Sonoran Joint Venture

Awards Program

Project Application Cover Sheet

Project Title: / Breeding fenology and reproductive success of the Rufous-winged Sparrow (Peucaea carpalis) in the Sonoran Desert as indicators of climate change in northwestern Mexico
DUNS Number
Organization: / Universidad Estatal de Sonora
Project Location: / Municipality of La Colorada, State of Sonora, Mexico
Project Officer:
(person responsible for carrying out the project) / Name: / Alberto Macías Duarte
Address: / Ley Federal del Trabajo S/N, Col. Apolo, Hermosillo, Sonora 83100, Mexico
Phone: / (662)215-3778, Ext. 105
Fax:
Email: /
Financial Officer:
(person responsible for signing contracts and financial matters) / Name: / Iván Romano Tapia
Address: / Rosales No. 189, Col. Centro, Hermosillo, Sonora 83000, Mexico
Phone: / (662)289-5910, Ext. 109
Fax: / (662)289-5900
Email: /
Amount Requested: / $8,500 / Amount of leveraged funds:
(cash and in-kind) / $9,500 / Is this proposal currently being considered for funding by other sources? /

Continuing SJV project? / Yes No / Do you give the SJV permission to share this proposal with other potential funders? / Yes No
Project Summary (200 words or less; include main project objectives): / Projections from global circulation models predict an increase in aridity and major climatic changes in the arid southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Nesting phenology and reproductive success of native desert birds to this region could be used as early indicators of the climate change in the region. The Rufous-winged Sparrow is a potentially good indicator species for changes in climate regimes given the strong relationship between the species' breeding phenology and summer precipitation. The objective of this project is to continue a nesting success monitoring program to detect the cumulative effects of climate change in the Sonoran Desert biota through their manifestation in population parameters and trajectories of this common but largely unknown desert bird. We initiated this project in the breeding season of 2012 and we seek funding through the SJV grant program to continue our monitoring in the breeding season of 2013. We will search and locate nests of P. carpalis and other desert passerines in two habitat types (native shurbland and buffelgrass prairies) in a study site of central Sonora. We will estimate population density and monitor nest status until the success or failure of the each clutch, as well as temperature, precipitation and vegetation condition. We will employ logistic exposure models to develop predictive models that link environmental conditions to daily nest survival. Our results will provide relevant information for prediction and mitigation of the efects of climate change in Sonoran Desert biota.
Project Category (check one) / Research / Habitat / Education / Monitoring
Subcategory
(check all that apply) / Research Habitat Planning Monitoring Education Outreach
Community Involvement Training Birding ecotourism
Date Submitted: / 31-Jan-2013