Grants / Department of Defense / Dept. of the Army -- Corps of Engineers

W81EWF-23-SOI-0009: Investigation of water quality trigger points for Didymo Blooms in the Saint Marys Rapids, Lake Superior

Closed Closed July 17, 2023 Opportunity W81EWF-23-SOI-0009 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: ERDC Broad Agency Announcement (W912HZ26S0001). Status: Closes January 1, 2027 (55 days left). It is in our archive of Dept. of the Army -- Corps of Engineers notices from 2023.

• Award ceiling$20,800
• 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 opportunity is restricted to non-federal partners of the Great Lakes-Northern Forest Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (CESU).

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Basic, Applied, and Advanced Research in Science and Engineering awards averaged $1.1 million; this notice allows up to $20,800 per award.
• Most of the program's money (69% over five years) went to colleges and universities.
• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

I. Program Description A. Short Description of Funding Opportunity ERDC seeks applications for: a cooperative agreement to develop a collaborative water quality monitoring program for the purpose of identifying the physiochemical parameters that may cause the onset of Didymo blooms in the St. Marys River Rapids adjacent to the Soo Lock and Dam. Initial data from the program will be used by ERDC and the CESU institution to design and conduct laboratory and field tests aimed to control and/or manipulate Didymo growth. B. Background The St. Marys River hosts an economically important commercial salmonid fishery that is also culturally significant to the Bay Mills Indian Community. Didymo, a microscopic single-celled freshwater diatom that secretes a fibrous stalk which is used to attach to rocks and plants in rivers and streams, was discovered in the St. Marys Rapids near Sault Ste. Marie in 2015. There are growing concerns the species will directly impact commercially and recreationally important fisheries species within affected watersheds by limiting access to critical spawning habitat or creating recruitment bottlenecks for young-of-year fishes due to a reduction in important foraging habitat. Didymo is considered native to parts of Canada and Northern Europe and has recently become established in portions of the Great Lakes, but little is known about the environmental conditions that foster Didymo growth. C. Program Description/Objective: (brief description of the anticipated work) We propose the establishment of a multi-year collaborative water quality monitoring program to evaluate temporal trends in measured water quality parameters that may directly affect bloom time and productivity of invasive Didymo. This research effort will fill critical gaps in knowledge of Didymo growth cycles and inform other research questions targeted at control methods. Due to the complex nature of resolving ties between Didymo annual growth metrics and associated water quality conditions, we support a tiered research approach featuring an ERDC-based component and a local-based CESU component. The CESU institution represents a necessary and relevant research component to the overall project.

Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, W912HZ26S0001, which is open now.

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