Opportunity Information: Apply for P16AS00463
Apply for P16AS00463
- The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Implementing the Avian Monitoring Protocols for the Northern Colorado Plateau I&M Network of the National Park Service" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.945.
- This funding opportunity was created on Aug 09, 2016.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Notice of Intent to enter agreement with University of Delaware under CESU agreement without additional competition.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $43,986.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.
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Opportunity Summary:
This grant opportunity, titled "Implementing the Avian Monitoring Protocols for the Northern Colorado Plateau I and M Network of the National Park Service," is a National Park Service cooperative agreement focused on long-term landbird monitoring across the Northern Colorado Plateau Network (NCPN). The project centers on two connected tasks: first, analyzing 11 years of existing bird monitoring data collected since 2005, and second, continuing on-the-ground breeding season monitoring during the 2017 and 2018 field seasons (roughly May through July). The overall intent is to use birds as a "vital sign" of ecosystem condition, strengthening understanding of how protected-area bird communities are changing over time and how those changes may relate to climate-driven shifts in habitat conditions.
The NCPN landbird program spans 12 National Park units and was originally designed to produce long-term status and trend information for breeding landbirds in three key habitat types common to the region: low-elevation riparian corridors, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and sagebrush shrublands. By maintaining consistent monitoring methods over many years, the network is able to evaluate whether bird populations and communities are stable, increasing, declining, or reorganizing, and to use those patterns as indicators of broader ecosystem integrity. The program also explicitly supports regional and local bird monitoring efforts and helps the parks communicate to visitors and the public why these lands matter as breeding habitat.
A major analytical emphasis in this opportunity is detecting and explaining avian community turnover and distribution shifts that may be associated with climate change across the northern Colorado plateau. Using the 11-year dataset, the partners plan to quantify community diversity within sites and habitats (alpha diversity) and turnover among sites, habitats, and gradients (beta diversity). The work is structured to compare and contrast how bird communities differ among the three habitat types and to test whether community composition is changing along elevation gradients within and among those habitats, which is one of the clearer ways to look for climate-related biological responses in mountainous and semi-arid landscapes.
To connect changes in bird communities to environmental drivers, the project proposes integrating monitoring data with a suite of climate- and vegetation-related covariates derived from remote sensing and other spatial datasets. These include land cover, elevation, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as a measure of vegetation greenness and productivity, and precipitation-related variables such as annual snow cover, spring flow, and rainfall. By pairing bird community turnover metrics with these environmental variables, the analysis aims to assess whether shifts in community composition align with measurable changes in moisture availability, vegetation condition, and other climate-sensitive features of the landscape.
In addition to community-level analyses, the project includes a species-focused component aimed at identifying changes for a subset of sensitive species. For these focal species, the partners intend to quantify distributional shifts and trends in abundance using predictive Bayesian occupancy and abundance modeling. Occupancy models are commonly used in wildlife monitoring to estimate the probability a species is present while accounting for imperfect detection, and Bayesian approaches can be especially useful for combining information across years, sites, and habitats while producing probabilistic estimates of trends and uncertainty. This species-level modeling is intended to complement the broader community results by highlighting which species may be most responsive or vulnerable to shifting conditions.
The field component of the award is straightforward but essential: implementing the 2017 and 2018 breeding bird monitoring seasons in NCPN parks using the established landbird monitoring protocol. Continuing to collect new data ensures the long-term dataset remains current, supports trend detection, and allows the network to evaluate whether observed patterns persist, accelerate, or reverse. Because breeding season monitoring occurs during a defined window (May through July), the project aligns staffing, training, logistics, and quality control with the timing needed to capture breeding bird presence and activity consistently across parks.
The opportunity is offered as a discretionary cooperative agreement (Funding Opportunity Number P16AS00463) under CFDA 15.945, with eligibility listed for public and state-controlled institutions of higher education. The notice indicates an intent to enter into an agreement with the University of Delaware under a CESU arrangement without additional competition, with an expected single award and an award ceiling of $43,986. Beyond park management benefits, the project is also framed as providing substantial research and educational value to the university partner by supplying rare, region-wide long-term data from protected arid-land ecosystems. The opportunity explicitly notes that working with these long-term datasets helps students build research design and analysis skills, practice critical thinking and problem solving, and engage in broader scientific discussion, reflecting the public-purpose nature of the award rather than procurement of goods or services for direct federal use.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the title of this grant opportunity?
The opportunity is titled "Implementing the Avian Monitoring Protocols for the Northern Colorado Plateau I and M Network of the National Park Service."
Which federal agency is offering this opportunity?
The opportunity is offered by the National Park Service (NPS).
What type of award is this?
This is a discretionary cooperative agreement.
What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FON)?
The Funding Opportunity Number is P16AS00463.
What is the CFDA number listed for this opportunity?
The opportunity is listed under CFDA 15.945.
What is the primary purpose of the project?
