NSF Org:	DEB Division Of Environmental Biology
Recipient:	ARCHBOLD EXPEDITIONS, INC.
Initial Amendment Date:	February 28, 1991
Latest Amendment Date:	February 28, 1991
Award Number:	9021902
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Gregory J. McCants DEB  Division Of Environmental Biology BIO  Directorate for Biological Sciences
Start Date:	February 15, 1991
End Date:	July 31, 1993 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$170,571.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$170,571.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 1991 = $170,571.00
History of Investigator:	John Fitzpatrick (Principal Investigator) jwf7@cornell.edu Glen Woolfenden (Co-Principal Investigator) David McDonald (Co-Principal Investigator) Wayne Potts (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	Archbold Expeditions, Inc. 123 MAIN DR VENUS FL  US  33960-2039 (863)465-2571
Sponsor Congressional District:	18
Primary Place of Performance:	DATA NOT AVAILABLE
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	ZC2GY8VUCAE9
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s):	Evolutionary Processes
Primary Program Source:
Program Reference Code(s):
Program Element Code(s):	112700
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.074

ABSTRACT

This project investigates the genetic consequences of being an extreme ecological specialist in a rare and vanishing habitat. The Florida Scrub Jay is a federally Threatened bird species, restricted to a habitat that is rapidly being eliminated by man. Twenty-two years of detailed study of a marked population have shown that these jays have an unusual social system, and rarely move more than a few territories from where they were hatched. This very limited dispersal may result in rapid development of genetic changes over short distances, especially within a habitat that is highly fragmented. A variety of sophisticated genetic techniques (DNA 'fingerprinting' and sequencing) will be used to examine genetic variation at both local and regional scales. Specific goals are to: 1) confirm that reproduction takes place only by the mated pair on each territory (i.e., extra-pair or extra-territorial fertilizations are rare or absent); 2) test whether levels of inbreeding affect lifetime reproductive performance; 3) compare the effects of distance, degree of habitat isolation, and population size on genetic variation and differentiation, and 4) test whether these genetic effects match those predicted by long-term demographic data. Besides its theoretical applications, this study will further the protection of biodiversity by showing how habitat loss and fragmentation affect the genetic makeup of ecologically specialized species.

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