THE NEW YORK BIOSCAPE INITIATIVE AT WILDLIFE TRUST

In the New York City metropolitan region, suburban sprawl and development are eroding the ecological foundation necessary for biodiversity and health. Despite well-intentioned efforts of many local conservationists, increasing numbers of plants and animals are at risk because of reduced and damaged habitats. Ground water withdrawals are exceeding local water supplies in many watersheds, and key air quality indicators of health, such as mercury levels, are signaling alarm. Also of concern is the suspected link between emerging diseases - West Nile virus and Lyme disease - and environmental degradation.

The New York Bioscape Initiative, launched with support from The New York Community Trust in 2002, has assembled a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional team from the New York metropolitan region to::

  • assemble a transdisciplinary team to study ecology and health;
  • demonstrate links between human-induced environmental change, biodiversity and the health of all living things;
  • bring the new discipline of Conservation Medicine to the area;
  • help conserve biodiversity and habitats; and ultimately
  • influence environmental policy, ecosystem management and citizen behavior.
The Initiative, with Dr. Susan B. Elbin as Director, also strives to strengthen regional conservation thinking by offering a people-oriented, health approach that unites health, biodiversity, sustainability and sense of place.
 
SAMPLE PROJECTS AT THE BIOSCAPE INITIATIVE
Phanaeus vindex male and female     photo credit: Drees
 
Harbor Heron population study
 

 

Dung Beetle Community Dynamics in Fragmented Forests

Dr. James Danoff-Burg directs the effort to study dung and carrion decomposing beetles, which serve as good indicators of habitat quality and environmental change following shifts in land use. They also perform a large number of ecological services, including burying of dung and carrion, seed dispersal, control of vertebrate parasites and soil aeration. Because the beetles' mammal and bird food sources are strongly affected by development and habitat fragmentation, the diversity and abundance of dung and carrion beetles serves as a general measure of mammalian and avian diversity. Furthermore, we suspect that dung and carrion beetles are likely to have important connections to human and wildlife health by the fact that these beetles rapidly bury potentially infectious dung and carrion below ground level - thus, reducing the chances of polluting surface water runoff and spreading disease by direct contact with other scavenging animals.


New York Harbor Herons Health Assessment

Since the 1970s, New York City Audubon and a long list of distinguished collaborators have overseen an avian education and monitoring program for harbor herons and other waterbirds nesting in the New York harbor. In 2004, Dr. Scott Newman and Bioscape team colleagues joined this effort to assess the health of the heron, egret and ibis species breeding in colonies located on harbor islands. Health assessments include physical examinations to seek evidence of external contaminants (petroleum), parasites or diseases that might be affecting the growth and development of chicks, and other factors that could affect the survival of young birds. Testing for diseases and the presence of environmental contaminants (metals, organochlorines, and total PCBs) also are underway.
©2005 Wildlife Trust