Early-career Raptor Researcher Travel Grants
THE AWARD: The Early-career Raptor Researcher Travel Awards are given to up to three early-career (no more than three years after graduation or receiving a degree) researchers who are the senior author and presenter of a paper or poster to be presented at the RRF meeting for which travel funds are requested. Applicants with the greatest financial need will receive the greatest consideration. The selection committee must receive all application materials by the deadline for regular abstracts. That date is included in the announcement of RRF’s annual meeting sent each year to the membership.
TO APPLY: Application materials include:
• A cover letter
• A project description not to exceed one page, single spaced. The project description should be as detailed as one page will permit and must include a brief introduction outlining the significance and importance of the research, a description of methods, including the analytical approach, and results.
• A letter of recommendation from the student’s major professor. The letter of recommendation is extremely important and should contain a thorough evaluation of the applicant’s academic abilities, the significance of the research, the student’s relative contribution to the research, and his or her potential for future contributions to the field of raptor biology.
AMOUNT: $700. The award will also include a free 1-year membership to RRF.
Number of Awards Issued per Year: up to three.
DEADLINE: Abstract submission deadline
Application Method: Apply online before the abstract submission deadline. Please contact awards@raptorresearchfoundation.org with questions about your application. The online application opens when abstract submissions are open for the current year.
| Year | Recipient | Project Title |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Radhika Jha | Climate Change and Habitat Dynamics: Implications for Resident Vultures |
| 2025 | Alejandra Morena Rojas | Diet analysis of three Strigiformes species based on pellet dissection |
| 2025 | Plakizia Msalilwa | Tracking Change: A Decade of Shifting African White-backed Vulture Habitat Use in the Serengeti–Mara Ecosystem |
| 2025 | Johannes Ploderer | Personality in Owls |
| 2025 | Natividad Aguilera Alcalá | Swainson's hawk (Buteo swainsoni) habitat selection in their wintering areas in central Argentina: trends associated to agricultural changes over the last two decades. |
| 2025 | Gabriela Carlos Mendes | Is abundance alone a sign of success? The challenges in conserving an owl species considered successful in Brazil |
| 2025 | Ana Carolina Neiva de Oliveira | Beyond the bibliography: what citizen science has to say about Buff-fronted owl |