CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER AND COASTAL CACTUS WREN ANALYSIS | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER AND COASTAL CACTUS WREN ANALYSIS opportunity is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) cooperative agreement designed to fund a focused, management-oriented analysis of existing bird survey datasets collected in San Diego County, California. The work is centered on two sensitive coastal sage scrub-associated species, the California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica) and the coastal cactus wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus). Rather than paying for new field surveys, the grant supports advanced statistical and spatial analysis of multi-year monitoring data already gathered by the FWS Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, with the goal of turning those datasets into clearer guidance for conservation planning, habitat management, and reserve design.

For the California gnatcatcher, FWS conducted landscape-level surveys across preserve lands in San Diego County during three different years: 2004, 2007, and 2009. At matched georeferenced points, the agency collected gnatcatcher detection data along with vegetation transect measurements and GIS-based spatial information. Although the data had been summarized within each individual survey year, it had not yet been evaluated across time in a way that could reveal trends, shifts in occupancy, or changes linked to habitat conditions. This grant funds a time-aware, landscape-scale analysis intended to provide managers with practical insights into whether populations are increasing or declining, which habitat features matter most, and how occupancy patterns change through time.

The gnatcatcher component has several specific analytical objectives. These include developing population estimates to measure countywide trends; building occupancy models that map and classify habitat according to the probability of gnatcatcher presence; and constructing population models that identify habitat parameters managers can realistically influence through stewardship actions. The work is also meant to support conservation planning by creating models that help planners prioritize lands for protection in line with broader conservation goals and preserve design principles. Another major objective is to develop colonization and extinction (local turnover) models to describe how sites gain or lose occupancy over time, which is especially relevant for fragmented habitats and changing landscapes. A key applied question built into the project is evaluating how the 2003 wildfires affected gnatcatcher occupancy across San Diego County, using the subsequent survey years to assess post-fire patterns. Finally, the project includes a methodological review of the 2004, 2007, and 2009 survey design to judge its efficiency and suitability for future monitoring, with deliverables expected to include recommendations for improved sampling design tied directly to the county’s conservation objectives.

For the coastal cactus wren, FWS carried out landscape-level surveys in 2009 and 2011. The dataset includes survey detections, vegetation community measurements, detailed mapped cactus area information, and GIS-cataloged physical site parameters, all referenced to the same geographic points. Unlike the gnatcatcher data, these cactus wren datasets had not been analyzed at all at the time of the announcement. The funded work therefore focuses on building occupancy models to classify habitat by probability of wren presence across the county, and developing population models to identify the habitat parameters most relevant to management. In practical terms, the intent is to translate fine-scale vegetation and cactus mapping into decision-ready information about where habitat is currently suitable, what characteristics predict occupancy, and which management levers are likely to matter.

The award is structured as a CESU (Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units) cooperative project agreement, reflecting an explicit partnership between the FWS and an academic recipient. The notice indicates the agreement was intended as a single-source, non-competitive award to Colorado State University, leveraging the recipient’s prior research experience in population ecology, experimental design, and statistical estimation. In parallel, the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office contributes its on-the-ground expertise in coastal sage scrub ecology and applies the findings to real conservation needs, including those tied to Habitat Conservation Plans in southern California. The collaboration is also expected to involve additional faculty and graduate students when feasible, and to result in joint publications in peer-reviewed journals, signaling that the outputs are meant to be both scientifically credible and directly useful to land managers and conservation planners.

Administratively, the opportunity was posted August 16, 2011, with a very short open period ending August 19, 2011, and an archive date of September 18, 2011. It falls under CFDA 15.608 (Fish and Wildlife Management Assistance), with an estimated total funding amount and ceiling of $61,330, no required cost share, and an expected single award. Eligible applicants were listed as public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, consistent with the CESU structure and the stated intent to award to a specific university partner. The FWS point of contact listed in the announcement is Sue Fahey, Budget Supervisor, at the Carlsbad office.

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