Grantee Research Project Results
Birds in Agricultural Areas - A Risk Assessment Tool To Reduce Pesticide Risks to Birds
EPA Grant Number: MA916419Title: 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: Fellowship - Environmental Science , Academic Fellowships , Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration
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, Scientific Discipline, ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, ECOSYSTEMS, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, wildlife, Resources Management, Ecological Monitoring, Habitat, Species, Environmental Monitoring, Ecology and Ecosystems, Ecological Risk Assessment, environmental health, risk assessment, habitat dynamics, assessment models, ecology, ecosystem assessment, endangered species, demographic data, animal responses, bird habitat, environmental risks, conservation, avian habitat quality, Wildlife Risk Assessment, habitat loss, ecological assessment, ecological impacts, ecosystem indicators, agricultural pesticides, ecological consequences, birds, ecosystem health, environmental stress, conservation biology, ecological models, ecosystem stress, ornithology, ecological researchRelevant 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.