Abstracts
Research Symposium
January 2005
Graduate Student Association
Department of Natural Resources
Cornell University
Kate Ballantine
Soil organic matter accumulation in New York restored wetlands
Wetland restoration is increasingly used as a strategy to address both historic wetland losses and
to mitigate new wetland destruction. However, limited research suggests that few restored
wetlands achieve the biophysical properties or provide the ecological benefits of their native
counterparts. While short term research has examined avifaunal habitat, plant biodiversity, and
percent vegetative cover of eastern United States restored wetlands, little is known about soil
development in these systems. This property is particularly important as soil organic matter,
texture, and other properties are directly linked to wetland functions for water quality
improvement. The purpose of this investigation is to examine soil development in restored
wetlands of upstate New York. My specific objective is to compare soil properties and soil
development processes among 30 restored wetlands of three different ages, e.g. ~2, 10, and 30
years since restoration. I am taking advantage of sites completed by the 15 year old Partners for
Fish and Wildlife program and the historic Department of Conservation 48D Project which are
comparable in restoration methodology, soil type, landscape position, and hydrologic regime. I
collected replicated soil cores from each site to analyze for soil organic matter content, bulk
density, texture, root abundance, and chemical properties. I also sampled aboveground plant
biomass and litter as key soil contributors and am using a litter bag experiment to compare rates
of in situ decomposition. This research should provide insights into a key aspect of restored
wetland success and specifically, the rate of overall soil development.
Carolyn Brown
Managing non-wood forest products in the context of increasing market demand
Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFPs) represent part of the high biodiversity of the Congo Basin
rainforest, as well as a valuable resource for local people. In the Humid Forest Zone of
Cameroon over 500 species of plant NWFPs are used by local people for food, medicine,
construction or other cultural purposes. A growing domestic and international market for
NWFPs, while providing a source of cash income, has also led to concerns about sustainable
management. Research in nine villages, provided a comparison of two areas representing a high
and low volume of trade in three commercially valuable species. Surveys with NWFP collectors
revealed overexploitation of the liana, Gnetum sp., in the high volume of trade area. Two fruit
tree species, Irvingia sp. and Ricinodendron heudelotii also were exploited heavily, but are less
vulnerable. At the community level, traditional management systems may not be responding
quickly enough to prevent overexploitation of the resource. Management of NWFPs in
Community Forests may represent a viable option for sustainable management.
Laura D'amato
How does wilderness travel affect people's attitudes toward nature?
Through interviews with recent Outward Bound (OB) and National Outdoor Leadership School
(NOLS) participants, this study will examine how spending three weeks or longer in
undeveloped natural areas affects students' perception of what nature is and how they are related
to it. A continuing question in wilderness education is how the field contributes to the larger
goals of environmental education, including the building of a healthy and environmentally
responsible citizenry. This study theorizes that while students do not learn "environmental
education" directly on courses, the continuous contact with nature will have profound impacts on
students' emotional and mental state. It further hypothesizes that students will connect their
personal changes and growth to their experiences in nature, possibly affecting their attitudes
about natural places. The study will organize around four values of nature as categorized by
Stephen Kellert. These values are moralistic (the value of nature's unity and interconnection),
negativistic (the value of fears and anxieties about nature), aesthetic (visual impact of nature),
and naturalistic (the value of immersion in nature, exploration and discovery). Results will be
presented through profiles of each interviewee and an analysis of common findings. Conclusions
from this study could help wilderness educators improve their programs and help other educators
to understand how wilderness courses fit into the process of developing an environmentally
responsible citizenry.
Nicki Dardinger
What's for dinner? The feeding ecology of the Massasauga Rattlesnake
Knowledge of an organism's feeding ecology is crucial to the understanding of its natural history
and ecological needs. To better understand the feeding ecology of the Massasauga Rattlesnake,
Sistrurus catenatus, 1328 preserved Massasauga specimens from twenty museum collections
were examined. Stomach contents were removed from 145 specimens, and 113 prey items have
been identified including 88 (77.9%) mammals, 17 (15.0%) reptiles, 5 (4.4%) birds, and 3
(2.7%) centipedes. Western Massasaugas (Sistrurus catenatus tergeminus) consume a higher
percentage of lizards (20.8%) than the Eastern Massasaugas (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus). This
dietary shift parallels an increase in lizard prey items in the western part of the Massasauga's
range. Throughout their distribution, the Massasauga forages for a wide variety of prey species,
indicating that this rattlesnake is a generalist predator. This trait could enable the Massasauga to
persist, even as its distribution and available habitat continue to diminish.
