Description
STABLE ISOTOPE ANALYSIS, 0040215276 Notice of intent to award sole source. The U.S.G.S., OAG Sacramento, CA intends to award a sole source, firm fixed-price purchase order to the Colorado Plateau Stable Isotope Laboratory of Flagstaff, AZ. This contract action is for laboratory services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b). The requirement is to process plant, invertebrate, and fish tissues for C13, N15, and S34 stable isotopes. This notice of intent is not a request for proposals or quotations and a solicitation will not be issued for this requirement. Any responses or inquiries to this notice must demonstrate clear and convincing evidence that competition will be advantageous to the Government. The Government will not pay for information submitted. A determination by the Government not to compete this procurement action, based on responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government. As part of the Data Management Plan for our interdisciplinary project team representing four different USGS Science Centers, our stable isotope samples will be processed at the same laboratory and in conjunction with sediment samples from the California Water Science Center for processing consistency. Furthermore, we currently have isotopic data from the same region in 2011. CPSIL had processed biological samples (microphytobenthos [diatoms], algae, and emergent vascular vegetation, as well as macroinvertebrate and fish tissues). For data quality and defensible data comparability between years, we request samples be processed by the same laboratory. It is imperative (for data publications) that the same lab and techniques are used in processing the samples. For instance, CPSIL processes isotopes from microphytobenthic diatom samples from precombusted glass fiber disks (as in Currin, C. A., S. Y. Newell, and H. W. Paerl. 1995. The role of standing dead Spartina alterniflora and benthic microalgae in salt marsh food webs: Considerations based on multiple stable isotope analysis. Marine Ecology Progress Series 121:99¿116), which allows us to extrapolate productivity per unit area. Other laboratories process microphytobenthos with precombusted glass wool fibers, which does not provide a measure of area (cm2) sampled. A great effort from the project team and partners has been expended in 2015 to collect field samples including: 5 USGS field staff for 5 months and 4 Nisqually Indian Tribe staff for 5 months (fish collection), and the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge (permission to collect samples). We need to ensure the highest standard for data integrity, which can be achieved by using the same laboratory so that the methodology of processing is the same. If CPSIL is not used to process our isotope samples, data comparisons between years may be called into question by manuscript reviewers, jeopardizing USGS¿s reputation for leading science for natural resource agencies including DOI sister agencies and Tribal governments. Furthermore, CPSIL extracts C13, N15, and S34 stable isotopes from a small amount of animal tissue (5g), such that fewer invertebrate (such as polychaete worms, mysids, etc) are needed to comprise a sample, allowing for greater replication amongst and between sites. Other labs require greater amounts of biomass, which may not be feasible as samples have already been collected from the 2015 field season. CPSIL also preps samples for C13, N15, and S34 stable isotopes (i.e., dry, grind, weigh, pack into tins), saving staff time and reduction of errors. In the past we used a different stable isotope lab, which required USGS staff to prep (dry, grind, weigh, and pack samples into tins), which resulted in multiple errors with grinding samples to a fine consistency and human errors occurred when transferring powdered samples into small packing tins. We seek to minimize these human errors by paying for this service to be conducted by professional laboratory technicians. For all of these reasons, we seek to use The Colorado Plateau Stable Isotope Laboratory (CPSIL) to process our stable isotope samples based upon maintaining data integrity and data continuity. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive quotations; however, any firm who believes it is capable of meeting USGS requirement as stated herein, may submit a response/capabilities statement, by 1200 hrs PDT, 25 Aug 2015, will be considered. Responses to this posting must be in