Opportunity Information: Apply for G18AS00092
The Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G18AS00092) is a US Geological Survey (USGS) funding call, administered through the Department of the Interior and led by the USGS Fort Collins Science Center. It is set up as a discretionary award using a cooperative agreement, which typically means the work is collaborative and the federal scientists may have substantial involvement in shaping or supporting the project as it proceeds. The program sits within the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category (CFDA 15.808) and is designed to support research that helps land and resource managers understand and respond to major environmental change.
The core purpose of the award is to catalyze assessment and synthesis of how disturbance and global change are affecting western mountain ecosystems, with a clear emphasis on western national parks and specifically including Rocky Mountain National Park. Rather than focusing on a single narrow experiment, the language emphasizes pulling together evidence (assessment and synthesis) to build an integrated understanding across multiple ecosystem components. The intent is to generate actionable scientific insights on how warming, atmospheric deposition, and disturbance processes are reshaping soils, waters, forests, and snow-driven hydrology in mountain landscapes.
The opportunity highlights four main research questions. First, it calls for work on how warming and nitrogen deposition influence soil microbes and food webs, pointing to interest in belowground ecological processes that control nutrient cycling and the structure of soil-based trophic interactions. Second, it seeks synthesis on how alpine lakes are changing as they warm and as they receive nitrogen and phosphorus inputs, including phosphorus delivered via dust deposition, and how those drivers alter lake productivity, food webs, and trophic status (for example, shifts toward greater biological production or changes in nutrient limitation). Third, it targets montane and subalpine forest responses to warming and disturbance, while also explicitly bringing in the role of forest management strategies, signaling a need to connect climate-driven change with practical management choices and outcomes. Fourth, it focuses on snow persistence across elevation zones and how differences in snow duration and melt timing influence the production of streamflow across the semi-arid western United States, tying mountain snow dynamics directly to downstream water availability.
In terms of basic logistics, the announcement was created July 31, 2018, with an original closing date of August 14, 2018. The anticipated funding level is relatively targeted: one expected award with an award ceiling of $113,648. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with further clarification referenced in the full notice under an additional eligibility section, which is common for CESU opportunities that may prioritize CESU network members or specific partner types depending on the agreement structure.
Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as a focused, single-award effort to advance integrated understanding of climate and deposition impacts in western mountain systems, with a strong national park management relevance. It aims to connect mechanistic ecological change (microbes, food webs, forest dynamics, lake trophic conditions) with large-scale drivers (warming, nutrient and dust deposition, disturbance) and with hydrologic consequences (snow persistence and streamflow), producing synthesized knowledge that can inform monitoring, adaptation, and management decisions in Rocky Mountain and other western park landscapes.Apply for G18AS00092
- 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, Rocky Mountain 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 Jul 31, 2018.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 14, 2018. (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 $113,648.00 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).
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is this funding opportunity?
This opportunity is the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU), Rocky Mountain CESU opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G18AS00092). It is a US Geological Survey (USGS) funding call administered through the Department of the Interior and led by the USGS Fort Collins Science Center.
Which agency is offering and administering the award?
The funding call is from the USGS (within the Department of the Interior). The opportunity is led by the USGS Fort Collins Science Center.
What type of award is expected?
The announcement describes a discretionary award using a cooperative agreement.
What does it mean that this is a cooperative agreement?
A cooperative agreement typically indicates a collaborative approach, where federal scientists may have substantial involvement in shaping or supporting the project as it proceeds.
What is the main purpose of this opportunity?
The core purpose is to catalyze assessment and synthesis of how disturbance and global change are affecting western mountain ecosystems, with a clear emphasis on western national parks and specifically including Rocky Mountain National Park.
Is this opportunity focused on a single experiment or something broader?
The language emphasizes assessment and synthesis rather than a single narrow experiment. The intent is to pull together evidence to build an integrated understanding across multiple ecosystem components.
What kinds of environmental drivers are emphasized in this funding call?
The opportunity highlights warming, atmospheric deposition (including nitrogen and phosphorus inputs), dust deposition (as a phosphorus delivery mechanism), and disturbance processes as major drivers reshaping western mountain ecosystems.
Which ecosystem components are specifically mentioned?
The opportunity explicitly mentions soils, waters, forests, and snow-driven hydrology in mountain landscapes, and it connects those components to disturbance and global change.
What are the main research questions or topic areas highlighted?
The opportunity highlights four main research questions: (1) warming and nitrogen deposition effects on soil microbes and food webs; (2) alpine lake changes due to warming and nutrient inputs, including phosphorus via dust deposition, and resulting changes in productivity and food webs; (3) montane and subalpine forest responses to warming and disturbance, including the role of forest management strategies; and (4) snow persistence across elevation zones and how snow duration and melt timing affect streamflow production across the semi-arid western United States.
What is the focus of the soil-related research question?
The soil-focused question calls for work on how warming and nitrogen deposition influence soil microbes and food webs, reflecting interest in belowground ecological processes that control nutrient cycling and the structure of soil-based trophic interactions.
What is the focus of the alpine lakes research question?
The alpine lakes question seeks synthesis on how alpine lakes are changing as they warm and receive nitrogen and phosphorus inputs, including phosphorus delivered via dust deposition. It also asks how those drivers affect lake productivity, food webs, and trophic status, including potential shifts toward greater biological production or changes in nutrient limitation.
Does the opportunity mention phosphorus delivered by dust deposition?
