Grants / Department of Defense / Engineer Research and Development Center

W81EWF-23-SOI-0015: Integrating long term datasets with next generation ecological models to quantify ecological response in aquatic systems

Closed Closed July 17, 2023 Opportunity W81EWF-23-SOI-0015 ☆ 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 Engineer Research and Development Center notices from 2023.

• Award ceiling$2.5 million
• Total funding$7.5 million
• Expected awards1
• 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 Desert Southwest Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (CESU). Disclosures of current and pending support made in this application may render an applicant ineligible for funding. Prior to award and throughout the period of performance, ERDC may continue to request updated continuing and pending support information, which will be reviewed and may result in discontinuation of funding. Religious organizations are entitled to compete on equal footing with secular organizations for Federal financial assistance as described in E.O. 13798, “Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty.”

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 $2.5 million 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

This research project focuses on integrating long term datasets with next generation ecological models to quantify ecological response in aquatic systems. The ERDC seeks applications for integrating long-term environmental datasets into the next generation of integrated ecological models. Currently, the next generation of integrated ecological models have been parameterized with short-term (<3 years) field or literature data, and their predictive capacity over a longer term is limited, which severely constrains the practical applicability of these models. In particular, aquatic ecosystems are tightly coupled systems driven by complex, system-level interactions among physical, ecological, and social factors. In order to develop comprehensive management plans for aquatic ecosystems, ecological models must be able to accurately forecast how these integrated systems will respond to the changes in the physical and environmental system drivers. Without coupling long-term datasets to next generation models, there is a limited ability to make accurate forecasts. Parameterizing next generation process-based ecological models with long-term datasets that explicitly link physical and ecological processes to changes in species dynamics will dramatically increase the predictive accuracy. Resource managers will be able to use these models to create sustainable long-term strategies for public-benefitting activities including forecasting how ecological response will change in uncertain futures, maintaining and improving infrastructure, managing flood risk and coastal storm damage, among others. The university partner will identify knowledge gaps in existing long-term datasets, will develop and execute experimental designs for addressing those knowledge gaps, and will assist with development and parameterization of these next generation integrated ecological models. These studies will provide critical data and parameters for next generation integrated ecological models that can be used to predict ecological response to various natural and anthropological events. This research will focus on the following objectives 1) Develop a robust, multidisciplinary, field-based experimental design that can quantify the physical and environmental drivers at multiple scales within aquatic systems (e.g., surface and hyporheic).

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.