Ocean Acidification
The Northeast Sea Grant Consortium, in partnership with the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program (OAP), sought to address the impacts of ocean acidification (OA) on key resource species in the northeast (New York Bight to the Gulf of Maine) as an aid to assist coastal communities in adapting to current and future OA conditions in the region.
Through this competition, we sought to support innovative biophysical and social science research that will further the understanding of the effects of ocean acidification on key coastal marine resource species and economies.
A paper published by the Northeast Coastal Acidification Network (NECAN) in Oceanography Magazine in 2015, "Ocean and Coastal Acidification off New England and Nova Scotia," defined ocean and coastal acidification research and monitoring priorities. These priorities were used by the Northeast Sea Grant programs in a 2016 request for proposals. Five research projects were ultimately funded:
Dianna Padilla, Stony Brook University – “Flexing mussels: Does Mytilus edulis have the capacity to overcome effects of Ocean Acidification?”
Bassem Allam, Stony Brook University – “Probing molecular determinants of bivalve resilience to ocean acidification”
Richard Wahle, University of Maine – “Genetic and phenotypic response of larval American lobster to ocean warming and acidification across New England’s steep thermal gradient”
Hannes Baumann, University of Connecticut – “Sensitivity of larval and juvenile sand lance Ammodytes dubius on Stellwagen Bank to predicted ocean warming, acidification, and deoxygenation”
As a result of this regional research effort, the Northeast Coastal Acidification Network (NECAN) hosted a webinar series in 2019 featuring the research projects, their successes, challenges, and results. Watch recordings of the webinars and learn more about four of the funded projects: