&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA/600/9-90/051
December 1990
Announcement
Request for Applications
BIO-02-91
Identification and Evaluation of Biological
Indicators of Terrestrial Ecosystem Stress
Receipt Date March 15,1991
I. Background
Ecosystems and their component organisms are continu-
ally exposed to stresses, both natural and anthropogenic. One
task of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to
determine whether systems are sufficiently stressed by an-
thropogenic agents to cause damage. Problems to be addressed
by scientists are the difficulty in detecting stress and to
identify the causative stressors. These problems are particu-
larly acute because of the interactive nature of stress, in which
multiple anthropogenic factors act in an integrated manner
with multiple natural stressors.
The following is presented as a conceptual basis for a
research program to address these problems. Organisms ex-
posed to stress undergo a predictable sequence of changes in
response to stress. At low to moderate levels of stress, be-
havioral responses (avoidance), acclimation (physiological
response), and compensation occur. Acclimation and com-
pensation allow organisms to continue functioning while ex-
posed to a stressor, but growth and allocation costs are incurred.
At some level of stress, adaptation (genetic response) occurs.
When the stress exceeds the ability of organisms to acclimate,
or exceeds the ability of populations to adapt, damage occurs.
Each of these processes produces measurable changes in
ecosystems, populations, or organism states and processes.
Detection of acclimation or compensation could serve as an
early warning, which would trigger more intensive monitoring
of a system. These changes may or may not result in degrada-
tion, but they may provide information about causal factors.
Distinguishing ecological responses associated with an-
thropogenic stresses from natural stresses is the central step in
the proposed strategy for characterizing ecological responses
to human activities. Experience has shown that this is a
difficult task because of the inherent uncertainties and the lack
of an adequate baseline data for monitoring a single ecologi-
cal system or for system comparisons. Consequently, this area
of ecological research requires special attention. Only through
distinguishing anthropogenic stress responses from other stress
responses can causal factors be inferred that specifically relate
ecosystem damage to human activity.
The development of new tools and criteria for detecting
stress and determining the cause(s) would enhance the ability
of EPA to assess the impacts of anthropogenic stress and
would play a particularly important role in early detection of
ecosystem change due to stress.
II. Scope
The purpose of this Request for Application (RFA) is to
promote research on identifying and evaluating biological
indicators of ecosystem stress responses in terrestrial environ-
ments.
An indicator is a specific organism (plant or animal) or
measure (proteins, lipids or other macromolecules) that char-
acterizes an endpoint, either directly (e.g., the population level
or an endpoint species) or indirectly (e.g., coliform count as
an indicator of water contamination). Ecological research is
needed to identify the types of indicators that are appropriate
for different ecosystems and the particular types of indicators
most appropriate for characterizing endpoints. Of particular
importance are those biological indicators and endpoints which
can distinguish between anthropogenic and natural distur-
bances.
For the purposes of this RFA, the focus should be limited
to biological indicators applicable to terrestrial ecosystems
including forests, soils, grasslands, deserts, etc., or other
relevant terrestrial systems not described in this announce-
ment
III. Mechanisms of Support
Assistance under this RFA will be provided by a research
grant, administered through EPA's investigator-initiated re-
search grants program. The applicant will be responsible for
the planning, direction and execution of the proposed research.
Support under this program is limited to non-profit organiza-
tions and educational institutions.
Approximately 1.0 million dollars will be available from
fiscal 1991 funds, and it is estimated that about ten projects
will be supported. Each project will be supported for a period
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of two years at approximately $100,000 per year. This RFA is
for a single competition with a deadline of March 15, 1991.
IV. The Application
Each application will consist of APPLICATION FOR
FEDERAL ASSISTANCE forms (standard forms 424 and
424A), separate sheets providing the budget breakdown for
each year of the project, curriculum vitae for the principal
investigator, abstract of the proposed project, and a project
narrative. All certification (drug-free workplace, etc.) forms
must be signed and included with the application. Attach-
ments, appendices or other materials included in addition to
those identified above will not be forwarded to the reviewers.
Application forms, instructions, and other pertinent informa-
tion are contained in the federal grant application kit obtain-
able from:
Research Grants Staff (RD-675)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
401 M Street, SW
Washington, DC 20460
or by calling on (202) 382-7445.
V. Special Instructions
1. The project narrative or proposal must not exceed 30
single sided 8-1/2 by 11 inch pages. Typeface must
be standard 10-12 characters per inch.
2. CVs or resumes must not exceed two pages for each
principal investigator and should focus on education,
position held, and most recent or related publications.
3. Project periods will be for two years.
4. Applications in response to this RFA must be
identified by printing "RFA BIO-02-91" in item 10
on the face page of form 424 or in item 3 if you are
using the old form 5700-12. The absence of this
identifier from an application absolves EPA of any
responsibility if it is not reviewed along with the
other applications responding to this RFA.
VI. Application Review
All applications in response to this solicitation will be
reviewed at a single meeting of a scientific peer panel which
will evaluate and rank each proposal according to its scientific
merit as a basis for recommending agency approval or disap-
proval. The panel will consider:
• quality of research plan (including theoretical and/or
experimental design, originality, and creativity),
• qualifications of the research team,
• availability and adequacy of facilities and equipment, and
• appropriateness of the proposed budget.
VII. Application Submission
The original and eight copies of the application must be
received no later than the close of business March 15,1991, to
be considered. The applications must be sent to:
Grants Operation Branch (PM-216F)
Grants Administration Division
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
401 M Street, SW
Washington, DC 20460
or for overnight express mail, the address is:
Grants Operations Branch
Grants Administration Division
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
499 South Capital Street, SW
Washington, DC 20460
(202) 382-5266
VIII. Staff Contact
Questions relating to this solicitation may be directed to
Clyde Bishop by telephone on (202) 382-7445.
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental Research
Information
Cincinnati, OH 45268
BULK RATE
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EPA PERMIT NO. G-35
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
EPA/600/9-90/051
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