The project supports long-term breeding landbird monitoring across the Northern Colorado Plateau Network (NCPN) to use birds as a "vital sign" of ecosystem condition and to improve understanding of how protected-area bird communities change over time, including changes that may relate to climate-driven habitat shifts.
What are the two main tasks described in the project?
The project centers on two connected tasks: (1) analyzing 11 years of existing bird monitoring data collected since 2005, and (2) continuing on-the-ground breeding season monitoring during the 2017 and 2018 field seasons.
What time of year does the field monitoring occur?
The breeding season monitoring is conducted roughly May through July.
How many National Park units are included in the monitoring network?
The NCPN landbird program spans 12 National Park units.
Which habitat types are the focus of the long-term monitoring design?
The monitoring program was designed to produce long-term status and trend information for breeding landbirds in three habitat types common to the region: low-elevation riparian corridors, pinyon-juniper woodlands, and sagebrush shrublands.
Why are consistent monitoring methods emphasized?
Maintaining consistent methods over many years allows the network to evaluate whether bird populations and communities are stable, increasing, declining, or reorganizing, and to interpret those patterns as indicators of broader ecosystem integrity.
How does this work relate to climate change questions?
A major emphasis is detecting and explaining avian community turnover and distribution shifts that may be associated with climate change across the northern Colorado plateau, including evaluating whether community composition is changing along elevation gradients within and among habitat types.
What is meant by "avian community turnover" in this project?
In this context, turnover refers to changes in bird community composition across space (among sites, habitats, and gradients) and over time, including how communities may reorganize as environmental conditions change.
What kinds of diversity metrics will be analyzed?
The project proposes quantifying community diversity within sites and habitats (alpha diversity) and turnover among sites, habitats, and gradients (beta diversity).
How will the project examine changes along elevation gradients?
The work is structured to test whether bird community composition is changing along elevation gradients within and among the three habitat types, which is a direct way to evaluate potential climate-related biological responses in mountainous and semi-arid landscapes.
What environmental or spatial data will be integrated with the bird monitoring data?
The analysis proposes integrating bird monitoring data with climate- and vegetation-related covariates derived from remote sensing and other spatial datasets, including land cover, elevation, NDVI (a measure of vegetation greenness and productivity), and precipitation-related variables such as annual snow cover, spring flow, and rainfall.
What is NDVI and why is it included?
NDVI is the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, used as a measure of vegetation greenness and productivity. It is included to help relate bird community changes to vegetation condition and productivity that may shift with climate and moisture availability.
How will climate and vegetation variables be used in the analysis?
The project aims to pair bird community turnover metrics with environmental variables to assess whether shifts in community composition align with measurable changes in moisture availability, vegetation condition, and other climate-sensitive landscape features.
Does the project include analyses focused on individual species?
Yes. In addition to community-level analyses, the project includes a species-focused component for a subset of sensitive focal species.
What is planned for the focal (sensitive) species analyses?
For focal species, the partners intend to quantify distributional shifts and trends in abundance using predictive Bayesian occupancy and abundance modeling.
What is an occupancy model in the context of this project?
Occupancy models are used to estimate the probability that a species is present while accounting for imperfect detection during surveys.
Why use Bayesian approaches for occupancy and abundance modeling?
The opportunity notes that Bayesian approaches can be useful for combining information across years, sites, and habitats while producing probabilistic estimates of trends and associated uncertainty.
Why does the project include new field data collection in 2017 and 2018 if there is already an 11-year dataset?
Continuing to collect new data keeps the long-term dataset current, supports ongoing trend detection, and helps determine whether observed patterns persist, accelerate, or reverse.
What monitoring protocol will be used for the 2017 and 2018 field seasons?
The work will implement the established NCPN landbird monitoring protocol during the 2017 and 2018 breeding seasons.
How does this program support park communication and public understanding?
The program helps parks communicate to visitors and the public why these lands matter as breeding habitat, and it supports regional and local bird monitoring efforts.
Who is eligible to receive this cooperative agreement, based on the notice?
Eligibility is listed for public and state-controlled institutions of higher education.
Is this expected to be a competitive opportunity?
The notice indicates an intent to enter into an agreement with the University of Delaware under a CESU arrangement without additional competition.
How many awards are expected?
An expected single award is indicated.
What is the maximum funding amount mentioned for this opportunity?
The award ceiling listed is $43,986.
What partner organization is named in the notice?
The notice identifies the University of Delaware as the intended partner under a CESU arrangement.
What is the broader value of this project beyond park management needs?
The opportunity is framed as providing substantial research and educational value to the university partner by providing access to rare, region-wide long-term data from protected arid-land ecosystems.
How does the opportunity describe benefits for students?
It notes that working with long-term datasets helps students build research design and analysis skills, practice critical thinking and problem solving, and engage in broader scientific discussion.
Does the notice characterize this award as procurement of goods or services?
No. The opportunity emphasizes a public-purpose cooperative agreement rather than procurement of goods or services for direct federal use.
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