Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, South Florida Caribbean CESU | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

This grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number 08HQPA0019) is a discretionary U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) funding call for a Cooperative Agreement under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program, specifically the South Florida/Caribbean CESU. It is administered through the Office of the Eastern Regional Director in support of the USGS Terrestrial, Freshwater, and Marine Ecosystems Program. The funded work is framed as a research partnership with one or more eligible CESU member universities, using the cooperative agreement model (meaning the USGS expects active involvement and coordination during the project rather than a hands-off pass-through award).

The project itself is titled "Lophelia II: Continuing Ecological Research on Deep Sea Corals and Deep Reef Habitats in the Gulf of Mexico," focusing on the deep-water coral Lophelia pertusa and the broader deep-reef and hard-bottom habitats where it occurs. A central aim is to improve scientific understanding of where these coral communities are found, how they function biologically and ecologically, and what environmental factors shape them. The practical reason for building that knowledge is management: better baseline and process-level science to support habitat protection and improved decision-making for deep-sea coral ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico.

A notable feature of the opportunity is that the USGS-funded effort is designed to coordinate closely with a separate, planned project sponsored by the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) that targets northern Gulf of Mexico deepwater hard-bottom habitats, including both natural and artificial structures, with an emphasis on coral communities associated with reefs, rigs, and wrecks. In other words, the USGS work is not intended to stand alone; it is positioned to align methods, data needs, or study sites with related federal research so the combined efforts produce a more coherent regional picture than either project would generate independently.

Scientifically, the overall Lophelia II effort is described as having six interrelated components, with this particular announcement covering three of them: Part I (physical oceanography and ecology), Part II (trophodynamics), and Part III (benthic ecology). Taken together, these components point to a whole-ecosystem approach. Physical oceanography and ecology implies work on water mass characteristics, currents, temperature and salinity structure, and how those conditions influence coral distribution and performance. Trophodynamics emphasizes energy flow and feeding relationships, which could include how organic matter reaches deep reefs, what the corals and associated fauna are eating, and how productivity and food supply shape community structure. Benthic ecology focuses on the seafloor community itself: the composition of organisms living on and around coral and hardground habitats, how those communities are organized, and how they vary across sites and conditions.

The project objectives go beyond documenting Lophelia presence. USGS highlights the intent to develop and synthesize information on Lophelia and other deep corals and hardgrounds, and to compare community composition, faunal linkages, genetic structures, and energetics across major gradients. Those gradients include latitude (north-south differences), habitat type (for example, natural reefs versus other hard substrates), depth zones, and different regions within the Gulf. The announcement also places the work in a longer research arc, stating that it will expand on prior efforts that examined Lophelia communities at roughly 300 to 1000 meters depth. By building on those earlier studies and integrating new results across multiple components, the stated endpoint is a regional synthesis after the proposed studies are completed.

From a funding and administrative standpoint, the opportunity anticipates a single award. The estimated total funding listed for the opportunity is $1,655,000, while the posted award ceiling and floor for this specific announcement are both $242,000, indicating a fixed expected award amount for the competed segment described here. There is no cost sharing or matching requirement. The CFDA program number is 15.808 (U.S. Geological Survey Research and Data Collection). The opportunity was posted April 21, 2008, with an original and current closing date of May 1, 2008, and an archive date of May 31, 2008.

Eligibility is limited to partners in the South Florida/Caribbean CESU Program, which is part of the broader CESU network of partnerships intended to deliver research, technical assistance, and education in support of federal land and resource stewardship. Applicants outside that CESU partnership structure would not be eligible under the terms stated. For access issues or administrative questions tied to the announcement, the listed point of contact is Faith Graves, Contract Specialist (phone 703-648-7356).

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