Proposal

The majority of these long-term projects have already been established within the FAUP, by graduate and undergraduates participating in research via the Terrestrial Ecology Laboratory, under my supervision.  Students will focus on specific species of both the flora and fauna found within the FAU Preserve. Many of these species lack long term research data and are encountering population declines within their native ranges. These combined factors exemplify the need for further research in order to determine proper conservation strategies to maintain and restore existing populations.

The pre-established, research projects that will be used for undergraduate education and research are described below: 

1)  1) Yearly Gopher Tortoise Burrow Distribution/ Mark and Recapture Surveys: will help students understand tortoise distributions, home ranges, and tortoise burrow site preference as areas become more or less suitable via habitat maintenance (Maintenance conducted by through FAU Facilities Department each year). Students will also understand how to conduct multiple field sampling techniques such as running transects, GPS and Trimble technology use, and burrow scope usage. Mark and recapture surveys will help students understand movement of individuals and allow us to locate and identify hatchlings, juveniles, and any new individuals that may arise within the population.

2)   2) Radio Telemetry on Gopher Tortoises: Individual tortoises will receive radio transmitters that record latitude/longitude locations using snapshot technology. Loggers can then be located, and data can be collected and downloaded to the computer. Information concerning tortoise positions may shed light on their daily movements and interactions with other tortoises. Students will learn how to use the software to develop maps and study these interactions between tortoises.

3)   3) Ground Penetrating Radar and Nest Detection: A novel study being conducted, in collaboration with Dr. Comas in the Geosciences Department, to determine if Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) can be used as a less invasive, and more efficient method of detecting gopher tortoise nests. If viable, this could revolutionize nest detection and give a better understanding of tortoise reproduction within the FAU Preserve. Students will be able to participate in field surveys and also learn to interpret radio frequency data as it is collected.

4)   4) Camera Studies at Burrows: Utilizing outdoor Moultri Game critter cameras near burrow entrances will allow researchers and students to document and study the commensal species utilizing tortoise burrows, demonstrating their important role in maintaining ecosystem biodiversity. Cameras will also be placed near Burrowing Owl and Coyote burrows to determine additional interactions.

5)    5) Bird Identification Surveys; Snook Island and FAU Preserve: Students will aid in bird species identification (e.g. common, uncommon), and become more familiar with various field techniques and equipment usage (e.g. Binoculars, Scopes). The purpose of monitoring Snook Island, located in Lake Worth, FL, is to identify and document shorebird use of a restoration site that the Environmental Resources Management (ERM) has recently undergone. Information collected will hopefully help guide ERM in in future restoration projects.

6)    6) Yearly Vegetation and Succession Monitoring Surveys: These studies will focus on areas that have been, and will continue to be, cleared through mechanical and chemical treatments. The studies will be used to provide valuable information on habitat maintenance in highly urbanized and isolated upland habitats. Students will learn to various field methods and become more familiar with vegetation survey equipment (e.g. Clinometers, Desitometers, Distance meters, Trimble units/software).

All projects will be coordinated through the Environmental Sciences Program. Specifically, projects relating to gopher tortoises will be supervised and implemented by graduate and undergraduate students in Dr. Frazier’s Terrestrial Ecology Laboratory. Ground penetrating radar will be applied under the direction of Dr. Evelyn Frazier and Dr. Xavier Comas from the geology department. Vegetation surveys will be conducted by Dr. Diane Owen’s Laboratory and graduate students. Bird surveys will be conducted through the Avian Ecology Laboratory and graduate students under the direction of Dr. Dale Gawlik.  

BSC 1010L- Bio-principles Lab, 800 students per academic year.

These classroom research experiences will aid in inspiring and instilling a solid research foundation by encouraging students to take a hands-on approach and becoming actively involved in current research processes, while enhancing student’s familiarity with various technological systems that will be required to carry out and analyze data.

The undergraduate and graduate students in Dr. Frazier’s lab already have all the training and necessary permits to conduct these projects and handle the animals (FFWCC #LSSC-13-00047) and IACUC A10-14, A10-15).  These students will mentor the undergraduate students and coordinate all activities of long term studies. Students associated with classroom research will not be handling the animals and will not be involved in the permitting process, as their involvement will be geared more towards camera data analysis using laptops, tracking tortoises using necessary computer software, laboratory analysis. Certain projects require students to conduct occasional “observation only” field trips to study locations in which participation consists of noninvasive tasks such as utilizing GPS units, etc.

2) Expanding undergraduate research opportunities: We expect that some of the freshman students will be interested in developing their own research projects after becoming involved in classroom experiences. Therefore, this initiative will most likely result in the recruitment of more undergraduate students into the Introduction to Honors and Honors Thesis Programs in Biology (BSC 4917 & BCS 4918). By providing additional projects with secure funding, more research opportunities for students are created. Also by providing more recurring research projects that undergraduates are able to conduct year after year, Directed Independent Study (DIS) opportunities for undergraduates will also rise. Thus, directly aligning with FAU’s Strategic plan to “enhance the quality of undergraduate academic programs, and expand honors programs to foster a culture of research and scholarship”.

These student researchers can also become educators themselves, presenting their projects to the very classes described above, and becoming mentors to new research students. Hence, this proposal enhances a previous awarded Distinction through Discovery Grant which focuses on Peer Mentoring and Student Service (Dianne Owen 2013).

3) Securing the continuation of long term projects: Pre-established, recurring, long term studies not only benefit undergraduate students by providing continual hands on research experience, but will also enable students to contribute to a more expansive effort in the acquisition of valuable data in the ecological field. Long term data is extremely vital in determining trends within populations over time, and can provide valuable information that will contribute to conservation and management decisions, thus aiding in FAU’s goal of becoming a world-class research university.  Results from these studies can therefore help to fuel the university’s momentum and secure its spot at the ‘forefront of scientific research’.