Invasive species are an issue in New York City because of the potential threats that they offer to native species, such as habitat loss and niche occupation. In order to preserve the ecology of New York City, it may be necessary to take measures that favor the control of foreign species such that the native species are not forced to compete. We wanted to see how Bioblitz, an event geared towards increasing the Macaulay student body’s understanding of biodiversity, played a role in their perception of invasive species as threats. Thanks to all who participated in our survey!
Tag Archives: bioblitz
Bioblitz reflection
First off, Bioblitz was a lot more fun than I anticipated. I befriended some good people from other schools and went back on the bus to see my friends from Brooklyn. I was in the fish group in session A. Unfortunately, we did not catch many fish. Our net came up empty more times than not. I don’t know if it was because of the time of day, because of the wedding right near the water, the proximity to the waterfall, or the depth of the water; but I did realize that we were dealing with a very sensitive environment. We caught five fish, four of which were tiny (darters and baby sunfish), and one young large-mouth bass, which was still small, but less so.
The way we retrieved the fish was fun, we walked into the water with waders, and tried cornering the fish between a net and the ground above water. The ground underwater was rocky and unstable and uncomfortable on my feet, but I’m glad I experienced it.
I was really hoping to see more in my group, but while walking to my group’s area, I noticed beautiful birds, trees, landscapes, small mammals, and more. On the way back I even saw a bat. I realized that the preservation of this world is so important. There are areas of the park that have been untouched by the botanical gardens for years, only installing pathways through them, and going through these areas was eye-opening to me. A single step into this place could disrupt a creature’s habitat, thus disrupting the whole ecosystem. It’s incredible.
A Scavenger Hunt…for Lichen!
Opening the email about Bioblitz really put in a crummy mood that day; finding out that I would have to take 8 precious hours out of my Sunday just to travel to the New York Botanical Garden and go “survey wildlife” was not the best news I could get, especially since I already had so much coursework piling up. However, as it was a required common event, I reluctantly cleared my schedule for what I didn’t expect to be such a pleasant experience.
I had originally chosen to survey Fish, since they were creatures I could physically see move around and maybe get to touch. I am a big animal lover and I was extremely disappointed when I was placed in the Lichen group at the last minute. I didn’t even know what a lichen was! Luckily, the lichen scientists were super friendly and were open to answering all of our questions.
Jessica and Clay had to be the only people I had ever seen who were super excited about lichens. They were always enthusiastic about helping us learn about them and were really adamant when trying to find specimens. They explained what a lichen was in a really thorough way and so now, I can never forget it. Lichens are actually two organisms living together symbiotically: fungi and algae. The alga uses photosynthesis to make food for the fungus while the fungus provides a wet, damp environment for the alga to live on. That way, lichens can grow anywhere, from trees to rocks to fences and anywhere else the lichen may consider habitable. We found lichens throughout the forest in the NYBG, on trees, on large rocks, small rocks, on fences and beyond. Searching for the lichens was also a really fun experience. It was sort of like a scavenger hunt to find all the lichen species in the forest. Though we weren’t excited to be lichen searching in the beginning, by the end of the event, we were all dismayed that the experience was coming to an end. Our amazingly cheerful scientists really helped us to experience a whole new side to science that I didn’t think existed.
The stereotypical view of a scientist’s job is that they sit in a lab and mix chemicals or examine specimens. However, Clay and Jessica have a very different scientific job because they do field research. Their job is actually very exciting because they never know if they will ever find a new species or a variation of an existing species. It’s like a real life scavenger hunt and I was truly appreciative to be able to join them in their jobs for a few hours. Furthermore, learning that there was so much biodiversity in a small place was truly amazing. Besides our lichen findings, we found exotic species like a special mushroom, that some people use in other countries for medicinal purposes.
I feel like I am more appreciative of nature after this session studying the native species of New York City this past Sunday at Bioblitz. It makes me less fearful of the insects or nature around me because they, like us, are part of this Earth and we should appreciate. I am less hesitant to go into the park near the forest because of this experience. I would really like to thank Clay and Jessica for helping me appreciate their line of work and the nature around.
Mammalian Murmurings
I was part of the mammalian group at BioBlitz, which was much more of a “painstakingly observant to so little purpose” sort of affair than the more hands-on approach I noticed other groups taking, from collecting insect, moss and plant specimens to wading into the waters to observe fish—this, however, suited me pretty well, as I’m more of an observer than an active participator anyway, to the point of avoiding going off-trail for much of the time because I loath poison ivy (bad experience, hospital). And I really did enjoy observing the botanical garden; the entire area was beautiful, from forestry to waterfall, and I kept reciting pastoral lines to myself while walking around. Alas, my group didn’t get to see all too many mammals—as Allegra mentioned in her post, searching for mammals is frustrating (dare I say discouraging?) because they don’t much like people of any kind—but we did directly observe chipmunks (in fact, while the rest of the group was off-trail, I saw a few chipmunks playing and chasing on another, which was about as adorable as you’d imagine), a squirrel, and the evidence of a raccoon (vie scat and tracks). We also spent a large amount of time in search of the (evidently) extremely illusive muskrat—a mystical sort of being spoken of only in fairytales and environmental science classrooms—which still goes unfound.
