Opportunity Information: Apply for M16AS00006
The BOEM FY 2016 Environmental Studies Program (ESP) opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number M16AS00006) funded a single cooperative agreement to create a practical, science-based index for evaluating and ranking human-caused disturbance in deep soft-sediment seafloor communities on the Southern California Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The focus is specifically on biological communities living in and on soft sediments on the outer shelf and upper slope in waters deeper than about 200 meters, particularly in areas around offshore platforms. BOEMs intent was to move beyond site-by-site observations and produce a regional tool that can consistently describe seafloor condition, compare locations, and support decisions where offshore activities may affect soft-bottom habitat.
At a high level, the grant was designed to help agencies understand what "normal" or minimally disturbed deep seafloor communities look like in the Southern California Bight, and then use that reference understanding to detect and interpret changes associated with human activities. BOEM emphasized that having a complete analysis and an operational tool would allow local governments, other federal agencies, and the State of California to compare deep-water conditions to the shallower habitats that have already been assessed more extensively. The resulting disturbance index was also positioned as a transferable framework that could be applied elsewhere on the Pacific OCS, including areas where offshore renewable energy development was (and remains) a growing interest.
The technical scope centers on macrobenthic infauna, meaning the larger bottom-dwelling organisms that live within seabed sediments (for example, many worms, small crustaceans, bivalves, and other invertebrates). These organisms are widely used as indicators because their community composition often responds in measurable ways to physical disturbance, changes in sediment characteristics, and contaminant exposure. BOEMs primary goal for the project was to formally characterize the natural, non-disturbed state of these deep-water infaunal communities in the region, then use that baseline to evaluate potential anthropogenic impacts near infrastructure and other stressors.
Three main objectives define what the awardee would be expected to deliver. First, the project would synthesize existing deep-water infaunal datasets along with relevant environmental datasets from across the Southern California Bight into a single, consolidated database. This implies substantial data integration work: assembling disparate surveys, standardizing taxonomy and sampling metadata, and aligning biological observations with environmental variables such as depth, sediment composition, and potentially other supporting parameters commonly used in benthic studies. Second, the project would analyze those compiled data to determine whether the region contains one infaunal community type or multiple distinct communities, and to identify the natural gradients that structure those communities. BOEM specifically highlighted gradients like depth, sediment composition, and biogeography, reflecting an expectation that the index must distinguish natural variation from human-caused change so that the tool does not mistakenly label naturally different habitats as "disturbed." Third, once a defensible reference condition is defined, the project would compare sites with potential anthropogenic influence to determine whether there are repeatable and predictable changes in community structure associated with disturbance. This step is essentially the foundation for building the disturbance index itself: identifying consistent biological signals that correlate with human influence and can be used to score or rank sites across the region.
The intended uses of the resulting index and supporting products were strongly tied to environmental planning and regulatory decision-making on the OCS. BOEM described applications ranging from ongoing biological assessments relevant to protected resources (including critical habitat considerations for species such as white abalone) to broader, regional decisions such as offshore platform decommissioning planning. By enabling consistent regional comparisons and status assessments of the soft-bottom seafloor, the tool would help decision-makers evaluate how proposed or existing projects might affect deep benthic habitats and how those effects compare among locations.
Administratively, the opportunity was a discretionary funding action under CFDA 15.423, using a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument, which typically indicates BOEM expected substantial involvement or collaboration during the work rather than a completely hands-off grant. Eligible applicants included state and county governments and nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), excluding institutions of higher education as stated in the eligibility list). BOEM anticipated making one award with a ceiling of $200,000. The opportunity was posted on March 24, 2016, with an original closing date of April 25, 2016, reflecting a relatively focused, single-project solicitation aimed at producing a concrete analytical product and usable assessment framework rather than supporting multiple independent research efforts.Apply for M16AS00006
- The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BOEM FY 2016 Environmental Studies Program (ESP)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.423.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2016-03-24.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2016-04-25. (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 $200,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the BOEM FY 2016 Environmental Studies Program (ESP) opportunity?
This was a BOEM Environmental Studies Program funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number M16AS00006) that supported one cooperative agreement to develop a practical, science-based disturbance index for deep soft-sediment seafloor communities on the Southern California Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
What was the main goal of the project?
The main goal was to move beyond site-by-site observations and create a regional tool that can consistently describe deep seafloor condition, compare locations, and support decisions where offshore activities may affect soft-bottom habitat. A central theme was defining what "normal" or minimally disturbed conditions look like and then using that reference to detect and interpret changes linked to human activities.
What area did the project focus on?
The focus was the Southern California Outer Continental Shelf, particularly the Southern California Bight, with attention to areas around offshore platforms.
What habitats and depths were targeted?
The project targeted biological communities living in and on soft sediments on the outer shelf and upper slope in waters deeper than about 200 meters.
What does "soft-sediment seafloor communities" mean in this context?
