Bio Blitz (Gabriel Vizgan 9/12/17)

Upon arriving at Ally Pond Park, for the annual Macaulay Bio Blitz, I was placed into Group 5. As I stood, waiting for instructions, with my peers, I wondered what job I would be assigned to. Will I be collecting foliage, or maybe taking water samples from various sources throughout the park; I had no idea. Finally, our group leaders came around and provided everybody in the group with their own butterfly net. They then informed us that we were the lucky group to be assigned to go out into the park and capture bees. Wonderful. Even though I was now chasing after creatures that most sensible people run away from, I found the experience both informing and rewarding.

The first thing to strike me was the difficulty in identifying the bees from the other flying insects. Countless times I, or someone else in my group, checked their nets expecting to see a bee but, instead, found only a fly. This was largely due to a phenomenon called camouflage mimicry in which a species that has no natural defense mechanism against predators will evolve to look like a species that does. In this particular case, flying insect predators avoid bees, for fear of being stung. Thus, many species of flies, that were native to Ally Pond Park, evolved so that they too had the distinctive yellow and black stripe pattern known to bees. Without our knowledgeable group leaders present there would have been no way for us to identify the minute differences between bees and these flies. I had learned about this form of development in the classroom, but seeing it in real life made me recognize it as a true marvel of evolution.

The second thing to astonishment me was the role bees play in an ecosystem. I have read numerous articles on the declination of the bee population and the effect it is having on wild plants as well as cultivated agriculture. However, just like with the camouflage mimicry, it was hard to imagine without seeing it with my own eyes. Our group leaders informed us that Ally Pond Park was home to over 400 species of bees. As we walked throughout the park, capturing members of some of these species, our leaders pointed out to us on which plants would no longer be able to grow if a particular species of bee were to be extinct from the area. Beautiful flowers that splashed dazzling colors across the thicket would be gone – unable to reproduce – if the bees were to disappear. More important than the colors though, the role that these flowers play in the ecology of the park would be left empty, leaving many other organisms without shelter or a food source, which would lead to those organisms disappearing –  effectively causing a chain reaction. Our leaders even informed us of an area in China where the bee population had gone completely extinct and now the government had to pay millions of dollars to have their crops pollinated by hand.

We were told that the data we were collecting was being used to monitor the bee population in the area. If a decline was found the data would be complied and presented to policy makers in the hopes that it will help bring about change. I am glad for the knowledge I learnt on this trip and for the opportunity to be a part of the solution.

 

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Bioblitz: Alley Pond Park and Amphibians

In the south side of Alley Pond Park, my group and I were searching for amphibians under logs and surrounding a small pond covered in algae. My twitter post includes pictures of the some of the critters we found.

One of the species shown is a spotted salamander, or Ambystoma maculate. We were warned not to hold the salamander by its tail as it can easily fall off. Additionally, salamanders do not have lungs. Instead, they breathe through pores on their skin so they should not be held for too long, as that can dry out their skin by preventing air form entering their lungs. Another salamander we found is the red-back salamander, or Plethodon cinerius. This salamander was slightly larger than the spotted salamander. These salamanders were found under logs. They “hide” from the sun in order to cool off. They lay their eggs in freshwater sources like ponds.

Towards the end of our walk through the woods, we saw an American toad, or Anaxyrus americanus, jumping around. The glands on the head of the toad, if pressed, can release poison.

One interesting question that was raised during our trip was whether or not the logs that the amphibians were found under should be considered a biotic or an abiotic factor. Certainly for the amphibian, the log acts as an abiotic factor, a habitat it lives off of. On the other hand, the log came off of a tree which is a biotic factor. This is the opinion that I believe to be true since the origin of the “factor” determines its status as living or nonliving.

Spotted Salamander at Bio Blitz

The group I was in at Bio Blitz was tasked with searching for amphibians. Before we started, our instructor taught us a little bit about the organisms and their environment. What I found most interesting was that the spotted salamander breathes through its skin pores and does not have lungs. Therefore, their natural habitats are in moist places, for example, underneath logs.

Our instructor explained to us how important it is to handle them gently and for short periods of time, so that our hands won’t block their skin pores which would cause them to dry out. We also were told to make sure we put them and the log back exactly how we found it, so we wouldn’t disrupt their natural habitat. I thought this experience epitomized how science should be conducted: we have to be respectful to the wildlife we are observing, so that our learning does not come at a cost to them.

