Contract C60926

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has awarded a fixed-cost research contract valued at $165,999.73, focusing on a marine ecological study examining sediment impacts on coral larvae settlement and survival. The project will investigate differences between reef-derived and port-derived sediments and their effects on early-stage coral development, with performance spanning from August 12, 2025, to June 30, 2026.

The contract comprises three primary tasks: (1) Quality Assurance Planning, (2) Sediment-Coral Larvae Settlement Assays ($65,940.13), and (3) Sediment-Coral Recruit Survival Assays ($100,059.60). Deliverables are structured across four quarterly milestones, requiring progressive data collection, imaging, and reporting. Key outputs include raw data spreadsheets, representative experimental images, progress reports, a manager-level summary, and a draft 508-compliant final report. The research aims to generate comprehensive scientific documentation about microbial community influences on coral ecosystem dynamics, with specific emphasis on settlement rates and survival mechanisms across different sedimentary environments.