Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Gulf Coast CESU | G18AS00115

Opportunity Information: Apply for G18AS00115

The Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU), Gulf Coast CESU funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G18AS00115) is a discretionary research grant offered by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Department of the Interior, through a cooperative agreement mechanism. It was issued by the USGS Great Lakes Science Center and is aimed at supporting a single CESU partner to carry out applied research on invasive plant management, specifically focused on understanding how microbes influence the invasiveness of Phragmites australis (common reed) in and around the Great Lakes basin. The total anticipated funding is up to $99,900, with one award expected, and the opportunity originally opened on July 31, 2018, with an original closing date of August 14, 2018. The activity aligns with Science and Technology and other Research and Development, under CFDA 15.808.

The central purpose of the project is to explore plant-microbe interactions in Phragmites in a way that can lead to practical, microbe-based management strategies for invasive populations. Rather than focusing only on the plant itself, the work emphasizes the organisms living in and on the plant, especially endophytes (microbes that live within plant tissues), including fungi and bacteria. The research is designed to use Phragmites samples (and potentially related species) that are grown or collected in coordination with ongoing USGS efforts, which helps ensure the work plugs into existing monitoring, field sites, and broader USGS invasive species research. By isolating, identifying, and experimentally testing microbes associated with the plant, the project seeks to clarify which microbial partners may be helping Phragmites spread and dominate, and which microbes might be leveraged to suppress it or alter its competitive advantage.

The opportunity frames its scientific goals around improving understanding of how fungal and bacterial endophytes affect Phragmites invasibility and identifying microbial "targets" that could support either control or enhancement. In practice, that means determining whether certain microbes increase growth, stress tolerance, or competitive performance of invasive Phragmites, and whether manipulating those microbial relationships could reduce invasiveness. The intent is not only descriptive ecology, but also building a foundation for potential biocontrol-like approaches or microbial interventions that could complement existing management tools.

To reach these goals, the funding announcement outlines three connected research areas that build on prior and ongoing work. First, it calls for developing in vitro (laboratory-based) approaches to explore Phragmites-microbial interactions. This component is about establishing reliable lab methods to culture, isolate, and characterize microbes from Phragmites tissues, and then testing interactions under controlled, simplified conditions. These kinds of methods are often prerequisites for later applied steps because they allow researchers to determine which microbes can be consistently handled, how they behave, and what measurable effects they may have on plant tissues or plant-associated communities.

Second, it supports in planta testing, meaning experiments conducted in living plants, under controlled environmental conditions. The focus here is on observing how selected microbes affect host growth and the plant's transcriptional responses, which refers to changes in gene expression. That detail signals an interest in mechanisms, not just outcomes: the project is expected to examine not only whether a microbe changes plant performance, but also how the plant physiologically responds, which can reveal pathways tied to invasiveness, stress responses, nutrient uptake, or defense. Controlled environment work can include greenhouse or growth chamber experiments where variables like temperature, moisture, and nutrients can be manipulated to see when microbial effects are strongest or most relevant.

Third, the opportunity includes a field trial component aimed at evaluating whether controlled inoculations can alter Phragmites invasiveness and shift microbial communities under real-world conditions. This is where the work moves from lab and greenhouse into management-relevant settings, testing whether adding or modifying microbial associates can meaningfully influence plant behavior outside controlled environments. Field trials also help capture complexities that are difficult to replicate indoors, such as interactions with local soils, hydrology, competing vegetation, seasonal dynamics, and naturally occurring microbial communities. The goal is to assess whether microbial manipulation could be a feasible and effective approach in the Great Lakes basin, and to observe broader community effects that might accompany any intervention.

Eligibility is limited to CESU partners (the listing notes "Others" with additional eligibility clarification), which reflects the CESU program model that emphasizes collaboration among federal agencies, universities, and other research partners. Overall, the opportunity is a targeted, one-award research project intended to advance a microbial understanding of invasive Phragmites and to lay groundwork for innovative management techniques that incorporate fungi and bacteria as either control agents or key factors influencing invasiveness.

• 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, Gulf Coast 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 $99,900.00 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 G18AS00115

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