Description

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Powell Center seeks research on a spatially explicit framework for assessing aquatic-contaminant risks to insectivorous birds. The project will examine how contaminant and nutrient fluxes carried by adult aquatic insects affect birds through prey loss and dietary exposure, mapping elevated risks across the United States and Europe.

Researchers will combine bird distributions and diet information with aquatic insect emergence and contaminant-flux datasets, using digital stream networks and Bayesian models. Expected outputs include diet-mediated risk models, spatial vulnerability assessments, published findings, and an interactive geonarrative application using R Shiny or ESRI online products. The goal is to equip species and habitat managers with tools to anticipate environmental-health risks at local, regional, and continental scales, while addressing understudied pathways contributing to aerial insectivore declines.