# Collaborative Research: An Integrative Investigation of Dispersal Plasticity Using a Coral Reef Fish

> **NSF 01002425DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT** · Pennsylvania State Univ University Park (PA) · $582,954

## Abstract

Many marine organisms, from corals to fishes, have complex life cycles with relatively sedentary adults and dispersive larvae. The larval phase remains one of the big unknowns in marine ecology. It involves a number of complex questions. How far do larvae disperse from their parents? What causes variation in larval dispersal distance? What are the consequences of variation in larval dispersal distance? These types of questions are being addressed using clown anemonefish (a.k.a. Nemo), using a combination of laboratory experiments, field experiments, molecular genetics, and mathematical modeling. The clown anemonefish has become a model system for investigations in marine science due to its tractability in the laboratory and in the field. The research objectives are integrated with multiple broader impact activities: undergraduates and graduate students will be trained in the field of marine ecology and are learning transferable skills in experimental design, data collection, data management, statistical modeling, and scientific communication; high school students are being provided opportunities to participate in all aspects of the scientific process, so that they might consider STEM more seriously as a career choice; a book is being written, targeting a teenage audience and presenting marine ecology research and profiling marine ecology researchers, so that the field can be better understood by the general public; and the research is to be published in popular science magazi

## Key facts

- **NSF award ID:** 2610857
- **Awardee organization:** Pennsylvania State Univ University Park (PA)
- **SAM.gov UEI:** NPM2J7MSCF61
- **PI:** John E Majoris
- **Primary program:** 01002425DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
- **All programs:** POPULATION DYNAMICS, ECCO, Coral Reefs, MARINE BIOTECHNOLOGY
- **Estimated total:** $582,954
- **Funds obligated:** $558,568
- **Transaction type:** Standard Grant
- **Period:** 10/01/2025 → 09/30/2027

## Primary source

NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2610857

## Citation

> US National Science Foundation, Award 2610857, Collaborative Research: An Integrative Investigation of Dispersal Plasticity Using a Coral Reef Fish. Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-12 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nsf/2610857. Licensed CC0.

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