SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
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Embedded Librarianship: Invaluable Campus Contributions
Get PDFAcademic librarians are increasingly playing a role in the teaching and research process for students and faculty. Learn how librarians are active in the classroom and becoming partners in research
Appointment, Promotion and Continuing Appointment (Tenure) Policies, Procedures and Standards, Part B: Librarian Faculty Holding Academic Rank on the Syracuse Campus
Get PDFThis document is intended to serve as an addendum to, and continuation of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry Appointment, Promotion and Continuing Appointment (Tenure) Policies, Procedures and Standards dated March 2015, (including all appendices except as superseded by this document for the purpose of direct application to library faculty positions). The proposed policies herein are intended to apply only to Moon Library personnel holding academic rank as described in the above referenced policy. This document is also intended to conform and comply with the campus-wide appointment, promotion and continuing appointment policies, procedures, and deadlines as adopted at ESF, with the policies of the SUNY Board of Trustees, and with UUP contractual guidelines and requirements
Research Summary: Characteristics of Willow Biomass Chips Produced Using a Single-Pass Cut-and-Chip Harvester
No full textBiomass for bioenergy and/or bioproducts can be sourced from forests, agricultural crops, various residue streams, and dedicated woody or herbaceous bioenergy crops. Despite this wide spectrum of promising feedstocks, no single biomass source can meet the projected demand, or is clearly superior to alternatives in all aspects of cost, quality, and acceptance
Accumulation of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in the Lower Trophic Levels of Keuka Lake
Get PDFStudies examining the extent of pollutant bioaccumulation in freshwater food webs often only focus on the extent of contamination of top predator fish species. In this study, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations and lipid contents were measured in Keuka Lake bulk zooplankton, zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha), and freshwater mysid shrimp (Mysis diluviana) in order to evaluate bioaccumulation patterns among these lower trophic level species. Average lipid contents of samples were 1.4, 0.5 and 4.2% (wet wt.) for zooplankton, zebra mussels and mysid shrimp, respectively. A total of 41different PCB congeners were quantified with mysid shrimp samples having the highest wet weight sum PCB concentrations (mean = 205.7 ng/g wet wt.) and zebra mussels had the highest lipid weight adjusted sum PCB concentrations (mean = 30,856 ng/g lipid wt.). Zooplankton generally had the lowest PCB concentrations among the biota sampled. The major contributors to PCB contamination were PCB #138 and PCB #153 for all three species. There was a positive correlation found between PCB congener hydrophobicity (log KOW) and their degree of biomagnification in zebra mussels and mysid shrimp. Biomagnification factors averaged 1.2 and 7.2 for mysid shrimp and zebra mussels, respectively. These results showed that PCBs are biomagnifying in lower trophic levels of aquatic food chains, which increases the risks of PCB exposure to upper trophic levels in these food webs
Policy on Faculty Membership in the Graduate Program in Environmental Science
Get PDFThe Graduate Program in Environmental Science (GPES) is a unique response to emerging institutional and analytical challenges of developing environmental problems. The program, which draws upon faculty from throughout the College, emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach to environmental understanding and stewardship. It maintains a strong academic orientation, facilitating student and faculty engagement of fundamental environmental challenges such as resource utilization and sustainability, the uses and limits of scientific prediction, risk and sustainability, and a systemic concern for the health of the environment
The Effect of Sexual Dichromatism on Subtle Gender Dimorphisms in Ecuadorian Hummingbirds
Get PDFWithin the birds there are countless examples of sexual dimorphism, ranging from obvious differences such as in plumage to more discreet variations such as in bill or wing length. The more conspicuous plumage differences are typically attributed to sexual selection, but the evolutionary cause of subtle dimorphisms is much more unclear, with sexual selection and ecological causation both being valid possibilities. Therefore the question arises, are subtle dimorphisms more correlated with species that are already sexually dichromatic, or do both plumage dimorphic and plumage monomorphic species have an equal likelihood of displaying discreet gender differences? To answer this we captured and analyzed fifteen different species of Ecuadorian hummingbirds, six of them being dichromatic, and nine of them being monochromatic. We measured four subtle traits in both genders across all species: weight, wing length, tail length, and culmen (bill) length, and used ANOVAs to determine if there were any significant differences between genders. Our results revealed that dichromatic species do have a greater chance of displaying subtle dimorphisms, with 83% of species having gender differences in at least one subtle trait as opposed to only 44% in monochromatic species. This indicates that there is a correlation between obvious gender differences like plumage and more discreet dimorphisms, although the cause for this, be it sexual selection of ecological causation, remains unclear. However, because some monochromatic species do display significant subtle dimorphisms, we have now opened the door to differentiating gender in these species in the absence of sexual structures
Cranberry Lake Biological Station Research Symposium, Session A
Get PDFEcological Monitoring and Biodiversity Assessment (EFB202) is the one of the keystone courses in the Environmental and Forest Biology curriculum. Students enrolled in this immersive course live at the Cranberry Lake Biological Station for three weeks. During the first two weeks of the course, students study a wide variety of taxonomic groups of organisms, and are introduced to a broad range of field, laboratory and analytical methods. Students then complete a group research project during the third and final week of the course. The research projects require proficiency in field sampling methods, basic experimental design and statistical analysis, and the ability to cooperatively solve problems.