Amielle DeWan
Application of current and future inventory data for the development of a comprehensive
wildlife monitoring program for New York State
As human activities on the landscape encroach on natural communities, the health and
persistence of native fauna is continuously threatened by one or more anthropogenic stressors. In
response to these impacts, there is growing demand for a comprehensive monitoring program
that tracks and evaluates the status of wildlife throughout New York State (NYS). Monitoring
population changes in representative species is often proposed as a cost and time efficient
"indicator" of the overall health and integrity of an ecological community. However, the use of
indicator species is widely criticized because populations are highly variable, responses of
individual species may not represent trends in co-occurring species and correlational
relationships are rarely rigorously examined. Although many have recognized the importance of
monitoring and maintaining community diversity, current terrestrial monitoring efforts rarely
address these issues in the context of anthropogenic disturbance. Shifting the focus to indicators
that vary consistently with human influence would allow managers to make more informed
decisions about the status of target resources (Karr & Chu 1999). Therefore, the purpose of our
study is to develop an ecologically relevant and feasible approach to regularly assess the status of
terrestrial vertebrates. We will be exploring existing inventory data such as the NYS Breeding
Bird Atlas and NYS Herp Atlas, to identify a consistent strategy for keeping track of wildlife
across the state. In addition we will test the use and application of a terrestrial index of biotic
integrity by examining the response of multiple vertebrate taxa across differing levels of
anthropogenic disturbance.
Mark Dettling
Methanogenesis - Who's in Control? An investigation of CH4 production control by
alternative electron acceptors in New York State peatlands
Peatlands in the northern latitudes play a dual role in regulating global climate. They have
accumulated a large reservoir of atmospheric carbon because resident microorganisms
decompose organic matter very slowly. However, peat soil holds water and harbors anaerobic
methanogenic bacteria that produce an important greenhouse gas, methane. The interactions
between methanogens and other microbial decomposers are poorly understood. For example,
nitrate-, sulfate-, and ferric iron-reducing bacteria compete with methanogens for substrates.
These microorganisms oxidize simple organic molecules by transferring electrons to the above
compounds (termed alternative electron acceptors, AEA) resulting in mineralization of carbon
into carbon dioxide. The general hypothesis is that sites with greater concentrations of AEAs will
have lower CH4 production rates and greater CO2 production rates. To test the hypothesis I
measured AEA concentrations and CH4 production rates of four peatlands with varying
characteristics in central New York State. No significant differences in endogenous methane
production rates were observed, and I found significant differences only in iron concentrations. I
did a complementary laboratory experiment in which peat samples were incubated with added
AEAs. All of the electron acceptors, except iron, reduced CH4 production, but a concurrent
increase in CO2 production was not observed. The addition of substrate plus an electron acceptor
likely selected for a particular group of microorganisms. All of the microorganisms capable of
using AEA and methanogens coexist in the peatlands, but are limited by AEA concentrations as
well as substrate. My results suggest that increased concentrations of nitrate and sulfate will
reduce methanogenesis and increase populations of nitrate and sulfate reducers.
Beth Gardner
Beth's Recipe for Turtle Soup: Mix Well with a Large Amount of Water
Loggerhead sea turtle (Carretta carretta) distribution and movements in offshore waters are not
well understood despite continued efforts to monitor, survey, and observe sea turtles in the
Western North Atlantic. This study aims to quantify spatial patterns of loggerhead sea turtle
distributions to better understand the potential processes determining the patterns. The data
examined in this study are from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) pelagic observer
program 1992-2003 managed by the Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Miami Laboratory
(SEFSC). A modified Ripleys K analysis was employed to determine the spatial patterns of sea
turtle distributions within the pattern of the pelagic fishery distribution. Different spatial
resolutions and temporal scales were examined. Our current results show that sea turtle
distributions appear random when other variables are not included in the analyses such as sea
surface temperatures and currents.
Gary Goff
The Theory and Practice of Sportsman Ethics Instruction
This presentation will highlight the work accomplished by the authors via a contract with NYS
Dept. of Environmental to develop an ethics curriculum for use in NYS Sportsman Education
courses. The courses are taught by over 3000 volunteer Instructors, and cover the 3 general
topics of safe, lawful, and ethical behavior. All Instructors were surveyed initially to document
the time they spent on ethics instruction and techniques used. The authors then developed a pilot
curriculum manual that was largely based on Kohlberg's theory that postulates a hierarchy of
moral development. The manual was presented by the senior author to Master Instructors via
regional workshops, who in turn presented the curriculum to County Instructors for use through
one year. All Instructors were then again surveyed to document their use of the new curriculum
and obtain ideas for improvements. The revised curriculum manual will be published by DEC
and mailed to all Instructors in time for use in their 2005 spring classes.
Andre Goncalves
Ecoagriculture in the Torres Region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil: Tradeoffs or Synergies?
