This proposal requests funding for a US-France-UK workshop to be held in Nantes, France, during the spring of 2006 on modeling physical-biological interactions during the early-life history of fish. The workshop will include sessions on six research topics, a poster session, discussions of future research directions, and an entire day devoted to developing collaborative research plans. The chairs of the workshop are Elizabeth North (University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science) who is the Principal Investigator on the proposal, Alejandro Gallego (Fisheries Research Services, Aberdeen, UK), and Pierre Petitgas (IFREMER centre de Nantes, France.)
Intellectual Merit The workshop will bring together researchers from several countries whose joint work will produce new models contributing to improved understanding of marine ecosystems. The group of senior researchers and junior scientists will focus on the following aspects of modeling: initial conditions, small-scale processes, mesoscale transport processes, and biological processes.
Broader Impacts Support is provided for 5 junior researchers and 5 graduate students in this proposal, thus helping to develop a more globally engaged science workforce. This proposal leverages French support from IFREMER. Development of international collaborative research proposals and the development of a web document sketching a future research agenda will be key outcomes of the workshop.
