[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 196 (Friday, October 9, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54447-54450]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-27258]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[Docket No. 980805207-8207-01]
RIN: 0648-ZA47
Funds Availability for the Southeast Bering Sea Carrying Capacity
(SEBSCC) Project
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AGENCY: Coastal Ocean Program, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Commerce.
ACTION: Supplemental Notice for Financial Assistance for Project
Grants.
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SUMMARY: The NOAA Coastal Ocean Program (COP) announces an opportunity
for ecosystem dynamics studies on the southeast Bering Sea shelf as
part of the Southeast Bering Sea Carrying Capacity (SEBSCC) project.
This announcement solicits two-year proposals for analysis, monitoring
and process studies to begin in early fiscal year 1999, contingent on
the availability of funds and facilities. This Phase II announcement
addresses Years Three and Four of the SEBSCC program, described in
detail at http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/sebscc. Phase II will be followed by
two years of synthesis. Further information is described below and at
SEBSCC's home page site: http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/sebscc. This
supplemental notice shall
[[Page 54448]]
be made available at COP's home page site: http://www.cop.noaa.gov/cop-
home.html. Any previous submissions to this announcement on the above
web pages need not be resubmitted.
DATES: The deadline for proposals is November 9, 1998. It is
anticipated that final selections for funding will be made during early
FY l999.
ADDRESSES: Submit the original and one copy of your proposal to Allen
Macklin, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, 7600 Sand Point
Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115-0070.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions or require
further technical information, contact either Allen Macklin at above-
listed e-mail address and phone number; or Beth Turner, SEBSCC
Coordinator, Coastal Ocean Program Office, 301-713-3338/ext 135,
Internet: elizabeth.turner@noaa.gov. For Business Management
Information:: Leslie McDonald, COP Grants Office, (301) 713-3338/ext
137.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background:
The Bering Sea ecosystem is influenced by climate variability.
Summer of 1997 brought +3 deg.C temperature anomalies, unusually strong
stratification, a coccolithophorid bloom, and reduced numbers of
foraging sea birds and returning salmon. On longer time scales, there
was an almost exponential increase in jellyfish populations since 1989.
Such trends and one-year events may be related to prolonged weather
patterns in the North Pacific and observed shifts in Arctic climate. A
key challenge for SEBSCC is to understand how such changes affect the
food web and food supply to higher trophic level animals. Thus, the
focus of Phase II for SEBSCC in fiscal years 1999 and 2000 is on how
such physical changes affect: (1) the availability of nutrients on the
Bering Sea shelf and (2) the relation of juvenile walleye pollock to
top predators.
The Bering Sea ecosystem is among the most productive of high-
latitude seas and supports large populations of marine fish, birds and
mammals. This productivity is important to the U.S. economy in that
fish and shellfish from the region constitute almost 5% of the world
and 40% of the U.S. fisheries harvest. Pollock, salmon, halibut and
crab generate over two billion dollars a year in fisheries revenue and
provide a major source of protein. The overwhelming dominance of
pollock in the Bering Sea suggests that this species currently plays a
singularly important role in this ecosystem.
We do not understand the factors controlling the stability of the
Bering Sea ecosystem, and there are several indications of ongoing
change that cause concern. Quantifying the relative importance of
natural variations and human-induced variations in plaining upper
trophic level ecosystem changes is a key management issue for the
Bering Sea. Differentiating trends in stock abundance attributable to
human exploitation from trends due to natural variations is difficult
because the fisheries and environmental time series are often short or
incomplete. Trends are seldom stable and can be subject to regional
variation. Important lower trophic layer changes include those natural
and anthropogenic variations that cause shifts in the production of new
organic matter and its vertical distribution.
SEBSCC postulates that a large fraction of the Bering Sea ecosystem
energy passes through the pollock population. Juvenile pollock respond
to and potentially impact primary and secondary production through
grazing, and influence the availability of food for upper trophic level
species, including adult pollock, seabirds and marine mammals. Pollock
provide an important measure of the condition of the present ecosystem,
and may be an indicator of changes in the Bering Sea over the last
three decades and in the future. The SEBSCC program is designed to
improve our understanding of the Bering Sea ecosystem; the results of
this endeavor will directly assist fishery and resource managers.