In Rio Grande do Sul (RS), the southernmost Brazilian state, 39.7% of the area was originally
covered by the Atlantic Moist Forest, and today it is reduced to 2.7%. The last well preserved
fragments of this ecosystem are located in the Torres Region, north littoral of the state. In order
to preserve these last forest remnants several initiatives as parks and biological reserves have
been promoted by federal and state governments. Apart from these governmental actions, which
were essentially focused on setting up ecological reserves and legal enforcement ("fence and
fines" perspective), others initiatives involving local communities as promotion of sustainable
practices, organization of small-scale farmers in associations and cooperatives, and direct
marketing of their products were established by local organizations. Such efforts have been
demonstrating its efficacy and efficiency to improve the social-environmental conditions in the
region. The main thrust of my research is to examine the ecoagriculture initiatives that have been
implemented in the Torres Region Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and assess its potentials to promote
agronomic, social, economic and environmental enhancement.
Ragy Ibrahim
Ecosystem analysis of pesticides impacts in agricultural watersheds in Egypt: a bird model
to assess the contamination level and potential public health hazard
Application of organochlorine insecticides was continued officially in Egypt for almost 20 years
(between 1952-1971) throughout agricultural and medical pest control programmes. During
these years more than 13,300 and 18,800 metric tons oftechnical DDT and Lindane, respectively
were used (El-Sebae et al,1978). Chlorinated pesticides have been used since then until now.
They have been reported in the Nile and drinking water recently (Afifi,1997 and Abd ElRahman,2000). The carcinogenic risk of pesticides in Egypt was assessed through circumstantial
evidences correlating the rise in the numbers of cancer patients in some areas to the overuse of
pesticides in such areas ( Ezz et al, 1985 and El-Sebaee 1977). This study aims at studying the
loads of chlorinated pesticides in specimens of birds and bird eggs. Samples will be collected
from an Agricultural habitat in Al- Fayoum governorate. Samples will also be collected from the
biggest fishery lake in the country; Al-Manzala lake. This project aims at building a base line
data about loads of pesticides in birds of Egypt at different trophic levels: granivores,
insectivores,piscivores and birds of prey A comparison will be made between the samples from
both areas, coastal and agricultural areas.
Brian Irwin
Confronting multiple long-term data sets to evaluate walleye abundance, gear catchability,
and changes in mortality
Since the late 1950s, standardized sampling in Oneida Lake has produced three long-term data
sets (trawl catch-per-unit effort, gillnet catch-at-age, and adult mark-recapture population
estimates) for walleye Sander vitreus. The mark-recapture estimates provide a measure of
absolute abundance over a number of non-consecutive years for adult walleye (age-4+) only.
However, walleye collected in trawls and gillnets have been aged, providing independent, agespecific estimates of their relative abundance over time. Due to the lack of direct estimates of
population abundance for sub-adult fish, the age-specific catchabilities of the sampling gears are
largely unknown. We evaluated long-term trends suggested by the individual sampling
approaches as well as the effects of various weighting assumptions on sampling components in
models utilizing all available data. We used AD Model Builder with the three long-term data sets
to simultaneously estimate mortality, age-specific gear catchabilities, and the abundance of subadult walleye. We also compared more complex models to test our hypothesis that sub-adult
walleye mortality has increased over time in Oneida Lake in response to environmental changes,
such as the introduction of zebra mussels Dreissena polymorpha, and predation by cormorants
Phalacrocorax auritus.
Jeff Klein
Understanding variance in forest management priorities in New York's Northern Forest
The Northern Forest is a vast expanse of 26 million acres stretching from eastern Maine to
western New York. In New York State, over 93% of this timberland is privately owned. Unlike
the heavily regulated public lands of the Adirondack Park, private forests are susceptible to land
use conversion, forest fragmentation, and unsustainable harvesting of forest products.
Responding to these threats, working forest has emerged as a potentially useful development
model to coordinate economic, social and ecological services derived from the forest. But what
combinations of goods, services, and values constitute "working forests"? How do occupation,
location of residence, and forest use patterns affect priorities for forest management? Our
research addresses these questions through analysis of data derived from a mail survey (n=189;
response rate 63%) in two northern NY communities with distinct economic orientations to the
forest (Boonville and Saranac Lake). Through factor analysis of respondents' assessment of a set
of potential management priorities, we identify four principal value orientations applied to
management of forests: environmental orientation, recreation orientation, timber/large-scale
industry orientation, and small-scale, cottage industry orientation. Based on conceptual
arguments regarding political, economic, cognitive and demographic factors that shape forest
management priorities, we derive hypotheses regarding the ways in which characteristics such as
location of residence, occupation, and use of forest resources shape these value orientations. We
use step-wise linear regression to test these hypotheses and enhance understanding patterns of
convergence and divergence in forest management priorities within the local and regional
context.
