Noah Perlut receives Eppley Foundation grant for grassland bird research

Noah Perlut, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Environmental Studies, recently received a grant from the Eppley Foundation for Research for more than $19,000. The funds support collaborative research among a local Audubon chapter, landowners, land managers, and UNE students and faculty that will be used to promote farming practices that take into consideration the needs of grassland birds.

The specific goals of the project are to assess the annual life-cycle of individual birds by collecting data about them -- both while they are on the breeding grounds and through tracking devices (geolocators), which the birds will wear; to use a community-based approach—integrating the volunteers at Green Mountain Audubon Society (GMAS) and undergraduate students— in collecting data; and to engage local land owners/managers with the resulting data to illustrate to them various ways they can balance farming and grassland bird needs.

The Eppley Foundation for Research promotes the use of research, studies and publications to increase knowledge of pure or applied sciences, including chemistry, physics and biology. It provides funds for projects in medicine, life sciences and the physical sciences with a focus on innovative medical investigations and applications, endangered animals and ecosystems, and climate change.

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