Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with North Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) | G22AS00258

Opportunity Information: Apply for G22AS00258

This grant opportunity is a US Geological Survey (USGS) Powell Center cooperative agreement focused on improving the science of invasive plant impacts at broad (macroecological) scales. The core idea is to move beyond simple yes-or-no notions of invasion and instead quantify how the abundance of invasive species, together with measurable functional traits of both invaders and native resident plants, drives real ecological impacts across the United States. The project is built around a major, recently compiled dataset that includes trait and phylogenetic information for native and nonnative plants drawn from roughly 48,000 vegetation plots, giving researchers the ability to test invasion hypotheses with unusually strong geographic and ecological coverage.

The research is organized around three linked questions. First, it will examine which native species are most affected by invaders, with special attention to whether rarity (how uncommon a species is) and specific traits make some natives more vulnerable to being suppressed when invaders become abundant. This matters because losses or declines of rare species can quickly translate into reduced biodiversity and higher extinction risk, while declines in common species can have outsized consequences for ecosystem functioning and services. Second, the work will evaluate how invasions reshape trait distributions within plant communities, essentially asking how the functional makeup of a community shifts as invasive species increase and certain native species decrease. A key tool here is the use of community-weighted mean traits, which summarize the functional characteristics of communities while accounting for species abundances. Third, the project will test whether invasions contribute to biotic homogenization across space and time, meaning whether invaded areas become more similar to each other in terms of species composition (taxonomic diversity), functional traits (functional diversity), and evolutionary relatedness (phylogenetic diversity). In practice, this looks at whether invasions reduce distinctiveness among regions and whether those changes track invader abundance and trait or phylogenetic novelty.

Methodologically, the work will rely heavily on statistical modeling designed for large, complex ecological datasets, including generalized linear mixed models and related approaches that can account for differences among plots, regions, and other sources of non-independence. By linking invasion intensity (often reflected in invader abundance) to changes in native species abundances and to shifts in functional and phylogenetic structure, the study aims to clarify when and why invasions cause stronger impacts, and how those impacts scale from local communities to national patterns. The opportunity explicitly responds to gaps highlighted in prior meta-analyses, especially the need to study impacts along gradients of invader abundance and to incorporate species traits rather than treating all invaders or all natives as equivalent.

Expected outputs are strongly publication-oriented but also intended to support applied management. The project anticipates at least three peer-reviewed publications that advance fundamental understanding of invasion impacts, plus at least one publication aimed at informing management of ecosystem impacts from plant invasions. A notable feature is the emphasis on ongoing collaboration with federal and state land managers and planners, with the intention that results will help guide on-the-ground decisions such as prioritizing which invaders or invaded systems to target, anticipating which native species or community types are most at risk, and understanding whether invasion is contributing to loss of regional ecological distinctiveness.

Administratively, this is a discretionary science and technology research and development award issued as a cooperative agreement, meaning the federal agency expects to be meaningfully involved during the project rather than simply providing funds with minimal interaction. The opportunity is tied to the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program, a partnership framework that supports research, technical assistance, and education through networks of affiliated institutions. Eligibility is limited to organizations that are participating partners of the North Atlantic Coast CESU. The funding opportunity number is G22AS00258 under CFDA 15.808, with an award ceiling of $100,000. The original closing date listed for applications was March 25, 2022, and the opportunity was created on February 28, 2022.

• The Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with North Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (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 2022-02-28.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-03-25. (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 $100,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G22AS00258

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