Yes. The opportunity specifically includes phosphorus delivered via dust deposition as part of the nutrient inputs affecting alpine lakes.
What is meant by changes in lake trophic status in this opportunity?
The opportunity points to shifts in lake productivity and nutrient limitation (for example, movement toward greater biological production or altered nutrient constraints) as part of how trophic status may change.
What is the focus of the forest-related research question?
The forest question targets montane and subalpine forest responses to warming and disturbance and explicitly includes the role of forest management strategies, signaling an interest in connecting climate-driven change with practical management choices and outcomes.
Does this opportunity connect research to management strategies?
Yes. The forest component explicitly brings in forest management strategies, and the overall framing emphasizes actionable scientific insights that can inform monitoring, adaptation, and management decisions in national park landscapes.
What is the focus of the snow and hydrology research question?
The snow-focused question looks at snow persistence across elevation zones and how differences in snow duration and melt timing influence streamflow production across the semi-arid western United States, linking mountain snow dynamics to downstream water availability.
Which geographic areas are emphasized?
The opportunity emphasizes western mountain ecosystems and western national parks, specifically including Rocky Mountain National Park. It also references streamflow implications across the semi-arid western United States.
What program category and CFDA number are associated with this opportunity?
The opportunity sits within the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category and lists CFDA 15.808.
How many awards are expected under this opportunity?
The announcement anticipates one expected award.
What is the maximum funding amount (award ceiling)?
The award ceiling listed is $113,648.
When was the announcement created?
The announcement was created on July 31, 2018.
What was the original closing date?
The original closing date was August 14, 2018.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with additional eligibility details referenced in the full notice under an additional eligibility section.
Does the notice suggest any special eligibility considerations because it is a CESU opportunity?
Yes. The description notes that CESU opportunities commonly reference additional eligibility details in the full notice and may prioritize CESU network members or specific partner types depending on the agreement structure.
What kind of outcomes is the opportunity aiming for?
The opportunity aims to produce synthesized, integrated, and actionable scientific insights about how warming, deposition, and disturbance are reshaping mountain ecosystems and hydrology, with relevance to national park management, monitoring, adaptation, and decision-making.
How does the opportunity link ecology to water resources?
It explicitly ties snow persistence, melt timing, and elevation-zone differences to streamflow production across the semi-arid western United States, connecting mountain snow dynamics to downstream water availability.
Is the emphasis more on new data collection or on synthesis of existing evidence?
Based on the language provided, the emphasis is on assessment and synthesis to integrate evidence across ecosystem components, rather than on a single narrow experiment.
Why is Rocky Mountain National Park specifically mentioned?
The opportunity places a clear emphasis on western national parks and specifically includes Rocky Mountain National Park as a focal area for the integrated understanding the project is intended to support.
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| Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Gulf Coast CESU Apply for G18AS00090 Funding Number: G18AS00090 Agency: Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $54,844 |
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| Cooperative Ecoystem Studies Unit, Desert Southwest CESU Apply for G18AS00088 Funding Number: G18AS00088 Agency: Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $307,000 |
| Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Lakes Northern Forests CESU Apply for G18AS00087 Funding Number: G18AS00087 Agency: Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $117,500 |
| Cooperative Ecosystem Stuides Unit, Pacific Northwest CESU Apply for G18AS00086 Funding Number: G18AS00086 Agency: Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $183,142 |
| Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Californian CESU Apply for G18AS00084 Funding Number: G18AS00084 Agency: Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $75,000 |
| Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Basin CESU Apply for G18AS00105 Funding Number: G18AS00105 Agency: Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $345,000 |
| Center Advanced Decision Support for Water and Environmental Systems Apply for BOR PN 18 N032 Funding Number: BOR PN 18 N032 Agency: Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $160,000 |
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| SOCIOLOGY PROGRAM - Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Awards Apply for 18 577 Funding Number: 18 577 Agency: National Science Foundation Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| WINDOWS ON THE UNIVERSE: THE ERA OF MULTI-MESSENGER ASTROPHYSICS Apply for PD 18 5115 Funding Number: PD 18 5115 Agency: National Science Foundation Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Appendix A: NASA Research and Technology Development to Support Crew Health and Performance in Space Exploration Missions Apply for 80JSC018N0001 FLAGSHIP Funding Number: 80JSC018N0001 FLAGSHIP Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA Johnson Space Center Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $1,800,000 |
| Appendix B: NASA Human Research Program Omnibus Opportunity Apply for 80JSC018N0001 OMNIBUS Funding Number: 80JSC018N0001 OMNIBUS Agency: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA Johnson Space Center Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $150,000 |
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| Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Plains CESU Apply for G18AS00094 Funding Number: G18AS00094 Agency: Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $85,000 |
| Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Rivers CESU Apply for G18AS00120 Funding Number: G18AS00120 Agency: Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $40,453 |
| Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast CESU Apply for G18AS00117 Funding Number: G18AS00117 Agency: Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $35,000 |
| A Survey of the Fauna of Seepage Springs in National Capital Parks-East (NACE) Apply for P18AS00496 Funding Number: P18AS00496 Agency: Department of the Interior, National Park Service Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $68,751 |
| Fort Huachuca Environmental Training Apply for W9124A 18 0001 Funding Number: W9124A 18 0001 Agency: Department of Defense, ACC-APG-Fort Huachuca Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $532,102 |
| Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU Apply for G18AS00113 Funding Number: G18AS00113 Agency: Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $72,436 |
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