The Engineer Research and Development Center has released a grants notice under the number W81EWF-24-SOI-0006, titled “National Information Collaboration on Ecohydraulics (NICE): Acoustic Tracking of Fish.” This discretionary funding opportunity, part of the Basic, Applied, and Advanced Research in Science and Engineering program (CFDA Number 12.630), offers up to $450,000 for research and development in ecohydraulics.
The primary objective of this research is to overcome the challenges of acquiring multidimensional high-resolution fish positions near navigation infrastructure like locks and dams, which are often hydraulically energetic environments. These conditions currently make acoustic tracking of fish difficult. The data obtained from this research is crucial for understanding fish movement near such infrastructure, which impacts the design and implementation of effective fish passage, mitigation, or management strategies. This project aims to develop new techniques for collecting high-resolution fish tracks near infrastructure, implement and evaluate real-time tracking, and improve post-processing methods. The research will focus on multiple fish species, both native and non-native, in the Mississippi River and its tributaries, with a special emphasis on potential fish passage structures in the middle Mississippi River. The deadline for applications is January 18, 2024. This grant represents a significant step towards integrating ecohydraulic principles with navigation infrastructure to enhance both environmental sustainability and navigation efficiency.
Opportunity ID: 351028
General Information
| Document Type: | Grants Notice |
| Funding Opportunity Number: | W81EWF-24-SOI-0006 |
| Funding Opportunity Title: | National Information Collaboration on Ecohydraulics (NICE): Acoustic Tracking of Fish |
| Opportunity Category: | Discretionary |
| Opportunity Category Explanation: | |
| Funding Instrument Type: | Cooperative Agreement |
| Category of Funding Activity: | Science and Technology and other Research and Development |
| Category Explanation: | |
| Expected Number of Awards: | 1 |
| CFDA Number(s): | 12.630 — Basic, Applied, and Advanced Research in Science and Engineering |
| Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: | No |
| Version: | Synopsis 1 |
| Posted Date: | Nov 17, 2023 |
| Last Updated Date: | Nov 17, 2023 |
| Original Closing Date for Applications: | Jan 18, 2024 |
| Current Closing Date for Applications: | Jan 18, 2024 |
| Archive Date: | Feb 17, 2024 |
| Estimated Total Program Funding: | $ 450,000 |
| Award Ceiling: | $450,000 |
| Award Floor: | $0 |
Eligibility
| Eligible Applicants: | Others (see text field entitled “Additional Information on Eligibility” for clarification) |
| Additional Information on Eligibility: | This opportunity is restricted to non-federal partners of the Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (CESU). Disclosures of current and pending support made in this application may render an applicant ineligible for funding. Prior to award and throughout the period of performance, ERDC may continue to request updated continuing and pending support information, which will be reviewed and may result in discontinuation of funding. Religious organizations are entitled to compete on equal footing with secular organizations for Federal financial assistance as described in E.O. 13798, “Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty.” |
Additional Information
| Agency Name: | Engineer Research and Development Center |
| Description: | “THIS IS A 2 PHASE APPROACH.
SOI DUE: 18 December 2023 FULL PROPOSAL DUE: 18 January 2024 There are many locks and dams, navigation channels, and increasingly beneficial sediment-use sites across the Mississippi watershed and throughout the United States. Interest is high in understanding navigation impacts on fisheries and how navigation infrastructure can be used to manage fisheries in the role of navigation. Currently, fisheries impacts are often not explicitly accounted for in lock and dam operations. For example, nearly all dams in the Mississippi Basin and southeastern United States are, by and large, not designed to accommodate fish passage for native fish. Moreover, many of these dams are now being viewed as possible components for control and management of aquatic nuisance species. Some native fishes are now protected under provisions of the Endangered Species Act further heightening interest in the possible influence of locks and dams on fish movement. A primary challenge of the proposed work is to develop strategies that allow fish movement past locks and dams while not impacting navigation operations. The National Information Collaboration for Ecohydraulics (NICE) has been established with the mission of applying ecohydraulic principles to navigation infrastructure at multiple scales and facilitating accurate engineering forecasts of fisheries outcomes based on research and development for multiple contexts. Program Description/Objective: (brief description of the anticipated work) The aim of this research is to address the challenge of obtaining multidimensional high-resolution fish positions near infrastructure. Locks and dams are often hydraulically energetic making the use of current acoustic tracking difficult or impossible. These data sets are viewed as critical missing elements in understanding fish movement near infrastructure. This limits the design possibilities for implementing effective passage, mitigation, or management at locks and dams. This project will develop new techniques that allow the collection of high-resolution fish tracks near infrastructure, the implementation and evaluation of real-time tracking, and improved post-processing. Multiple species, both native and non-native, require data. Field sites will be in the Mississippi River and its tributaries with a particular focus on application to future fish passage structures in the middle Mississippi River. |
| Link to Additional Information: | |
| Grantor Contact Information: | If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact: Phoebe V Fuller
Grantor Phone 6016343793 |