The Lake Champlain Basin Program’s Technical Advisory Committee is pleased to announce a Request for Proposals addressing Lake Champlain Food Web Linkages. The Basin Program is seeking to sponsor a project that will link the existing models created in a “top down” food web study, focusing on sport fish, and a “bottom up” food web study, focusing on nutrients and plankton species, by providing additional analyses of the links between plankton, zebra mussels and forage fish. The project will provide information needed to achieve the goals of the lakewide management plan for Lake Champlain, Opportunities for Action.

The RFP can be viewed below, or you may call the Basin Program office at 802/372-3213 and request a copy via FAX or US Postal Service.

To facilitate the review process, applicants must submit proposals in both paper and electronic format. Please see the RFP for complete details.

DEADLINE NOTICE: Hardcopy (8 copies) and electronic versions (no facsimiles) of proposals must be RECEIVED by the LCBP office by close of business on Friday May 28, 1999.

LATE OR INCOMPLETE PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED

Background

Lake Champlain is subject to complex management pressures. In recent years, there have been substantial efforts to manage Lake Champlain's fishery and to control phosphorus levels in the lake to reduce the frequency and extent of nuisance algal conditions. These management programs have the potential to interact with each other and affect the lake ecosystem is unforeseen ways.

The states of New York and Vermont and the Province of Quebec agreed to a set of interim phosphorus criteria for Lake Champlain in 1993. The criteria were derived primarily from an analysis of recreational user survey and water quality data. The criteria were established with the understanding they would be continually evaluated and revised over time as new information becomes available. It was intended that, among other things, the results of research on bioenergetics and the ecological effects of specific phosphorus values in Lake Champlain be used to modify the criteria as necessary to provide for both a healthy ecosystem and sustainable human use and enjoyment of the lake.

In 1993-1994, the Lake Champlain Basin Program sponsored a “top down” food web study, focusing on the bioenergetics requirements of sport fish in Lake Champlain. Bioenergetics models for salmonids and walleye were the final products of this investigation. In 1994-1996 the LCBP also funded a “bottom up” food web study to look at the linkages between nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in the lake and the abundance and species composition of the plankton. Final reports on both studies are available from the LCBP office. Both studies produced predictive models of their respective food web components to assist in lake management. In order to tie together the top down fisheries bioenergetics with predicted changes in the algae population resulting from phosphorus reductions, additional analyses of food web linkages between zooplankton and small fish are necessary.

Further, because zebra mussels can now be found throughout all sections of Lake Champlain, research is needed to investigate the implications of the expanding zebra mussel population to the aquatic food web of Lake Champlain. Experience from the Great Lakes and other areas suggest that the effects of zebra mussels will first be apparent in the lower levels of the food web. For example in parts of the Great Lakes, water clarity improved dramatically and the phytoplankton community changed from one dominated by green algae to one dominated by blue green algae a few years after the zebra mussel invasion. These different algal groups support very different predator populations.

This request is to study food web dynamics with particular emphasis on linkages between plankton, zebra mussels and forage fish, with particular emphasis on smelt. Once these linkages are characterized and modeled, managers will begin to have the ability to predict what the phosphorus reduction strategy developed for the basin means for higher trophic levels in the lake.

Tasks

1. Determine and evaluate food web linkages connecting plankton, zebra mussels and fishes in the one or more subsections of the Main Lake portion of Lake Champlain. Identify and employ the optimum combination of empirical measurements, experimental research, use of existing monitoring data, and literature review to accomplish this purpose.
2. Based on the work conducted under Task 1, develop a numerical model that links the existing Lake Champlain "top-down" and "bottom-up" bioenergetics models. This model must be structured to complement and share data with ongoing lake-wide water quality monitoring programs.
3. The ability of local aquatic resource managers to make use of the work must be assured by establishing, at minimum, semi-annual reviews of the project activities with the Technical Advisory Committee. The investigators would also be expected to coordinate as appropriate with the investigators working on the Lake Champlain Basin Program's Ecological Indicators project. This coordination would be arranged through the Technical Advisory Committee.
4. Prepare a final report detailing all data, methods, results, and QA/QC procedures, and fully documenting the numerical model employed. Include in the final report the results of the application of the model to a variety of realistic alternative management scenarios, and provide details of how the model is linked with the top-down and bottom-up models.
5. Provide a final presentation to the Technical Advisory Committee and Lake Champlain Steering Committee on the results of the studies. Submit article for publication in a scientific peer-reviewed ecology/aquatic journal, and provide information for the public to the Lake Champlain Basin Program.

