Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of Vermont & State Agricultural College received a $1.1 million Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Office of Integrative Activities under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) awarded September 1, 2026, with completion targeted for August 31, 2029. The project develops an integrated predictive framework for assessing intertidal ecosystem resilience along the Pacific Coast by combining field studies, genomic analysis, physiological performance assays, and ecological modeling. Using purple sea urchins and other intertidal species as model organisms, the research validates relationships between genomic offset predictions and realized fitness outcomes across environmental gradients, ultimately producing tools and methodologies to forecast how coastal ecosystems respond to environmental stressors such as ocean warming, altered upwelling dynamics, and species distribution shifts.

Beyond core research deliverables, the award encompasses significant workforce development and public engagement components. The project provides hands-on training for undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers; develops K-12 outreach activities; and disseminates findings through conferences and applications to inform conservation and management practices for rocky intertidal ecosystems that support commercial fisheries, tourism, and regional biodiversity across U.S. coastal communities.