Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Chesapeake Watershed CESU | G18AS00109

Opportunity Information: Apply for G18AS00109

This grant opportunity, titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Chesapeake Watershed CESU" (Funding Opportunity Number G18AS00109), was issued by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) within the Department of the Interior. It is a discretionary research funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement mechanism, meaning the USGS would typically expect to be actively involved with the recipient during the project rather than simply issuing funds and receiving a final report. The opportunity falls under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category and is associated with CFDA number 15.808. The posting date was July 31, 2018, with an original closing date of August 14, 2018. USGS anticipated making one award with a maximum funding level (award ceiling) of $40,000.

Eligibility is limited to partners in the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) network, specifically within or aligned to the Chesapeake Watershed CESU, with the formal eligibility details referenced as being in the opportunity's additional eligibility text. In practical terms, this means the applicant pool is restricted to institutions already participating in that federal-university partnership framework, which is designed to support collaborative research that is relevant to federal land and resource management needs.

The scientific focus of the project is to investigate how environmental contaminants can alter (or modulate) immune function in wildlife, with particular attention to birds and the downstream consequences for disease susceptibility and outbreaks. USGS notes that pollutants can trigger immunomodulatory effects and disrupt thyroid function, and that these physiological changes can reduce an animal's resistance to infection. Because the immune and endocrine systems are linked, these contaminant-driven shifts can also affect broader measures of health such as fitness and reproduction, even when exposures are not immediately lethal. The overall concern is that sublethal contaminant exposure may quietly change how wildlife populations respond to pathogens, potentially influencing the frequency or severity of disease events.

The opportunity highlights that a number of well-known "legacy" pollutants already have documented immunotoxic or immunomodulatory impacts. Examples explicitly mentioned include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), various pesticides, and brominated flame retardants such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). These chemicals have been associated with weakened immune defenses and, as a result, could contribute to higher infection rates or facilitate disease outbreaks in wildlife, including bird populations. In contrast, USGS emphasizes a key research gap: comparatively little is known about the immunotoxicity of emerging chemicals of concern, especially newer compounds being used as replacements for older brominated flame retardants. In other words, while some older chemicals have a clearer evidence base, many modern substitutes have not been studied enough to understand whether they carry similar or different risks to wildlife immune function.

A major motivating question for the work is whether birds living in more contaminated environments are measurably more susceptible to disease than birds in areas that appear less impacted. USGS frames this as an important need for evaluating how avian diseases may spread across landscapes and for understanding the ecological consequences of chronic, low-level exposure to newer contaminants. The intended outcome is improved scientific understanding of how contaminant exposure intersects with immune health, thyroid or endocrine disruption, and disease dynamics, helping inform how wildlife health risks are assessed in contaminated versus relatively cleaner habitats within the Chesapeake watershed context and potentially beyond.

• The Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Chesapeake Watershed CESU" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.808.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 31, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 14, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $40,000.00 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).

Apply for G18AS00109

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