Grants / Department of the Interior / Geological Survey

G21AS00552: Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Chesapeake Watershed Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

Closed Closed July 7, 2021 Opportunity G21AS00552 ☆ 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$240,000
• Award floor$80,000
• 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 Chesapeake Watershed Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program. one post-doc or graduate-student to serve as Principle Investigator. Demonstrated experience in field collections for both plants and aquatic species. Demonstrated knowledge of the Illumina MiSeq and next-generation sequencing. Experience using R and other software for bioinformatics of high throughput sequence data and data visualization (for example: FASTQC, ggplot2, CLC Genomics Workbench) to tabulate, organize, summarize, and analyze and present genetic or genomic data is required. Experience with Linux and processing genomic sequence data is beneficial but not required. Familiarity with issues associated with sampling and extracting a wide variety of samples is preferred. Knowledge of issues associated diet studies, invasive aquatic species, honey bees or coral. Publication of at least one lead author manuscript is desired as well as experience working within a dynamic, multidisciplinary teams both in the field and in laboratories is a plus.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past U.S. Geological Survey Research and Data Collection awards averaged $557,251; this notice allows up to $240,000 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 USGS is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in a variety of targeted amplicon sequencing molecular studies. These studies include topics such as diet, honeybee pollen and coral reefs. Although the samples are different, the goal is the same using our ability to extract DNA from a variety of samples and perform next generation sequencing. For instance, amplicon sequencing methods use a set of genetic barcodes to amplify all contributing components in a DNA sample at one time, and next generation sequencing platforms can analyze thousands to hundreds of thousands of individuals per run. These technologies allow detectability and quantification of diet components at levels not achieved with microscopy. While such sequencing techniques have been developed and successfully employed frequently with carnivores, herbivorous animals may present additional challenges due to chemical inhibitors present in plants, and fewer genetic barcoding resources for local plant communities. As a consequence, there are very few examples of herbivorous PCR-based diet studies currently found in the scientific literature.

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.