Use of Genetic Analysis for the Identification of Asian Carp Reproduction in the Upper Mississippi River Basin | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The grant opportunity titled "Use of Genetic Analysis for the Identification of Asian Carp Reproduction in the Upper Mississippi River Basin" is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) discretionary research award designed to strengthen monitoring and understanding of Asian carp reproduction and early life-stage recruitment in the Upper Mississippi River basin. The central goal is to improve how managers detect and interpret spawning activity by combining field sampling of eggs and larvae with genetic analysis, so agencies can move beyond simply documenting adult presence and instead pinpoint where reproduction is actually occurring and where young fish are being produced and surviving. By focusing on reproduction and recruitment, the work targets the processes that drive population establishment and expansion, which is the key information needed to design effective control strategies.

This project builds on ongoing research conducted by Iowa State University (ISU) that has been sampling Asian carp eggs and larvae throughout the Upper Mississippi River basin. The grant emphasizes using genetic tools to identify and confirm species from collected early life stages, an important step because eggs and larval fish can be difficult to identify accurately by visual characteristics alone, especially among closely related species or when specimens are damaged or at very early developmental stages. Genetic identification increases confidence in the dataset and helps produce defensible conclusions about when and where Asian carp are reproducing. The expected outcome is a clearer, evidence-based picture of spawning timing and location across the basin, along with improved insight into the mechanisms that enable Asian carp populations to expand in this region.

A major theme of the opportunity is connecting biological findings to river and habitat conditions. The project is intended to help determine how environmental factors and river infrastructure shape spawning and nursery habitat. In practical terms, that means examining how variables such as flow conditions, temperature, and other environmental cues relate to reproduction, and how features like dams and tributary confluences may influence where eggs and larvae occur and where young fish can persist. The results are expected to help define which river reaches and connected habitats function as spawning areas versus nursery areas, and how those habitats are created or constrained by hydrology and connectivity in the Upper Mississippi River basin.

The management value is explicit: by identifying spawning and nursery habitats with higher precision, the project aims to provide actionable information to agencies responsible for invasive species control. Knowing the specific locations and conditions that support successful reproduction allows managers to more efficiently target removal, suppression, or other control actions in the places most likely to affect population growth, rather than spreading resources broadly across areas where adults might be present but reproduction is not occurring. The grant frames the work as directly supporting management decisions by improving the ability to locate and prioritize habitats that contribute most to recruitment.

From an administrative standpoint, this was a USGS cooperative agreement (rather than a standard contract or formula grant), indicating a collaborative research relationship between the federal agency and the recipient. The opportunity fell under CFDA 15.808 (U.S. Geological Survey Research and Data Collection) and the activity category of Science and Technology and other Research and Development. The program anticipated a single award with a total funding amount of $42,880, with the award ceiling and floor both set at $42,880, meaning the project budget was effectively fixed at that amount. No cost sharing or matching was required. Eligibility was limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, aligning with the research-focused nature of the work and the emphasis on scientific sampling and genetic analysis.

The opportunity was posted on July 15, 2015, with an original and current closing date of July 29, 2015, and it was archived on August 28, 2015. The listed point of contact for access or announcement issues was Tangee Brookie, Contract Specialist, reachable by phone at 303-236-9322 or by email at tbrookie@usgs.gov.

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