Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Piedmont South Atlantic Coast CESU | G19AS00078

Opportunity Information: Apply for G19AS00078

The Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Piedmont South Atlantic Coast CESU grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G19AS00078) is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research funding notice under the Department of the Interior. It supports science and technology research through a cooperative agreement, with a single anticipated award of up to $70,500. The opportunity was released on July 8, 2019, with an original closing date of July 22, 2019, and it is limited to eligible CESU partners (the announcement lists eligibility as "Others" with clarification provided in the eligibility section of the full notice).

The central goal of the project is to determine whether influenza A viruses (IAVs) can remain infectious in North American wetland environments across extended time periods and potentially across seasons, under conditions that mirror real ecological settings. USGS is focused on the idea that wetlands could act as environmental reservoirs where viruses shed by wild birds might persist outside a host, remain capable of infection, and later contribute to indirect transmission among wild birds. This matters because migratory birds can introduce and move influenza viruses over large distances, and if the viruses persist in water or wetland sediments after birds leave, they could potentially "seed" later outbreaks in subsequent seasons. The concern extends beyond wildlife because persistent environmental virus could also create opportunities for spillover to free-ranging poultry in areas where domestic birds share habitat or water sources with wild birds.

The work being sought is explicitly about infectivity, not just detection of viral genetic material. The project is intended to generate evidence about whether IAVs shed by wild birds can still be found, grown in culture (indicating viable virus), and actually transmitted to live captive birds after sitting in environmental conditions for a long period, potentially several months. To get at that question realistically, the CESU partner is expected to run a coordinated set of field and laboratory experiments. In controlled laboratory studies, conditions like temperature and water properties can be manipulated and monitored to isolate drivers of viral survival. In parallel field-based work in wetlands, the virus would be subjected to natural fluctuations and complexities that cannot be fully replicated in the lab, providing a more ecologically grounded test of persistence.

A key emphasis of the opportunity is linking virus persistence to environmental factors. The partner is expected to examine how variables such as water chemistry and temperature relate to how long IAVs stay infectious. This could include assessing differences among wetland sites or seasons, and evaluating which physical or chemical conditions are associated with faster loss of infectivity versus longer persistence. The broader purpose is to fill a major uncertainty in disease ecology: whether North American wetlands can maintain infectious influenza virus long enough to influence transmission dynamics across time, and how that environmental component should be incorporated into epidemiological and risk models. By improving understanding of environmental persistence, the results could strengthen predictive models of influenza spread in wild bird populations and inform surveillance or management decisions relevant to wildlife health and poultry biosecurity.

• 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, Piedmont South Atlantic 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 08, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 22, 2019. (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 $70,500.00 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 G19AS00078

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