Mechanisms of Habitat Selection in a Specialist and A       Generalist Species of Sparrow
{'Code': '08010208', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'DEB', 'LongName': 'Division Of Environmental Biology'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Althea Ball', 'PO_EMAI': 'aball@nsf.gov', 'PO_PHON': '7032920000'}
Considerable ecological theory is directed towards the use              of habitat by potentially competing species and how this might                  change with varying resources and community composition.  Much                  less work has been conducted on the basis of habitat responses                  and the formation of habitat preferences.  However, understanding               the proximate basis of habitat selection is critical in                         determining how readily animal species can respond to observed                  environmental changes.  The focus of this project is the                        determination of factors that influence habitat selection and the               differences in ecological plasticity found in two closely-related               sparrow species.  A series of experiments will be done to                       determine the differences in intrinsic habitat responses in the                 Song (Melospiza melodia) and Swamp (M. georgiana) sparrows.  The                Song Sparrow is one of the most widely distributed North American               bird species, occuring in a variety of scrub and marsh havitats.                It is well established in human-altered habitats such as                        agricultural fields and cities and is also a frequent colonizer                 of small islands.  The Swamp Sparrow is relatively specialized                  occuring mainly in marsh or marsh-like habitats.  Based on field                observations and experiments, the focus of the laboratory                       experiments will be on the response of sparrows to water, cover,                and novelty.  Differences in responses between species in wild-                 caught immatures will be uncovered and the responses of hand-                   reared sparrows raised under identical laboratory conditions will               be tested.  Because neophobia provides a relatively simple                      mechanism for regulating the degree of ecological plasticity in                 animals, its study will be emphasized.  Experiments will include                preliminary work on the use of heart-rate telemetry to measure a                physiological correlate of fear-responses of sparrows to novelty.               Methods to be perfected during the study could be used for a                    variety of other topics in vertebrate ecology.
{'FirstName': 'Russell', 'LastName': 'Greenberg', 'PI_MID_INIT': 'S', 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Russell S Greenberg', 'EmailAddress': 'GreenbergR@si.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000463957', 'StartDate': '12/01/1987', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'Smithsonian Institution', 'CityName': 'WASHINGTON', 'ZipCode': '205600008', 'PhoneNumber': '2026337110', 'StreetAddress': '1000 JEFFERSON DR SW', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'District of Columbia', 'StateCode': 'DC', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '00', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'DC00', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'KQ1KJG78NNS9', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': 'NW2RJN8TQQW1'}
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{'Code': '1128', 'Text': 'Population & Community Ecology'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1987&All=true', 'xml': '8705003.xml'}