The Mississippi Based RESTORE Act Center of Excellence is currently accepting proposals for both the Core Research Program and Competitive Grants Programs. All applications are due 5 p.m. Jan. 20.

Applicants are encouraged to review the MBRACE Science Plan before submitting.

The Competitive Grants Program invites applications that address critical research gaps in the north central Gulf of Mexico in two topic areas: (1) water quality and (2) oyster reefs and their sustainability. Specifically, MBRACE is seeking proposals that increasing the understanding of at least one of the following topics:

—Surface water and ground water exchange dynamics in the supratidal zone on coastal Mississippi beaches.

—Transport and fate of bacteria in Mississippi coastal systems, including source tracking and factors affecting bacterial occurrence and growth in water, beaches and/or sediment, specifically in the nearshore environment.

—Dynamics of freshwater inflow (e.g., timing, duration, quality) and associated sedimentation, urban runoff, altered salinity regimes and effects on estuarine and coastal systems, including but not limited to nutrient loading, bacterial loading, harmful algal blooms and hypoxia.

—Variables that affect the health and growth of oyster reefs in Mississippi.

—Oyster biology and ecology and parameters and locations for optimal clutch deployment and oyster seed deployment to enhance oyster production and reef sustainability.

Visit https://mbrace.usm.edu/grant-opportunities to view the full RFP. For questions, utilize the “Other Questions” Q&A section on the grant-opportunities page which directs to all members of the MBRACE directorate for response.