COMPARISON OF THE EFFECT OF OCEAN ACIDIFICATION

The U.S. Department of Commerce (USDOC), National Marine Fisheries Service, Protected Resources Division, in St. Petersburg, FL intends to award a Purchase Order to provide Comparison of the Effects of Ocean Acidification on the Three Acroporids of the Caribbean/Atlantic, Elkhorn Coral (Acropora palmata), Staghorn Coral (Acropora Cervicornis), and Fused Staghorn Coral (Acropora prolifera), Utilizing Ex-Situ Techniques at The Pier Aquarium. The Pier Aquarium is a private, not-for-profit aquarium and marine education science center located in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida at The Pier on the waterfront. Butch Ringelspaugh is curator of exhibits and a masters candidate at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science in St. Petersburg, Florida. Mr. Ringelspaugh. The project, which will be the subject of Ringelspaugh's master thesis, and is the sole proprietary information of Ringelsapugh. The experimental design has been created only by Ringelsapugh.Elkhorn and staghorn corals were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in May 2006. Objective: Successfully replicate the parameters of a future ocean acidification scenario in a closed system. Measure skeletal growth or degradation of A. palmata, A. cervicornis, and A. prolifera. Provide comprehensive information on in-situ coral husbandry methodology. Exhibit the project at The Pier Aquarium in order to educate the public on the harmful effects of global climate change on coral reefs, and highlight the corals listed under the Endangered Species Act. Ringelspaugh's project will directly examine these unknown processes. Understanding the mechanism and response in these species will directly enhance the governments understanding of one of the major threats and assist in identifying appropriate recovery actions for the species. The Government knows of no other qualified source. The intended procurement is for services for which the Government intends to acquire from one source. Interested firms should submit in writing, their name, address, point of contact, telephone number, business size and a brief statement regarding their capability and qualifications to provide this service. Any business capable of providing this service is encouraged to respond to this announcement within 10 calendar days after publication of this notice. This is a small business set-aside. The NAICS code for this action is 712130. Size standard not to exceed $6.0M. This service is being procured under the guidelines of FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures. The Eastern Region Acquisition Division (ERAD),requires that all contractors doing business with the Acquisition Office must be registered with the Central Contractor Registry. Award can be made unless the vendor is registered in CCR. For additional information and to register in CCR please access the following website: http://www.ccr.gov/. In order to register with the CCR and to be eligible to receive an award from this acquisition office, all offerors must have a Dun & Bradstreet Number. A Dun & Bradstreet number may be acquired free of charge by contacting Dun & Bradstreet on-line at https://www.dnb.com/product/eupdate/requestOptions.html or by phone at (800) 333-0505. The government now encourages all contractors submit their Certification and Representation thru the on-line Business Partner Network (BPN). The BPN is the single source for vendor data for the federal government. Contractors should go on-line at www.bpn.gov.Responses should be faxed to 816-274-6983. Attn: Sharon Walker.