Grantee Research Project Results

Birds in Agricultural Areas - A Risk Assessment Tool To Reduce Pesticide Risks to Birds

EPA Grant Number: MA916419
Title: Birds in Agricultural Areas - A Risk Assessment Tool To Reduce Pesticide Risks to Birds
Investigators: Heath, Susan A.
Institution: George Mason University
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2007
Project Amount: $88,144
RFA: GRO Fellowships for Graduate Environmental Study (2004) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration , Fellowship - Environmental Science , Academic Fellowships

Objective:

In partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Pesticides Programs and the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the objective of this research project is to identify the extent to which bird species in the United States utilize agricultural fields both geographically and seasonally as primary or incidental habitat for foraging, breeding, cover, or roosting. All major crops grown in the United States will be included. Geographic data will include state or province and Bird Conservation Region as defined by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI). These data will be compiled into a database with fully cited references to aid in future research.

Approach:

Information to populate the database will be obtained from books, scientific journals, government reports, gray literature, and a major library research project. Data will be combined with conservation status indicators for each species including the Endangered Species Act Listings, American Bird Conservancy's Green List, and the NABCI species assessment values. The outcome of this project will be a Web-based tool that can be used to understand the avian biodiversity supported by agricultural environments, to assess the risk to birds when considering the use of pesticides in agricultural areas, and to determine future research needs of birds in agricultural areas.

Supplemental Keywords:

fellowship, bird species, foraging, breeding, roosting, North American Bird Conservation Initiative, American Bird Conservancy, Endangered Species Act Listings, agricultural environments, pesticide risks, crops, agricultural areas,, RFA, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Scientific Discipline, ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, ECOSYSTEMS, Ecological Risk Assessment, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, wildlife, Ecological Monitoring, Species, Habitat, Ecology and Ecosystems, Environmental Monitoring, Resources Management, animal responses, ecology, ecosystem health, Wildlife Risk Assessment, habitat loss, disease, bird habitat, ecosystem assessment, agricultural pesticides, conservation biology, endangered species, assessment models, ecological assessment, ecological models, environmental risks, risk assessment, habitat dynamics, ecosystem indicators, ecological consequences, demographic data, ecosystem stress, environmental stress, ecological research, environmental health, birds, avian habitat quality, conservation, ecological impacts

Relevant Websites:

2004 STAR Graduate Fellowship Conference Poster (PDF, 1p., 148KB, about PDF)

Progress and Final Reports:

The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.