Abstracts APRIL 26 – APRIL 29, 2000 A FORUM FOR CURRENT RESEARCH N E W Y O R K S T A T E M U S E U M Cover The New York State Museum is a program of The University of the State of New York The State Education Department 2000 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM CIRCULAR 62 ISSN: 1052-2018 ISBN: 1-55557-169-7 APRIL 26 – APRIL 29, 2000 A FORUM FOR CURRENT RESEARCH SUGGESTED FORMAT FOR CITING ABSTRACTS: Abstracts New York Natural History Conference VI. N.Y. State Mus. Circ. 62: page number(s). 2000. ISBN: 1-55557-169-7 The University of the State of New York THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT ALBANY, NY 12230 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK Regents of the University Carl T. Hayden, Chancellor, A.B., J.D. .................................................................. Elmira Diane O’Neill McGivern, Vice Chancellor, B.S.N., M.A., Ph.D. ............................ Staten Island J. Edward Meyer, B.A., LL.B. ................................................................................ Chappaqua Adelaide L. Sanford, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.................................................................. Hollis Saul B. Cohen, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. .......................................................................... New Rochelle James C. Dawson, A.A., B.A., M.S., Ph.D. ............................................................ Peru Robert M. Bennett, B.A., M.S. .............................................................................. Tonawanda Robert M. Johnson, B.S., J.D. ............................................................................... Lloyd Harbor Anthony S. Bottar, B.A., J.D. ................................................................................ Syracuse Merryl H. Tisch, B.A., M.A. .................................................................................. New York Ena L. Farley, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. ............................................................................ Brockport Geraldine D. Chapey, B.A., M.A., Ed.D. ................................................................ Belle Harbor Ricardo E. Oquendo, B.A., J.D. ............................................................................. Bronx Eleanor P. Bartlett, B.A., M.A. ............................................................................... Albany Arnold B. Gardner, B.A., LL.B. .............................................................................. Buffalo President of the University and Commissioner of Education Richard P. Mills Chief Operating Officer Richard H. Cate Deputy Commissioner for Cultural Education Carole F. Huxley Director for the State Museum Clifford A. Siegfried The State Education Department does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, religion, creed, disability, marital status, veteran status, national origin, race, gender, genetic predisposition or carrier status, or sexual orientation in its educational pro- grams, services and activities. Inquiries concerning this policy of nondiscrimination should be directed to the Department’s Office for Diversity, Ethics, and Access, Room 152, Education Building, Albany, NY 12234. Preface/Contents New York Natural History Conference VI iii Contents Abstracts for Presentations ................................................................................................... 1 Abstracts for Posters............................................................................................................. 53 Index of Authors ................................................................................................................... 81 The New York Natural History Conference VI is a joint project of the New York State Museum, the New York State Museum Institute, and the New York State Biodiversity Research Institute. Previous conference abstracts and conference updates are available from the Natural History Conference website: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/nhc.html Organizing Committee Karen L. Frolich Ronald J. Gill Special Thanks to All session organizers and moderators, especially David L. Creemens, John H. Haines, John P. Hart, and Christina B. Rieth; the director of the Museum, Clifford A. Siegfried; the Office of Public Programs, especially Barbara Lukas, Suzanne Hulin, and Pat Macali for their assistance with conference planning and for assisting with conference registrations; the Museum Institute including Lisa Iabone and Penny Vavura, for handling conference regis- trations, and the Executive Director of the Museum Institute, Laurie Roberts; Wilma Campbell for assisting with editing the abstract volume; Patricia Kernan for coordinating the display of natural history art; and Lane Press for conference printing. Abstracts 1 Abstracts for Presentations Adams, David J. (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New Paltz, NY 12561), and Bernd Blossey (Cornell University, Department of Natural Resources, Ithaca, NY 14853) A Proposed Draft Purple Loosestrife Management Plan For The Lower Hudson River Valley—An Opportunity for Utilizing Community Involved Watershed Management After decades of unsuccessful attempts to control Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife) using mechanical, physical, and chemical means, the successful development of biological control offers a new opportunity to better manage this serious exotic invasive species. After approval by federal and state regulatory agencies, two leaf beetles, Galerucella calmariensis and G. pusilla, a root feeding weevil Hylobious transversovittatus, and a flower feeding weevil, Nanophyes marmoratus, have been released in New York State. This draft plan outlines goals, objectives and actions considered most appropriate to achieve long-term population reductions of purple loosestrife using a regional, area-wide management ap- proach. The implementation of the draft management plan for the Lower Hudson River Valley will occur in three distinct phases. Phase 1 (3–5 Year) •Establish purple loosestrife biological control agents within each Town. Utilize partnerships whenever feasible. •Continue long term on site monitoring to assess the efficiency of the bio-control agents. •Assess the regional abundance and distribution of purple loosestrife utilizing remote sensing techniques. •Develop and distribute educational materials targeting agencies, community organizations and private land- owners. •Draft documentation required to initiate legislative action prohibiting the sale and distribution of purple loosestrife. Phase 2 (3–5 Year) •Review the establishment, spread, and impact of single and multiple species (bio-control agents) in suppres- sion of purple loosestrife within different habitat types. •Develop an economical landscape model for bio-control agent distribution and establishment. Phase 3 (10–20 Year) •Based on research results, plant distribution, insect life histories, insect availability and model recommenda- tions, begin additional regional distribution and establishment of bio-control agents. •Use a combination of monitoring techniques to assess the success of the purple loosestrife biological control program at different scales. •Refine release procedures and assess the ecological value of restored wetland plant communities. This project is funded in part by the NYS DEC Hudson River Estuary Management Program. 2 New York Natural History Conference VI Alben, Katherine T. (New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY 12201), Justin George (Union College, Schenectady, NY 12308), and Jamie V. Woodall (Holy Names Academy, Albany, NY 12208) Characteristics of Dissolved Organic Carbon from Trapa natans Wetlands Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is an important part of the trophic food web in aquatic ecosystems, but it remains an analytical challenge to identify the origin(s) of DOC and document its transformation in the environment. For this study, it was of interest to determine if DOC from two wetlands dominated by Trapa natans (water chestnut) could be differentiated from DOC at sites immediately upstream. Samples were collected from a T. natans wetland on the Mohawk River at Niskayuna (nontidal freshwater) and on the Hudson River at Tivoli South Bay (tidal freshwater). Enzyme assays were performed as an indirect means of characterizing DOC, but the results indicated little difference among samples, in terms of functional groups that were readily hydrolyzed. As an alternative, humic and fulvic acids were isolated by adsorption to a macroreticular resin, fractionated by pH adjustment, reconcentrated and purified by ion exchange. Green and pink pigments were obtained in samples from the tidal wetland, in addition to the brown concen- trates of humic and fulvic acids. Analysis of the pigments by high-pressure liquid chromatography with diode array detection suggests that they are derivatives of chlorophylls: additional spectrometric analyses of the pigments are being carried out to determine if they result from T. natans or algae. The relative contri- bution of algae and bacteria to the composition of humic and fulvic acids is partially deduced from NMR analyses of the aliphatic vs. aromatic composition, but independent methods are needed to confirm these interpretations. Aliberti, Maria A., and Mark Chandler (New England Aquarium, Boston, MA 02110) Larval Odonates as Bioindicators of Pond Water Quality Many studies have examined the relationship between macroinvertebrate abundance and pH, often concluding that pH exerts an indirect effect on macroinvertebrate abundance and diversity—for example, by influencing fish abundance—which causes the observed trends in community composition.