Funded Proposals (2012-2019)

2019 Awards

Proposal Institution Award
Habitat use and migratory connections of elasmobranchs in the Potomac River and upper Chesapeake Bay Smithsonian Environmental Research Center $3,000
Field Sampling of the Acuminate Crayfish, Cambarus acuminatus, (Decapoda: Cambaridae) to Help Resolve Questions of its Species Status in the Mid-Atlantic Region and Beyond Carnegie Museum $4,693
Fungal interactions as a driver of evolution and speciation in orchids Smithsonian Environmental Research Center $2,225
Determining the effects of urbanization on the song of a vocal mimic, the gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) James Madison $991
Understanding the role of herbivory in migrating marshes: Are ungulates facilitating invasive Phragmites australis establishment in transitioning coastal forest? George Washington U. $2,479
Microbiome and peptide diversity in a salamander biodiversity hotspot National Zoological Park $3,164
Marsh resilience during the early stages of transition into an open water pond George Washington University $2,998
The Effect of Climate Change on the Phenological Relationship Between Agricultural Pests and their Parasitoids George Washington U. $2,111
The enigma of Lumbricus friendi, the ‘other’ nightcrawler Johns Hopkins U. $4,770
Monogenean diversity in Bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) morphotypes Shenandoah University $1,200

2018 Awards

Proposal Award
The ground beetles of Plummers Island (Coleoptera: Carabidae): modernizing our taxonomic infrastructure through the use of DNA barcodes $1,000
Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve Arthropod Study (DMWPAS) $600
Biodiversity and environmental sensitivity of freshwater annelids of the Potomac River Basin $4,000
Can Isolated Salmonid Populations be an Effective Conservation Strategy? Comparing Above and Below Waterfall Populations of Eastern Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Southern Appalachia $800
Field surveys and comparative parasitology of freshwater native and invasive snails in Virginia and Maryland $2,650
Bee brain physiology in rural and urban environments $1,000
untitled – climate change on the Delmarva Peninsula $3,472
Testing how social evolution and nutrition influence neural investment in primitively eusocial bees $900
Disentangling the Isoetes riparia—saccharata complex using PacBio sequencing $2,000
An Inventory of Tardigrades on Plummers Island, Maryland, USA $2,190
Assessing the coevolution of dispersal traits in adult stream insects $2,500
Assessing the taxonomic diversity of Hedera (the ivy plant genus) in the Mid-Atlantic region $2,500

2017 Awards

Proposal Award
Do edaphic conditions and plant community structure affect the mycorrhizal colonization of the rare sedge Rhynchospora knieskernii? $2,000
Uncovering forest invertebrate biodiversity hotspots, with a focus on Shenandoah National Park, Virginia $3,000
The little things that run the world: how plant identity, diversity, and traits structure microbial endophyte communities $2,000
Impacts of Deer Herbivory on Understory Herbaceous Plant Community Diversity and the Potential to Recover via Seed Bank $2,660
Braconid wasp-aphid-host plant associations in U.S. mid-Atlantic grasslands and forests $2,300
Estimating invasion risk in native forest in Northwestern VA $2,525
How do urban environments affect the song and mating preferences of a vocal-mimic? $2,600
Testing reinforcement as a mechanism promoting speciation in a diverse group of freshwater fishes (Percidae: Etheostoma) $915
A proposal to inventory spring and seep inhabiting caddisflies and other aquatic insects from the coastal plain of Virginia and North Carolina $2,000

2016 Awards

Proposal Award
Braconidae of Plummers Island and comparison of the fauna in canopy and understory $4,080
The ground beetles of Plummers Island (Coleoptera: Carabidae): a follow up study $1,095
Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve Arthropod Study (DMWPAS) $1,200
Anadromous larval fish assemblages in a relatively unaltered estuary in the Mid-Atlantic Bight: Taxonomy, Phenology, Size and Stage $2,425
Disentangling the evolutionary relationships of the buckeye trees using genome skimming, a high-throughput next-generation sequencing method $2,450
Metasequencing Sandy Beach Microbial Eukaryotic Diversity: Community Assembly Across an Environmental Gradient $2,450
Population genetics and dispersal of Oplismenus undulatifolius (wavyleaf basketgrass) in its invaded range $1,800
Experimental investigation of a conditional mutualism: How does habitat alter scatter-hoarder behavior to affect tree seedling establishment? $2,500
Restoration Chestnut as a Reservoir for American Chestnut Herbivores and their Dependents $2,000