Heidi Kretser
The exurban frontier: Managing human-wildlife interactions where we live, work, and play
The goal of this research is to explore the relationships among exurban development, humanwildlife interactions, and conservation attitudes. Conflicts between humans and wildlife are
increasing. Reasons for this increase include landscape changes leading to habitat loss, habitat
recovery, and movements of wildlife populations into or out of areas near human communities;
loss of top predators resulting in explosions of some species populations; and most importantly, a
continuously increasing human population. Exurban growth acts as a catalyst for other physical
and social landscape changes. Yet, little research has specifically connected exurban
development to increases in human-wildlife interactions. My research has three objectives: 1) to
demonstrate how exurban landscape form influences spatial patterns of human-wildlife
interactions; 2) to assess how demographic characteristics and attitudes of residents influence
whether a human-wildlife interaction is perceived as positive or negative; and 3) to determine
whether perceptions of negative and/or positive human-wildlife interactions are related to
support for broader wildlife and land conservation practices. Research background and
preliminary methods will be presented.
Alex Kudryavtsev
DVDs as a tool for dissemination of environmental education programs
A number of outreach programs use workshops to deliver information to educators, who in turn
conduct programs with youth. However, workshops can be expensive to implement and follow
up rates are generally less than 40%. More recently, websites and DVDs are being used as
training tools. Although electronic tools are less expensive, they may not reach low-resource
audiences, who have limited access to computers. Garden Mosaics is a national community
education program, which uses web-mediated investigations, highly-illustrated fact sheets, and
action projects to engage urban youth in learning about science within an intergenerational,
multicultural, and community action context. During the last three years Garden Mosaics
conducted over 20 hands-on trainings for educators, and beginning in 2005, it will provide
educators with DVDs showing how to conduct the program activities. This research will examine
the effectiveness of DVD-based vs. workshop training by answering the following questions: 1)
What are demographics, background, and skills of educators who use the DVD and implement
the program? 2) What external factors influence program implementation (e.g. access to
computers, community settings)? 3) How effective are DVDs vs. workshops in promoting
program implementation? To answer these questions, I will use: 1) initial and follow-up surveys
of educators receiving DVDs and attending trainings; 2) interviews and observations in
community organizations implementing Garden Mosaics in NYC. The results of the research
will be useful for future development of electronic materials to better fit educators' needs, and for
making suggestions about support needed to help educators implement programs.
Madhura Kulkarni
How does wilderness travel affect people's attitudes toward nature?
Humans have accelerated the global nitrogen cycle so ever-increasing amounts of reactive
nitrogen now "cascade" through the earth's ecosystems. These increases damage ecosystem and
human health. For this reason, there is growing interest in the process of denitrification, the only
known way of converting reactive nitrogen back to inert dinitrogen (N2). Denitrification is a
poorly understood microbial process that is highly variable, both spatially and temporally. It is,
therefore, very difficult to quantify, especially at large scales. I propose a project that will use
field, laboratory and modeling efforts to more accurately estimate denitrification rates over a
large area. In the first year, I have begun to develop field and laboratory methods for measuring
denitrification rates at my field site, the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire.
A survey of denitrification rates using two different methods in high and low elevation plots this
summer showed that rates of denitrification to N2 are 1 to 5 orders of magnitude higher than
rates of denitrification to N2O and could comprise a substantial proportion of nitrogen losses
from Hubbard Brook soils. A similar survey in the fall yielded conflicting results. I will continue
to measure denitrification rates using refined versions of both methods in 2005 from spring to
fall. Sampling sites will be stratified along gradients of controlling factors. After examining
denitrification rates and levels of controlling factors over varying conditions in the landscape this
year, I will construct a simulation model of denitrification, probably one that will comprise a
subroutine in a larger ecosystem model. Finally, I will use this model to extrapolate
denitrification rates collected at plot scale to the entire Hubbard Brook Valley. This result should
help close the nitrogen budget for Hubbard Brook. If the denitrification model is robust, it may
be adjusted to quantify large scale denitrification rates in other systems, especially the larger
White Mountain region of New Hampshire, and the Catskills of New York.
Kendra Liddicoat
Do residential experience, length of stay, and distance from home influence the student
learning outcomes of outdoor environmental education?
School-based outdoor environmental education programs are offered in a variety of settings
ranging from five-day residential programs in a distant wilderness area to hour-long programs in
a local park or green space. Differences between these many programs include hours of
instruction, distance from the student's home ecosystem, and residential or non-residential
experience. Such variables can influence student learning outcomes, but previous studies have
been unable to demonstrate whether a particular length, distance, or residential format is most
effective. One of the reasons for this confusion may be a lack of comparative research rather than
case studies. My proposed study will use a mixed methods approach to compare the program
goals and learning outcomes of four outdoor environmental education programs. They will be
located at different distances from the students' homes, run programs of varying lengths, and
offer residential and non-residential experiences. Sites will be selected such that each variable is
held constant between at least two programs. I will administer a pre- and post-test of student
knowledge, behavior, and attitudes, as well as conduct interviews, review student journals, and
observe programs. Based on my findings, I will be able to make recommendations to schools
about which types of programs would be most effective to meet their educational goals. Using
the information regarding the effects of the residential experience on student learning, I will also
be able to make curricular suggestions to outdoor programs regarding how to make this
overnight time more beneficial.