A huge part of what the mammal group set out to do, however, was set traps for other mammals. We set two kinds of traps: IR Cameras and metal tunnel traps; the former I have absolutely no problem with; the latter, however, I worry about. I worry that those traps are traumatizing for the mice and chipmunks we were attempting to catch with them (a volunteer with our group shared this thought with me, which I appreciated because it gives me hope that I’m not just being ridiculous). Part of the beauty of nature, I think, is its inability to be truly captured (save for terrariums, but that’s another thing altogether, I suppose); attempting to do so for the sake of counting and examining animals makes us seem at least somewhat disingenuous about the cause of biodiversity, in my eyes. During the event, I observed more than my fair share of beautiful natural occurrences: a dragonfly sitting very docile on a leaf stem as our group took pictures and marveled at its size; a falcon sitting to roost atop a lamppost; a heron observing us observing it from across a lake and taking flight through the treetops with this enormous wingspan that I still can’t exactly place in a frame of reference with anything else. With all of these observations, I’m just not sure the metal cage traps were necessary—and possibly sending the wrong sort of message about biodiversity in New York.
BioBlitz Reflection: Lots and Lots of Trees
I enjoy being outdoors. I like being surrounded by trees of all sizes and shades of green. One of the most stimulating experiences of my life was definitely smelling real pine for the first time while hiking in Montreal. Although our time at Bioblitz was brief, we learned a great deal about plant observation methods.
Our exploration took place in the Thain Family Forest. The ‘Plant’ group was fairly large, so we split into smaller groups to survey the place. My group decided on focusing on trees as there were many different species to look at and we enjoyed looking through the tree guides to identify them.
While a few of the trees we found were very familiar to us, such as the Norwegian Maples and the Red Oaks, others were like nothing we had seen before. Sassafras trees have leaves with three lobes that are very fragrant when crushed. These trees are especially important in the production of root beer, and its parts were often used as antiseptic treatments by Native American tribes.
The leaves of the Tuliptree were the most interesting to look at; they resemble tulips!
While some trees towered over us like skyscrapers, others where low and had different conformations. The American Hornbeam tree shown below, for example, grows in a “crown formation”, which means that it spreads radially from its trunk.
Plants seem to only contribute to the ambience around us, but they can be as complex as we are. Scientists specializing in this field have extensive knowledge about all kinds of traits of plants: what they look like, how they’re useful to humans, and how they interact with other organisms in their environment. I was honestly amazed at the number of idiosyncratic facts our scientist shared with us during our shift. Considering that he worked at the New York Botanical Gardens as a graduate student, he was very familiar with the environment. He showed us one type of plant was capable of stinging, and another that is used in birch beer and tastes like wintergreen when chewed. I honestly never thought I would pick a leaf off a tree and start chewing on its stem but he convinced me to do so.
I’m happy that I finally got the chance to visit the New York Botanical Gardens. It’s amazing how much variety there is in the environment of NYC due to green spaces like parks and gardens. I’ve heard of Central Park being referred to as the “lungs of Manhattan”, and I’ve always liked that comparison because the dramatic change in scenery is refreshing for us and beneficial for other organisms that can now thrive in an environment that may otherwise be unsuitable. I appreciate getting the chance to finally smell Sassafras without having to leave the city; it’s not the kind of tree you’d see in Flatbush.
BioBlitz 2014: Mammal Mania
BioBlitz was a really wonderful experience for me. From the minute I got to Macaulay and my friend Emaad offered me donuts, to the minute I got back, tired and sweaty, I was having a great time. I was fortunately placed in the mammals group, which meant seeking chipmunks, squirrels, and raccoons. Basically, if it nursed its young, we were looking for it. As an animal lover and environmentalist, I was so excited to get BioBlitz 2014 underway.
Our guides, Jason Munshi-South and Mary Pearl, were awesome. They led us to the mammalian hot spots, and knew so much about everything we found along the way. First we went down by the Twin Lakes. We found many things, though most were non-mammalian. We came across hornets, dragonflies, a heron, and even a red-tailed hawk! Seeing these things was really interesting, as our guides knew a lot about all the residents of NYBG. In terms of mammals, we saw two chipmunks, one alive and one dead (RIP), a squirrel, and some raccoon tracks down by the water’s edge. On our way out of the Twin Lakes area, Professor Pearl informed me that looking for mammals can be frustrating, because unless they’re especially outgoing, they hide when humans come close. Because of this, we used traps to record the presence of other mammals in the gardens.
