Description
Contract No. F11PX04730TAS 14 1611 SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION for SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITIONS OVER $3,000 AND UP TO $150,000 DESCRIPTION OF THE REQUIREMENTThe service is for antler and bone surveys on a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to obtain historical data on the distribution of caribou calving grounds and changes in importance of areas through time. This work also includes radiocarbon dating and nutrient analyses of antler bone samples collected during the surveys. The work is highly specialized and builds off of Dr. Joshua Miller's (Wright State University) work on the refuge during summer 2010 (Miller 2010). It requires working knowledge of field techniques, access to comparative data (including results from bone accumulations in other regions), and analytical methods including R, ArcGIS, spatial statistics, error estimation, and multivariate statistics. The contractor will survey up to three sites on the Arctic NWR for antlers/bones according to specific methods (Miller 2010, 2011). Samples of antlers will be collected from the refuge for radiocarbon dating and nutrient analyses. Specific responsibilities and analyses include: (1) the definition of study areas for survey transects that include areas of variable use across the last 40 years of calving history, (2) survey transects for bones according to methods outlined in Miller (2010), (3) identify bones and bone fragments to species, ontogenetic age, gender, scavenging damage (carnivore, ungulate, or bird), and proportion remaining, (4) identify antlers and antler fragments to gender (using the proprietary antler database: Miller unpublished data), (5) using a unique technique (Miller 2009, 2010, 2011) determine weathering stages of antler bone (thus, providing relative postmortem duration) and determine weathering stages of all encountered bone remains, (6) determine the ratio of newborn to adult/sub-adult caribou for each transect, (7) calculate differences in the geographic distribution of calf:non-calf caribou in different regions of the refuge, (8) calculate concentrations between different genders of antlers in different areas of the refuge, (9) Recalculate all of the above using bones in different weathering stages to test for changes in historical calving use patterns through time, (10) compare historical calving ground use with current patterns of calving (as determined by modern survey data), (11) establish the duration over which antlers survive on the landscape (using radiocarbon dating), (12) characterize the nutritional value of antlers and changes in those values during the decay process (based on weathering stages), (13) incorporate nutritional value of antlers through post-shed time to establish consumptive pressures of antlers on the landscape and any biases caused by variability in consumptive pressure over time, and (14) produce final report on all methods and findings.The service is estimated to cost $25,000 SUPPORTING INFORMATIONStatutory Authority: FAR 6.302-1 (10 USC 2304 (c)(1) or 41 USC 253(c)(1): Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirement.The highly specialized services required for this project are part of a newly-developing field of study: bone surveys. Because this kind of data is only recently being used for acquiring management-relevant information on wildlife populations, very few vendors have experience in the required techniques, analyses, and interpretation of the data. The Biology Department at Wright State University is a current leader in this field. Dr. Joshua Miller at the University has developed the techniques for this type of study in temperate and arctic regions and has conducted a pilot study of this work within Arctic NWR during summer 2010 to further refine techniques. Dr. Miller is the only practitioner currently conducting this kind of work in the arctic region. Dr. Miller's carbon dating experience and data analysis/interpretation are also critical for this project, which is lacking by most vendors. The Biology Department of Wright State University is the only vendor with the experience and expertise to properly perform all aspects of this work (study design, bone surveys/field data collection, all analytical lab work, and data interpretation) assuring that all stages of the research are performed correctly. In addition and importantly, the Department of Biology has personnel available to conduct the work in the required timeframe. Furthermore, We cannot find an institution or consulting firm that can do such a project with the expertise needed in the timeline set forth because of other commitments, with the exception of Wright State University-Department of Biology. Wright State University has the expertise (since they developed this technique), resources/personnel and time ready to accomplish such a project. EFFORTS TO LOCATE OTHER SOURCESI contacted the consulting firm HDR (Anchorage office). Their firm does conduct environmental and wildlife based surveys, but do not have the expertise in antler/bone surveys, carbon dating, or nutrient analysis data analyses or interpretations of such data. Cynthia also mentioned that the timeline for collecting samples at the end of August 2011 wouldn't be enough time to organize any additional expertise or field personnel. Therefore, HDR cannot accommodate this project. The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks/Museum of the North was contacted. While they have some laboratory expertise, they have never conducted bone surveys and do not have the knowledge to identify fragmented bones in the field nor evaluate/analyze that data. Additionally, they are not available for an August/September field season. The Department of Paleobiology at the National Museum of Natural History was contacted. While they do have some of the expertise to fulfill this work (bone survey techniques, field identification of fragmented vertebrate bone remains), they are not available for an August/September field season. Therefore, the National Museum of Natural History is not an option for this work. The department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at The University of California, Santa Cruz was contacted, and while they have some required laboratory expertise (carbon dating, isotopic analyses, etc.), they neither have the required practical skills for conducting surface bone surveys or the available time in August/September. After researching and contacting several potential vendors from universities and a consulting firm, our market research indicates that none of these vendors can currently fulfill our research request except Wright State University. Although each entity has some aspect of experience or skills/capabilities, none have the combined experience, lab skills and time to conduct this research, unlike the Department of Biology at Wright State University. Dr. Miller at Wright State University has developed general bone survey protocols for temperate and arctic regions and developed specific protocols for the Arctic NWR during a pilot study in 2010. Wright State University can complete this project effectively and in a timely manner to meet management deadlines.