Kayte Meola
Development Sociology
This research combines feminist political ecology and social constructivist approaches to
examine how the relationship between participatory conservation in legally protected natural
areas and gender equity affects environmental protection. The Mamiraua Sustainable
Development Reserve in Amazonas, Brazil is a particularly illustrative study site because the
varzea ecosystem it protects is of global ecological importance; the park supports a significant
human population; it is theoretically and legally founded on the "people-sensitive" protected area
model, and it has active participation of women in at least some aspects of the conservation
project. The study will involve a comparative community analysis and a cohort analysis of two
communities, one in the focal area of the park where the conservation program has been
implemented and the other in the subsidiary area where little engagement with the managing
NGO has occurred. A combination of archival research, indepth interviews, focus groups and
oral life histories will be used to gather data.
Kathy Mills
From population to ecosystem perspectives in marine fisheries management in the Gulf of
Maine
Marine fisheries are currently managed at the population level by tracking changes in stocks and
recommending appropriate catch levels and limitations. However, viewing fisheries at the
population level alone fails to account for ecosystem interactions because fisheries affect and are
affected by other biological, physical, social, and economic factors in the marine ecosystem.
Recently, ecosystem-based fisheries management has been widely discussed as a way of
integrating broader environmental and socio-economic considerations directly into the
management process. While it is hoped that an ecosystem perspective will help resolve many
pressing problems related to marine fisheries management, its implementation faces substantial
scientific and institutional challenges. In this talk, experiences in the Gulf of Maine will be used
to exemplify the current state of fisheries management and to examine regional progress towards
adopting an ecosystem-based approach. Ways that ecosystem-based management meshes with
and diverges from existing population-level practices will be explored. Using analogies to
current stock assessment protocols, features that ecosystem-based approaches should incorporate
and ideas for developing these attributes will be discussed. Further, some institutional aspects of
fisheries management in the region will be examined, and ways that ecosystem-based
management may help overcome certain institutional challenges will be proposed.
Matt Mirabello
Soil phosphorus pools of a fertilized Panamanian lowland tropical moist forest
Biogeochemical theory predicts that net primary productivity (NPP) in tropical forest ecosystems
is limited by soil phosphorus (P) availability. This is attributed to the age of the soils, having lost
much of their primary mineral P, and to the high P-fixing capacity of the iron oxide rich soil. The
principal objective of my study is to examine soil P as part of a large-scale fertilization study of a
lowland tropical moist forest in Panama. Fertilization includes nitrogen (N), P, and potassium
(K) in a factorial design with 4-way replication. Seven years of P fertilization did not increase
NPP, despite adding enough P to have increased the initial soil P pool by 25%. This added
phosphorus most likely resides in the soil, but questions remain about what form, and where. I
am analyzing soils collected before fertilization and after seven years of fertilization using the
Hedley-P fractionation technique to quantify all of the soil P pools and gain insight to the
biogeochemistry of P in tropical forests.
Doug Morrison
Environmental factors that influence the growth and activity of microfungi in peatlands of
the Finger Lakes region, with a new method for ergosterol extraction
Microfungi provide an essential strand in the detrital food web of wetland peat by initiating the
breakdown of lignin and other complex plant polymers with exoperoxidases. Despite their
importance, however, these microfungi have seldom been studied in peat. Recently there has
been increasing interest in the possibility of global warming increasing the rate of peat
decomposition, leading to enhanced fluxes of heat-trapping methane and carbon dioxide from
these ecosystems and possibility creating a positive feedback loop in the greenhouse effect. As
part of the research team of Joe Yavitt in the Department of Natural Resources, I am looking at
the effects of temperature increase and other environmental factors on the abundance and activity
of microfungi in peat sampled from four local wetlands: McClean Bog and Chicago Bog (which
is really a poor fen) near Cortland, NY; Michigan Hollow, a broad sedge fen and marsh near
Danby, NY; and Labrador Hollow, a hemlock and white pine swamp southeast of Tully, NY. My
research consist of coring seasonal peat samples from each site, then extracting ergosterol, a
ubiquitous fungal cell wall component, from the peat at a range of depths to estimate fungal
biomass as seasonal peat temperatures fluctuate. Last summer I developed a new, highly efficient
method for extracting ergosterol from peat using combined sohxlet and solid-phase extraction
techniques. Next summer I will begin assaying peat cores for exoperoxidase activity at varying
depths and seasonal temperatures. I will present the results of my extraction method development
and concepts for future research on this project.