The course culminates in a research symposium during which groups present their findings to their peers and a panel of judges. The top three research projects are recognized with the Shields Research Award, named after Dr. Bill Shields, a retired EFB faculty member who conducted many years of research at Cranberry Lake Biological Station
Avian Responses to Pine Barrens Prescribed Fire
Get PDFInland pine barrens support a rich community of plants and animals uniquely adapted to life in open-canopy, pyrogenic habitats. These environments also support a diverse array of birds, including critical populations of declining shrubland species. Active habitat management using prescribed fire is often necessary to maintain and restore pine barrens ecosystems. This study examines the effects of a prescribed burn on a resident pine barrens bird community at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve in East-central New York State. I used data collected during bird mist-netting to compare bird diversity, abundance, and body mass between the burn site and an adjacent site in the year before and after the burn. The post-fire burn site yielded the largest number of bird captures, but it had the lowest index of diversity. Relative abundance was analyzed for 12 species. Of these, four species were significantly more abundant and three species were significantly less abundant in the post-burn site. Differences in bird body mass varied between burned and non-burned treatments, suggesting altered food availability after the burn. Three species were significantly heavier in the post-burn site. No species were significantly less massive in this site. Given the positive responses of many bird species directly following the burn, I conclude that the short-term effects of prescribed fire do not pose a significant threat to resident bird populations in this pine barrens ecosystem. The bird community on this pyrogenic landscape demonstrates remarkable resilience and adaptation to fire disturbance
Mechanical Properties of Sheets Comprised of Mycelium: A Paper Engineering Perspective
Get PDFThe global textile industry prides itself on energy and resource efficiency, although arguably has room to improve. One factor enabling this efficiency is the scale of production, often making it more energy efficient than alternative fiber sources. One potential alternative fiber source which has the potential to be emergy evaluation and EROEI (energy returned on energy invested) competitive is fungal mycelium. This could be possible because rather than the widespread support, harvesting, transport, and physical processing associated with lignocellulosic fibers, culturing and processing could all occur on site at a textile mill. Fungi could be used to consume what might otherwise be waste nutrients (the byproduct of an industrial process).
This study sought to compare the properties of mycelial sheets to products of both the paperboard and office paper classes of textiles in terms of mechanical properties and impact of the manufacturing process. Lab scale processes for production of mycelium isolates derived from filamentous fungi were explored. Both liquid culture methods (malt extract broth (MEB) and Sabouraud dextrose broth (SDB)) and solid media culture (malt extract agar (MEA) and lactose agar media (Desobry and Hardy 1997)) were tested. Fungal species included Pleurotus pulmonarius (tested in liquid culture), Pleurotus osreatus, and Penicillium camemberti. Had culturing and refining processes proved successful (mycelial sheets qualitatively resembling textile classes of interest, when desiccated), a number of physical properties of fungi were to be tested using standardized paper testing equipment owned by SUNY-ESF’s Department of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering in Walters Hall. Because none of the culturing or refining procedures following tested culturing methods proved successful, no lab testing of physical characteristics was carried out. In its absence, I used a modeling approach to analyze the theoretical strength of mycelial sheets. Model inputs were based on published values.
For future studies, culturing Pleurotus sp. in liquid culture will likely not yield sheets resembling textiles, whereas Penicillium sp. with surficial solid media methods seem to have potential (other research teams successfully produced products described as “pliable and elastic in tensile strain” (Van-Horn and Shema 1954)). When using liquid culture, if no structure (such as a screen) is present (or if the liquid culture vessel is not filled to brim with media) to prevent mycelium from floating at media-air interface, vegetative mycelium will rapidly be out-grown by reproductive aerial mycelium. When culturing using liquid media methods, it is recommended to use an apparatus enabling tight control on environmental variables and to make use of a shaker table. When processing sheets, steam sterilization followed by lyophilization has proved successful in past studies (Van-Horn and Shema 1954). Because of such existing precedents, there remains potential for a mycelium-based fiber market