Synopsis

CAMEO, or Comparative Analysis of Marine Ecosystem Organization, is one of the near-term priorities identified in the Ocean Research Priorities Plan prepared by the National Science and Technology Council’s Joint Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology .  The purpose of CAMEO is to strengthen the fundamental scientific basis for an ecosystem approach to the stewardship of our ocean and coastal living marine resources and ecosystems. The program will support research to understand complex dynamics controlling productivity, behavior, population connectivity, climate variability and anthropogenic pressures associated with living marine resources and critical habitats. CAMEO research will employ the use of a diverse array of ecosystem models, comparative analyses of managed and unmanaged areas, and ecosystem-scale mapping that can form a basis for future forecasting and decision support.

The program will be implemented through a partnership between NOAA-National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and NSF’s Division of Ocean Sciences. NOAA NMFS released the first call for proposals in March 2008. A total of up to $2 million from the agencies will be available for initial 1-2 year projects; all proposals should be submitted to the NOAA call using Grants.gov.  This is the first of a series of CAMEO opportunities for research to be announced over the next several years.

Initial Program Priorities

This initial funding opportunity is intended to build the foundation for future CAMEO research by supporting the development research tools and strategic approaches.   The following types of proposals are solicited:

• Development of strategies and methodologies for comparative analyses, including modeling frameworks that can be applied consistently across spatial scales and ecosystem, and that facilitate the design of decision support tools for marine populations, ecosystem and habitats. This might be accomplished through individual research projects and/or workshops.
• Modeling studies focused on specific concepts, such as connectivity, resilience or thresholds. In intent of such studies should be to unify comparative analyses and to generalize some of the key scientific questions to be addressed by comparative analyses.
• Retrospective studies that analyze, re-analyze or synthesize existing information (historic, time-series, ongoing program, etc.) using a comparative approach.
• Short-tem empirical studies based around existing or proposed observation systems designed to "demonstrate" how such a system could be leverages towards ongoing comparisons. Such studies might utilize marine protected areas which are constrained within coastal observation systems.
• Short-term (a year or less) pilot projects to allow groups of investigators to organize and design larger programs. These pilot efforts can be evaluated for their potential to scale up into larger programs with further design and organization. It is expected that results will be publishable in peer-review literature.

Note: Investigators who ultimately have proposals selected for NSF funding will be informed of additional submission requirements before awards can be made.

Contacts