Cooperative Agreement for CESU-Affiliated Partner of the Southern Appalachian Mountains Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G24AS00263

Opportunity Information: Apply for G24AS00263

This grant opportunity is a US Geological Survey (USGS) cooperative agreement aimed at supporting research through the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) network, specifically through partners affiliated with the Southern Appalachian Mountains CESU. The project focus is on understanding how environmental contaminants affect insect-eating wildlife through their diets, and on improving how those dietary pathways are handled in formal environmental damage evaluations. In practical terms, the work is meant to strengthen the science that connects contamination to changes in prey availability and prey quality, and then connects those changes to measurable impacts on insectivores, with bats highlighted as a key example group.

The research is organized around two main questions. First, it seeks to clarify the dietary effects of contaminants on insectivores. That includes both direct exposure, where contaminants move from polluted environments into insects or other prey and then into predators, and indirect effects, where contaminants reduce insect populations or alter insect communities and thereby reduce food quantity, food quality, or both. Second, the opportunity asks how dietary effect pathways can be better incorporated into assessments used in Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) cases in the United States. NRDAR is the process used to evaluate injuries to natural resources from pollution events and to determine restoration actions and compensation. This opportunity is signaling a need for stronger, more defensible methods for recognizing diet-mediated injury, particularly for species that depend heavily on insect prey.

Bats are emphasized because they are widespread insectivores in North America and many species are already under pressure from multiple stressors, with diet-mediated contaminant exposure and prey loss being important but sometimes underrepresented mechanisms. The description points to emerging adult aquatic insects as an especially important food source for many bats. These insects can be strongly affected by contaminants, and declines in their emergence can translate into less available and potentially less nutritious prey for predators in riparian and nearby terrestrial systems. The opportunity also notes riparian spiders, which can act as "super-accumulators" of certain contaminants and can be eaten by some bats. Together, these pathways illustrate why diet is not only a route of exposure to contaminants, but also a route by which contaminants can cause resource limitation, altered foraging, reduced body condition, and potentially downstream effects on survival and reproduction.

From an applicant standpoint, eligibility is limited: applicants must be participating partners in the Southern Appalachian Mountains CESU Program. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically implies substantial involvement by the federal agency during the project (for example, coordination on study design, data needs for assessment frameworks, or integration with ongoing USGS efforts). The award falls under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category (CFDA 15.808). The opportunity number is G24AS00263. The posted maximum award amount (ceiling) is $191,220. The notice was created on February 12, 2024, and the original closing date for applications was March 12, 2024.

Overall, the opportunity is targeted at producing research and assessment-ready outputs that help quantify and explain how contaminants affect insectivores through their diets, with a strong applied emphasis on making those pathways usable in NRDAR contexts. The expected value is not just ecological insight, but improved methods and evidence that can be used to evaluate injury and support restoration or compensation decisions when contamination affects insect-driven food webs that support bats and other insectivores, including federally threatened and endangered species.

• 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 of the Southern Appalachian Mountains 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 2024-02-12.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-03-12. (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 $191,220.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G24AS00263

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