SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
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Scanning Electron Microscopy Laboratory Portfolio
Get PDFThese images were prepared by Ian Newcomb as part of the class MCR 484 Scanning Electron Microscopy at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Fall 2016.
All images were acquired on the JEOL JSM 5800 LV Scanning Electron Microscope in the N. C. Brown Center for Ultrastructure Studie
Development of a Plant Care Guide for the Veterans Hospital Horticultural Therapy Program
Get PDFThe goal of this project is to provide a resource for both staff and patients at the Syracuse Veteran\u27s Affairs Medical Center (VA) to learn to care for the collection of plants in the therapeutic horticulture program and to also learn about the history and uses of the plants. The therapeutic horticulture program is designed to enhance the in-patient activities during short and long-term hospital stays for patients suffering from spinal cord disabilities or disease, and for those patients in long-term residential care. The horticultural therapy program has been active for three years, but until now, there was no information available to the patients regarding what plants were being grown in the patient rooms, common areas, or in the outside gardens, nor any guidance for their care. During the academic years, students from ESF guide the patients in plant care, but outside that time, hospital staff generously tends to the plants, and they themselves did not always have all the necessary knowledge to maintain the plants. This project was to compile information about all plants, outside garden plants, seed grown edibles and houseplants, into one living document, that would be both educational and entertaining. Each species is clearly detailed with care instructions, images, and some interesting information about history and uses. Additional copies of the pages for each plant are available if patients get released from the hospital and wish to take their plants home with them; thus having the resources they need to bring therapeutic horticulture into their own home. This project involved considerable in-depth research into over SO plant species, including ideal growing conditions, history, medical uses, and more. It also incorporated interpretive design into compiling these facts into a digestible and approachable form for any reader. One of the unique features of this project is that it intends to be a living document so that as more species are brought into the program, additional pages can be created and added
Session C, 2016 Second Place: Carnivorous Chaos: A Comparison Study of Number of Attractions by Prey for Roundleaf Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia L.) and Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea)
Get PDFRoundleaf sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) and purple pitcher plants (Sarracenia purpurea) are able to capture and digest prey to supplement nitrogen in nutrient-poor conditions. Sundews use scents to attract prey. Pitcher plants mimic bright flowers. We hypothesize that of the two carnivorous plants, sundew will have a greater number of visits by prey in a timed trial. Plants were observed for an hour each and the number of prey attractions was recorded. An attraction was considered to be physical contact. Additionally, surrounding vegetation, percent cover, and depth of surface water were surveyed to understand the preferred conditions of each species of plant. Student t-tests compared and determined that prey attraction of each species (p\u3c0.001) were significantly different. Sundews had a greater percent cover, but less prey attraction than pitcher plants. Pitcher plants attract more prey, but are limited by water depths. There was no connection between the plants’ ability to capture prey and diversity of surrounding vegetation. Additional research could focus on solar preferences, root anchoring limitations, and ability to maximize the uptake of phosphorus, which may further explain the abundance of sundews contrary to the greater success of pitcher plants when attracting prey
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) Portfolio 2016
Get PDFPortfolio for the Scanning Electron Microscopy course, Fall 2016. Submitted to Dr. Susan Anagnost
Scanning Electron Microscopy Laboratory Portfolio
Get PDFThese images were prepared as part of the class MCR 484 Scanning Electron Microscopy at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Fall 2016. All images were acquired on the JEOL JSM 5800 LV Scanning Electron Microscope in the N. C. Brown Center for Ultrastructure Studies
Calling Behaviour in the northern Queensland subpopulation of Petaurus australis
Get PDFVocalizations are a common form of inter- and intraspecies communication for mammals. Yellow-bellied Gliders, Petaurus australis, are the most vocal of the Australian Gliders emitting low frequency calls at high intensities. I explored the frequency of calls in relation to season, temperature and humidity, as well as the behavioral context in which the calls were emitted. Along with my field crew, I observed current feed and den trees for gliders during their most active time, dusk. Observations were performed over the course of two years during the wet and dry seasons, for a total of four observation seasons. I found a significantly higher mean call frequency during the dry season than the wet season. I determined that temperature has no apparent relationship to call frequency; however, humidity is positively correlated with call frequency. One call type was distinguished during this study, the full call. It was determined to be used for a number of purposes by the gliders, including cohesive group traveling and to defend food resources of a home range from gliders of other species. This study suggests that with an understanding of glider vocalizations, they can be used as a time and energy efficient method to monitor and survey populations
Evaluating the Effects of Nature in the City on 5th grade Students’ Environmental Literacy in the Syracuse City School District
Get PDFBaltimore Woods Nature Center’s Nature in the City school programs provides K-6 students in the Syracuse City School District with hands-on learning experiences that connect them with their environment. To improve the quality of Baltimore Woods Nature Center’s Nature in the City (NITC) program, as well as assess changes in 5th grade students’ environmental literacy, assessments were conducted in all participating schools. Assessments were given before and after NITC programs in each 5th grade classroom. Pre- and post-assessments scores were calculated for each student, and these scores were used to compute statistics for individual schools and the overall district. Paired t-tests were run at a 95% level of confidence (α = 0.05). Following data analysis it was found that the overall participating students showed a significant increase from pre- to post-scores (percent change of 46.3%). Ten out the 12 schools in this report showed an individual significant increase. Results from Delaware and Porter suggest there is room for improvement in the program. When asked, “will you change your habits to save energy in your daily life,” and “do you your actions impact the environment,” the initial response was positive with \u3e40% answering “yes,” or “I already do.” This positive response increased by a small margin of 1 and 3% from pre- to post-scores. The overall findings of this report show that the Nature in the City program is effective at increasing participants’ environmental literacy. This positive change in opinions about the environment, and the significant increase of scientific knowledge, will equip students who participated in the NITC program with the tools they will need to make environmentally conscious decisions and act in its favor. This not only benefits the global environment, but also helps Baltimore Woods Nature Center meet their goal of increasing students’ knowledge and engaging them in hands-on activities
Scanning Electron Microscopy Laboratory Portfolio
Get PDFThese images were prepared as part of the Fall 2016 class, MCR 484, Scanning Electron Microscopy at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. These images of various specimens were acquired on the JEOL JSM 500 LV Scanning Electron Micoscope in the N.C. Brown Center for Ultrastructure Studies using various microscopy and specimen preparation techniques