Mote Marine Laboratory awarded research grant

On Wednesday, Mote Marine Laboratory received a grant that will continue a thriving partnership with Israeli researchers.

The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee awarded an $18,000 grant to connect marine scientists in Israel with Mote to study difficult challenges currently faced by our oceans. It will help fund travel and research partnerships between the two groups on necessary studies like ocean acidification, a dangerous threat to coral reefs.

This is the second grant given by the Jewish Federation to back the Mote-Israel Cooperative Program, an organization created in 2011 to support research that benefits the marine environments of both nations.

The partnership already boasts significant scientific successes.

Last year, Mote and the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat, Israel, held an international workshop where researchers from six nations discussed ocean acidification and climate change.

In the spring, Interuniversity Institute leaders will join Mote in signing a memorandum to pursue further support for faculty and student travel between Israel and Mote.