Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Lakes Northern Forests CESU | G17AS00016

Opportunity Information: Apply for G17AS00016

The Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) opportunity titled "Great Lakes Northern Forests CESU" (Funding Opportunity Number G17AS00016) is a US Geological Survey (USGS) funding call issued through the Department of the Interior. Managed by the USGS John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, it supports science and technology research focused on how storm events affect freshwater lake ecosystems, with a particular emphasis on changes to habitat conditions and the structure and diversity of phytoplankton communities. The award is offered as a cooperative agreement, meaning the project is expected to involve substantial collaboration with the federal partner rather than operating as a hands-off grant.

The core goal of the project is to use existing long-term monitoring records and high-frequency lake datasets from around the world to better understand what storms do to lake water columns and how those disturbances reshape phytoplankton assemblages. Rather than collecting entirely new field data, the work centers on gathering, harmonizing, and standardizing large and diverse datasets so they can be analyzed together. This includes pulling biological data (phytoplankton composition, abundance, diversity), physical data (temperature profiles, stratification and mixing patterns, light climate, turbulence proxies), chemical data (nutrients, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll-a and related indicators), and geographical/contextual data (lake morphometry, location, watershed features, climate context) from USGS sources and other available repositories. A major deliverable is making these compiled datasets evaluation-ready and publishable so they can support future research beyond the immediate project.

On the analysis side, the funded work is expected to develop a clear analytical framework that can detect and compare storm impacts across many lakes and monitoring programs. The opportunity explicitly highlights multivariate time-series approaches and meta-analysis as key tools. In practice, that means methods capable of handling community composition data through time, linking biological responses to changes in physical lake state, and synthesizing effects across systems to find general patterns rather than single-lake anecdotes. The analyses are intended to pinpoint the conditions under which storm-driven disturbances to the water column (for example, sudden mixing of stratified waters, altered nutrient distribution, resuspension, or changes in light conditions) change phytoplankton diversity and tilt the community toward certain functional groups or taxa. It also emphasizes identifying mechanisms: not just observing that the community changed after storms, but clarifying why, such as whether storms favor fast-growing opportunists, species tolerant of low light, buoyant cyanobacteria, or assemblages adapted to frequent mixing.

Another major theme is resilience and reassembly. The project aims to characterize how phytoplankton communities shift relative to measurable metrics of lake physical states, and to determine when storms trigger a transition to a new community configuration versus when the system rebounds to a prior state. That includes exploring pathways that produce novel assemblages, as well as traits or environmental contexts that promote stability and resistance to disturbance. The broader applied value of this knowledge is tied to lake trophic state and water quality forecasting, especially because storm events can influence nutrient dynamics and bloom potential. Findings from the synthesis may help agencies and lake managers better anticipate when storm patterns could push lakes toward conditions that increase the likelihood of harmful algal blooms.

Administratively, the opportunity was created on November 17, 2016, with an original closing date of December 2, 2016. It anticipated a single award with a maximum (ceiling) funding level of $33,819. The listed CFDA number is 15.808, and eligibility is described as "Others" with additional eligibility details referenced in the full announcement. Overall, the call is best understood as a targeted, collaborative synthesis project: assemble and publish standardized multi-source lake datasets, build a robust statistical framework for storm-response inference, and produce generalizable insights into how storms restructure phytoplankton communities and potentially shift lakes toward bloom-prone conditions.

• The Department of the Interior, 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 17, 2016.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 02, 2016. (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 $33,819.00 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 G17AS00016

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