Project Grant N000142312462

The National Marine Mammal Foundation, Inc. was awarded a $207,884 Project Grant from the Department of the Navy Secretary of the Navy Office of Naval Research to support the continued development of an immunological toolkit and profile for bottlenose dolphins. The grant is funded through the Basic and Applied Scientific Research program (CFDA 12.300), which aims to support research with potential to improve naval operations and train future scientists, through May 31, 2026. Under this award,...

This $418,546 Project Grant awarded by the National Science Foundation's Biological Sciences program supports collaborative research to investigate oxygen transport mechanisms in elite diving mammals. The research team from San Diego State University will evaluate and model in vivo oxygen delivery in California sea lions and bottlenose dolphins, elucidate the biochemical regulation of oxygen off-loading in these species, and examine oxygen storage and diffusion in their skeletal muscle. This...

This $295,435 federal Project Grant award from the Department of the Navy's Office of Naval Research (ONR) under the Basic and Applied Scientific Research program (CFDA 12.300) will fund research to measure the gains of pinniped and cetacean capture enrichment for eDNA-based monitoring. The award to the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) began on August 1, 2024 and will run through January 31, 2027. The research will involve developing specialized methodologies, conducting field...

The Department of the Navy's Office of Naval Research awarded a $482,933 Project Grant under the Basic and Applied Scientific Research program (CFDA 12.300) to the Foundation for Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research (Metr) to develop new generation consolidated satellite tags for cetaceans. The award period runs from August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2027. Metr, a non-profit organization specializing in marine mammal research, will use the grant funding to advance the development of improved satellite...

This three-year, $551,413 National Science Foundation project grant supports research into the origin of large brains in cetaceans. Funded under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050), the award to Northeast Ohio Medical University will analyze fossil collections to identify factors contributing to brain size expansion in early whales. Researchers will test the hypothesis that the acquisition of echolocation led to increases in brain size by studying changes in ear shape over time. They will also...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $1,363,205 Project Grant under its Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) to the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) to conduct collaborative research on oxygen transport mechanisms in elite diving mammals. The project aims to investigate differences in how oxygen is delivered to skeletal muscles in pinnipeds (e.g., sea lions) versus cetaceans (e.g., dolphins) during long-duration dives. The research team will evaluate in vivo oxygen...

This National Science Foundation project grant of $207,000 supports research and education activities from August 1, 2023 to July 31, 2026 under the Biological Sciences federal grant program (CFDA 47.074). The grant recipient will investigate cetacean morbillivirus transmission in the Pacific Basin through serology testing of 20 Hawaiian cetacean species to assess exposure rates. Social network analysis of two decades of cetacean sighting data will document mixed-species interactions to simulate...

This three-year National Science Foundation project grant award of $240,000 will fund research investigating physiological and cellular aging in grey seals. The award is part of the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074), which supports basic biological research to advance scientific knowledge and address major challenges. Specifically, the postdoctoral fellow will analyze telomere length dynamics in seals to evaluate the individual quality hypothesis, which posits some individuals show...

This Cooperative Agreement award of $132,078 from the Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) supports diagnostic testing services for the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Network and Unusual Mortality Events through July 31, 2022. Funded under NOAA's Marine Mammal Data Program (MMDP), the award recipient University of California Davis will provide diagnostic testing to support the MMDP's mission of collecting and analyzing information on marine mammals...

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) awarded a $625,554 Project Grant under the Basic and Applied Scientific Research program (CFDA 12.300) to the Foundation for Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research (Metr) to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the demographics and behavior of Cuvier's beaked whales at Guadalupe Island, Mexico. This multi-year research effort, with a performance period from July 2024 to December 2028, aims to improve understanding of this species in an undisturbed area. The...