Marine Conservation Science
Through the Ecosystem and Oceans Science Contribution Program, we provide funding opportunities for:
- science-based activities
- research in support of marine conservation efforts
Funded projects will advance the science needed for management decisions by:
- developing innovative or practical non-invasive tools and techniques to monitor marine conservation areas
- developing models, tools and techniques to address gaps in the understanding of existing or potential impacts of stressors in and around marine conservation areas, including cumulative effects and climate change
- developing monitoring guidance, plans and methods to:
- address data and knowledge gaps in marine conservation areas
- help assess effectiveness against conservation objectives
- building scientific capacity to enable Indigenous leadership and participation in marine conservation efforts
- supporting participatory science monitoring activities and programs in marine conservation areas
Marine Conservation Science projects
| Funding recipient | Project title | Project description | Years | Funding amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society | Scientific data collection from coastal sites in Nova Scotia identified as priority sites for Canada's marine conservation targets | This project will collect baseline scientific data from coastal sites in Nova Scotia that have been prioritized for potential Marine Protected Area establishment. | 2022-2024 | $293,250 |
| Cape Breton University | Modelling Ecological Connectivity among Canada's Atlantic Marine Protected Areas during the Anthropocene | This project aims to provide ecosystem-scale research products that support the planning, implementation, monitoring and governance of Marine Protected Areas in Canada (using the East Coast Shelf as a case study). | 2022-2025 | $296,132 |
| Huntsman Marine Science Centre | Establishing a foundation for molecular monitoring of Marine Protected Areas in the Canadian Atlantic | This project aims to create a curated reference barcode library of taxonomically verified DNA barcodes for Atlantic Canadian marine invertebrate species in the Bay of Fundy region. | 2022-2025 | $299,595 |
| Kitasoo Xai'xais Indian Band | Science-based approach to the adaptive management of the proposed Gitdisdzu Lugyeks (Kitasu Bay) Marine Protected Area | This project furthers survey work to establish baseline information for a site of ecological and cultural importance that has been proposed as a potential Marine Protected Area through the Marine Protected Area planning processes in the Northern Shelf Bioregion in British Columbia. | 2022-2025 | $180,096 |
| Makeway Charitable Society | Regional Kelp Monitoring on the North Pacific Coast: A Community-Based Monitoring Initiative to Inform Fisheries Habitat Conservation, Climate Resilience and Marine Spatial Planning | This project focuses on incorporating local marine management priorities in the design of monitoring programs, the development of new tools and use of new technologies to couple local and sub-regional monitoring efforts, the sharing of training strategies and methodologies developed through this work, and a novel analysis of kelp habitat. | 2022-2025 | $999,350 |
| Miawpukek First Nation | Miawpukek First Nation science capacity and data collection in South Coast Newfoundland in support of National Marine Conservation Targets | This project aims to build scientific capacity for Miawpukek First Nation to collect marine science data. This enhanced capacity will enable data collection in the area, and in other culturally significant areas, to aid in marine planning and conservation decision-making as well as monitoring. | 2022-2024 | $293,250 |
| Oceans North | Monitoring and tracking marine mammals and sharks in Canada's Arctic: Merging Indigenous knowledge systems and western science for better management of marine protected areas | This project will use acoustics, tagging and genetics to better understand the distribution and movement patterns of migratory species with a focus on areas proposed for protection. This information will increase baseline data on sharks, with a focus on Greenland sarks in Nunavut and Nunatsiavut. | 2022-2024 | $321,261 |
| Simon Fraser University | Sound Management: Integrating Marine Bioacoustics into Habitat Protection and Spatial Planning | This project will develop a novel noise pollution map for British Columbia's coast that is ecologically relevant, spatially accurate and temporally up to date, which will provide an evidence-based decision framework to effectively evaluate and mitigate the ecological impacts of marine noise and help integrate ocean noise management into conservation planning. | 2022-2025 | $201,250 |
| Spencer Bay Hunters & Trappers Association | Monitoring of shipping noise and marine mammals in the Aviqtuuq Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area near Taloyoak, Nunavut | This project will build the scientific capacity of the Spence Bay Hunters and Trappers Association to research and monitor the marine soundscape of Aviqtuuq (the Boothia Peninsula), a proposed Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area. | 2022-2025 | $508,070 |
| St. Frances Xavier University | Stability and conservation of barrier beach systems associated with estuaries in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence | This project will collect baseline data along the coast of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, by conducting beach and eelgrass habitat drone surveys. | 2022-2025 | $215,373 |
| University of Alberta | Forecasting and mitigating the risk from invasive European green crab (Carcinus maenas) in Pacific Canada's marine protected areas | This project will develop models for risk assessment and mitigation of the European green crab invasion under current and future climate change scenarios within Marine Protected Areas in the Pacific. | 2022-2025 | $266,340 |
| University of Alberta | Understanding the bio-physical processes impacting the evolution of Tallurutiup Imanga and Pikialasorsuaq in a warming climate | This project aims to build capacity for regional data collection, and to address scientific knowledge gaps for Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area and Pikialasorsuaq/Savarjuaq marine conservation areas. | 2022-2025 | $708,035 |
| University of British Columbia | Putting fjord biodiversity on the map for British Columbia conservation planning | This project will provide essential baseline information on fjord biodiversity in British Columbia through sampling of environmental DNA, that will raise awareness of the role of fjords as critical habitats and refugia, and guide conservation needs and strategies, including marine spatial planning. | 2022-2025 | $286,925 |
| University of British Columbia | Projecting the impacts of changing species biogeography on marine spatial planning in the Canadian Arctic | This project will use modelling tools to analyze climate-ocean modelling outputs with biogeographical data of marine species to project future changes in species distribution, abundance and community structure in the Arctic Ocean. | 2022-2025 | $348,451 |
| University of Manitoba | Ikirassaaluit Qikiqtaimi (Polynyas of the Belcher Islands): A proposal to support marine conservation efforts for the Qikiqtait | This project will develop monitoring strategies, build on local capacity, develop new baseline knowledge and explore the cumulative impacts of climate change and multiple environmental stressors to an ecosystem of regional significance. | 2022-2025 | $982,560 |
| University of Windsor | Towards assessing the effectiveness of Arctic conservation areas for protecting vulnerable species and supporting fisheries sustainability | The overarching objective of the project is to assess the use of Arctic marine conservation areas by commercially, ecologically and culturally significant species. to assess their effectiveness for species conservation, fisheries sustainability and ecosystem functioning in the context of a changing climate. | 2022-2025 | $1,001,703 |
| World Wildlife Fund Canada | Building capacity within Indigenous communities to develop guidance and tools to map and monitor coastal blue carbon habitats supporting marine conservation goals in Newfoundland and Labrador | This project will help advance knowledge on coastal blue carbon habitats (through mapping, sampling, and monitoring of eelgrass and kelp habitats) in Newfoundland and Labrador to support protection of these habitats. | 2022-2024 | $300,000 |
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