Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G16AS00034) is a US Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research funding call issued through the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK). It is structured as a cooperative agreement under the Science and Technology/Research and Development activity category (CFDA 15.808). The core purpose is to support a focused analysis of already-collected elk blood test data to evaluate whether changes in how supplemental winter feeding is carried out on Wyoming elk feedgrounds in the Greater Yellowstone Area are actually reducing elk-to-elk transmission of brucellosis over time.

The work centers on brucellosis risk as measured by seroprevalence at specific feeding sites, using existing serology (blood test) records for elk (Cervus canadensis). The project is not described as a field sampling effort; instead, it is an analytical and evaluative study that uses historical and ongoing monitoring data to detect trends and differences associated with management actions. Those management actions are described as experimental manipulations of (1) how feed is distributed on feedgrounds (for example, distribution patterns that could affect crowding and contact rates) and (2) the duration of the feeding season (how long feeding occurs), both of which can influence animal aggregation and therefore disease transmission potential.

A key requirement is to determine how thoroughly and consistently these experimental feeding manipulations were implemented across multiple feedgrounds. In other words, the project is expected to go beyond a simple before-and-after comparison and instead quantify the “treatment intensity” or degree of implementation at each site and over time. That implementation assessment is important because differences among feedgrounds in how the feeding changes were applied could strongly affect disease outcomes and could otherwise obscure real treatment effects.

Methodologically, the opportunity calls for the development of general linear regression models to test whether there is a relationship between treatment intensity and changes in elk seroprevalence, comparing conditions before and after the altered feeding practices began. The modeling must also account for likely confounding variables that could influence seroprevalence independently of the feeding treatments. The notice explicitly flags several of these covariates, including time (long-term trends or year effects), site (differences among feedgrounds), and individual elk attributes such as age and sex. The intent is a statistically defensible evaluation that separates the signal of the feeding interventions from other factors that can drive apparent changes in disease exposure patterns.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity was posted February 22, 2016, with a closing date of March 7, 2016. It anticipated a single award, with an award ceiling of $24,000. Eligibility is listed broadly as “Others,” with additional clarification referenced in the full eligibility text (not included in the excerpt), which commonly indicates the award is targeted to entities associated with the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit network or otherwise qualified partners under CESU arrangements.

Overall, this grant is a small, targeted research support mechanism aimed at producing an evidence-based assessment of whether modifications to elk feedground practices in the Greater Yellowstone Area are meeting a disease management objective, using rigorous statistical modeling of existing serological datasets and a careful accounting of how the interventions were implemented across sites and through time.

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Previous opportunity: Urban and Non-Urban Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP) and Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program (IVTP) (referred together throughout this funding opportunity announcement as HVRP)

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