“There’s a lot to be said for large grants,” Dr. Arthur said, but “often they’re fairly limiting in what they allow you to do.” Small grants, he said, offer more freedom, but can still be transformative. “They’ve been change points in the amount we’ve been able to engage in the ecology of these reefs.”

The fund has also created a network of like-minded people. Researchers working on protecting similar species in different places have learned from one another by connecting through the program, Ms. Stephenson said. She often helps researchers apply for larger grants elsewhere. When grantees come to the United States, she brings them to speak to audiences at the aquarium.

Ms. Stephenson says her small grants nourish a huge amount of work from researchers committed to protecting the oceans. Some of the grantees have stared down bandits on her time. They’ve been attacked by biting sand flies. They’ve spent days seeking out old fishermen who hold the only memories of certain species and what precipitated their decline.

Gill Braulik, a dolphin expert based in Tanzania, used a $5,000 grant from the aquarium in 2005 to conduct the first assessment of cetaceans in Iran, at a time when few others would sponsor work in the politically isolated nation. “I don’t think it would have happened with any other organization,” she said.