The North Carolina Biotechnology Center funded NOAA and academic researchers to develop a training facility for public health officials and resource managers in advanced molecular methods to detect pathogens and harmful algae species more quickly and effectively. The first workshop, held March 11 – 15, 2013, covered quantitative polymerase chain reaction techniques to detect Enterococcus, the [...]
The threat of sea level rise and storminess poses many management challenges in North Carolina due to low elevation, extensive barrier islands and vulnerability to coastal storms. The long-term North Carolina Sea Level Rise Project, part of the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science’s Ecological Effects of Sea Level Rise (EESLR) program, has developed modeling and [...]
James Morris, a National Ocean Service ecologist, works in the Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research in Beaufort, N.C., conducting research on invasive species, aquaculture, and other issues that affect coastal ecosystems. The center is one of the NOS National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. In 2011, Morris received the Presidential Early Career Award [...]
Project-of-the-Year Awards Showcase Program Successes Congratulations to the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and Environmental Security Technology Certification Program(ESTCP) Projects of the Year, recognized for research and technology developments with significant benefits to the Department of Defense (DoD). These outstanding efforts are helping DoD achieve its mission while improving its environmental performance. Resource [...]
To find the cause of a massive fish kill in the Neuse River near New Bern, North Carolina, state officials and a river advocacy foundation sent samples to the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science laboratory in nearby Beaufort for analysis. Most of the dead fish exhibited large, open skin ulcers. Using molecular assays, the [...]
Recognizing the urgency to develop clear guidance on reducing the burgeoning lionfish population, NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science allied with experts from around the Caribbean to provide a reference for anyone planning to develop a local control strategy. This free manual, Invasive Lionfish: A Guide to Control and Management (PDF), is aimed at resource [...]
A recent assessment of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) monitoring programs revealed a global decline in the underwater plants’ abundance even though they are recognized worldwide for their many important ecological functions such as providing essential habitat for many commercially important species of fish, shellfish, and invertebrates. North Carolina has the third largest total area of SAV between Maine [...]
In 1996, President Bill Clinton commissioned the National Science and Technology Council to create an award celebrating emerging researchers in the fields of science and technology at the outset of their careers. The result was the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. The PECASE award is given annually to a group of researchers [...]