Opportunity Information: Apply for F15AS00221
Apply for F15AS00221
- The Fish and Wildlife Service in the environment natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Source Population Assignment of Lake Sturgeon in Lake Superior" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.662 Great Lakes Restoration.
- This funding opportunity was created on May 13, 2015 and posted on May 13, 2015.
- Applicants must submit their applications by May 20, 2015 There is not an application process for this funding opportunity. This is a notice of intent to award a single source cooperative agreement to West Virginia University under justification 505DM 2.14B4.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $186,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $186,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
- There is not an application process for this funding opportunity. This is a notice of intent to award a single source cooperative agreement to West Virginia University under justification 505DM 2.14B4.
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Opportunity Summary:
The "Source Population Assignment of Lake Sturgeon in Lake Superior" funding opportunity is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) cooperative agreement focused on improving management and conservation of lake sturgeon across Lake Superior by figuring out which spawning rivers and breeding populations individual fish come from when they are encountered away from spawning areas. Lake sturgeon are a long-lived species of concern throughout the Great Lakes, and most of what managers know about them comes from short windows of time when adults gather to spawn in rivers. In contrast, the majority of their lives are spent moving through open-water and bay habitats, where basic information about habitat use, seasonal movement, and mixing among populations is much harder to obtain. Traditional tools like mark-recapture and radio telemetry can help, but they often produce an incomplete picture because only a small fraction of any given breeding population gets tagged, and tracking coverage is limited in such a large lake system.
The central idea of this project is to use genetic and genomic DNA methods to overcome those limitations by assigning individual non-spawning sturgeon collected throughout Lake Superior back to their spawning population of origin. This approach is especially powerful in Lake Superior because lake sturgeon breeding populations there show strong spatial genetic structure and high differentiation compared with populations elsewhere in the Great Lakes. In practical terms, that means the genetic signatures of different spawning groups are distinct enough to serve like population "fingerprints." By analyzing tissue samples from fish captured in different parts of the lake, the project aims to determine which river systems are contributing fish to particular feeding or staging areas, how much inter-population mixing occurs, and whether any individuals appear to originate from spawning populations that have not yet been sampled or characterized in the existing genetic baseline.
The agreement is structured as a cooperative effort with substantial federal involvement, rather than a standard research grant where the recipient works independently. The FWS Ashland Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office (FWCO) plays a hands-on coordination role. Ashland FWCO will collect lake sturgeon tissue samples from multiple locations, act as the temporary repository for samples gathered by partner fishery agencies, and manage the logistics that make a multi-agency sample effort usable for a single genetic analysis workflow. This includes building and maintaining a sample inventory spreadsheet, prioritizing which samples should be processed first, serving as the main coordinating office for questions or troubleshooting related to analysis, and distributing genetic assignment results back to partner agencies so the information can be used in ongoing management decisions. The federal office will also contribute intellectually to the outputs of the work, including serving as a co-author on presentations and publications that come out of the project.
This opportunity is not an open competition. It is a notice of intent to make a single-source award to West Virginia University (WVU) under a specific policy justification (505 DM 2.14B4), and it explicitly states there is no application process. The rationale given is that competition is not practical because WVU faculty, staff, and students have been integral to Lake Superior lake sturgeon population genetics work for more than a decade and have worked closely with the Lake Superior Lake Sturgeon Work Group. WVU also developed and maintains the baseline genetic dataset needed to make population assignments in the first place, and the university was already completing related analyses (including assignments of juvenile sturgeon) at the time of the announcement. Using the group that already holds and maintains the reference baseline is presented as the most economical and efficient approach, since the success of assignment testing depends heavily on continuity, compatibility of methods, and direct access to the established baseline.
From an administrative perspective, the opportunity is listed as a discretionary cooperative agreement under the Environment and Natural Resources activity category, tied to CFDA 15.662 (Great Lakes Restoration). The funding is set as a single award with an estimated total of $186,000, and both the award floor and ceiling are listed as $186,000, indicating a fixed award amount rather than a range. No cost sharing or matching is required. The posting date was May 13, 2015, with an original and current closing date of May 20, 2015, and the archive date of May 21, 2015. Because this is strictly a notice of intent for a single-source agreement, those dates function more as public transparency milestones than as a window for applicant submissions. The announcement also provides an agency contact for access issues: Henry Quinlan at the Fish and Wildlife Service (phone 715-682-6185; email henryquinlan@fws.gov).
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the "Source Population Assignment of Lake Sturgeon in Lake Superior" opportunity?
It is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) cooperative agreement focused on improving lake sturgeon management and conservation in Lake Superior by using genetic and genomic DNA methods to determine the spawning population (river of origin) for individual sturgeon encountered away from spawning areas.
What management problem is this project trying to solve?
Managers often learn about lake sturgeon during short periods when adults gather to spawn in rivers, but sturgeon spend most of their lives in open-water and bay habitats where habitat use, seasonal movement, and mixing among populations are harder to observe. Traditional tools like mark-recapture and radio telemetry can be limited because only a small portion of any breeding population gets tagged and tracking coverage is constrained across a large lake system.
