Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Pacific Northwest CESU | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the funding opportunity?

This is the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU), Pacific Northwest CESU grant opportunity funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), issued through the John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis. The Funding Opportunity Number is G16AS00032.

What is the main purpose of this opportunity?

The opportunity supports a focused, synthesis-oriented research effort to improve prediction of high-impact insect invasions in North America. The goal is to build a practical, science-based framework that helps identify which introduced herbivorous insects are most likely to shift onto native host plants and cause substantial ecological damage, ideally before the insects arrive, establish, or spread.

Which types of insect invasion scenarios are emphasized?

The work specifically targets cases where introduced herbivorous insects, often specialists at the plant genus level, shift onto novel native host plants in North America and then cause severe ecological impacts.

What does "moving beyond reacting after establishment" mean in this context?

Rather than focusing primarily on documenting impacts after an invader is already established, the project is meant to develop a predictive approach that can flag high-risk potential invaders earlier, enabling earlier intervention and more targeted monitoring.

What kind of project approach is USGS looking to support?

The notice describes a collaborative, synthesis-oriented effort that convenes subject-matter experts to integrate and evaluate multiple drivers of invasion risk and translate findings into decision-useful outputs.

What scientific factors does the opportunity highlight for predicting invasion risk and impact?

The opportunity emphasizes integrating multiple drivers, including:

• Insect and host plant evolutionary history (such as relatedness to native herbivores and similarity between new hosts and historical hosts)
• Whether prospective host plants have effective defenses
• Whether the invading insect is likely to escape its natural enemies
• Invader traits associated with severe impacts
• Geographic and temporal considerations (where introductions occur, climate matching, and how dynamics change over time)

What kinds of tasks or activities are included in the scope of work?

The scope is structured around building and testing a predictive approach. Key tasks described include:

• Compiling and synthesizing relevant datasets
• Developing predictive models
• Validating models against known invasion outcomes
• Evaluating and applying models in ways that support decision-making

What kinds of datasets are expected to be compiled or synthesized?

The notice gives examples of relevant data sources, including records of insect introductions, host associations, plant traits and defenses, insect life history characteristics, and information on predators, parasitoids, and pathogens.

What is meant by "validation against known invasion outcomes"?

It means the predictive models should be tested using cases where invasion results are already known, to evaluate whether the approach can correctly distinguish high-impact scenarios from lower-risk or lower-impact ones.

What is the expected end product: an academic model or a management tool?

The end goal is described as more than an academic model. It is intended to be a usable framework that can help identify which introduced genus-specialist herbivores are most likely to cause outsized harm to novel North American host plants, supporting earlier intervention and more targeted monitoring.

Who is the intended audience for the project outputs?

The deliverables are oriented toward both scientific audiences and management/practitioner audiences, including resource managers who need actionable information for surveillance and prevention.

What deliverables are expected for scientific audiences?

Results are expected to be shared at scientific meetings and published in peer-reviewed, openly available literature.

What deliverables are expected for practitioners and resource managers?

The project plans to translate findings into practitioner-focused products such as fact sheets or outreach bulletins aimed at resource managers to help prioritize surveillance, risk screening, and preventative actions.

Are there data sharing or transparency requirements?

Yes. A notable requirement is that underlying data produced or compiled by the project will be made publicly available, supporting transparency and enabling reuse by other researchers and management programs.

What type of award is this?

This opportunity is a discretionary award issued as a cooperative agreement.

What does it mean that this is a cooperative agreement?

A cooperative agreement generally indicates substantial involvement by USGS during project execution compared with a standard grant.

Which agency and office are associated with this opportunity?

The funding call is from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) within the U.S. Department of the Interior and is issued through the John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis.

What is the activity category for this funding?

The opportunity falls under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category.

What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?

The CFDA number listed for this opportunity is 15.808.

How many awards are expected and what is the maximum award amount?

The notice indicates one anticipated award, with an award ceiling of $50,000.

When was this opportunity posted and when did it close?

The posting date and creation date were January 27, 2016. The original and current closing date was February 12, 2016, reflecting a short application window.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with clarification referenced in the full eligibility text. This is commonly used for CESU opportunities that may be limited to members of a specific CESU network or partner institutions.

Is this opportunity connected to a specific CESU network?

Yes. It is identified as a Pacific Northwest CESU grant opportunity.

What makes this opportunity "small and focused"?

The notice describes a compact project profile: a single anticipated award with a $50,000 ceiling, designed to support a focused synthesis and predictive framework effort rather than a large multi-award research program.

How does geography factor into the proposed predictive framework?

The opportunity explicitly includes geographic considerations such as where introductions occur and how climates match between native and invaded ranges, since those factors influence establishment likelihood and potential impact.

How does time factor into the proposed predictive framework?

The notice highlights temporal considerations by recognizing that invasion dynamics and risks can change over time, so the approach should account for how risk evolves rather than assuming it is static.

What management decisions could the results support?

The framework is intended to support earlier intervention and more targeted monitoring, and to help agencies prioritize surveillance, risk screening, and preventative actions focused on the most threatening potential invaders and vulnerable native hosts.

What is the central scientific idea behind the project?

The central idea is to integrate evolutionary relationships, host defenses, enemy escape, invader traits, and geographic/temporal context into a practical predictive framework that can identify high-risk insect-host shifts that could severely impact native North American plants.