Opportunity Information: Apply for PD 09 1128
Apply for PD 09 1128
- The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Population and Community Ecology" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.074 Biological Sciences.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jan 11, 2011 and posted on Nov 16, 2009.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 9, 2011 Full Proposal Deadline(s) July 9, Annually January 9, Annually. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $27,159,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 70 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.
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Opportunity Summary:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity titled Population and Community Ecology (Funding Opportunity Number PD 09-1128; CFDA 47.074) supports fundamental, hypothesis-driven research that improves core ecological understanding of how populations and communities work, especially in terrestrial, wetland, and freshwater systems. The main emphasis is on projects that push beyond incremental advances and instead have the potential to be transformative, meaning the work could shift the conceptual foundations of population ecology and community ecology and influence how future research is framed and conducted. This program is positioned for studies that strengthen or reshape theory, clarify mechanisms behind observed ecological patterns, and generate broadly applicable insights across organisms, habitats, and scales.
A central theme of the opportunity is integration. NSF explicitly encourages proposals that combine theoretical development, mathematical or computational modeling, and empirical data collection, rather than treating these as separate tracks. Projects that synthesize information across spatial scales (from local sites to landscapes and regions) and temporal scales (from short-term dynamics to long-term trends) are especially welcome, since many ecological processes only become clear when viewed across multiple levels of organization and time horizons. The program also signals a preference for research designs that are rigorous in a mechanistic sense: proposals should build from existing theory, lay out plausible alternative explanations, and include critical tests that can distinguish among competing mechanisms. In other words, the best-fit projects do not just document patterns in nature; they explain why those patterns occur and set up decisive ways to evaluate the explanation.
The scope of topics is broad within population and community ecology. The opportunity includes work on population dynamics and demography of individual species, along with the ecological interactions and environmental drivers that shape populations and communities. Examples of supported themes include population regulation, food web structure and trophic dynamics, competition, predation, mutualism, parasitism, coexistence mechanisms, and the maintenance of biodiversity. The program also covers community assembly, paleoecology, landscape ecology, conservation and restoration biology, behavioral ecology, and macroecology. While these areas are diverse, the common thread is that projects should contribute to general ecological understanding, ideally producing concepts or methods that travel well across systems rather than being narrowly system-specific.
Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary proposals are explicitly encouraged, particularly when they cross traditional program boundaries. NSF notes that such proposals may be co-reviewed with other programs in the Division of Environmental Biology (DEB), other divisions within NSF’s Biology Directorate, or even other NSF directorates. This makes the opportunity a good fit for research that blends ecology with fields like evolutionary biology, genomics (when used to answer ecological questions), statistics, remote sensing, geosciences, environmental data science, or social-ecological dimensions, as long as the core questions remain focused on fundamental population and community ecology rather than human health.
There are also clear boundaries on what is and is not appropriate for this cluster. Studies that focus on marine organisms should be directed instead to the Biological Oceanography Program within NSF’s Division of Ocean Sciences, signaling that this opportunity is primarily for non-marine ecology. In addition, research focused on human disease or health is not supported under this program description, so proposals centered on epidemiology or human medical outcomes would be considered out of scope.
Administratively, this is a discretionary NSF grant opportunity with an estimated total funding level of $27,159,000 and an expected number of awards around 70. There is no cost sharing or matching requirement indicated. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning it is open broadly to applicant entity types, subject to any clarifications in the official solicitation text. The opportunity is run through NSF and is associated with recurring annual full proposal deadlines: July 9 and January 9 each year (as reflected in the target dates and deadlines provided in the source information). The posted date in the provided record is November 16, 2009, with a creation date of January 11, 2011, reflecting the solicitation record history.
Finally, the Population and Community Ecology Cluster is described as funding projects not only through the core Population and Community Ecology Program, but also through NSF mechanisms such as LTREB (Long-Term Research in Environmental Biology), OPUS (Opportunities for Promoting Understanding through Synthesis), and CAREER awards. Taken together, the opportunity is best viewed as a home for ambitious ecological research that advances or reframes theory, leverages strong inference and mechanism-based testing, and produces general insights into how populations, species interactions, and communities change through space and time in non-marine environments.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the NSF Population and Community Ecology grant opportunity?
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Population and Community Ecology opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number PD 09-1128; CFDA 47.074) supports fundamental, hypothesis-driven research that advances core understanding of how ecological populations and communities function, with an emphasis on terrestrial, wetland, and freshwater systems.
What kinds of projects are a strong fit for this program?
Projects are a strong fit when they aim to produce broadly applicable ecological insights and improve general understanding of population and community ecology. The program emphasizes ambitious work that can strengthen or reshape theory, clarify mechanisms behind observed ecological patterns, and influence how future research is framed and conducted.
What does NSF mean by "transformative" research in this program?
In this context, "transformative" refers to research that goes beyond incremental advances and has the potential to shift conceptual foundations in population ecology and/or community ecology. This could include new theory, new mechanistic explanations, or new integrative approaches that change how the field asks questions and interprets evidence.
Is the program focused on basic science or applied work?