2015 Awards

Proposal Award
Assessing Quality of Atlantic Flyway Stopover Sites for Migratory Landbirds Using Plasma Metabolites $2,700
Something on Silver-Spotted Skipper butterfly, Epargyreus clarus, $560
Morphological and Distributional Assessments of Cyprinella analostana and C. spiloptera in the Potomac River and Mid-Atlantic States $450
Determining Stream Habitat Suitability for Brook Trout Reproductive Success $1,500
Testing condition-specific competition in mosquitoes: Effects of scrap tire contaminants $2,000
Comparing the effects of mid-Atlantic geography and the parasitic lifestyle on population genetic structuring using Indian pipes (Monotropa uniflora) as an example organism $1,300
Using a Citizen Science Program to Assess the Population and Disease Status of Threatened Bumblebee Species in Northern Virginia $1,800
Bee diversity on Chain Bridge Flats: a historical comparison with Plummers Island and possible Habitat for declining Macropis species $1,500
Distribution and identification of larval black flies within the Potomac River Basin $2,290
Does our common spicebush (Lindera benzoin) have American or Asian relatives, and if American how close do they live? $3,000
Scyphomedusan sea nettle jellyfish (Chrysaora quinquecirrha) $2,900

2014 Awards

Proposal Award
Diapause and dormancy of Eastern Tent Caterpillars $992
Phenology of Black Cherry and Eastern Tent Caterpillars: Understanding Synchrony and its Effects on Plant Quality $2,735
Flora of Wheaton Regional Park $2,694
Searching for C. p. waynei; is the North Carolina subspecies of the Marsh Wren extinct? $2,450
Where do Maryland orioles winter? Using geolocators to study Orchard Oriole migration $5,000

2013 Awards

Proposal Award
Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve Arthropod Study (DMWPAS).” $2,000
Diversity and phenology of wood-decay fungi communities in Mid-Atlantic forests.” $2,950
Survey of Plant Invasions on Plummers Island.” $4,100
Using Geolocators to Determine Migration Routes of Orchard Orioles (Icterus spurius).” $3,000
Cascading effects of beech blight aphids on forest seedling communities.” $1,652
The Interplay of Density and Insects as Drivers of Milkweed Population Dynamics.” $4,978
Taxonomic revision of grapes in the Mid-Atlantic region and exploring the origin of the Concord grape cultivar. $2,500
Floristic Survey of Dickerson Conservation Park and the Impact of Invasive Plants.” $1,537
Molecular Ecology of the Red-Backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus): Sex-Biased Dispersal, Kin Selection, and Mating System. $3,502
Spatial distribution and population size of the Rock Vole (Microtus chrotorrhinus) in a West Virginia canyon. $750

2012 Awards

Proposal Award
Phenology of Black Cherry and eastern tent caterpillars: response to global climate change. $2912
Investigation of possible parthenogenetic reproduction under stress by the crayfish, Orconectes obscurus. $2350
Quantifying the Relative Contributions of Natural and Sexual Selection on Male Ornamentation Across Darter (Teleostei: Percidae) Lineages. $704
Species diversity and the evolution of tropic interactions within insect herbivores on Plummers Island. $3000
Biodiversity of the centipede (Chilopoda) and millipede (Diplopoda) fauna for Plummers Island (Montgomery County, Maryland). $900
Shape learning in the invasive Cabbage White Butterfly, Pieris rapae (Pieridae). $993
Quantifying the reproductive consequences of long-distance natal dispersal in a migratory bird breeding in the Potomac Basin Region. $3000
A comparison of epigenetic and genetic diversity and structure in urban and nonurban populations of a freshwater stream fish (Etheostoma olmstedi) in the Potamac basin. $2731
How does food plant quality affect the immune response of forest caterpillars? $2210