Eligible organizations include colleges, universities, nonprofit organizations, and local, state, and federal government agencies

Proposal Evaluation and Selection Criteria

Proposals will be judged according to how well they address the following:

1. Demonstrated understanding of the principles of complex interactions in lake communities, especially as related to middle trophic levels, including detailed descriptions of research and modeling experience in this and related fields of study.
2. Investigative approach, and extent and locations of proposed data acquisition efforts.
3. Familiarity with existing lake monitoring data and research results on Lake Champlain as they relate to the proposed study.
4. Overall technical merit of the proposal and credentials of the investigators.
5. Integration with other research activities and efforts in the basin.
6. Potential to enhance the technical infrastructure and abilities within the basin.
7. Institutional support of the investigators, including the ability to provide the required non- federal 25% match.
8. Provision of a public education element, such as the preparation of project summary intended for lay audiences.
9. Clarity and conciseness of the proposal.
10. Well-documented and appropriate QA/QC procedures.
11. All documents and software produced are to be available to, and useable by local aquatic resource managers.

A total of $90,000 is available for this project. A 25% match ($30,000) of either funds or in-kind services is required. Budget proposals should clearly document the intended use(s) and source(s) of matching contributions. Federal funds may not be used as a source of matching funds.

Period of Performance

Work is to be completed within two years of the execution of a contract.

Schedule and Requirements for Proposal Submission

• Please follow the format requested in the attached proposal guidelines.
• Eight (8) paper copies of each proposal must be RECEIVED by the LCBP office by close of business on Friday, May 28, 1999.
• In addition, please submit an ELECTRONIC VERSION of your proposal, via either e-mail (preferred) or on diskette. Electronic versions must also be RECEIVED by close of business on Friday, May 28, 1999.
• Note: the recipient of this funding will be required to prepare a detailed workplan that must be approved before a contract can be completed and any work begun.

Barry Gruessner
Technical Coordinator
Lake Champlain Basin Program
802/372-3213
bgruessner@anr.state.vt.us

Please note the different addresses for US Postal Service delivery and other delivery options:

Via US Postal Service:

54 West Shore
Burlington, VT 05401

Via other delivery methods (e.g., FedEx, UPS, drop off):

29 Ethan Allen Avenue – 2nd Floor
Colchester, VT 05446

Lake Champlain Basin Program
Technical Proposal Format Requirements

Proposals should adhere to following format and an 8 page maximum length (font size 12), not including budget information, references cited and investigator resumes.

TITLE - concise and descriptive.

POINT OF CONTACT: Name, organization, address, and electronic mail address.

ABSTRACT: Brief description of proposed work.

INTRODUCTION: Brief overview of what the project is, how it relates to past projects (in the basin and elsewhere), and what it will accomplish in relation to the RFP.

OBJECTIVES AND TASKS: List the project's objectives and describe in detail the tasks that will be performed relative to each objective, including methods and approaches.

Note: Projects involving environmental data collection must submit a Quality Assurance Project Plan to EPA. QAPPs must be approved prior to the start of any data collection work.

DELIVERABLES: Detailed description of the planned products from each task of the project. Required deliverables: quarterly progress reports and a final report.

SCHEDULE: Timeline showing anticipated dates for completion of the major tasks and deliverables. Quarterly progress reports are due on the last day of December, March, June, and September. Work is to be completed within two years of the execution of a contract.

DETAILED BUDGET JUSTIFICATION: Cost breakdown by major budget categories (i.e. personnel, equipment), linking costs to specific tasks/deliverables wherever possible. Breakdown should show both LCBP costs, costs covered by partner organizations (if applicable), required match amounts, and totals. A non-federal match equal to 25% of total project costs is required, either in funds or in-kind services (e.g. for $90,000 the match equals $30,000 which is 25% of $120,000). (1 page, not included in the 8 page maximum total for the proposal)

TECHNICAL REFERENCES CITED: List all references used for the proposal (not included in the 8 page maximum total for the proposal).

CURRICULUM VITAE/RESUME OF PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS: Include up to 5 references for publications pertinent to proposed project. Please limit to one page per investigator, not included in the 8 page maximum total for the proposal.

Send questions or comments on this website to Nicole L. Ballinger at the LCBP.
Last Updated: April 16, 1999