NSF Award Expands Global Gyrfalcon Research and Climate Resilience Collaboration

A Boise State University research team has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) award exceeding $400,000 to advance global research on the immune resilience and genetic diversity of gyrfalcons, the world’s largest falcon species and an emblem of Arctic endurance.

Led by Dr. Stephanie Galla, assistant professor of avian biology, the project will study gyrfalcon immune gene diversity and gut microbiomes across long-term field sites in Alaska, Greenland, and Iceland. The goal is to understand how these raptors, which thrive in some of the planet’s harshest environments, may adapt to new pathogens as the Arctic warms.

“Gyrfalcons are powerful and visually striking birds that live where few species can,” said Michael Henderson, doctoral candidate and project manager of The Peregrine Fund’s Gyrfalcon and Tundra Conservation Program. “Despite being far from most sources of greenhouse gases, the effects of climate change are beginning to catch up to them.”

The collaboration includes experts from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, High Arctic Institute, and the Natural Science Institute of Iceland, along with Boise State colleagues Julie Heath, Leonora Bittleson, and Stephanie Hudon. The project also builds upon microbiome research capacity and partnerships established through two prior NSF EPSCoR awards led by Boise State professor Jennifer Forbey.

“This grant allows us to study DNA and microbial communities to better understand immune competence genes across the species’ range,” said Galla. “We’re building capacity to explore how gyrfalcons, and Arctic wildlife more broadly, may respond to rapid environmental change.”

Beyond advancing Arctic avian ecology, the NSF award supports graduate and undergraduate research training, student fieldwork in the Arctic, and global collaboration among wildlife biologists. “The resources built into this grant will help launch a program that could last much longer than the tenure of the award,” Galla said.

Read more: National Science Foundation award helps build global gyrfalcon research capacity and collaboration