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Research in the Nature Preserve
Geology
Groundwater Tables
Dan Michaud, under the direction of Karen
Salvage, measured the heights of groundwater tables across
natural areas. A groundwater table is defined as the upper surface of
zone of saturation for underground water or an irregular surface with
slope or shape determined by quantity of groundwater and permeability
of earth materials. Studies concerning groundwater tables in our
natural areas are of the utmost importance because of shallow tables
cause by increasing pressures on land resources caused by rising
populations and the subsequent need of water table control.
Biology
Amphibian Studies
Binghamton University Nature Preserve supports numerous species of
amphibians and provides an ecosystem for the spotted salamander and
red-backed salamander. It follows then that most of the biological
studies conducted in the nature preserve concern amphibians, especially
salamanders and frogs. John Maerz, PhD and Aaron Sullivan,PhD, conducted
their research on red-back salamanders, while Dale
Madison PhD and the previous director of the Center for Integrated
Watershed Studies, did research on the
radiotracking of spotted salamanders. Victor Lamoureux,PhD, conducted his
research on the wintering behavior of green frogs, and Jason Rohr, PhD,
completed his thesis on newts in the Nature Preserve.
Though many independent studies for undergraduates are available on
amphibian work, there are limitations in studying birds and mammals
because of the large population and erratic behavior of the students at
Binghamton University. Equipment tends to disappear and data is ruined
because of human interference. Many people believe that studying birds
such as blackbirds using harmless traps is a form of animal cruelty,
and will often remove the traps before the researcher has a chance to
collect any data.
Center
for Integrated Watershed Studies
Watershed Studies
Natural ecosystems purify water and air, modify climate, reduce
flooding, and provide natural products that are crucial to human
existence, but few systems have been managed to sustain these benefits.
Watersheds are functional units by which our interactions with the
environment can be assessed, because the water that flows from a
watershed is a measure of the health of that area. Understanding and
managing smaller watershed units, such as streams, is a necessary
precursor to managing larger units The newly created Center of the
Integrated Watershed Studies here on the campus serves as a source of
expertise on natural features of watersheds and human effects on
watersheds. The SUNY-Binghamton campus, situated within the Fuller
Hollow Creek watershed, provides an ideal setting for watershed and
local scale research. The CIWS is using the Nature Preserve and natural
areas as a teaching, training and research tool. Undergraduate and
graduate students are performing field studies and Drs. Joe Graney and
Karen Salvage are performing ongoing automated and manual data
collection and analysis.
Again, Dr. Dale Madison is focusing on the radiotracking of salamanders
because these creatures provide an important insect control mechanism
and are an indicator of ecosystem health and surface water quality.
The
Binghamton University Scholars Program
Management Model for the Nature Preserve [In Progress]
Project Team: Lindsey
Krecko, Liz
Phares, Ilana
Price, Melissa
Yanek, Sheri
Zola.
This two semester project will develop a management model for the
Binghamton University Nature Preserve. The project will develop in
three stages over the Fall and Spring Semesters: Stage 1 consists of
the development of a rationale for protecting the present nature
preserve, extending its boundary to the Bunn Hill area of the campus
and providing a stable management model; Stage 2 will provide an actual
management model based on a careful survey of the how nature preserves
are managed at Binghamton’s peer institutions; Stage 3 will
involve the development a budget for the on-going management of the
nature preserve.
This project centers on the need to develop data that will enable the
design of a sound management model for the nature preserve. The goal is
to institute a formal, long term plan for managing and developing our
natural areas. This project, the first of its kind, has obvious far
reaching implications for our campus, especially for the countless
numbers of people who use our natural areas for academic study and
hiking.
In order to develop a sound basis for a management model, research will
be done on about 35 college and university campuses that have nature
preserves similar to this one, including, but not limited to the
following: Cornell, Ohio Wesleyan, Indiana State University, Goshen
College Texas Tech University, University of Minnesota, Appalachia
State, Sweet Briar College Western Connecticut State University,
Connecticut College, Grinnell College, Williams College, Drew
University, Rutgers University, Wright State University, Bucknell
University, Cedar Crest College, Stanford University, Pacific
University, Humboldt State University, Indiana University at
Bloomington, SUNY Cortland, Gettysburg College, Northern Illinois
University, Calvin College.
What will be taken into consideration will be the size of these
existing college nature preserves, the different types of land the
preserves include (wetlands, old growth forests, fields, etc) and what
kinds of invasive species live within the boundaries of the preserves,
what group or office oversees the management of the preserves, the cost
of maintenance, sources of funding, and the methods of regulating and
protecting the preserves. To find the answers to these questions,
administrators and faculty at these campuses will be contacted by
e-mail and telephone. Preserves –those close by—
will be visited and their management structure will be viewed first
hand. Using this information, a rationale for protecting
Binghamton’s preserve will be developed and model for its
on-going management will be designed.
The findings will be posted on a new Nature Preserve Website for the
purpose of stimulating interest on campus and in the surrounding
communities. The website for the Nature Preserve will be able to
provide information for anyone interested in expanding their knowledge.
They will be able to view maps and pictures, read about the different
trails, and learn about the flora and fauna that populate each area of
the Preserve. They will be able to obtain information on research (such
as our current project and the projects of other students and
professors), current events and past history. The goal is to provide
all the possible information that anyone who is surfing the website
would be interested in.
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