Shrubbery at BioBlitz

This weekend, Macaulay Honors sophomores took park in a BioBlitz, cataloging flora and fauna at Alley Pond Park.  With the help of biologists, we were able to identify plants and animals in the park and engage with nature in a way many do not get to.  I was assigned to the plant group and was tasked with identifying shrubs.  Shrubs are plants with multiple woody stems coming from the same place and have leaves.  Some shrubs have flowers, while others have fruits, both, or other reproductive mechanisms.

My favorite shrub that we found was the Viburnum setigerum shown above.  Its a shrub that both flowers and produces fruit.  Its fruit comes around the fall, so these berries are quite premature and need a bit more ripening.  It reminded me of the bushes that produce round, red berries that were poisonous outside of my elementary school.  However, these berries, according to one of the assistants are edible.  Also, according to the Missouri Botanical Garden, the leaves can be made into tea.

Upon further research into this plant from Missouri Botanical Garden, I found out that Viburnum setigerum is not native to New York, but Central and Western China.  Assuredly, NYC Parks put a lot of thought into what they were going to plant in Alley Pond Park so it should be assumed that this plant, although not originally from here, can live healthily in the ecosystem of Alley Pond Park and contribute to the biodiversity of the park without damaging the ecosystem it inhabits.

 

 

 

BioBlitz

Just looking at the map of Alley Pond Environmental Center was overwhelming – there was so much area to cover with so little time. Although it seemed a daunting task, after spending the day there I was pleasantly surprised to see how many different species can live together within a small environment.  My group was assigned to be on the lookout for insects of all kinds.  It didn’t take long before we saw hornets, bumblebees, beetles, crickets, millipedes and butterflies, to name a few. We found some on flowers and leaves while others had burrowed homes within trees.

While we were engaged in documenting the variety and quantity of insects in the park, I noticed an algae-covered pond.  It reminded me of what we recently discussed in class about how algae forms in ponds from the phosphorus and nitrogen in the water.  Therefore, although it wasn’t part of my group’s assignment, I chose to tweet about the algae-covered pond because it shows how the environment interacts with organisms and how they are dependent on each other.  This represents one of the lessons of BioBlitz, that it is incumbent upon us to understand the interactions in nature and to appreciate them.  What an eye-opening experience!

My BioBlitz Experience

Ecology is the study of the relationships between the organisms and the environment, how the roles of each part of nature, whether abiotic or biotic, work together efficiently. At the BioBlitz event, I was able to witness and experience, first-hand, how biotic and abiotic factors are related in nature, namely insects and the environments in which they are found. Insects are found all over nature and they represent a group that has some of the largest diversity, not only in species, but also in how they function in nature.

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“Houston’s Flood Is a Design Problem” by Ian Bogost, The Atlantic (August 28, 2017)

Given the destruction of Hurricane Harvey – as well as Prof. Cherrier’s research interest in the human impact on aquatic environments – I tweeted a link to the article “Houston’s Flood Is a Design Problem” by Ian Bogost at The Atlantic. about Houston’s stormwater management and continued development (sprawl) offers both a basic introduction to Houston’s topography as a broad overview of factors facing city officials as the city starts to recover and eventually rebuild. I learned the definition of a bayou, a slow-moving river; moreover, the author explains if Houston had been left undeveloped, the natural bayous would have slowly absorbed the excess water from the Harvey’s storm. Houston, the nation’s fourth most-populous city, drained these bayous to develop the land and therefore had to design a system of stormwater management. What Harvey exposed was Houston’s chronic issues with flooding, the lack of historical models for the kind of rainfall sustained by Houston during Harvey, and the flaws in the city’s stormwater management system put into place when the bayous were drained. Bogost writes,

Houston poses both a typical and an unusual situation for stormwater management. The city is enormous, stretching out over 600 square miles. It’s an epitome of the urban sprawl characterized by American exurbanism, where available land made development easy at the edges. Unlike New Orleans, Houston is well above sea level, so flooding risk from storm surge inundation is low. Instead, it’s rainfall that poses the biggest threat.

….

Many planners contend that impervious surface itself is the problem. The more of it there is, the less absorption takes place and the more runoff has to be managed. Reducing development, then, is one of the best ways to manage urban flooding. The problem is, urban development hasn’t slowed in the last half-century. Cities have only become more desirable, spreading outward over the plentiful land available in the United States.

