Environmental DNA Sampling in the Lower Roanoke River | W81EWF 20 SOI 0023

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81EWF 20 SOI 0023

This grant opportunity, titled "Environmental DNA Sampling in the Lower Roanoke River" (Funding Opportunity Number W81EWF 20 SOI 0023), comes from the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It is offered as a discretionary cooperative agreement in the science and technology and research and development category (CFDA 12.630). The project is relatively small in scale, with an award ceiling of $40,000 and an expectation of a single award.

The work is centered on the Lower Roanoke River, which is described as one of the most important river systems on the Atlantic seaboard for diadromous fish reproduction. A key management change happened in 2016, when the Corps revised flood operations at the John H. Kerr Hydropower project to implement a more naturally variable flow approach called Quasi-Run-of-River (QRR). Under QRR operations, flood control releases are adjusted to track natural inflows as closely as possible while still meeting the reservoir's other authorized purposes. Because flow management can strongly influence spawning success, nursery habitat, and juvenile survival, the Corps is interested in better linking what is happening operationally at the reservoir with measurable biological responses downstream.

Although the Roanoke has been intensively monitored for diadromous fish recruitment both before and after the shift to QRR, the opportunity highlights a specific gap: there has been limited effort to directly connect observed population patterns for juvenile alosines, specifically blueback herring, alewife, and hickory shad, with individual river flow events. In other words, the river has data on fish recruitment, and it has data on flows, but there is still missing evidence that ties particular flow regimes or release patterns to where juveniles are located, when they appear, and how they respond over time.

To address that gap, the Corps wants to test environmental DNA (eDNA) as a monitoring tool. eDNA sampling looks for genetic material that fish shed into the water, which can help detect species presence without relying solely on traditional capture methods. The goal here is not just to detect fish, but to use eDNA in a way that captures both spatial and temporal variability. That means sampling across different locations and different times to learn where juveniles tend to congregate, what the condition of those habitats might be, and which flow conditions are associated with higher likelihood of juvenile presence. A practical emphasis runs through the opportunity: the Corps wants to evaluate whether eDNA is a reliable and useful method that could eventually help inform reservoir release decisions, particularly when dealing with rare or hard-to-sample species.

The Roanoke River is also framed as a broader testbed because it is part of the nationwide Sustainable Rivers Program and was one of the original eight rivers included when the program began in 2002. That history matters in the context of this grant because it suggests the Corps sees the Roanoke as an ideal place to pilot tools and approaches that could be transferred to other systems. The opportunity explicitly asks applicants to place the work in a broader context so the results can inform how eDNA might be used on other rivers managed by the Corps, not just on the Roanoke.

The anticipated work is organized around several related objectives. First, it aims to test eDNA as a tool for studying relationships between river flows and fish species, essentially evaluating whether eDNA can detect changes in fish presence that correspond with flow changes. Second, it seeks to gather additional data specifically on how flow affects juvenile fish in the Roanoke River, helping fill a recognized knowledge gap in fisheries management for this system. Third, it is meant to provide the Corps with clearer insight into how reservoir releases may be influencing juvenile fish, information that can support more informed operational decisions. Finally, it aims to strengthen fisheries knowledge by addressing a missing element in understanding recruitment and juvenile habitat use, while also producing lessons that can guide broader Corps applications of eDNA technology across other rivers and reservoir systems.

The opportunity was created on June 4, 2020, with an original closing date of July 31, 2020. Eligible applicants are listed broadly as "Others" with further clarification referenced in the opportunity materials, indicating the Corps was open to nontraditional or varied partner types depending on the detailed eligibility language provided in the full notice.

• The Department of Defense, Dept. of the Army -- Corps of Engineers in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Environmental DNA Sampling in the Lower Roanoke River" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.630.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 04, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 31, 2020. (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 W81EWF 20 SOI 0023

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