Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountian CESU | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G15AS00111) was a US Geological Survey (USGS) research grant offered through the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK). It was set up as a discretionary cooperative agreement under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category, with one expected award and an estimated total funding amount of $34,048. There was no cost sharing or matching requirement. The opportunity was posted on June 29, 2015, with an application deadline of July 17, 2015, and it was later archived on September 29, 2015. The associated CFDA number was 15.808, which covers USGS Research and Data Collection.

The purpose of the project was to evaluate how recent wetland mitigation actions in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) are affecting two major biological groups that are often used to gauge wetland health: amphibians and aquatic invertebrates. In practical terms, the research was meant to test whether newly created or modified wetlands are functioning like natural wetlands from an ecological standpoint, and to identify which wetland design choices are most likely to produce strong biodiversity outcomes. A central motivation is that mitigation wetlands are frequently built to compensate for wetlands damaged or lost to development, but their real-world ecological performance can vary widely. By measuring responses in amphibian and invertebrate communities, the study would generate evidence that can be used to improve future mitigation planning and construction.

The work was organized around two core objectives. First, applicants were asked to compare species richness (how many species are present) and community composition (which species and in what mix) across three wetland types: (1) natural, relatively pristine wetlands, (2) recently constructed wetlands created as part of mitigation, and (3) wetlands that have been impacted by road construction activities. This objective is essentially about determining whether constructed wetlands are comparable to natural wetlands and how they differ from wetlands that have been degraded or disturbed. Second, the project aimed to compare amphibian recruitment between constructed wetlands and natural wetlands to see whether constructed sites might function as ecological traps. In the ecological trap scenario, a habitat appears attractive to amphibians for breeding or occupancy, but it ultimately reduces survival or successful reproduction (for example, if hydrology, vegetation structure, temperature regimes, water quality, or predator dynamics in the constructed wetland lead to poor larval survival even though adults continue to use it).

Geographically, the study area was narrowly defined to support an applied, project-driven assessment tied to a specific transportation corridor. The focal landscape was the 62 km reconstruction of U.S. Highway 26/287 over Togwotee Pass between Dubois and Moran, Wyoming. This corridor provided a real-world setting where wetlands had been newly constructed for mitigation purposes, other wetlands may have been disturbed by construction, and nearby natural wetlands could serve as reference sites. The intent was to use this setting to produce actionable findings about how road-related mitigation wetlands are performing and what design features (such as basin shape and depth profiles, hydroperiod characteristics, vegetation establishment, connectivity, or other physical and biological attributes) best support diverse and sustainable amphibian and invertebrate communities.

Eligibility was limited to partners of the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program. CESUs are formal partnerships designed to support research, technical assistance, and education by connecting federal agencies with universities and other partner organizations. In other words, an applicant had to be an official participating Rocky Mountain CESU partner to submit under this announcement, rather than the opportunity being open to the general public or all academic institutions by default.

For additional details, the announcement directed applicants to Grants.gov (the Additional Information Link listed was http://www.grants.gov/). The point of contact provided by USGS for access or announcement issues was Faith Graves (703-648-7356, fgraves@usgs.gov).

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