Wildlife Tech Class of 2018Blind Brook High SchoolMentor: Chris Nagy (MRG) Project: Activity patterns of mammals in Bronx, NY Parks vs. Mianus River Gorge Preserve, Bedford, NY Project Status: Completed Project Description: Urban environments can alter the behavior of animals in a myriad of ways. In this study, the effects that urban environments have on the temporal […]
Wildlife Tech Class of 2017Fox Lane High SchoolMentor: Chris Nagy (MRG) Project: Impacts of Deer Overpopulation on Red Oak Regeneration at Mianus River Gorge Project Status: Completed Project Description: White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) overpopulation is a problem throughout the north-east USA. The browsing pressures from super-abundant deer impede forest regeneration and growth in saplings. To measure the […]
Wildlife Tech Class of 2017Carmel High SchoolMentor: Chris Nagy (MRG) Project: Distribution of Fishers, Coyotes, Bobcats and Foxes in Westchester County Project Status: Ongoing Project Description: Martes pennant (Fisher), Canis latrans (Coyote), Lynx rufus (Bobcat) and Vulpes vulpes (Red Fox) are predators native to the Westchester County area. After numerous Coyote sightings and Fisher sightings in southern […]
Wildlife Tech Class of 2016Ardsley High SchoolMentor: Emily Stephan (SUNY ESF) Project: Incorporating spatially explicit soil infiltration rates into i-Tree watershed models Project Status: Completed Project Description: Nitrate pollution is an increasing problem in urban watersheds such as the Mianus River Gorge due to an increase in industry and urban sprawl. Denitrifying bacteria in the nitrogen cycle […]
Wildlife Tech Class of 2016Ursuline AcademyMentor: Chris Nagy (MRG) Project: Wildflower regeneration in post-agricultural forests and potential for restoration Project Status: Completed Project Description: Many factors have inhibited the growth of wildflowers in forests in the Northeastern United States. Limiting factors include overabundant white-tailed deer population and altered or disturbed soil conditions in these post-agricultural forests. As […]
Wildlife Tech Class of 2015Somers High SchoolMentor: Rebecca Walling (SUNY ESF) Project: Patterns of plant biodiversity and invasive earthworm densities at the Mianus River Gorge. Project Status: Completed Project Description: Since the 1700s, earthworms from Europe and, more recently, Asia have been introduced to North America and have been reproducing and expanding since. These organisms […]
Wildlife Tech Class of 2015Pleasantville High SchoolMentors: Chris Nagy (MRG) and Sheila Saia (Cornell University) Project: Aquatic macroinvertebrate diversity upstream and downstream of three road runoff entry points. Project Status: Completed Project Description: Stormwater runoff from roads into waterways can alter water chemistry and greatly reduce water quality. The spotty nature of these runoff inputs […]
Wildlife Tech Class of 2014Mamaroneck High School Project: Using Automatic Species Recognition Software to Identify Animals in our Wildlife Camera Project Status: Completed Camera traps have been used as an effective way to sample wildlife. However, biologists often have to sort through a large number of pictures to find a few photos of their target species. The […]
Wildlife Tech Class of 2014Ossining High SchoolMentors: MRG Staff and Dan Aitchison (Westchester County Parks) Project: Improving the Camera Trap Abundance Estimates of White-Tailed Deer Project Status: Ongoing Project Description: MRG uses camera traps to monitor deer abundance. This method relies on high quality photographs of branch-antlered deer. Lucia will be experimenting with lures to see if […]
Wildlife Tech Class of 2014Blind Brook High SchoolMentor: Chris Nagy (MRG) Project: Using Camera Traps to Test the Efficacy of Hair and Box Traps for Sampling Suburban Carnivores Project Status: Completed Project Description: Mammalian carnivores, such as the coyote (Canis latrans), are often difficult to monitor in the wild because of their secretive nature and low […]