NPS-BSU Collaborative Grant: Roadway Noise Effects on Bat and Bird Foraging

1.Collaboratively undertake a project titled Roadway noise and foraging behavior in bats and birds: A synthetic field experiment as described in this document.
2.Appoint Dr. Jesse Barber as Principal Investigator (PI) and enable him to oversee all phases of this research.
3.Hire a postdoctoral researcher to be the lead field researcher.
4.Enable the master’s student specified in the proposal to participate in bird point count studies and other phases of the research.
5.Hire a undergraduate research assistant to participate in this research.
6.Pursue an orderly plan of data collection and analysis similar to that described above.
7.Consult with the NPS Agreements Technical Representative (ATR) regarding engineering issues and any substantial changes in research plans.
8.Cooperate with the ATR to ensure that the conduct of the project complies with the “NPS Interim Guidance Document Governing Code of Conduct, Peer Review, and Information Quality Correction for National Park Service Cultural and Natural Resources Disciplines,” and with any and all subsequent guidance issued by the NPS Director to replace this interim document. The ATR is the peer review manager for this project.
9.Fully acknowledge the NPS in any published or formally presented material developed or derived from this Task Agreement.
10.Collaborate with the NPS, as appropriate, in a thirty-day wrap-up period following the due date of the last project product.

B. The NPS will:

1.Provide financial assistance to BSU as provided in Article V. The Budget, included as Attachment 1, is incorporated in this Task Agreement.
2.Assign Dr. Kurt Fristrup as the ATR.
3.Enable the ATR to work with the BSU team to select or design the noise playback systems, audio monitoring systems, and ultrasonic monitoring systems.
4.Enable to ATR to train the BSU research team in automatic methods of detecting and identifying animal sounds in audio recordings.
5.Enable the ATR to advise or assist the postdoc and students regarding statistical models and data analyses.
6.Enable the ATR to work with the BSU team to write scientific papers, if the ATR’s proves to be responsible for some substantive components of the work.
7.Investigate options for supplying some monitoring equipment (microphones, digital audio recorders, ultrasonic recorders, low light video cameras, thermal infrared cameras, digital video recorders) to expand the spatial coverage of the project.
8.Enable the ATR to consult periodically with the BSU team, to evaluate progress in the research and discuss options for revising the research plan or schedule as appropriate.
9.Inform the PI of the specific activities required to comply with the NPS Interim Guidance Document Governing Code of Conduct, Peer Review, and Information Quality Correction for National Park Service Cultural and Natural Resource Disciplines,’ and with any and all subsequent guidance issued by the NPS Director to replace this interim document.