It refers to biological communities associated with seafloor areas made up of soft sediments (rather than hard rocky substrate), including organisms living on the sediment surface and within the sediment.
What kinds of organisms were at the center of the technical scope?
The technical scope centered on macrobenthic infauna, meaning relatively larger bottom-dwelling organisms that live within seabed sediments. Examples mentioned include many worms, small crustaceans, bivalves, and other invertebrates.
Why use macrobenthic infauna to evaluate disturbance?
Macrobenthic infauna are widely used as indicators because their community composition often responds in measurable ways to physical disturbance, changes in sediment characteristics, and contaminant exposure.
What is meant by a "disturbance index" in this opportunity?
The disturbance index was intended to be a practical, science-based index for evaluating and ranking human-caused disturbance in deep soft-sediment seafloor communities. It was meant to work as a regional tool for consistent comparisons and status assessments across locations.
What problem was BOEM trying to solve with a regional index?
BOEM wanted a tool that could distinguish natural differences among habitats from changes associated with human influence, enabling consistent regional comparisons instead of relying only on isolated, site-specific observations.
How was the project expected to define "normal" or minimally disturbed conditions?
The project was expected to formally characterize the natural, non-disturbed state of deep-water infaunal communities in the region, using that characterization as a reference condition (baseline) for evaluating potential anthropogenic impacts near infrastructure and other stressors.
What were the three main objectives the awardee was expected to deliver?
The three main objectives were: (1) synthesize existing deep-water infaunal datasets and relevant environmental datasets from across the Southern California Bight into a consolidated database; (2) analyze the compiled data to determine whether the region contains one infaunal community type or multiple distinct communities, and identify natural gradients that structure those communities; and (3) compare potentially influenced sites to reference conditions to identify repeatable, predictable changes associated with disturbance, forming the basis for the disturbance index.
What kinds of data integration work were implied by the database objective?
The opportunity described assembling disparate surveys, standardizing taxonomy and sampling metadata, and aligning biological observations with environmental variables such as depth and sediment composition (and potentially other supporting parameters commonly used in benthic studies).
Why did BOEM emphasize identifying natural gradients like depth and sediment composition?
Because the index needed to separate natural variation from human-caused change so it would not incorrectly label naturally different habitats as "disturbed." BOEM highlighted gradients including depth, sediment composition, and biogeography.
What types of human activities or stressors were implied in the disturbance evaluation?
The project was intended to evaluate human-caused disturbance and specifically noted interest in areas around offshore platforms, as well as broader offshore activities that could affect soft-bottom habitat.
How was the disturbance index expected to be used?
BOEM tied the index to environmental planning and regulatory decision-making on the OCS, including ongoing biological assessments relevant to protected resources and broader regional decisions such as offshore platform decommissioning planning.
Did BOEM mention any protected resources or species considerations?
Yes. BOEM referenced applications relevant to protected resources, including critical habitat considerations for species such as white abalone.
Was the resulting framework intended to be used outside Southern California?
Yes. BOEM positioned the disturbance index as a transferable framework that could be applied elsewhere on the Pacific OCS, including areas where offshore renewable energy development was (and remains) a growing interest.
How many awards did BOEM anticipate making under this opportunity?
BOEM anticipated making one award.
What was the maximum funding amount available?
The funding ceiling was $200,000.
What type of funding instrument was used?
The opportunity used a cooperative agreement.
What does it imply that the award was a cooperative agreement?
It typically indicates BOEM expected substantial involvement or collaboration during the work, rather than a completely hands-off grant.
What was the CFDA number for this opportunity?
The opportunity was a discretionary funding action under CFDA 15.423.
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants included state and county governments and nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)). The eligibility list excluded institutions of higher education.
Were institutions of higher education eligible to apply?
No. Institutions of higher education were excluded in the stated eligibility list.
When was the opportunity posted and when did it close?
It was posted on March 24, 2016, with an original closing date of April 25, 2016.
What was the overall structure of the solicitation?
It was a focused, single-project solicitation aimed at producing a concrete analytical product and usable assessment framework, rather than supporting multiple independent research efforts.
What kinds of decisions could the index support related to offshore platforms?
BOEM described the index as supporting decisions where offshore activities may affect soft-bottom habitat and specifically mentioned broader regional decisions such as offshore platform decommissioning planning.
How did BOEM frame the value of the tool for different levels of government?
BOEM emphasized that an operational tool and complete analysis would allow local governments, other federal agencies, and the State of California to make consistent comparisons and relate deep-water conditions to shallower habitats that had already been assessed more extensively.
What makes this index "regional" rather than site-specific?
It was designed to incorporate and analyze datasets from across the Southern California Bight, define reference conditions and natural gradients at a broader scale, and enable consistent scoring or ranking of sites across the region.
What kinds of environmental variables were specifically mentioned as part of the analysis?
Variables mentioned included depth, sediment composition, and biogeography, with an implication that other supporting parameters commonly used in benthic studies could also be aligned with biological observations.
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