Saltmarsh Sparrows Conserving a surrogate species at the landscape level connecting the dots between breeding, migration and wintering in Region 5 | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The Saltmarsh Sparrows grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number F15AS00285) is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5 cooperative agreement focused on improving conservation planning for the Saltmarsh Sparrow by linking what happens on its breeding marshes to where it travels during migration and where it spends the winter. The central idea is to treat the Saltmarsh Sparrow as a "surrogate species" for broader saltmarsh conservation at the landscape level, meaning that identifying and protecting the places this bird depends on can also help guide protection and management of larger saltmarsh ecosystems that support many other species and ecological functions.

The project is designed to fill major knowledge gaps about movement and connectivity. It combines two complementary research approaches. First, it uses nanotag tracking, which involves fitting birds with very small radio transmitters that can be detected by receiver stations, to document migration timing and routes. This tracking component is intended to reveal when sparrows depart, how long they travel, how long they stop, and how they use saltmarsh habitat immediately before and during migration. In practical conservation terms, that kind of data helps distinguish which marshes function as critical staging or stopover sites versus marshes used more casually, and it can also provide clues about where individuals ultimately end up on the wintering grounds.

Second, the opportunity emphasizes high-resolution genetic marker work (genetic "tags") to map fine-scale relationships among breeding populations and connect those breeding groups to migration pathways and wintering locations. Genetics can answer questions that tracking alone often cannot, such as whether birds from different breeding marshes mix together during migration or on wintering areas, and whether certain breeding populations are disproportionately tied to specific wintering regions. The grant description highlights that the genetic resolution is intended to be fine enough to inform regional conservation planning, which implies outputs like identifying distinct population segments, mapping migratory connectivity, and prioritizing areas where habitat protection could benefit multiple connected breeding populations.

The conservation need driving the project is clear: Saltmarsh Sparrows are described as being of the highest conservation concern because their populations are declining and they are highly vulnerable to climate change. This vulnerability is closely linked to sea-level rise and increased flooding frequency in tidal marsh nesting habitat, which can reduce nesting success and compress available habitat. By identifying the most important breeding, stopover, and wintering areas and clarifying how those areas are connected, the work supported under this opportunity is meant to help agencies and partners target conservation actions where they will have the greatest impact across the species full annual cycle.

Administratively, this opportunity is listed as a discretionary award using a cooperative agreement under CFDA 15.650 (Research Grants - Generic) in the Natural Resources activity category. Eligible applicants are private institutions of higher education. The posting date and creation date are June 23, 2015, and the archive date is July 6, 2015. The notice states that it is "for notification purposes only" rather than a standard open solicitation with a true application deadline, and the listing shows estimated total funding and award floor/ceiling as 0, which usually indicates that the public posting is not providing the financial details or that the action is informational rather than a typical competitive call.

For access issues or additional details, the contact listed is Laurie McDermott, Grants Specialist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, at 1 (413) 253-8290 or lauriemcdermott@fws.gov, with an additional information link directing to Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov).

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