Opportunity Information: Apply for F19AS00181
The grant opportunity focuses on improving how Asian carp populations are estimated in the Illinois Waterway by reducing a key uncertainty in hydroacoustic surveys: how a fish's body size translates into acoustic target strength (the strength of the sonar echo used to detect and size fish targets). Since 2011, hydroacoustic data have been the backbone for estimating Asian carp density in the Illinois River system, and those density estimates feed directly into a stock assessment population model. That model is used, among other things, to judge whether large-scale removal efforts in the upper Illinois Waterway are actually reducing carp numbers. Because management decisions and evaluations depend on those estimates, the project is aimed at tightening the link between what sonar "sees" and the true size distribution of the fish in the water, which in turn helps refine population density estimates and improves confidence in trends over time.
The work proposed is practical and field-based, using in-situ measurements rather than relying only on generalized relationships from other species or laboratory assumptions. The central task is to quantify the relationship between observed carp size and measured target strength across a range of fish sizes. The project intends to do this in three connected ways: first, by measuring target strength from individually tethered carp of different sizes to get controlled, repeatable readings; second, by measuring target strength from free-swimming carp of different sizes to capture the natural variability that occurs when fish move and change orientation in the water; and third, by statistically relating measured target strength values to known fish sizes so future hydroacoustic surveys can more accurately infer size structure and density from acoustic returns. The underlying idea is that if you better understand how target strength scales with carp length, weight, and related biological factors, you can reduce bias in density estimates that comes from misinterpreting echoes.
This is presented as a notice of intent to make a single-source cooperative agreement rather than an open competition. The award is planned for Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC), justified under a federal single-source authority (505DM 2.14B(4)), with the stated reason that competition is not practical. The notice argues SIUC is uniquely positioned because its scientists have been running Asian carp hydroacoustic density estimation work across the Illinois River since 2011 and are considered leading experts in this specific long-term dataset and methodology. SIUC also already has the major resources needed to do the work without costly startup: specialized and expensive hydroacoustics equipment; appropriate pond facilities at the university's Touch of Nature site that are already outfitted for both tethering experiments and observations of free-swimming fish; and roughly eight years of historical data that can be used to connect in-river target strength observations with body size distributions. In other words, the project is built on an existing monitoring program rather than creating a new one from scratch.
Because it is a cooperative agreement, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is expected to be actively involved rather than simply providing funds. The Carterville Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office will play a hands-on role by capturing Asian carp of various sizes, transporting live fish from the wild for target strength trials, and conducting detailed biological measurements on fish used in tethering work. Those measurements include length and weight, sex determination, and estimating gas bladder volume, which matters because the gas bladder strongly influences acoustic reflectivity and can therefore affect target strength readings. The Service will also participate academically by serving on the graduate committee for the Master of Science student responsible for completing the research, tying the project to workforce development and ensuring close technical oversight.
Administratively, the opportunity is listed as a discretionary cooperative agreement in the environment and natural resources category, with CFDA 15.662, under the Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. The funding opportunity number is F19AS00181. The notice indicates there is no application process because it is a single-source intent to award. The expected number of awards is one, with an award ceiling of $74,000. The notice was created on April 10, 2019, with an original closing date of April 17, 2019, reflecting that the posting functions primarily as a public transparency step for a noncompetitive award rather than a standard competitive solicitation.
Overall, the grant is about making hydroacoustic carp monitoring more defensible and more precise by grounding sonar interpretation in species-specific, size-based target strength measurements. By improving the conversion from acoustic signals to realistic estimates of fish size distribution and density, the project supports better stock assessment inputs and clearer evaluation of whether carp removal programs in the Illinois Waterway are meeting their objectives.Apply for F19AS00181
- The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the environment, natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Relationship between body size of Asian carp and hydroacoustic target strength" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.662.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 10, 2019.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 17, 2019 There is not an application process for this funding opportunity. This is a notice of intent to award a single source cooperative agreement to the Southern Illinois University Carbondale under justification 505DM 2.14B(4).. (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 $74,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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