Press

ALBANY, NY -- The New York State Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) has awarded $526,182 in grant funds for biodiversity research, conservation and education efforts in New York State.

These grants support research projects that will improve our basic understanding of New York State plants and animals, from fungi and insects to turtles and bats. They also will increase the importance of the state’s invaluable natural history collections. With this support, scientists and educators will examine how different species, such as clams, birds, and plants, interact in their natural environments and identify how species and communities react to potential threats, such as non-native invasive species. This will, in turn, lead to better directed conservation practices in the state. Many of these projects offer opportunities for the public to join in data collection and to become actively engaged in scientific research and contribute to conservation of New York State biodiversity.

The Biodiversity Research Institute, based on the recommendations of leading researchers in the fields of environmental science and education, selected the following projects to support over the coming year:

Title: NYS Museum Insect Type Collection on the Internet: 3-D Images and DNA Bar Codes

Principal Investigators: Dr. Morton Adams (The Olive Natural Heritage Society, Inc.) and Dr. Timothy McCabe (New York State Museum)

Amount: $15,132

Title: Wood-inhabiting Microfungi (molds) of New York

Principal Investigators: Dr. C.J.K.Wang (SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry)

Amount: $25,536

Title: Monograph of Hydrozetes (Acari: Oribatida) and computerized key to aquatic oribatid mites of New York

Principal Investigators: Dr. Roy Norton (SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry)

Amount: $25,110

Title: Audubon Enhancement of the New York Dragonfly and Damselfly Survey 2006/07

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Principal Investigators: Richard Haley (Audubon New York) and Andrew Mackie (Audubon New York)

Amount: $25,416

Title: Shrubland Bird-Habitat Relations and Management in the Lower Great Lakes Plain of New York State

Principal Investigators: Dr. Christopher Norment (SUNY Brockport)

Amount: $20,208

Title: Assessing the Status of the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake in New York State

Principal Investigators: Dr. James Gibbs (SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry) and Kevin Shoemaker (SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry)

Amount: $20,676

Title: Impact of viburnum leaf beetle invasion on arrowwood viburnum and associated native plant communities

Principal Investigators: Dr. Paul Weston (Cornell University) and Victoria Nuzzo (Natural Areas Consultants)

Amount: $27,600

Title: The Importance of Substrate and Old-Growth Characters to Bryoflora in Sugar Maple Forests

Principal Investigators: Aissa Feldmann (New York Natural Heritage Program)

Amount: $32,148

Title: Assessment of Potential Impacts to Biodiversity in the NY Harbor Heronries by Double-crested Cormorants

Principal Investigators: Dr. Susan Elbin (Wildlife Trust)

Amount: $7,000

Title: The Potential Effects of Earthworms on Forest Floor Invertebrates

Principal Investigators: Dr. Richard Wyman (Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve & Biological Research Station)

Amount: $31,800

Title: Benthic biodiversity in the Great South Bay: Effects of hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) restoration

Principal Investigators: Michael Doall (Stony Brook University) and Dr. Bradley Peterson (Stony Brook University)

Amount: $32,652

Title: Environmental influences on plant diversity in rich fens of central New York; A multiscale analysis

Principal Investigators: Dr. Donald Leopold (SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry)

Amount: $18,014

Title: Landscape-level Habitat and Area Requirements of Cerulean Warbler in New York

Principal Investigators: Dr. Michael Burger (Audubon New York) and Dr. Kenneth Rosenberg (Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology)

Amount: $15,070

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Title: Predicting Hotspots of Herpetofauna Mortality on New York Highways: Validation of Principal Investigators: Dr. Tom Langen (Clarkson University) and Dr. Glenn Johnson (SUNY Potsdam)

Amount: $12,901

Title: Long-term Responses of Breeding Birds to Habitat Loss and Fragmentation

Principal Investigators: Dr. William Porter (SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry)

Amount: $23,995

Title: Is restoration necessary following invasive plant removal? Assessments of three species in the Adirondack Park.

Principal Investigators: Hilary Oles (Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program)

Amount: $21,857

Title: Assessing the Ecological Health of New York Forests: Using Birds and Citizens to Advance Conservation

Principal Investigators: Dr. Kenneth Rosenberg (Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology), Dr. Ralph Hames (Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology), Rebecca Shirer (Eastern New York Chapter of The Nature Conservancy), and Dr. Timothy Tear (Eastern New York Chapter of The Nature Conservancy)

Amount: $34,901

Title: Determining the summer distribution of Indiana bats from the Williams Lake Complex, Ulster County, NY

Principal Investigators: Alan Hicks (NYS Department of Environmental Conservation)

Amount: $13,900

Title: Effects of Predator Exclosures and Predator Visits of Piping Plover Incubation Behavior and Hatching Success

Principal Investigators: Dr. Julie Heath (Hofstra University) and Paul Doherty (Hofstra University)

Amount: $22,769

Title: Photo monitoring invasive species utilizing public participation

Principal Investigators: Dr. Roland Kays (New York State Museum)

Amount: $8,333

Title: The Identification of Areas in the State Most Threatened by Residential Development

Principal Investigators: Jillian Liner (Audubon New York)

Amount: $30,217

Title: The Birds of Dutchess County, New York Today and Yesterday

Principal Investigators: Barbara Butler (Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club, Inc.) and Stan DeOrsey (Ralph T. Waterman Bird Club, Inc.)

Amount: $3,000

Title: Establishment of a citizen science network for observing changes in plant phenology from climate change

Principal Investigators: Dr. David Weinstein (Cornell University)

Amount: $25,020

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Title: Biodiversity Outreach, Squared – Training the Trainers

Principal Investigators: Dr. Steve Morreale (Cornell University)

Amount: $32,927

The BRI serves as a comprehensive source of biological information, which is used to advise both public and private agencies on matters relating to the status of New York’s biological resources. The New York State Legislature created the Institute in 1993 to help meet the challenges associated with preserving the state’s biodiversity. The BRI is housed within the New York State Museum and is funded through the Environmental Protection Fund. The BRI is collaboration between the State Museum, Department of Environmental Conservation, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, New York Natural Heritage Program, Audubon New York, and The Nature Conservancy.

Further information is available at: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/bri/ or by calling 518-486-4845 or 518-474-6531.

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