SEBSCC Goals and Objectives
The goal of SEBSCC is to increase understanding of the southeastern
Bering Sea pelagic ecosystem. New information will be used to develop
and test annual indices of pre-recruit (age-1) pollock abundance, which
will support management of pollock stocks and help determine the food
availability to other species. The overall science goals for SEBSCC are
to:
(a) Investigate influences of climate variability on the Bering Sea
ecosystem; and determine what limits population growth on the Bering
Sea shelf; and
(b) Identify effects of oceanographic conditions on biological
distributions; and
(c) Understand environmental influences on primary and secondary
production regimes.
Structure of the Research Program
SEBSCC is a NOAA COP regional ecosystem project begun in 1996. This
continuing Phase II effort is managed by the University of Alaska
Fairbanks, NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center, and NOAA's Pacific
Marine Environmental Laboratory. SEBSCC research comprises three
components: monitoring, synthesis (analysis) and process-oriented field
studies.
(a) Monitoring: Broad-scale studies include shipboard surveys,
multi-disciplinary mooring observations, drifters and analysis of
regional satellite data. Shipboard studies help to determine the
distribution and abundance of target organisms in relation to their
physical environment. There is a particular need for a drifter program
in the outer domain of the shelf. The aim of the broad-scale studies is
to provide the basis for interannual comparison of the population
processes and their coupling to the physical structure and variability
of the environment.
(b) Synthesis (Analysis): Synthesis begins to pull together results
generated by the program and historical data to investigate the
biological, physical, and geographical structure of food webs and the
influence of climatic variation. Synthesis includes development of
theoretical, statistical, and numerical models. In addition to modeling
of geographical variability, there is an ongoing need for modeling that
emphasizes trophic level interaction. Thus, proposals that develop
coupled energetics, life history, and age structured models with
simplified spatial dependence are strongly encouraged. A critical
element of SEBSCC is the ability to evaluate models over a
comprehensive time period, e.g., the suite of years from 1970 to the
present.
(c) Process Studies: Process studies are nested within the broad-
scale observations to investigate specific biological and physical
processes. Such studies provide information necessary to develop and
parameterize biophysical models. Close cooperation and interaction
between process studies and the monitoring and synthesis components of
the program are essential.
Phase I:
Proposals for Phase l studies were requested in 1996, and funded in
FY97 and FY98. Summaries and results of all projects funded under Phase
l of SEBSCC are available at their referenced web site. Central
Scientific issues for Phase 1 included the following:
(1) Influence of climate variability on the Bering Sea ecosystem:
Was there historical evidence for a biophysical regime shift on the
Bering Sea shelf? How was this reflected in ecological relationships
and species mix? Are there
[[Page 54449]]
``top-down'' ecosystem effects associated with climate variations as
well as ``bottom-up'' effects?
(2) Limited population growth on the Bering Sea shelf: Was there
evidence of a single species carrying capacity, e.g. for pollock, or a
more complex structure? What is the ecological role of pollock on the
Bering Sea shelf, i.e. how are pollock, forage fish, and apex species
linked through energetics and life history? How important is
cannibalism?
(3) Influence of oceanographic conditions of biological
distribution on the shelf: How do the separate mixing domains, sea ice,
and the cold pool influence the overlap or separation between predators
and prey?
(4) Possible Influences on primary and secondary production
regimes: What were the sources of nutrients to the southeastern Bering
Sea shelf, and what processes affected their availability? Has the
variability in sea ice extent and timing been the primary factor
influencing productivity? What has determined the relative allocation
of organic carbon going to benthos versus that remaining in the pelagic
system? What are the lower trophic level structure and energetics on
the shelf in summer and winter, especially regarding euphausiids? What
is the role of gelatinous organisms? Additional information about the
overall SEBSCC programs supported in Phase 1 is available at http://
pmel.noaa.gov/sebscc.
