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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the Gulf Coast CESU grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G16AS00094)?

G16AS00094 is a small, targeted research grant opportunity offered through the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU), Gulf Coast CESU network. The funding is provided by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Wetland and Aquatic Research Center (WARC) in Gainesville, Florida.

Which federal agency is offering this funding?

The opportunity is offered by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), specifically through the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center (WARC).

What type of award is this (grant vs. cooperative agreement)?

This opportunity is offered as a cooperative agreement. This typically indicates the agency expects to have substantial involvement in shaping, coordinating, or participating in the work as it proceeds, rather than simply issuing funds with minimal interaction.

What is the main purpose of this award?

The purpose is to support a Gulf Coast CESU partner in building a shared scientific framework for analyzing and modeling key population dynamics for several protected aquatic species in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Which species are the focus of the project?

The project targets three high-profile, protected aquatic taxa in the northern Gulf of Mexico: sea turtles, Gulf sturgeon, and manatees.

What scientific problem is this project trying to address?

The core need is to improve how researchers estimate and compare survival, reproduction, and movement rates across multiple species using a common modeling approach. The goal is to reduce reliance on entirely separate methods and assumptions for each species by developing a consistent framework suitable for retrospective demographic analyses.

What are "retrospective demographic analyses" in the context of this opportunity?

In this announcement, retrospective demographic analyses refer to analyses of past population dynamics to estimate key population parameters (such as survival, reproduction, and movement) and to understand how those parameters have varied over time.

Why are baseline population parameter estimates important for restoration?

Baseline estimates serve as reference points for evaluating change over time and informing future restoration activities. They help distinguish normal variability from meaningful trends and help managers assess whether restoration actions are associated with measurable biological responses.

What specific technical area is emphasized in this funding opportunity?

A major emphasis is developing environmental and climate indices at spatial and temporal scales that match the biology and life history of the target species and align with the structure of the demographic analyses.

What kinds of expertise is WARC specifically seeking?

WARC is specifically seeking climate and weather expertise to create environmental and climate indices. This implies specialized capabilities in areas such as climatology, meteorology, ocean-atmosphere conditions, or related environmental data synthesis.

What are environmental and climate indices expected to represent?

The indices are intended to capture relevant drivers and conditions linked to climate and weather, such as temperature patterns, storm frequency or intensity, seasonal anomalies, and other climate- and weather-related factors that could help interpret variation in survival, reproduction, and movement.

How should the indices relate to the study area?

The index products are expected to be clearly aligned with northern Gulf of Mexico conditions and to be usable in retrospective demographic modeling for the three focal taxa.

What is the geographic focus of the work?

The work is focused on the northern Gulf of Mexico.

What is the funding amount available?

The award has a funding ceiling of $10,000.

How many awards are expected?

One award is expected.

What does the small funding ceiling and single expected award suggest about project scope?

Based on the description, the $10,000 ceiling and one expected award indicate a focused effort, such as a pilot study, an index-development component, or a discrete analytical deliverable designed to plug into a broader USGS-led research program.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is limited to applicants that qualify as CESU partners within the Gulf Coast CESU network. It is not described as a general open competition for any organization.

Is this opportunity open to the general public or any organization?

No. The description indicates eligibility is limited to Gulf Coast CESU partners (the listing notes "Others" with clarification in the full eligibility text), meaning it is not broadly open to any applicant.

What is the activity category for this funding opportunity?

This is described as a discretionary funding opportunity under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category.

What CFDA number is associated with this opportunity?

The opportunity is listed under CFDA 15.808.

When was the opportunity posted, and what were the key dates?

The opportunity was posted on June 13, 2016, and created the same day. The closing date was July 1, 2016.

What kinds of deliverables would a strong project be expected to produce?

A strong project would be expected to produce climate and environmental index products along with documentation. These outputs should be aligned with northern Gulf of Mexico conditions and packaged so they can be incorporated into a unified modeling framework supporting baseline estimation and future restoration evaluation.

What kinds of tasks are implied for developing the indices?

The description suggests tasks such as selecting appropriate data sources, determining how to aggregate or downscale data to biologically meaningful spatial and temporal scales, testing candidate indices for relevance and interpretability, and packaging results for integration into demographic models.

How will the indices be used in the broader scientific effort?

The indices are intended to be integrated into demographic models to help interpret past variation in survival, reproduction, and movement and to support a unified analytical framework used across sea turtles, Gulf sturgeon, and manatees.