Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Colorado Plateau CESU | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

This grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number 10HQPA0078) was offered by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) through its Science Support Partnership (SSP) Program under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) framework, specifically the Colorado Plateau CESU. The award mechanism is a cooperative agreement, meaning the project is expected to involve substantial collaboration with the federal partner rather than functioning as a hands-off grant. It falls under CFDA 15.808 (USGS Research and Data Collection) and is categorized as Science and Technology and other Research and Development. The notice anticipated making one award, with an estimated total funding amount of $35,000. There was no cost sharing or matching requirement, and the opportunity was time-limited (posted June 17, 2010, with a closing date of June 28, 2010, and later archived July 28, 2010).

Eligibility was restricted to organizations that were already participating partners in the Colorado Plateau CESU Program. CESUs are formal partnerships that connect federal agencies with universities, tribes, and other research institutions to deliver research, technical assistance, and education aligned with public land and natural resource management needs. In practical terms, applicants needed to be part of that specific CESU network to be considered.

The scientific focus of the opportunity was native trout restoration, centered on testing the hypothesis of biotic resistance in the Logan River system. Biotic resistance, in this context, generally refers to the idea that native species and intact biological communities can limit or resist invasions by nonnative species, potentially influencing whether restoration actions succeed. USGS sought a partner to conduct a combined research program that links real-world field manipulation, controlled laboratory experimentation, and broad-scale synthesis to better understand how native and invasive fish interact and what restoration strategies might be most effective.

The project objectives were organized into three connected components. First, the core of the work was a large-scale, manipulative field study with three treatments. One treatment involved comprehensive removal of exotic (invasive) fish in an entire tributary, identified as Righthand Fork, where invasive fish were originally present at high density; following removal, native fish would be actively encouraged to reestablish. A second treatment (in a separate study area to be determined) involved a less comprehensive removal approach, where invasive fish densities would be reduced but not necessarily eliminated, and native reestablishment would occur more naturally. The third treatment served as a control or reference condition, where native and invasive fishes would remain at roughly similar densities and no manipulation would occur. A key feature of the field component was close monitoring of fluvial geomorphology before and after biological manipulation, so the study could evaluate whether physical habitat characteristics mediate or constrain biotic resistance. In other words, the work was designed not only to track fish responses to removals, but also to connect those responses to stream form and habitat processes that could help explain why invasives persist or why natives recover in some places and not others.

Second, the opportunity called for a set of smaller-scale, highly controlled laboratory experiments to complement and help interpret the field results. The description emphasizes experiments that vary the densities of native and invasive fishes within small enclosures while manipulating relevant physical drivers such as water velocity and temperature. This laboratory work is meant to isolate mechanisms that are difficult to separate in a natural stream, such as whether competitive effects depend on crowding, or whether temperature and flow conditions shift the balance in favor of natives versus invasives. Taken together, the lab component functions as a mechanistic testbed for the patterns observed in the field manipulations.

Third, the project was expected to scale up from the Logan River-focused mechanistic studies into a broader meta-analysis evaluating evidence for and against biotic resistance across a much larger geographic extent. The funding notice specifically references using NAWQA (National Water-Quality Assessment) data from approximately 1,000 streams across the United States. This synthesis element would allow the recipient to test whether relationships suggested by the Logan River work hold across diverse regions and stream types, strengthening the generality and management relevance of the findings.

For applicants or partners needing access assistance or administrative clarification at the time, the listed point of contact was Faith Graves, Contract Specialist (phone 703-648-7356).

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