Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G23AS00305

Opportunity Information: Apply for G23AS00305

This grant opportunity is a US Geological Survey (USGS) cooperative agreement aimed at supporting a partner organization within the Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) network to conduct spatial research on habitat used by invasive Black Carp in major Midwestern rivers. The core purpose is to strengthen scientific understanding of where Black Carp are likely to occur and how they move through large river systems, using spatial analysis that complements ongoing field and telemetry work led by the USGS Columbia Environmental Research Center. By improving the habitat mapping foundation for these analyses, the work is intended to support better risk assessment and management decisions related to the species' spread and impacts.

The underlying conservation concern driving the project is the rapid expansion of Black Carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) within the Mississippi River basin and the threat the species poses to native mollusks. Black Carp are particularly problematic because of a specialized crushing adaptation in their pharyngeal apparatus that allows them to consume even thick-shelled mollusk prey, raising concern for native mussels and other molluscan species that are already under pressure from habitat alteration and other invasive species. The USGS is already tracking fish with telemetry tags and physically relocating tagged individuals to observe habitat use and seasonal movement patterns across the year. The grant-funded work is meant to add a detailed spatial and bathymetric context so that telemetry locations can be analyzed against river depth, channel structure, and engineered features that may influence fish behavior and distribution.

The technical focus of the project is bathymetric mapping and the creation of a seamless spatial layer covering the defined mainstem portions of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois Rivers. In practical terms, this means compiling or generating riverbed elevation/depth information and integrating it into a consistent geospatial dataset that can be used across the study area without gaps or mismatched formats. In addition to bathymetry itself, the opportunity calls for associated spatial metrics that describe proximity to wing dikes and other engineered river control structures. Those structures can shape flow patterns, create scour holes and deposition zones, and influence habitat conditions in ways that may attract or channel fish movements. The deliverable is therefore not just a map, but an analysis-ready set of layers and derived measures that can be paired with telemetry observations for statistical spatial ecology work.

The award is issued as a discretionary cooperative agreement under the CESU Program, which is designed to link federal agencies with partner institutions to provide research, technical assistance, and education. A key constraint is eligibility: applicants must be active participating partners in the Great Rivers CESU. The funding opportunity is listed under USGS assistance with CFDA number 15.808, and it anticipates a single award with an award ceiling of $32,000. The opportunity was created on March 15, 2023, and the original closing date was April 17, 2023. The official opportunity identifiers are Funding Opportunity Number G23AS00305 and the title "Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit," categorized within Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

Overall, the grant is best understood as targeted support for geospatial and bathymetric data development that directly enables stronger interpretation of Black Carp telemetry data. By producing a seamless bathymetry layer and structure-proximity metrics for the mainstem river environment, the project helps USGS researchers connect observed carp movements to river habitat features at the scale that matters for large-river ecology and invasive species management.

• The Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit" 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 2023-03-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-04-17. (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 $32,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G23AS00305

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