Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Piedmont South Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G23AS00348

Opportunity Information: Apply for G23AS00348

This funding opportunity (G23AS00348) is a discretionary cooperative agreement offered by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), specifically the Wetland and Aquatic Research Center in Davie, Florida, under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program through the Piedmont South Atlantic Coast CESU. It is designed to support science and technology research and development work (CFDA 15.808) focused on conservation genetics for imperiled coastal reptiles, with an emphasis on threatened and endangered sea turtles and the rare Diamondback terrapin.

The core purpose of the project is to carry out genetic analyses on a large, existing collection of biological samples that USGS and collaborators have accumulated through intensive field efforts across broad geographic areas. For sea turtles, the sample set includes skin (tissue) and blood samples collected from multiple projects spanning the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic, and the Caribbean. For Diamondback terrapins, the opportunity targets blood samples gathered from throughout the species' U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coastal range. Because these samples come from multiple species and multiple populations, the dataset is positioned to answer population-level questions that cannot be addressed from small or isolated collections.

The work is intended to build on earlier and ongoing field studies such as nest monitoring and mark-recapture efforts, which have already produced baseline or preliminary insights into population abundance, reproductive characteristics, and likely movement or connectivity patterns. However, those traditional methods often have limits when it comes to identifying how groups are related genetically, how much mixing occurs across regions, and what the underlying "effective population size" looks like (a genetics-based estimate that helps indicate how resilient a population may be to inbreeding, drift, and long-term decline). By analyzing the backlog of tissue and blood samples, the project aims to produce clearer estimates of effective population sizes for these assemblages and to better resolve connectivity among groups, which is directly relevant to management decisions like delineating conservation units, prioritizing protection of key rookeries or habitats, and understanding whether declines or recoveries are likely to be local or shared across regions.

Eligibility is limited: applicants must be participating partners of the Piedmont South Atlantic Coast CESU Program. The CESU framework matters because it emphasizes collaborative research and technical assistance between federal agencies and their partner institutions, and a cooperative agreement mechanism generally implies that USGS will have substantial involvement during the project rather than simply issuing a hands-off grant.

Key administrative details from the notice include an award ceiling of $200,000, a posting/creation date of April 24, 2023, and an original closing date of May 24, 2023. The listing indicates this is a USGS opportunity and categorizes eligible applicants under "Others," which in this context is constrained by the CESU partner requirement rather than being broadly open to all organizations.

• 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 Piedmont South Atlantic Coast 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 2023-04-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-05-24. (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 $200,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G23AS00348

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