After creating an iNaturalist account, I realized the website needs to be explored further. In addition to being able to upload pictures, I can also see other peoples’ contributions to the website. However, I’d need to really figure out how to navigate the website, which has proved to be a challenge so far. I have found a way to view the some different species found in Central Park among other areas. The page I have found wants to say that only 84 observations were made in Central Park. More work to be done…
Category Archives: Final Projects
Patrick – Project Update – Oct. 27 – Nov. 2
This week I had the opportunity to visit both Central Park on Friday and Prospect Park on Saturday; the things I learned are pretty amazing!
Central Park
Prior to heading out of the Macaulay Building, I grabbed a couple of plastic cups for anything I might find and would like to keep. Today was a very rainy day and I was hopeful that I would find lots of interesting insects. I entered the Park near the finish line of the upcoming NYC marathon, and learned that a lot of the paths leading to the north of the Park were closed. I felt as though my greatest chances of finding invertebrates would be in the Ramble (which was to the north), so I had to go the long way to reach it, but I found a cool thing along the way.
On a tree there was what looked to be a spider web, but the spider wasn’t in sight. Of course, the spider was gone as the weather grew colder. Or so I thought. Removing a piece of the bark revealed a large group of very small baby spiders.
I don’t know how spiders reproduce, but it seems that the mother spider lays her eggs and surrounds them with webs for protection, and then abandons them. It is interesting to note both the number of spiders produced and the four large ‘sacs’, which I didn’t open up, but it’s conceivable that there were more little spiders inside of them.
I got to the Ramble finally, stopping by the famous boulevard on the way and taking a snapshot of a duck.
Because of the rain, the Ramble was very wet, and there were leaves all over. At first there weren’t any signs of insects, but we had only just started. Digging a little, we came up with our second find:
After uploading to the iNaturalist site, we found out that this is actually known as a ‘wood louse’ or a ‘pill bug’. Pretty gross stuff. Under the surface there were many more of these, perhaps 4 or 5, that scurried away when we uncovered them to the light. It seems that these invertebrates prefer moist environments, and they also prefer to stay away from sunlight in some dark, damp enclave. Upon my visit to Prospect Park, I found that wood lice are a human hazard, and should be avoided.
A bit more digging in the same spot yielded our first centipede. Upon later research we found that it resembles most closely the species Geophilus Flavus. According to Wikipedia, it is found across Europe, and has been introduced into North America and Australia. It is most commonly found on seashores. At a different location within the Ramble, we found a couple more of these centipedes, all of the same species.
Along the way, we found two different types of ants: a very small one and a group of bigger ones. Because ants are found just about anywhere, we didn’t treat this as a significant discovery, but the fact that there are different types of ants may yield closer inquiry.
A very interesting thing that we found was a white ladybug. It was a small ladybug, and it was resting on a leaf. We took a nice shot of it.
It’s too bad the thing flew away before I had a chance to see it under the microscope!
A surprising thing we found flying around was what looked (to me) to be a miniature white grasshopper, because of its hind legs. It was so small and so frail that we couldn’t be sure. Take a look for yourself!
By the end of our visit we captured a second, larger pill bug.
big-pillbug
And again the centipede:
centipede
After this visit I am now confident that there is much more life to the Park than at first meets the eye. All the invertebrates that inhabit Central Park live beneath the surface, in dark corners, away from human eyes. The goal is to disturb the ground just enough so that you can spot them as they scurry away. Catching them is a challenge, but watching them scurrying about is its own reward.
Patrick – Project Update – Oct. 20-26
This week on Sunday I visited the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. The Flatbush Avenue entrance was closed due to construction so this time we went to the entrance adjacent to the Brooklyn Museum. It looked very modern and very clean. Right next to the entrance were the Gift-shop and the new Visitor Center. The space is reserved for education, with many panels for teaching visitors how to interpret the various labels and botany on exhibit. It even includes a guessing game where one player tries to guess what plant the other player is thinking of!
Going to the Botanical Garden made me think about how we were going to do the educational part of our project. We plan on going to Central Park next week so hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to learn something about New York City’s invertebrates. We also plan to do research on what we find for the co-authored paper. That will allow us to learn more about our findings and also pass on to other people the knowledge of NYC’s invertebrate wildlife.
Patrick – Project Update – Oct. 13-19
There isn’t much to update at this point, as I’m focusing quiet a bit on midterms. I was thinking about how we were going to get these invertebrates that we plan to study. It’s possible that as it gets colder we’ll have fewer opportunities to find them. Nevertheless there may be something interesting to find.
Recent Articles Relating the Benefits of Music Therapy
Many magazine articles have come out over the years articulating the results of numerous studies that prove the benefits of music therapy. Two such studies are examined below:
A new study came out in “Science Daily,” an online source for the latest research news. It discusses a study that suggests that music therapy sessions can improve behavior in children living with autism. This study was reported in Pertanika journal. The study was conducted over a ten month time period in which hour-long sessions of music therapy were conducted on two groups of children with autism, 2-11, and 11-22. Their behaviors were measured using a target behavior checklist developed especially for the study. Behaviors such as restlessness, aggression toward other children, noisiness and tantrums improved by one or two points in more than half of the each group.