Steve Raciti
Controls on nitrogen retention in urban-suburban watersheds
The urban-suburban lawn has received considerable criticism in recent years for its impact on
environmental quality (Bormann, 2001). Government agencies and environmental groups have
likened lawns to "green asphalt" for their suspected role in stormwater runoff and resultant
nonpoint source pollution (Maine Forest Service 2001, Iowa Conservation Council 2003).
However, recent evidence suggests that the residential lawn may not be as detrimental to the
environment as once thought. Scientists at the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES) have found that
more than 75% of nitrogen inputs to their urban-suburban watershed are being retained
(Groffman et al. in press). The sink for this nitrogen has not been experimentally determined.
This begs an important research question: where is the nitrogen going? I am trying to answer this
question using stable isotope techniques.
Mike Richmond
The history and value of inventory and monitoring of our natural resources
The call by Leopold, Trippensee, Errington, Cole, and others from the early 20th century, to
monitor numbers and track the well-being of numerous species initialed the scientific basis for
modern wildlife management and remains today a key element in science based resource
management programs. Early records from the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-06, the
Moravian Journals of 1745-66 which chronicled J. Bartrum's travels to inventory both streams
and upland game and habitat of the Northeastern U.S.; and Catesby's publication on the Natural
History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands in 1743 stand as early efforts to monitor
continental and regional resources. Despite a history reaching to the 1700's, only in recent years
have we begun to address the monitoring issue with the careful thought and scientific rigor that it
merits. Not until creation of the U.S.G.S. Bureau of Biological Survey of 1905 was there a
nationwide effort to identify the numerous kinds of vertebrates and their regional habitat
affinities. This survey preceded by substantial interest in birds and wild game hunting was the
most comprehensive effort of the time and spawned considerable national interest in both the
study of natural history and wildlife population status and distribution. The only comparable
effort in the past 100 years has been the National GAP Analysis Program which seeks to assess
historical and current data about all wildlife populations on a national scale. The 100 years
between these two notable surveys and monitoring milestones has witnessed a huge emergence
of research effort focused on individual species or taxonomic groups including virtually all of the
vertebrate taxa as well as selected invertebrates, unique and common habitats, nature preserves
and other protected lands; as well as, nearly all living resources determined to be rare,
endangered, of special concern, or threatened in some way. Most states have completed a GAP
analysis for their particular state and are now faced with developing a comprehensive monitoring
and evaluation plan for their living resources that will reliably track the extant populations of all
wildlife and fish in their specific state. The feasibility of accomplishing this for a broad range of
organisms across a wide range of habitats, watersheds, or ecosystems will be discussed.
Tania Siemens
How to suppress your neighbors: Japanese knotweed in riparian areas
Invasive plants can reduce species richness and may pose a significant threat to native plant
communities. However, it the mechanisms that allow invasive species to dominate invaded
communities are not well understood. The objective of this study was to address the relative
importance of competition for light and nutrients and the role of allelopathy in the success of
Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) in suppressing native plants. In a fully factorial
experiment, we transplanted 80 silver maple (Acer saccharinum) saplings and 80 bonesets
(Eupatorium perfoliatum) seedlings into a large Japanese knotweed stand. We randomly assigned
ten transplants of each species to all combinations of the following treatments: increased light
(by pruning), nutrient addition, activated carbon addition to the soil (to absorb allelopathic
compounds), and a control. We measured growth rates, biomass accumulation, and mortality of
the transplants over one growing season. Only the light treatments resulted in significant
responses for both plants species: boneset seedlings survived longer and maple saplings
responded by increasing above ground biomass and leaf size. Interestingly, our data also provide
evidence for allelopathic effects of Japanese knotweed: boneset transplants in the carbon x light
addition treatment survived significantly longer than in any other treatment and only seedlings in
this treatment were able to grow, at least initially. While our data highlight the importance of
light competition as the major mechanism allowing F. japonica to suppress its neighbors, we
found evidence that allelopathy may also play a role in Japanese knotweed's dominance in native
plant communities.
Sam Simkin
Sulfur inputs and nutrient cycling in wetlands: does vegetation structure matter?
