FISH RESEARCH: Macaulay Honors College BioBlitz 2015 (August 29-30, 2015)

Synopsis: During a BioBlitz, biologists intensely survey wildlife (e.g., mammals, birds, fish, insects, fungi, plants, microbes) within a designated site for a short duration, usually 24 hours. Bioblitzes involve researchers and the general public working together to identify all species in the location, providing a snapshot of its biodiversity. It also provides a unique opportunity for biologists to communicate science about local wildlife and ecology to the public. Macaulay Honors College BioBlitz 2015 was held in Freshkills Park, Staten Island, NY. What was once the world's largest landfill, Freshkills Park is now being restored into a beautiful 2,200 acre park with vibrant wildlife that will be almost 3X the size of Central Park in Manhattan. The goal of BioBlitz 2015 was to get a current species inventory of the park. After restoration, Freshkills Park will be the largest park developed in NYC in the last 100 years. BioBlitz 2015 included over 20 biologists from the greater NY area and approximately 500 Macaulay Honors College students.

Project: Macaulay Honors College BioBlitz 2015
Host: Macaulay Honors College 
Organizers: Kelly O'Donnell (Macaulay Honors College), Lisa Brundage (Macaulay Honors College), and Cait Field (NYC Parks)
Website(s): http://freshkillspark.org/event/freshkills-park-bioblitz and http://www1.cuny.edu/mu/forum/2015/08/26/macaulay-students-descend-on-freshkills-park-for-2015-bioblitz/

Date: August 29 and 30, 2015
Location: Freshkills Park, http://freshkillspark.org/ (Staten Island, NY)

Fish Taxon Leader(s): Peter J. Park and Cait Field 
Assistants: Andrew Wu, Pamila Ramotar-John, and Kishi John 

Participants: Students of Macaulay Honors College
Methods: Seining and Trapping 

Environmental Variables (measurements taken 5:30PM, 8/29): 
Air Temp: 25 deg C
Water Temp: 24 deg C
Salinity: 23 ppt


Species Caught (and Released) by Site:
 
Site I. Main Creek, just east of the junction of Main Creek and Richmond Creek (Method: Seining and Trapping)

Kayak Seining (Photo Credit: Kelly O'Donnell)

 

Fish Species:
Atlantic Silverside (Menidia menidia)
Mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus)
Striped Killifish (Fundulus majalis)
Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis)
Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix)
Black Drum (Pogonias cromis)
Bay Anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli)
Naked Goby (Gobiosoma bosc)

Atlantic Silverside (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park)

Bluefish (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park)

Black Drum (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park)

Bay Anchovy (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park)

Naked Goby (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park)

Other Species:
Fiddler Crab
Green Crab (Carcinus maenas)
Blue Claw Crab (Callinectes sapidus)
Sand Shrimp (Crangon septemspinosa)
Mud Whelk
Comb Jelly

Fiddler Crab, male (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park)

  
Site II. Tidal Wetland Marsh, north of Site 1 (Method: Trapping)

Gee Minnow Trap (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park)

Environmental Variables (measurements taken 12:00PM, 8/30):  
Air Temp: 28 deg C
Water Temp: 29 deg C
Salinity: 23 ppt


Fish Species:
Atlantic Silverside (Menidia menidia)  
Mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus)
Striped Killifish (Fundulus majalis)
Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis)

Mummichog (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park)

Striped Killifish, male (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park)

Striped Killifish, female (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park)

Striped Bass (Photo Credit: Peter J. Park)

Comments: In preparation for BioBlitz 2015, Peter J. Park, Cait Field, and Andrew Wu visited these sites a week prior and observed two species that were not caught during this event:

Mojarra, Family Gerreidae (Photo Credit: Andrew Wu)

Alewife (Photo Credit: Andrew Wu)

Additional Info: All procedures and activities described above were permitted by the NY DEC.

Follow-Up:  
Media coverage of BioBlitz 2015: http://www.ny1.com/nyc/staten-island/news/2015/09/2/-former-fresh-kills-landfill-breeding-new-life.html

Fish species identified were incorporated into the Hudson River Almanac: http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/25611.html

Nyack College College of Arts and Sciences Blog: http://www.nyack.edu/blog/CASNews/2227

Acknowledgements: Special thanks to John Waldman (Queens College), Bob Schmidt (Bard College at Simon's Rock), and Tom Lake (NY DEC) for their expertise on saltwater fishes of NYC. We are also grateful to Michael A. Bell (Stony Brook University), John Waldman (Queens College), and Margie Turrin (Lamont -Doherty Earth Observatory) for the loaning of equipment for this event.

Further Reading:
Murdy, E. O., R. S. Birdson, and J. A. Musick. 1997. Fishes of the Chesapeake Bay. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington.

Page, L. M. and B. M. Burr. 2012. Peterson Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York.