Bering Ecosystem Study: Community Based Social Science Research (CSS-BEST)

This solicitation seeks proposals focused on the ecosystem of the eastern continental shelf of the Bering Sea (see the Program  Description section for details) and designed to develop understanding of  the effects of a varying sea-ice cover on the shelf ecosystem, to project the potential changes in response to anticipated climate variations on decadal time scales, and to assess the vulnerability and sustainability of the local communities to such changes. Particular emphasis should be placed on development of proposals that clearly and significantly contribute to an ecosystem level understanding of the Eastern Bering Sea shelf.  This solicitation draws upon the community planning embodied in the Bering Ecosystem Study Science Plan (http://www.arcus.org/Bering/reports/downloads/BEST_Science_Plan.pdf), Sustaining the Bering Ecosystem: a Social Sciences Plan (http://www.arcus.org/Bering/reports/downloads/HBEST_Science_Plan.pdf), and the Implementation Plan for the Bering Ecosystem Study (BEST) (http://www.arcus.org/Bering/reports/downloads/BEST_Implementation_Plan.pdf); however, it should not be considered the full implementation of or confined only to activities described in any of these plans. 

NSF will coordinate this solicitation, and the resulting science, with the North Pacific Research Board’s (NPRB) Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Program (www.nprb.org/research/bsierp_intro.htm).  The synergies developed through this partnership will allow support for a comprehensive vertically-integrated investigation of the ecosystem of the eastern continental shelf of the Bering Sea.  Proposals funded by each organization will be expected to mesh smoothly to produce a seamless, coordinated research program.