Why use genetics and genomics instead of only tagging and telemetry?
The project uses DNA-based assignment to link fish collected throughout Lake Superior back to their spawning populations of origin. This can provide information even when fish are not tagged and when tracking coverage is limited, allowing broader inference about where fish are coming from and how populations mix across the lake.
What does "source population assignment" mean in this project?
It means analyzing tissue samples from non-spawning lake sturgeon captured in various locations and using genetic signatures to assign each fish to the spawning population (and associated river system) it most likely originated from.
Why is this approach considered especially effective in Lake Superior?
Lake Superior lake sturgeon breeding populations are described as having strong spatial genetic structure and high differentiation compared with sturgeon populations elsewhere in the Great Lakes. Practically, this means different spawning groups have distinct genetic "fingerprints" that can be used to make population assignments.
What kinds of questions will the genetic assignment results help answer?
Based on the announcement, the analyses are intended to help determine which river systems contribute fish to particular feeding or staging areas, how much inter-population mixing occurs across Lake Superior, and whether any individuals appear to come from spawning populations that are not yet included in the existing genetic baseline.
What types of samples are used for the analysis?
The project uses lake sturgeon tissue samples collected from multiple locations. The Ashland Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office (FWCO) will collect tissue samples and also serve as a temporary repository for samples gathered by partner fishery agencies.
Who is the federal lead office and what role will it play?
The FWS Ashland Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office (FWCO) plays a hands-on coordination role under this cooperative agreement. Its responsibilities include collecting samples, acting as a temporary repository for partner samples, managing sample logistics for a multi-agency effort, and coordinating questions or troubleshooting related to the analysis.
What does "cooperative agreement with substantial federal involvement" mean here?
It means the recipient is not working independently as in a typical research grant. The FWS Ashland FWCO will be actively involved in coordinating sample efforts and logistics, managing a sample inventory and processing priorities, serving as the main coordinating office for analysis-related issues, and distributing genetic assignment results to partner agencies for management use.
What specific coordination and logistics tasks will Ashland FWCO handle?
The announcement lists several tasks: collecting tissue samples from multiple locations, serving as the temporary repository for partner agency samples, building and maintaining a sample inventory spreadsheet, prioritizing which samples should be processed first, coordinating questions and troubleshooting related to analysis, and distributing assignment results back to partner agencies.
Will FWS participate in publications or presentations from the project?
Yes. The federal office will contribute intellectually to the outputs of the work, including serving as a co-author on presentations and publications that result from the project.
Is this an open competitive grant opportunity?
No. The notice explicitly states it is not an open competition and there is no application process. It is a notice of intent to make a single-source award.
Who is the intended recipient of the single-source award?
The notice of intent is to make a single-source award to West Virginia University (WVU).
Why is competition described as not practical for this award?
The rationale provided is that WVU faculty, staff, and students have been integral to Lake Superior lake sturgeon population genetics work for more than a decade, have worked closely with the Lake Superior Lake Sturgeon Work Group, and developed and maintain the baseline genetic dataset required for population assignment. Continuity and compatibility of methods, plus direct access to the established baseline, are described as key reasons.
What is the baseline genetic dataset and why does it matter?
The baseline genetic dataset is the reference set of genetic information from known spawning populations used to assign unknown individuals to their population of origin. The announcement indicates WVU developed and maintains this baseline, and that assignment testing depends heavily on continuity, compatibility of methods, and direct access to that established baseline.
Were related analyses already underway at the time of the announcement?
Yes. The notice states WVU was already completing related analyses, including assignments of juvenile sturgeon, at the time of the announcement.
What is the funding mechanism and program category?
The opportunity is described as a discretionary cooperative agreement under the Environment and Natural Resources activity category, tied to CFDA 15.662 (Great Lakes Restoration).
How much funding is available?
The estimated total funding amount is $186,000, and both the award floor and ceiling are listed as $186,000, indicating a fixed single award amount rather than a range.
Is cost sharing or matching required?
No. The opportunity states that no cost sharing or matching is required.
What are the key dates listed in the announcement?
The posting date is May 13, 2015. The original and current closing date is May 20, 2015. The archive date is May 21, 2015.
Do the closing and archive dates represent an application window?
No. Because the announcement is strictly a notice of intent for a single-source cooperative agreement and states there is no application process, the dates function as public transparency milestones rather than a period for submitting applications.
Who can be contacted for access issues or questions about the posting?
The agency contact listed for access issues is Henry Quinlan at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Phone: 715-682-6185. Email: henryquinlan@fws.gov.
What is the main conservation value of the results for partner agencies?
The announcement indicates the assignment results will be distributed back to partner agencies so the information can be used in ongoing management decisions, particularly regarding contributions from different river systems, movement and mixing patterns, and identifying potential fish origins not represented in the current baseline.
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