Phase II:
The specific objectives for Phase lI are to:
(1) Determine how changes in on-shelf transport of nutrients impact
pelagic food webs. This includes determination of how timing, duration,
magnitude and species composition of primary, secondary and forage fish
production affect food availability for higher trophic levels.
(2) Determine how climate variability influences the spatial
overlap of pollock of different life stages, and how the availability
of juvenile pollock to predators affects pollock survival rate.
Schedule and Proposal Submission
This opportunity is open to all interested, qualified, non-federal
and federal researchers. Foreign researchers must subcontract with U.S.
proposers. This announcement, and additional background information are
available on the SEBSCC home page on the World Wide Web. If you are
unable to access this information, either call Allen Macklin at (206)
526-6798; or send an e-mail to macklin@pmel.noaa.gov).
Full Proposals should cover a two-year project period, i.e. from
date of award for twenty-four (24) consecutive months. Project is
anticipated to be funded in early FY1999. Prospective investigators
should provide a full scientific justification for their research and
not simply reiterate justifications laid out in this Announcement or
previous documents. Proposals should be written to allow adequate
review of the details of such things as goals and objectives,
conceptual framework, methodological approaches, integration with other
likely projects and synthesis. In addition, it would be helpful if a
statement is included as to how your proposed efforts are related to
efforts of other potential investigators; interdisciplinary and multi-
trophic level coordination are particularly encouraged. Because of an
eight-page limitation for the project description, individual proposals
with overly complex structure and large numbers of investigators are
discouraged.
Non-federal researchers should comply with their institutional
requirements for proposal submission. Non-federal researchers
affiliated with NOAA-university Joint Institutes (e.g., JISAO, CIFAR)
should comply with joint institutional requirements. Proposals deemed
acceptable from federal researchers will be funded through their
agencies; non-federal awardees will be funded through their joint
institutes, as appropriate, or through a NOAA grant. Facsimile
transmissions and electronic mail submission of full proposals will not
be accepted.
Required Elements:
Use the following instructions when preparing your proposal. Each
proposal shall include six elements:
(a) Cover page--Provide a title, a short title (<50 characters)="" if="" needed,="" principal="" investigator(s)="" name(s)="" and="" affiliation(s),="" complete="" address,="" phone,="" fax="" and="" e-mail="" information,="" and="" a="" budget="" summary="" broken="" out="" by="" year="" and="" institution.="" (b)="" half-page="" abstract--state="" the="" hypothesis="" to="" be="" tested,="" the="" relationship="" of="" the="" research="" to="" the="" program="" goal,="" and="" a="" summary="" of="" the="" key="" approach.="" (c)="" statement="" of="" work:="" project="" description="" limited="" to="" eight="" pages="" and="" four="" figures--supply="" a="" clear="" statement="" of="" the="" work="" to="" be="" undertaken.="" outline="" the="" broad="" design="" of="" activities,="" provide="" an="" adequate="" description="" of="" methods,="" and="" confirm="" adherence="" to="" the="" data="" policy="" that="" is="" posted="" on="" sebscc's="" home="" page.="" include:="" (1)="" the="" objective="" for="" the="" period="" of="" proposed="" work="" and="" its="" expected="" significance,="" (2)="" the="" relation="" to="" the="" present="" state="" of="" knowledge="" in="" the="" field="" and="" relation="" to="" previous="" work="" and="" work="" in="" progress="" by="" the="" proposing="" principal="" investigator(s),="" and="" (3)="" a="" discussion="" of="" how="" the="" proposed="" project="" lends="" value="" to="" the="" program="" goal.="" provide="" a="" full="" scientific="" justification="" for="" the="" research;="" do="" not="" simply="" reiterate="" justifications="" laid="" out="" in="" this="" availability="" of="" funds="" document,="" or="" other="" summary="" documents.="" (d)="" milestone="" chart="" -="" covering="" twenty-four="" consecutive="" months.