Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Rivers CESU | G20AS00128

Opportunity Information: Apply for G20AS00128

The Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Rivers CESU grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G20AS00128) is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) discretionary funding call under the Department of the Interior. It is structured as a cooperative agreement, meaning the project is expected to involve substantial collaboration with the federal sponsor rather than operating as a hands-off grant. The work falls under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category (CFDA 15.808) and is limited to eligible CESU partners, with eligibility clarified through the opportunitys additional eligibility information.

At its core, the opportunity supports applied research aimed at improving waterfowl harvest management by anticipating how climate change and land-use change will affect waterfowl population dynamics in the future. The project is framed as a continuation and expansion of earlier scientific efforts that connected climate projections to mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) demographic rates in the midcontinent population, referencing prior studies by Zhao and colleagues (2016, 2018, 2019). Building on that foundation, the USGS is seeking forward-looking forecasts that translate long-range climate and land-use trajectories into expectations about habitat conditions and, ultimately, bird population responses. The intent is to produce information that is directly usable for decision-making around harvest regulations, rather than purely descriptive ecological analysis.

A major focal area is the Prairie Pothole Region, a landscape that is critically important for North American waterfowl breeding and is highly sensitive to shifts in precipitation patterns, temperature, drought cycles, and land conversion. The project calls for forecasts of habitat conditions in this region over roughly the next century. In practice, that implies using climate projections and land-use change scenarios to estimate future habitat availability and quality, which can then be linked to demographic outcomes such as survival and reproduction for key species like mallards. The long planning horizon signals that the USGS is interested in understanding not only near-term variability but also directional change, thresholds, and long-run risk to habitat-driven recruitment and population stability.

In addition to the Prairie Pothole work on mallards, the opportunity includes a second research component focused on Atlantic Population Canada geese. Specifically, the USGS is seeking identification of climate variables that reliably predict population dynamics for this goose population, along with forecasts based on those variables. This piece emphasizes statistical or mechanistic identification of which climate indicators matter most (for example, variables tied to winter severity, breeding-season conditions, or timing of spring), and then using those relationships to project potential future dynamics under changing climate conditions. The deliverable is not just correlation, but predictive value that can be operationalized in management models.

A defining feature of this opportunity is how the research is intended to be used. The outputs will be integrated with harvest management models being developed at PWRC (Patuxent Wildlife Research Center). That integration is meant to help the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service evaluate the value of time-dependent harvest strategies, in other words, harvest policies that adapt over time as environmental conditions and population responses shift. By feeding climate- and land-use-informed forecasts into decision frameworks, the project is meant to improve the ability of managers to weigh tradeoffs, anticipate future constraints, and design harvest regulations that remain effective under nonstationary environmental conditions.

In terms of funding and logistics, the opportunity anticipated a single award with an award ceiling of $46,200. The posting was created July 29, 2020, with an original closing date of August 14, 2020. Overall, it is a small, targeted research award aimed at producing management-relevant forecasts and decision-support inputs at the intersection of climate science, habitat modeling, and wildlife population management for waterfowl.

• 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 Rivers 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 29, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 14, 2020. (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 $46,200.00 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 G20AS00128

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