Another study conducted by researchers at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland found a connection between music therapy and its ability to alleviate depression. This was written about in an article on a website entitled News Medical Today by Catharine Paddock. 79 people of working age were recruited to receive 60-minute sessions of individual music therapy plus standard care, which includes anti-depressant medication. Trained music therapist played a mallet or percussion instrument in a one-on-one session with the patient. The participants were clinically assessed before and after the study (within 3 months and then 6 months afterwards). After 3 months, “ the participants receiving music therapy and standard care showed greater improvement than those receiving standard care only in symptoms of depression .They ultimately concluded that:
“Individual music therapy combined with standard care is effective for depression among working-age people with depression. The results of this study along with the previous research indicate that music therapy with its specific qualities is a valuable enhancement to established treatment practices. ”
This is significant as it bolsters the claim of music therapy’s ability to improve the mental health of an individual for whom it is conducted upon. The study also found that these results only lasted while the sessions were ongoing. Ultimately the article elucidates the “cathartic” qualities of music therapy. While these patients may not be able to fully express themselves, these emotions were released through the music therapy sessions as displayed with their drumming along.
Benefits of Music Therapy in the NICU
We were scouring the internet in search of lectures that we could attend in our area pertaining to music therapy. We were unable to find any in our area; however, we came upon various lectures online. One such lecture was Aniruddh Patel’s lecture on the website known as TSN, the science network. The lecture entitled “Music for NICU Infants: Effects and Mechanisms” focuses on the benefits that music therapy poses for neonatal infants. Dr. Patel notes that these newborns are subjected to living in a stressful environment during a crucial stage in their development. In the NICU ward, newborns are isolated, face unpredictable alarms and noise, and have frequent sleep interruptions. Because of this stressful environment, these babies undergo a rapid stress response with the sympathetic nervous system, accompanied by the slower stress response associated with the endocrine system (stress hormones such as cortisol). This could affect their metabolism in the short term, as well as their brain development in the long run. For instance, this could result in structural changes in neurons in brain regions that are rich in stress hormone levels. Thus, there is a hypothesis that this stress and stress related response can result in these babies having language delays, executive function delays, ADHD, and behavioral issues later on in life. In order to mitigate this stress response and thereby eliminate the negative effects it has on newborns, soothing music therapy sessions can be given to neonatal infants. In studies already conducted upon adults, music has the ability to lower the stress response by activating parts of the limbic system that has strong projections to the autonomic nervous systems and neuroendocrine systems via the hypothalamus. This same method could be used with infants in NICU wards because both audition and the limbic system are precocious features that develop even before birth. Studies have also shown that newborn babies show a response to music. The music that would be played would be lullabies as this simulates a womb like environment, with its slow contours and soothing patterns. Recent studies have illustrated that such music therapy sessions have resulted in faster weight gain and earlier discharge, as the music mitigates the stress response, allowing for the energy that would have been diverted towards a stress response, to now being expended upon metabolism and digestion. The music can also stimulate brain development as it provides sensory stimulation. Ultimately, Patel articulated the multi-faceted benefits of music therapy in NICU settings.
Weekly Update 10/20 – 10/26
This week, my group and I formulated a plan for accomplishing the tasks required to complete the project. We decided that over the weekend, we would go to Central Park to observe the invertebrate life we find there. We would photograph insects we find, as well as record videos of any invertebrates we find. This task might be tedious, considering the elusive behavior of insects along with their size.
During future weekends, I would personally visit Marine Park and collect data on invertebrates. In addition, we agreed that we should freely record any invertebrate findings we might make outside of our visits to these parks.
Prior to going, however, we need to research what kind of life the taxonomic group, “invertebrate,” refers to. I know that insects are part of this group, but considering the fact that invertebrates encompass a whole host of organisms besides insects (mollusks, crustaceans, arachnids, and worms), it would be wise to have an understanding of the taxonomy of invertebrates prior to going to Central Park.
This serves as a prime example of how things we do in our everyday lives contribute to everyday science learning. Even prior to embarking on data collection, I am already have a compulsion to gain a higher understanding of my subject.
After we collect data and record our observations, we will post our findings to iNaturalist and I’ll save the photos and videos for our documentary.
Project Update 2
The weather is definitely getting colder, but in a beautiful Fall way. There are clear skies and the leaves are finally changing colors! People are slowly wearing hats and gloves, and temperatures have dipped into the high 30s.
I think our first trip will be to Belvedere Castle, and to figure out why that is the spot that is chosen to take temperature for Manhattan. It has been taking meteorological measurements since 1919, which is fascinating. Almost 100 years!
Project Update 1
This past week I’ve been walking around and noticing the changes of weather as we progress into fall. The weather has been cooler, with slight wind and clear skies. An interesting observation of mine has been that you can’t just look at the overall temperature for the day. You need to look at an hour-by-hour weather report. I leave my house very early in the morning and it is very cold. By midday, I am regretting the sweater and warm clothing that I chose in the morning. I am usually out late, and by nighttime, I wish I would’ve put on boots. Practically, I have been taking pictures and been checking out the website that we will be posting our observations on.
In regards to my job as communicator, I’ve been researching the modes of transportation to the two places we would like to visit, Belvedere Castle and Laguardia Airport. The next step is to figure out a date that works for the members of the group.
Three (Team Boomeraang)
For this week, we had numerous problems over where to hold the cafe. After contacting to hold a spot in the MCH building, we stumbled accross the problem that our cafe could not be on the same day as the seminar 3 presentations. We decided to hold the cafe on a different day. We will hold it on a friday because many of the MCH students are already in the building and there is space available to hold the cafe.
Another problem is that we have yet to receive word from professionals who would want to speak in the cafe. We decided that if no one would want to participate, that we would just host the cafe ourselves. There will be food to provide the cafe feeling. Also, we would provide pamphlets for some background information on the topic. There is a possibility that the cafe will be structured as a walk-in, but we are probably going to let people sit and discuss.
