jul 15, 2022 – Jun 30, 2027

Fiscal year

2022

Place of performance state

MT

Source file

FY2022_All_Assistance_Full_20261006.zip

Description

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: THE DRIVERS AND ROLE OF IMMIGRATION IN THE DYNAMICS OF THE LARGEST POPULATION OF WEDDELL SEALS IN ANTARCTICA UNDER CHANGING CONDITIONS -PART 1: NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF A LONG-TERM POPULATION DYNAMICS STUDY (1978-PRESENT) USING AN INTENSIVE MARK-RECAPTURE TAGGING OF WEDDELL SEALS IN EREBUS BAY, ANTARCTICA. PAST WORK HAS BECOME A GLOBAL MODEL FOR POPULATION STUDIES OF LARGE ANIMALS. RESULTS HAVE DOCUMENTED STRONG ANNUAL VARIATION IN REPRODUCTION, ABUNDANCE, AND POPULATION COMPOSITION. THIS PROGRAM WILL ADD COMPONENTS TO EVALUATE THE DEMOGRAPHIC ROLE OF IMMIGRANT MOTHERS, EVALUATE POSSIBLE DRIVERS OF ANNUAL VARIATION IN OVERALL POPULATION DYNAMICS, ASSESS GENETIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN IMMIGRANT AND LOCALLY BORN MOTHERS, AND DOCUMENT PATTERNS OF GENE FLOW AMONG SEAL COLONIES IN THE ROSS SEA REGION. THESE NEW ASPECTS WILL FOCUS ON UNDERSTANDING OF POPULATION STRUCTURE, FUNCTION, AND GENETICS AND PROVIDE KEY INFORMATION FOR PREDICTING HOW THE SEAL POPULATION WILL RESPOND TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE. THE ADDITION OF GENETIC APPROACHES WILL ADVANCE AVAILABLE DATA FOR MULTIPLE GROUPS IN MULTIPLE COUNTRIES WORKING ON WEDDELL SEALS. THIS WORK INCLUDES AN EARLY CAREER SCIENTISTS TRAINING PROGRAM FOR FACULTY UNIVERSITY GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AND WELL AS A DEFINED PROGRAM FOR DATA SHARING. THE RESEARCH IS PAIRED WITH ACTIVE EDUCATION AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS, SOCIAL MEDIA, WEBSITES, EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES, VIDEOS AND HIGH-PROFILE PUBLIC LECTURE ACTIVITIES. THE INFORMAL SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAM WILL EXPAND ON THE PROJECT?S SUCCESSFUL EFFORTS AT PRODUCING AND DELIVERING SHORT-FORM VIDEOS THAT HAVE BEEN VIEWED OVER 1.6 MILLION TIMES TO DATE. IN ADDITION, THE EDUCATION PROGRAM WILL ADD NEW TOPICS SUCH AS LEARNING ABOUT SEALS USING GENOMICS AND HOW SEALS RESPOND TO A CHANGING WORLD TO A MULTIMEDIA-ENHANCED ELECTRONIC BOOK ABOUT THE PROJECT?S LONG-TERM RESEARCH ON WEDDELL SEALS, WHICH WILL BE FREELY AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC EARLY I