Research and Education
Science has always been a central focus of the Mianus River Gorge Preserve. The Preserve was started in 1953 when scientists from the Nature Conservancy, the New York Zoological Society, the American Museum of Natural History, and the New York Botanical Garden, sought to protect the Gorge as a living museum and outdoor classroom for the dissemination of knowledge of our natural world. Consequently, the Gorge has been host to several research institutions and initiatives over the past fifty years.
Ecological management must be based upon sound research to address key factors and bring about desired effects. In short, in order to affect a system for a specific result, clearly one must know how the system works. By studying our forest, we can learn where action is needed and what methods will bring about the needed outcome.
While the suburban environment poses new questions and challenges to our biologists, we continue to face these issues with the same dedication to scientific research as did our founders. Our Research Assistantship Program (RAP) and Wildlife Technician Program were created in the interest of rehabilitating and better managing the biodiversity of the Mianus River Gorge Preserve and other suburban woodlands, while supporting beginning and advanced ecological students.
In addition to our student-focused programs, MRGP staff and biologists from other institutions conduct ecological studies focusing on many aspects of forest ecology and management. Details on these studies, including our newest program, the Backyard Coyote Survey can be found here.
Research Assistantship Program (RAP)
To encourage the development of new ecological approaches to managing woodland diversity, the MRGP offers grants to support applied graduate-level research in the fields of ecology, wildlife biology, and conservation biology. In turn, RAP recipients contribute to the community by serving as a mentor to a young scientist in the Wildlife Technician Program.
A RAP application can be downloaded here. We have currently filled all RAP positions for the 2006 season, so please contact us first if you are interested in future positions.
Our RAP partners and students:
Linda Gormenzano and Dr. Robert Rockwell - Coyote Abundance and Distribution
Dr. Tom Horton - Restoration Ecology
Wildlife Technician Program (WTP)
Our WTP provides hands-on experience for high school students looking for research experience in the fields of ecology and wildlife biology. Students selected for the WTP are introduced to the basic principles of ecology and study design through hands-on participation in an engaging, non-traditional learning environment. Techs, as we call our high school students, work with mentors throughout their research experience. Mentors may be MRGP staff biologists or graduate students working on projects at the Preserve.
Two or three competitive students are accepted into the program each year. If you are interested, and a sophmore enrolled in a multi-year research program at school, download an application. The deadline for all applications is November 15 of your sophmore year.
Meet our Techs
Applications for next year can be downloaded here. Students that have an interest in ecological research that addresses an applied management issue or question are given top consideration. We encourage students to research their own area of interest and apply with a broad idea of what they would like to study. Projects are usually designed to take three years to complete.
Mianus Watershed Backyard Coyote Survey - In January 2007 we began a survey of local residencies to record coyote sightings. Surveys will be sent to local schools and residents will be able to let us know if they have seen a coyote on their property in the last year or not. These "sightings" and "non-sightings" will be used to test a model of coyote den site selection, which will help us predict where coyotes might be found and what areas they might select for raising their young. The full web site can be found here, where you can learn more and find out how to get involved.
Eastern Screech Owl Population Dynamics - Assistant Preserve Manager Chris Nagy is beginning a study on the population dynamics (survival, reproduction, and distribution) of the eastern screech owl across the Preserve. In conjunction with his work in New York City Parks, he plans to determine how this species adapts to fragmented, human-dominated habitats, and what key demographic and ecological factors are important to their persistence in urban and suburban landscapes. Top predators, such as owls and other birds of prey, help stabilize biological communities and often can help limit pest populations. In particular, this species adapts well to human-altered areas, and can fill a predatory role where many other species could not. Information regarding its dynamics in fragmented and modified areas will help develop effective population management.
Estimating Folial Nitrogen Uptake Using Isotope Ratios - Cornell Ph.D. candidate Dena Vallano
Among the cycles of elements important to life on Earth, the nitrogen (N) cycle has been the most perturbed beyond its natural state by human activities (Vitousek et al. 1997; Kaiser 2001). One manifestation of this perturbation is a dramatic increase in the amount of reactive N in the atmosphere. In particular, the rise in atmospheric levels of nitrogen oxides (“NOy”, including NO, NO2, HNO3 and organic nitrates) and ammonia gases (“NHx”, including NH3 and particulate NH4+) from human activities has increased the input of wet and dry N deposition to plants and soil. In N-limited ecosystems, atmospheric N pollutants may represent a considerable source of N to plants (Hill 1971; Siegwolf et al. 2001; Sparks et al. 2001). These pollutant compounds are deposited to and incorporated into vegetation via two pathways: direct uptake through the leaves and indirectly through the root system from soil. Of the two, foliar uptake of reactive N has received far less attention than root uptake. If plants are able to assimilate significant quantities of gaseous N pollutants directly through the leaves and incorporate them into organic compounds, atmospheric N pollution could play an integral role in the global N and carbon cycles through the alteration of photosynthesis and the removal of N pollutants from the atmosphere. Development of an effective method to quantify the foliar uptake of atmospheric N pollution is needed to inform policy and management of natural and urban landscapes. To this end, I propose to conduct an outdoor mesocosm experiment to test the applicability of foliar N isotopic composition (?15N) values as an indicator of foliar N uptake along an urban-rural gradient within New York State from New York City to the Adirondacks.
Changes in Forest Structure - In 2003 and 2004, a number of large, permanent vegetation plots were established across MRGP property. Vegetational characteristics (tree and shrub species, abundance, size, etc.) were recorded and compared with a similar study performed in 1960 to detect changes in the forest structure over the ~40 year period. These plots will be revisited semiannually, to build a permanent database characterizing the dynamic forest structure across the Preserve. In order to ensure a healthy forest in the future, we must be aware of changes that are occurring now, and document the state of the forest each year. Long-term records are necessary in order to view these patterns.
Songbird Distribution - In conjunction with the vegetation plots, songbird diversity was estimated at each site and is currently being plotted against associated habitat variables. In this way, we hope to determine what bird species occur in which kinds of vegetation types, and determine what habitat variables are key factors for each species of bird. By learning which variables are key to which species, and determing which species are declining due to a lack of a particular habitat feature, we can better manage the overall avian community of the Preserve.
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Mianus River Gorge Preserve
167 Mianus River Rd
Bedford, NY 10506-1808
(914) 234-3455
rodc@optonline.net