The stated focus is on fundamental, hypothesis-driven research that improves core ecological understanding. Topics can include areas with applied relevance (such as conservation and restoration biology), but proposals should contribute to general ecological understanding rather than being narrowly system-specific.
Which ecosystems and environments does the program prioritize?
The opportunity emphasizes non-marine systems, especially terrestrial, wetland, and freshwater environments.
Are marine ecology projects eligible under this opportunity?
Projects focused on marine organisms are indicated as out of scope for this cluster and should instead be directed to NSF's Biological Oceanography Program within the Division of Ocean Sciences.
Does the program support research related to human health or disease?
No. Research centered on human disease, human health, epidemiology, or human medical outcomes is described as out of scope for this program.
What scientific approaches does NSF encourage for this opportunity?
NSF explicitly encourages integration of theoretical development, mathematical or computational modeling, and empirical data collection. Proposals that treat these elements as complementary (rather than separate tracks) are emphasized as a good fit.
What does "integration across scales" mean in this solicitation?
Integration across scales refers to synthesizing evidence across spatial scales (for example, from local sites to landscapes and regions) and temporal scales (for example, from short-term dynamics to long-term trends). The program notes that many ecological processes become clearer when studied across multiple levels of organization and time horizons.
What is meant by "mechanistic" and "strong inference" research designs?
The program signals a preference for rigorous, mechanism-based studies that build from existing theory, propose plausible alternative explanations, and include critical tests that can distinguish among competing mechanisms. In other words, proposals should not only document patterns in nature, but also explain why those patterns occur and test those explanations decisively.
What research topics are included within the scope of Population and Community Ecology?
The scope is broad within population and community ecology and includes population dynamics and demography, species interactions, and environmental drivers shaping populations and communities. Examples of supported themes include population regulation, food web structure and trophic dynamics, competition, predation, mutualism, parasitism, coexistence mechanisms, and the maintenance of biodiversity.
Are fields like landscape ecology, paleoecology, and macroecology included?
Yes. The solicitation description includes community assembly, paleoecology, landscape ecology, conservation and restoration biology, behavioral ecology, and macroecology, as long as the work contributes to general understanding in population and community ecology.
Does the program support interdisciplinary proposals?
Yes. Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary proposals are explicitly encouraged, particularly when they cross traditional program boundaries.
Can proposals be co-reviewed with other NSF programs?
Yes. NSF notes that interdisciplinary proposals may be co-reviewed with other programs in the Division of Environmental Biology (DEB), other divisions within NSF's Biology Directorate, or other NSF directorates when appropriate.
What kinds of cross-disciplinary methods or areas can be relevant here?
The description indicates that proposals can blend ecology with areas such as evolutionary biology, genomics (when used to answer ecological questions), statistics, remote sensing, geosciences, environmental data science, or social-ecological dimensions, provided the core questions remain focused on fundamental population and community ecology (and not human health).
Do projects need to be broadly generalizable?
The program highlights a preference for concepts or methods that "travel well" across organisms, habitats, and scales, rather than being narrowly tied to a single system without broader implications.
How much funding is expected to be available, and how many awards are anticipated?
The estimated total funding level listed is $27,159,000, with an expected number of awards around 70.
Is cost sharing or matching required?
No cost sharing or matching requirement is indicated for this opportunity.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning it is broadly open to applicant entity types, subject to any clarifications in the official solicitation text.
When are proposals due?
The opportunity is associated with recurring annual full proposal deadlines of July 9 and January 9 (as reflected in the listed target dates and deadlines).
Is this a one-time opportunity or a recurring program?
The provided information describes recurring annual full proposal deadlines, indicating an ongoing program structure rather than a single one-time competition.
What NSF funding mechanisms are mentioned as routes for support within this cluster?
The cluster is described as funding projects through the core Population and Community Ecology Program and also through NSF mechanisms such as LTREB (Long-Term Research in Environmental Biology), OPUS (Opportunities for Promoting Understanding through Synthesis), and CAREER awards.
What is LTREB in relation to this opportunity?
LTREB (Long-Term Research in Environmental Biology) is mentioned as an NSF mechanism through which the cluster can fund projects, aligning with the program's interest in ecological understanding across longer time horizons.
What is OPUS in relation to this opportunity?
OPUS (Opportunities for Promoting Understanding through Synthesis) is mentioned as another NSF mechanism used within this cluster, consistent with the program emphasis on synthesis and broadly applicable insights.
Are CAREER awards relevant to this program?
Yes. CAREER awards are mentioned as one of the NSF mechanisms through which projects may be supported within this cluster.
What are the identifying numbers associated with this opportunity?
The opportunity is identified as Funding Opportunity Number PD 09-1128 and CFDA 47.074.
What does "discretionary" mean for this NSF opportunity?
The opportunity is described as a discretionary NSF grant opportunity, indicating it is administered under NSF's grantmaking authority as part of its competitive research funding programs.
What are the posted and record dates included in the opportunity information?
The posted date listed is November 16, 2009, and the creation date listed is January 11, 2011, reflecting the solicitation record history referenced in the provided information.
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