Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Lakes Northern Forests CESU | G20AS00022

Opportunity Information: Apply for G20AS00022

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), within the Department of the Interior, announced a discretionary research funding opportunity through the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) network under the Great Lakes Northern Forests CESU. The project is administered by the USGS Great Lakes Science Center and is intended to support science and technology research and development focused on invasive dreissenid mussels (commonly including zebra and quagga mussels). The core aim is to fund research that builds predictive models capable of estimating where these mussels are likely to occur in lakes and in what quantities, using habitat characteristics and broader ecosystem information as the main inputs. In practical terms, the work is meant to move beyond simply documenting mussel presence and toward forecasting distribution patterns and abundance based on measurable environmental drivers.

The opportunity was offered as a cooperative agreement, which typically means USGS expects to have substantial involvement during the project rather than simply issuing a grant with minimal interaction. That kind of arrangement often includes collaboration on study design, access to agency data or expertise, coordination on deliverables, and regular communication to ensure the research products align with management and scientific needs. The funding ceiling for the single anticipated award was $62,133, with one award expected. The funding opportunity number is G20AS00022, and it was posted on November 25, 2019, with an original application deadline of December 10, 2019.

Eligibility was limited to CESU partners, rather than being broadly open to all organizations. The listing identifies eligible applicants as "Others" with clarification in the opportunity text, which is common for CESU opportunities because they are restricted to organizations that are already formal partners in the designated CESU region. In effect, this targets a specific community of universities, nonprofits, and other partner institutions that participate in the CESU framework and can quickly engage in applied research collaborations with federal scientists.

From a research perspective, the deliverable implied by the description is a set of predictive modeling tools or model outputs that link dreissenid mussel distribution and abundance to lake habitat and ecosystem variables. "Habitat and other ecosystem information" can encompass physical and chemical lake characteristics and landscape context, such as substrate type, depth profiles, temperature regimes, calcium concentrations, productivity indicators, water clarity, hydrodynamics, watershed land use, connectivity to invaded waters, and other factors known to influence dreissenid establishment and growth. The emphasis on predictive models suggests outputs that can support decision-making, such as identifying lakes at higher risk of invasion or high-density mussel populations, prioritizing monitoring and prevention resources, and anticipating ecological impacts.

Overall, this funding opportunity was a focused, relatively small, single-award cooperative agreement intended to produce applied, management-relevant science: predictive models that help explain and forecast dreissenid mussel presence and abundance across lakes, grounded in habitat and ecosystem data and developed in collaboration with USGS scientists at the Great Lakes Science Center.

• The Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Lakes Northern Forests CESU" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.808.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 25, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 10, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $62,133.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for G20AS00022

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