WASHINGTON BIOLOGISTS’ FIELD CLUB (WBFC) RESEARCH AWARDS-2012

Website: www.pwrc.usgs.gov/resshow/perry/bios/WBFCHome.htm

Purpose:  Grants are awarded to support research on the natural history of the Potomac Basin. Research projects that focus specifically on increasing knowledge of various organisms occurring on Plummers Island (in the Potomac River below the American Legion Bridge) will be given priority for funding. The WBFC encourages inventories of targeted taxa [e.g. rotifers, tardigrades, mites, mosses, annelids & nematodes (free-living, and plant and animal parasites). Recent grants have supported studies of turtles, fish, insects, marsh vegetation, and terrestrial flora. Proposals on a broad range of natural history topics are appropriate. Projects that consider aspects of systematics, biodiversity, ecology, or environmental issues are of particular interest to the WBFC.

Eligibility: Applications are accepted from anyone qualified to perform the proposed research (members, university professors and students, graduates, and other researchers). Applicants who are not members of WBFC are required to obtain sponsorship and a letter of support from a member.  A list of sponsors may be obtained from Neal Woodman (woodmann@si.edu, or Ralph Eckerlin (703-764-6051; reckerlin@nvcc.edu). The sponsoring member need not be involved in the applicant’s research or the publication of results, but must be familiar with applicant’s scientific abilities, credentials, integrity, and proposed research. The sponsor also must be willing to serve as liaison between the grant recipient and the WBFC during the term of the award.

Financial information: Grants vary in amount, depending on the needs and nature of the project, but typically do not exceed $3000.00 per year. Funds may be used for travel to study sites, actual field expenses, honoraria for assistants, and cost of specialized equipment and tests.  Additional funds may be available for proposals directed at targeted taxas.  Principal Investigator’s salary, costs of publication, and overhead charges are not supported.

Duration: Grants normally are awarded for one year, but two-year awards are possible. Projects MUST
be completed during the award year.

Application procedure: An application should contain in one electronic file (1) a short, 500-word description, including the plan of work, project design, scientific significance, and relevance to the Potomac Basin; (2) an itemized budget listing anticipated expenses and providing explanatory notes if appropriate; (3) a time schedule including the date funds will be required and a completion date; and (4) a curriculum vitae of the applicant, including educational background and a list of publications; and (5)a  letter of support directly from a sponsoring member.  Member specialties are on the WBFC website. Parts 4 & 5 are not required for applications from members.

Responsibilities: A status report summarizing project activities is required one year after the grant is awarded, and a final report must be submitted to the WBFC when the study is completed.  Publication of results should acknowledge the WBFC support. If specimens are to be collected, it is the responsibility of the grantee to obtain all appropriate permits.  Voucher specimens should be deposited in an appropriate institution.

Submission:  Applications and letters of support should be submitted (preferably by e-mail), to: 

Neal Woodman

woodmann@si.edu

Washington Biologists’ Field Club

                                                        c/o Smithsonian Institution
P.O. Box 37012

National Museum of Natural History, MRC 111

Washington, DC 20013-7012

The deadline for submissions is January 20, 2012.  You will receive an e-mail acknowledging that it has been received.  Applications will be reviewed immediately following the deadline, and applicants should receive notification of the status of their proposals by the end of February.  Early decisions may be made for projects requiring earlier start-up dates.

 

WASHINGTON BIOLOGISTS’ FIELD CLUB
POTENTIAL SPONSORS FOR RESEARCH AWARDS

Members                      Field of Speciality

PLANTS

Pedro Acevedo            Floristics
Paula DePriest            Plant Systematics/Lichens
David Farr                   Mycology
Vicki Funk                   Plant Taxonomy
John Kress                  Tropical Plant Systematics
James Lawrey             Botany/Lichens
Federick Meyer          Plant Systematics
Dan Nicolson               Botany
James Norris               Aquatic Botany/Plants
Stan Shetler                 Plant Systematics
Larry Skog                   Plant Taxonomy
Bruce Stein                  Tropical Plant Systematics/Conservation
Warren Wagner           Botany
Elizabeth Wells            Plant Systematics/Ecology
     
ANIMALS - Vertebrates

Richard Banks             Ornithology
Daryl Boness               Marine Mammal Ecology
Louise Emmons           Mammalian Bechavior & Ecology
Terry Erwin                 Coleoptera Systematics/Diversity
Mercedes Foster         Avian Ecology
Alfred Gardner            Mammalogy
Harry Hodgdon            Mammalogy
Helen James                Avian Systematics/Evolution
Susan Jewitt                 Fish
David Johnston            Ornithology/Ecology
Roy McDiarmid           Herpetology
Storrs Olson                 Avian Systematics
Lynne Parenti              Aquatic Biology/Fish
David Trauger             Avian Biology
James Tyler                 Ichthyology
George Watson III     Ornithology
Don Wilson                 Mammalogy
Neal Woodman            Mammalogy

ANIMALS – Invertebrates

John Brown                  Lepidoptera Systematics/Diversity
Donald Davis               Lepidoptera Systematics
Ralph Eckerlin            Parasitology
Scott Miller                  Lepidoptera diversity
Arnold (Butch) Norden Invertebrate Zoology    
Beth Norden                Pollination Ecology
Mike Pogue                 Lepidoptera Systematics/Diversity
Alma Solis                    Lepidoptera Systematics/Diversity

WILDLIFE

Lowell Adams              Urban Ecology
David Blockstein         Avian Ecology/Conservation
Paul Brouha                 Fisheries/Aquatic Resources
Walter Bulmer             Vertebrate Ecology
Thomas Franklin          Avian Ecology & Management
John Hadidian        Urban Wildlife
John Hench                  Urban Wildlife
Albert Manville II        Wildlife Conservation
Richard McCabe          Wildlife Management/Communications
Matt Perry                    Wetlands Biology/Waterfowl
Lindsey Thomas           Ecology