Anthropogenic emissions of sulfur have led to increased atmospheric deposition of sulfur to
terrestrial, aquatic, and wetland ecosystems. Elevated atmospheric sulfur deposition to wetlands
can increase rates of sulfur reduction and inhibit methanogenesis. Results from a recent global
model suggest that sulfate-induced decreases in methane production may counteract temperatureinduced increases in methane production, reducing any net change in flux of this potent
greenhouse gas from wetland soils. As a result of dry deposition, total deposition inputs under
trees are greater than for locations without trees, and deposition under trees with high leaf area
tends to be higher than deposition under trees with low leaf area. Collectively, these results from
other researchers suggest some interesting new research ideas. Specifically, vegetation structure
might introduce heterogeneity in sulfur deposition and soil sulfur within wetlands. Furthermore,
wetland redox reactions, phosphorus cycling, and methane emissions might be different in a
heterogeneous sulfur environment compared to a spatially homogeneous environment.
Jamila Simon
How do students of color develop their interests and motivation to do science within
extracurricular environmental science programs?
The purpose of this study is to describe how extracurricular environmental science programs
developed in collaboration with urban youth of color develop their interests and motivation in
science. This study will elaborate on my understanding of how urban youth of color learn outside
of the school setting. One of the questions that I seek to answer is: are the youth's interests
cultivated when science relates to their lives? I will also try to determine if extracurricular
environmental science programs motivate the youth to pursue further science opportunities in
their schools or local communities. The study will make use of the youth's participation in
extracurricular environmental science programs to examine how their interests are developed
when they are situated within a broader community. The study will use a mixed-methods
approach. I will be a participant-observer in a youth community program and will work with the
youth to produce a framework for how they deem science to be relevant. The youth's concerns,
interests, and experiences will also be explored through their journal writing, interviews,
observations, and surveys. As part of the analysis, I will ask youth if the framework that was
developed is representative of their experiences. The journals, interviews, observations, and
surveys will be combined into a narrative, which will represent a co-production of their
knowledge on the factors that guide their interest and motivation in science.
Naunchan Singhkran
An abundance exchange model of fish responses to changing physical habitat on an
embayment-stream gradient of Lake Ontario
An Abundance Exchange Model (AEM) was developed for fish along an embayment-stream
gradient on the southeastern coast of Lake Ontario. The model captures both temporal and spatial
abundance distributions of target fish species based on their physical habitat preferences (PHP)
for five habitat attributes (depth, velocity, and temperature of water, substrate, and cover) and
their net birth processes on the gradient. Responses of the target species to an ecotone (transition
zone) related to adjacent major habitats (e.g., downstream or upstream habitat) and their PHP
were determined from fish abundance distribution and changing habitat attributes, respectively,
observed along the gradient in the summer of 2002 and 2004. Finite difference equations and
non-Fick's laws of species dispersion for a one-dimensional system were applied to build and
simulate the AEM. The variable migration rate (k) of each target species among major habitats
was computed from its PHP over time to quantify its abundance exchange among major habitats.
The AEM provided satisfactory prediction for the target species given their responses to the
ecotone related to adjacent habitats and seasonal variability of the habitat attributes along the
gradient when compared to the field data.
Renata Sousa-Lima
Potential Impact of boat presence in the temporal variation of humpback whales' vocal
behavior in a Brazilian National Marine Park
Male song is an important element in the reproductive behavior of humpback whales, Megaptera
novaeangliae. Males are most vocal on their breeding grounds and boat traffic in such areas is a
pressing conservation issue. The main goal of this study is to monitor the temporal variation of
singing behavior in relation to boat presence using passive acoustics. An array of four recording
devices was deployed in the Abrolhos National Marine Park and programmed to record
continuously from 21 July to 18 August 2003. Preliminary analysis indicates a decrease in
singing activity immediately after an increase in boat-generated acoustic events. Potential
caveats are: 1) masking could account for negative detection when boats are present; 2) singers
can be moving away when exposed to boat noise hence decreasing the detection probability; 3)
boats visit the area during the same hours and the absence of days without boats makes it
impossible to determine if the result is due to a natural variation in singing behavior or to the
presence of boats. Despite these caveats, receivers may be having difficulty detecting and
locating particular males in a similar way as our system did. The results suggest that a potential
communication breakdown may occur from the effect of intense boat traffic. Research supported
by: Instituto Baleia Jubarte, Brazilian Government (CAPES PhD scholarship), 2003 Cetacean
Behavior and Conservation Award (Animal Behaviour Society), NY Fish & Wildlife
Cooperative Unit, The Cornell Graduate School, Cornell International Students and Scholars
Office, and The Canon National Parks Science Scholars Program.
Dora Sugar
Decline and desease: Does calcium deficiency predispose sugar maple to disease and insect
damage?
The inexplicable death of entire forests and drastic dieback of many tree species has caused
growing concern throughout Europe and North America in recent decades. These forest and tree
declines can cause great ecological and economic losses. The cause of the declines is uncertain
but acid rain seems to be an important factor, especially on unbuffered soils. Acid rain causes
severe leaching of calcium from the soil and from the foliage in forests. There is physiological
evidence that calcium plays an important role in a trees' defense reaction to wounds, diseases,
and pests. I propose that the incidence of disease and insect damage on sugar maple foliage and
roots will be greater in a calcium deficient site than a calcium enriched site in the same forest.