="" (e)="" budget--present="" the="" budget="" in="" fiscal="" year="" increments="" (1999,="" 2000).="" include="" the="" following="" categories:="" salary="" and="" wages,="" fringe="" benefits,="" equipment,="" travel,="" materials="" and="" supplies="" (expendables),="" publication="" costs,="" computer="" services,="" sub-awards,="" total="" cost="" of="" this="" proposal,="" and="" cost="" sharing="" with="" other="" programs.="" please="" include="" a="" budget="" narrative/justification="" to="" support="" all="" proposed="" categories.="" (f)="" biographical="" sketch--focus="" on="" information="" directly="" relevant="" to="" undertaking="" the="" proposed="" research.="" use="" no="" more="" than="" two="" pages.="" (g)="" proposal="" format="" and="" assembly:="" staple="" the="" proposal="" in="" the="" upper="" left-hand="" corner,="" but="" otherwise="" leave="" it="" unbound.="" use="" 1="" inch="" (2.5="" cm)="" margins="" at="" the="" top,="" bottom,="" left="" and="" right="" of="" each="" page.="" use="" a="" clear="" and="" easily="" legible="" type="" face="" in="" standard="" size="" of="" 12="" points.="" print="" on="" one="" side="" of="" the="" page="" only.="" further="" supplementary="" information="" (a)="" program="" authority="" (s):="" 33="" u.s.c.="" 1121;="" 33="" u.s.c.="" 883a="" et="" seq.="" 33="" u.s.c.="" 1442;="" l6="" u.s.c.="" 1456c="" (b)="" catalog="" of="" federal="" domestic="" assistance="" (cfda):="" 11.="" 478="" coastal="" ocean="" program="" (c)="" program="" description:="" see="" initial="" cop="" general="" notice--63="" fr44237,="" dated="" august="" l8,="" 1998.="" (d)="" funding="" availability:="" funding="" is="" contingent="" upon="" receipt="" of="" fiscal="" years="" 1999="" and="" 2000="" federal="" appropriations.="" the="" program="" is="" expected="" to="" be="" funded="" at="" $1.0m="" per="" fiscal="" year="" for="" fy="" 1999="" and="" fy="" 2000,="" with="" final="" synthesis="" at="" $0.7m="" in="" 2001="" and="" $0.3m="" in="" 2002.="" in="" fy="" 1999="" and="" fy="" 2000,="" typically="" we="" anticipate="" one="" month="" of="" ship="" time="" in="" the="" winter/spring="" and="" one="" month="" in="" the="" summer.="" cop="" is="" also="" working="" on="" having="" a="" fall="" cruise="" in="" 1999.="" joint="" work="" with="" other="" research="" institutions="" on="" their="" vessels="" is="" a="" possibility.="" cop="" recognizes="" that="" resources="" are="" limited;="" and="" therefore="" encourages="" potential="" investigators="" to="" consider="" leveraging="" their="" proposals="" with="" support="" from="" other="" sources,="" although="" there="" are="" no="" matching="" requirements.="" investigators="" interested="" in="" the="" bering="" sea="" may="" also="" consider="" becoming="" no-cost="" [[page="" 54450]]="" collaborators;="" ship="" time="" and="" modest="" travel="" support="" would="" be="" available.="" if="" an="" application="" for="" a="" financial="" assistance="" award="" is="" selected="" for="" funding,="" cop="" has="" no="" obligation="" to="" provide="" any="" additional="" prospective="" funding="" in="" connection="" with="" that="" award="" in="" subsequent="" years.="" renewal="" of="" an="" award="" to="" increase="" funding="" or="" extend="" the="" period="" of="" performance="" is="" at="" the="" total="" discretion="" of="" the="" department="" of="" commerce.="" publication="" of="" this="" notice="" does="" not="" obligate="" commerce="" to="" any="" specific="" award="" or="" to="" obligate="" any="" part="" of="" the="" entire="" amount="" of="" funds="" available.="" (e)="" matching="" requirements:="" none="" (f)="" type="" of="" funding="" instrument:="" project="" grants="" (g)="" eligibility="" criteria:="" opportunity="" is="" extended="" to="" academic,="" private,="" and="" federal="" researchers.="" phase="" li="" will="" be="" followed="" by="" two="" years="" of="" synthesis.="" all="" prospective="" investigators="" for="" phase="" li,="" including="" those="" currently="" funded="" under="" sebscc="" who="" propose="" to="" continue,="" will="" compete="" on="" an="" equal="" basis="" for="" support.="" (h)="" award="" period:="" multi-year="" funding="" will="" be="" funded="" incrementally="" on="" an="" annual="" basis.