The above excerpt showcases an effective aspect of the article, framing Houston’s flooding as a general conflict between Man and Nature and also specifically rooting that conflict between Texas development of land (often without zoning or land regulations) vs. nature’s stormwater management system, in this case, the bayous.

Hurricane Harvey and Migration Patterns

When I think about Science I am drawn to the interconnectedness events. The study of science encompasses a great many subjects, but I am often concerned with its effect on social life and human patterns. Which is why an interview published by the Atlantic piqued my interest. It studied one the possible repercussions of Hurricane Harvey on future migration patterns. Boustan observes many different types of disasters ranging from “a bad winter storm to Katrina.”

I’m interested in how people respond to events, and Boustan’s analysis bridges the economy, important historical events, and political actions. He brings up how as an economist he would have assessed the risk of living in a coastal area and a hurricane risk area (near the Gulf) before purchasing a home while most 

people tend to react after a devastating disaster. He brings up a past event, Hurricane Katrina, along with how government aid also affects the actions of migration (how people are willing to take higher risks when they are protected from them).

However, Boustan also brings up that no matter how much protection people living in high risk areas, as the repercussions of global warming get more severe the more likely people will move out of those areas.

The interview relays several interesting perspectives on Hurricane, it showed how seemingly singular events can cause catastrophic actions that continually ripple out – for years to come.  

 

 

Works Cited

Zhang, Sarah. “Will People Return to Houston After Hurricane Harvey?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 3 Sept. 2017, www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/09/will-people-return-to-houston-after-hurricane-harvey/538719/.

Availability of Food

In thinking about “What is science?”,  one thing to consider is the scope of it. Science extends to just about everything, including food.  This video explains how closely tied science is to food in terms of food availability concerning local availability. It insightfully claims that much of the food that is eaten on a daily basis would be inconceivable without food science and technology like refrigeration.  It paints a rather scary image of a severely understocked supermarket with mostly rotten foods, highlighting the importance of science in something as routine as grocery shopping.

 

 

 

 

However, it only touches on the great importance of food science on a global scale.  Without food science and technology, the way food is produced and stored/shipped as well as the functions of nearly everyone’s daily lives would be radically changed.  Furthermore, without food science the 20th century would have been wrought with tragic famines. In an even known as the Green Revolution, scientists were able to develop more efficient agricultural practices, new technologies, and high yield staple crops, which were used to prevent the world’s rapidly expanding population from starving to death. So when you are thinking about what science is, think of the cold orange juice in your fridge and world a few steps closer to living in post-scarcity.

 

Sources:

“Availability of Food Colin Dennis, Ph.D., Previous Director-General, Campden BRI, Explains How Access to a Variety of Safe and Nutritious Foods Would Be Affected in a World without Food Science.” Availability of Food – IFT.org.

Briney, Amanda. “All You Wanted to Know About the Green Revolution.” ThoughtCo, 17 May 2017.

 

 

 

 

Outside Resource: the art of Gordon Matta-Clark and New York in the 1970s

In the 1970s the artist Gordon Matta-Clark (1943-1978) entered condemned buildings in the Bronx and, using a chainsaw, cut out parts of the architectural support. Matta-Clark considered the transitory, fugitive acts of (illegally) entering and cutting as the work of art so he documented his process with photographs that were then exhibited in galleries:

Gordon Matta-Clark, Threshole, 1972-73. Image Source: http://www.tate.org.uk/research/publications/tate-papers/07/towards-anarchitecture-gordon-matta-clark-and-le-corbusier
Gordon Matta Clark, Bronx Floors (1972-73). MOMA. Image source: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/81396

His work doesn’t aim to create “beautiful” art but explore the politics of place and space. In her book about Matta-Clark, Object to be Destroyed , Pamela M. Lee describes the relationship between artist, artistic practice, and space:

Matta-Clark reflected critically on the temporality of the build environment, a materialist recoding of an “architecture of time.” For the presence of his work within both the urban and suburban sphere emanded that it be encountered as a socialized thing; and its imminent demolition ensured that it not be elevated to the rank of transcendent art objects.

Source: Lee, Object to be Destroyed, 11.

Continue reading “Outside Resource: the art of Gordon Matta-Clark and New York in the 1970s”