Keith Tidball
Natural resources interventions in post-conflict reconstruction
Struggles over access to and control of natural resources, including forests, water, food, and oil
and gas, play a major role in international conflict. But what of the role of natural resources in
post-conflict reconstruction efforts, especially immediately following the cessation of hostilities
or abatement of natural disaster, the moments when the "die is cast" in terms of the likely success
of societal and structural rehabilitation attempts? This presentation explores the application of
participatory natural resources-based approaches to urban post-conflict situations. I describe
urban community gardening and community greening, which focus on existing assets, as first
response tools in post-catastrophe/conflict/crisis, and as alternatives to prescriptive deficit-based
reconstruction and development approaches. I then ask questions about how one might "scale
up" approaches used to address individual trauma in the wake of a crisis to the societal level,
within the community gardening/greening context. These approaches include Community
Forestry (especially urban), Horticultural and Nature/Wilderness Therapy, Attention Restoration
Theory, Applied Ecopsychology, and Environmental Education. Implications of Natural
Resources Interventions to post-conflict situations are discussed, especially as related to the
fields of Natural Resources, Social Ecology, and International Affairs, specifically Humanitarian
Assistance and Relief. An implication of particular interest is that in previously conflict prone
urban environments, community members' ability to regain their dignity and feelings of selfreliance and self-determination through urban and peri-urban natural resources activities may
contribute greatly to efforts of peace-keeping, democracy building, institution building,
reconstruction, demilitarization, and other broad post conflict and reconstruction development
goals.
Ted Treska
An evaluation of the NYSDEC coldwater trout tocking program and the role of
simulation/estimation in the process
The Catch Rate Oriented Trout Stocking (CROTS) program currently used by the New York
State DEC to manage coldwater stream fisheries is based on work done in the late 1970's and
establishes number of trout to be stocked. The purpose of this project is to evaluate how well
current parameters portray what is taking place in the streams and determine areas where
parameter changes may lead to improved stream simulation and stocking practices. Initial
analyses compared model predictions to actual fall electrofishing survey estimates in an attempt
to isolate patterns or influential parameters based on regional, physical and classification
characteristics. By combining these comparisons with a sensitivity analysis, we can examine the
effects of changes to these parameters to provide insight as to where further investigation should
be directed. In addition to this, it is possible to look at how intermediate information, in the form
of creel census data regarding catch rates and angler effort, can serve as reference points to
provide in-season indications of model accuracy. Using a non-linear optimization method in AD
Model Builder, it is possible to allow the model to estimate multiple parameters in an attempt to
approximate the actual population dynamics. Using this method, we can find values of natural
mortality, catchability and creel rates values that are otherwise difficult to ascertain by fitting
population and catch trends to match observed data.
Dana Warren
Acidic groundwater impacts on lake spawning brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)
Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) spawning in lakes occurs over areas of groundwater
discharge. The discharge rate and chemistry of this groundwater are crucial to brook trout egg
survival and reproductive success. While most studies have reported that groundwater discharge
in brook trout redds is buffered relative to the surrounding lake water, we document brook trout
spawning over an area of acidic groundwater discharge in a lake with circumneutral surface
waters. An experiment assessing in situ egg survival in lake redds indicates that both low pH and
low discharge can lead to high brook trout egg mortality. This research has implications for
brook trout restoration efforts, especially in lakes where whole-lake liming alone has been
unsuccessful in re-establishing wild brook trout populations.
Joseph Yavitt
Methane production in Arctic wetland forests during the Tertiary
Studies of ancient environments (Paleo- studies) have greatly increased our understanding of
organismal evolution, global climate and community ecology. In this project, we hope to extend
paleo-studies to understand ecosystem function in high-latitude forests that occupied the high
Arctic during the Tertiary (65 to 1.8 million years ago). Our goal is to quantify plant litter
decomposition leading to sources of atmospheric methane. The research will help unravel the
interplay between methane (a powerful atmospheric greenhouse gas), climate and forest
ecosystem structure through evolutionary time. For example, we know from Tertiary coals and
fossil forests that Eocene Metasequoia (dawn redwood) forests were extensive, contained large
amounts of biomass, and were wetlands that should have been large sources of atmospheric
methane. By the mid Miocene more cold tolerant conifers Larix and Picea replaced Metasequoia
as the climate cooled. Did climate cooling drive vegetation change, or vice versus? This study
will help resolve the dilemma. I will describe in this presentation a preliminary decomposition
study of plant leaves from 10 tree species that occurred in Tertiary high-latitude forests, using
material from individuals growing today in the Cornell Plantations.