We set up metal tunnel traps for white-footed mice and possibly chipmunks, and then set up camera traps to see if any raccoons, coyotes, or skunks were milling about. Apparently these were a success! According to the tweets of one of our guides, we trapped a few mice and got some pictures of a little raccoon visitor. Professor Pearl also pointed out tiny disruptions in the forest floor, and informed us that they were evidence of a skunk looking for food. What a night, huh?
Being outside interacting with the environment and studying wildlife really resonated with me. For a long time I’ve considered switching my major from political science to something that involves the environment, because I love animals and I love learning about the world around me. After talking to Professor Pearl, who is a primatologist and a professor of biology at Brooklyn College, I am sure that I want to switch majors. I’d really like to go into conservation, and perhaps become a primatologist myself. Or a marine biologist! In short, BioBlitz was a success – I learned a tremendous not just about mammals, but about myself.
Bioblitz Reflection: Plants
Typically, nature and I can’t stand each other. Plants make me itchy, pollen makes me sneeze, and bugs me jump around like a crazy person! I imagined that this experience would be terrible, however, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I imagined.
I arrived at the Macaulay building at 9:05 AM thinking I was late, but the bus hadn’t come yet, and the bus wouldn’t come until 10! Waiting for the bus was a little frustrating, it seemed like we woke up early for no reason. Finally when we boarded the bus we hit an incredible amount of traffic, so we didn’t arrive to the New York Botanical Garden until around 11:30. Nevertheless, we arrived, and we were off to explore some plants! Each of us received a magnifying glasses, and one of us was asked to record the data – I volunteered hoping I wouldn’t have to touch any of the plants. Another one of us was asked to hold clippers to cut plants we would be observing, and another, asked to hold the book of the species to identify each plant we observed.
We arrived at zone 2 and began exploring various plants. The first plant we looked at was the Norway Maple – Acer Platanoides, we learned that this plant was a non-native plant, being that it was native to areas in Europe and southwest Asia. The next plant observed was the Hawthorn – Crataegus sp. (figure 1) this plant is a native plant and on the plant there are some berries, which didn’t seem edible.
The next plant we observer was Phragmites Australis (figure 1.1) – we were told that this plant is an invasive species and typically is grown near wetlands. Moving to the next plant, Bitternut Hickory – Carya Cordiformis (figure 1.2). This plant is native and grows in moist areas; there is place on the plant where if you smell it, it smells like gin.
The next plant we observed was the Eastern white oak – Quercus Alba (figure 1.3), this species is a native plant. This tree provides us and our fellow squirrels with acorns.
We went on to a very pretty flower commonly called the Hibiscus – Hibiscus sp. (Figure 1.4). With this flower and our previous knowledge from biology, we were able to identify the parts of an angiosperm (pistil, stamen, petal, sepal, stigma…).
The next flowering plant we observed was the bell flower – Lobelia Siphilitica (Figure 1.5). This flower is pretty tiny, you can see that by comparing it to the size of my fingers in the picture below. This species is native and they grow better at cooler temperatures.
The next flower we observed was the Mullein – Verbasum Blattaria (Figure 1.6), this plant is an invasive species native Eurasia and North Africa. We were told that this is used to repel or kill mosquito or malaria larvae.
We observed many more plants in zone 2 and then we were told we had to get back onto the bus.
The experience was great, I didn’t feel itchy the whole time, because it was enjoyable to learn about the various species of plants. More importantly it was so interesting to learn about the biodiversity within this garden; we were exposed to so many different types of plants, which strengthened the idea of biodiversity. Before this experience I may have just looked at trees as all the same greenery, but now, it is obvious to me that each tree is different in its own way, whether it be the smell, or look of it.
It was amazing to learn about how in a city so focused on urbanization, there is a “city” within, dedicated to accommodate the non-urban aspect of New York City. This changed my outlook of how NYC feels about nature, clearly they do set aside space and time for the sake of nature. The experience is one I will not forget, because living in a city so focused on urbanization I don’t always have an opportunity to connect with nature, this experience allowed me to open up to the beauties and wonders of nature and now I appreciate nature much more. Thank you Macaulay for an enjoyable Sunday!
Sarah Kabariti
2013 Central Park BioBlitz Data
Follow this link to a page with links to all the data and maps for the 2013 BioBlitz- this year’s will be up soon.