="" therefore,="" each="" annual="" award="" shall="" require="" a="" statement="" of="" work="" that="" is="" clearly="" severable="" and="" can="" be="" easily="" separated="" into="" annual="" increments="" of="" meaningful="" work="" which="" represent="" solid="" accomplishments="" if="" prospective="" funding="" is="" not="" made="" available.="" (i)="" indirect="" costs:="" if="" indirect="" costs="" are="" proposed,="" the="" following="" statement="" applies:="" the="" total="" dollar="" amount="" of="" the="" indirect="" costs="" proposed="" in="" an="" application="" under="" any="" announcement="" of="" opportunity="" must="" not="" exceed="" the="" indirect="" cost="" rate="" negotiated="" and="" approved="" by="" a="" cognizant="" federal="" agency="" prior="" to="" the="" proposed="" effective="" date="" of="" the="" award="" or="" 100="" percent="" of="" the="" total="" proposed="" direct="" costs="" dollar="" amount="" in="" the="" application,="" whichever="" is="" less.="" (j)="" application="" forms="" and="" kit:="" when="" applying="" for="" financial="" assistance="" under="" this="" announcement,="" applicants="" will="" be="" able="" to="" obtain="" a="" copy="" of="" the="" federal="" register="" notice="" and="" a="" standard="" noaa="" application="" kit="" from="" the="" cop="" home="" page="" on="" the="" following="" world="" wide="" web="" address:="">http://
www.cop.noaa.gov/cop-home.html. If you are unable to access this
information, you may also call the Coastal Ocean Program (extension
116) at the address listed above to leave a mail request. The federal
register notice may be also be accessed at the following Wide Web
address: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su-docs/aces/aces140.html.
At time of submission, the applicant shall follow the guidelines
presented in the funding announcement. Applications not adhering to
those stated guidelines may be returned to the applicant without
further review.
(k) Project Funding Priorities: Priority consideration will be
given to proposals that promote balanced coverage of the overall SEBSCC
science goals, provide a programmatically balanced approach to Phase lI
goals, and avoid duplication of completed or ongoing work.
(l) Evaluation Criteria: The proposal selection criteria and
weights are: (i.) scientific rationale, quality, and approach--50%;
(ii.) applicability to Phase lI objectives--30%; (iii) qualifications
of the investigators--10%; and (iv.). reasonableness of the budget--
10%. Successful PIs may be asked to make minor revisions in their
proposals to fit into an overall program structure.
(m) Selection Procedures: The proposal review process for SEBSCC
Phase lI will be coordinated by the Project Management Team and the COP
Office. Proposals received after the required thirty days for
publication deadline, or proposals that deviate from the prescribed
format, will be returned to the sender un-reviewed. Individual
proposals will be mailed to at least three (3) reviewers with expertise
in the proposal subject area. The entire set of proposals will also be
read by members of SEBSCC's Technical Advisory Committee. All proposals
submitted will be evaluated in accordance with the assigned weights of
evaluation criteria stated above.
A panel, composed of the Technical Advisory Committee and the
Project Management Team (also a mix of Federal and non-federal
members), will rank all proposals based on mail and panel evaluations.
The NOAA SEBSCC Project Coordinator will make recommendations for
funding based on the panel rankings and the project funding priorities
discussed in section (k). Selections will be announced early in FY1999.
(n) Other Requirements: See initial COP Notice--63 FR44237, dated
August l8, 1998.
(o) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty
for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, unless that collection
displays a current valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control
number. This notice involves collections of information subject to the
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act. The requirements have been
approved by OMB under control numbers 0348-0043, 0348-0044, 0348-0040
and 0348-0046.
Dated: October 6, 1998.
Captain Evelyn J. Fields,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Ocean Services and Coastal
Zone Managment.
[FR Doc. 98-27258 Filed 10-8-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-JS-F
