Grants / Department of the Interior / Geological Survey

G21AS00309: Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Californian Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

Closed Closed February 26, 2021 Opportunity G21AS00309 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with Alaska Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (G27AS00066). Status: Closes December 7, 2026 (30 days left). It is in our archive of Geological Survey notices from 2021.

• Award ceiling$50,000
• Award floor$17,000
• Total funding$50,000
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeCooperative Agreement

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to the applicants described in the notice.

• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

This financial assistance opportunity is being issued under a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program. CESU’s are partnerships that provide research, technical assistance, and education. Eligible recipients must be a participating partner of the Californian Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past U.S. Geological Survey Research and Data Collection awards averaged $557,251; this notice allows up to $50,000 per award.
• Most of the program's money (84% over five years) went to colleges and universities.
• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

The U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center (USGS-WERC) is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU Partner of the Californian Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (CESU) program in the continuing development and advancement of a wildlife immunology research program. Nearshore marine habitats worldwide are facing unprecedented challenges due to expanded commercial and industrial development, resource extraction and environmental changes, which all have the potential to significantly degrade coastal ecosystems and biological resources. Although nearshore areas in Alaska may have had fewer direct effects due to their remote nature and inaccessibility, they nevertheless are subject to impacts associated with a warming climate and potential effects of oil and gas development, tourism and harvest of marine resources. Alterations associated with increased temperatures and other stressors, have already been noted in Alaska marine waters, and continuing alterations, such as acidification, are anticipated. Commercial and industrial developments in the Alaska nearshore, including oil and gas extraction, are increasing, with the potential to contribute contaminants to the environment that can damage coastal resources. A primary lesson from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill is that low levels of hydrocarbons persisting in the environment can have a long-lasting effect on survival of exposed species. In recent work, have found differences in gene transcription results between parks and among sites in Alaska, which indicate variation in both large-scale and local environmental conditions. Changing environmental conditions in coastal ecosystems necessitate methods to assess the health of intertidal communities and facilitate management decisions to sustain these resources. Gene transcription assays will be a valuable technique because they provide early evidence of changes in physiologic status. In the conclusions of our recently published paper, monitoring nearshore ecosystem health using Pacific razor clams (Siliqua patula) as an indicator species (Bowen et al. 2020, PeerJ) we determined that further development of gene transcription methods as well as controlled laboratory exposure studies would improve our capacity to monitor for early signs of physiological impacts in razor clams and their ecosystems due to changing environmental conditions.

Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, G27AS00066, which is open now.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.