Margaret A. Davidson Fellowship
The 2022 application period is closed.
About the fellowship
The Margaret A. Davidson Graduate Fellowship is a program through NOAA's Office for Coastal Management that will provide funding to graduate students admitted to or enrolled in a master’s or PhD program to conduct estuarine research within one of the National Estuarine Research Reserves. Through a research project, fellows address a key reserve management need to help scientists and communities understand coastal challenges that may influence future policy and management strategies.
One two-year fellowship opportunity will be available at the each of the 29 National Estuarine Research Reserves, including the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve (NC NERR), which includes Currituck Banks, Rachel Carson, Masonboro Island, and Zeke’s Island reserve sites.
Fellowship benefits include:
- The ability to develop meaningful cross-discipline research projects in conjunction with scientists, community leaders, and other organizations.
- Networking opportunities with the annual fellowship class of 29, plus the other professionals across the reserve system, NOAA, and community partners.
- Professional guidance and mentoring in a variety of disciplines, including facilitation and communication. Fellows will also have quarterly career-readiness training.
- The development of research partnerships between universities and reserves.
Interested students are encouraged to explore the management priorities (listed below) and discuss potential projects with the research coordinator of the host reserve.
The next fellowship class will begin in summer of 2022.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants must be U.S. citizens admitted to or enrolled in a full-time graduate program at a U.S. accredited college or university, working to obtain a master’s or doctoral degree. Applicants must plan to be enrolled for all of the first year, and the majority of the second year, of funding.
Timeline
Summer 2021 - Call for applications
December 10, 2021 - Applications due
April 2022 - Recommended students notified
August 2022 - Fellowship begins
Resources
- Frequently Asked Questions
- NC NERR handout
- NC NERR webinar - The NOAA Davidson Fellowship at the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve
- NOAA Webinar - Margaret A. Davidson Graduate Fellowship: A Collaborative Graduate Fellowship to Address Coastal Challenges
- Learn about the 2020-2022 cohort of Margaret A. Davidson Fellows
About Margaret A. Davidson
This fellowship honors the legacy of NOAA’s Margaret A. Davidson. Margaret was a true visionary in the coastal management world, someone who saw the future with clarity and knew how to push for innovation and, frankly—shake things up. She defined excellence in many categories, always raising the bar with the goal of helping coastal communities thrive. This approach is what NOAA and the research reserves are striving to achieve with the Margaret A. Davidson Graduate Fellowship program.
2022 Management Needs
The NCNERR sites provide ecosystem services AND the habitats that provide these services are impacted by factors including climate change, invasive species, and coastal development, BUT we have limited information on how these factors influence the provision of ecosystem services. THEREFORE, research is needed to quantify and better understand the services our habitats provide and how they may change in association with these factors to inform future management strategies.
Host reserve: North Carolina
Contact: Brandon Puckett, Research Coordinator, Brandon.puckett@ncdenr.gov, (252) 838-0851
Host reserve: North Carolina
Contact: Brandon Puckett, Research Coordinator, Brandon.puckett@ncdenr.gov, (252) 838-0851
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Synthesis of research of inlet utilization by various species and regional studies of marine dredging impacts
- Spatiotemporal patterns of ichthyoplankton abundance and composition and potential interactions with dredging
- Spatiotemporal patterns of staging, migration, and spawning activity of commercially and recreationally important species and potential interactions with dredging
- Characteristics of the sediment plume associated with dredging and implications for i) water quality, ii) sedimentation of nearby habitats, or iii) impacts on benthic communities.
Host reserve: North Carolina
Contact: Brandon Puckett, Research Coordinator, Brandon.puckett@ncdenr.gov, (252) 838-0851
As part of the NERRS System-wide Monitoring Program, Reserve habitats are mapped from the uplands to the intertidal marsh-water edge AND Reserve staff have used remote sensing, including use of Unoccupied Aerial Systems (drones), to map select areas of intertidal habitats BUT we have not applied remote sensing approaches to assess the ‘condition’ of intertidal oyster reef habitat. THEREFORE, Reserves within the Southeast are interested in developing novel methods and workflows to remotely assess the condition of intertidal oyster reef habitat at user-defined spatial (e.g., patch reefs to landscape) and temporal scales (e.g., before and after events).
Host reserve: North Carolina
Contact: Brandon Puckett, Research Coordinator, Brandon.puckett@ncdenr.gov, (252) 838-0851
Note, this priority is only listed in the management priorities of the ‘host’ reserve (North Carolina NERR), but was co-developed with staff from the following NERRs in the Southeast (from north to south): North Inlet-Winyah Bay, ACE Basin, Sapelo Island, and GTM. Applicants interested in addressing this management priority should contact North Carolina NERR, but we anticipate the applicant potentially working with all of the Reserves listed.
Provision of natural resources is a key ecosystem service provided by coastal habitats and growing human populations along the coastlines of the southeast US and Caribbean are likely putting increasing pressure on populations of key natural resource species, but we need improved understanding of the effects of natural resource use to implement ecosystem-based management. Therefore, assessment of the ecological effects and human dimensions of natural resource use (e.g., harvest of bivalves, crustaceans, or finfish, among others) is needed for North Inlet-Winyah Bay, and could be compared among other NERRs in the SE and Caribbean.
Host reserve: North Inlet-Winyah Bay
Contact: Robert Dunn, Research Coordinator, North Inlet-Winyah Bay, robert@baruch.sc.edu, (843) 904-902
Note, this priority is only listed in the management priorities of the ‘host’ reserve (North Inlet-Winyah Bay NERR), but was co-developed with staff from the following NERRs in the Southeast and Caribbean (from north to south): North Carolina , ACE Basin, Sapelo Island, Guana Tolomato Matanzas, and Jobos Bay. Applicants interested in addressing this management priority should contact North Inlet-Winyah Bay NERR, but we anticipate the applicant potentially working with all of the Reserves listed.