Close Relative of Chytrid Fungus Kills Salamanders Throughout Europe, is North America Next

Redback Salamander (Plethodon cinereus)

Northern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus fuscus)

Blue-Spotted x Jefferson Salamander Hybrid (Abystoma laterale x jeffersonianum)


A fungus that primarily kills salamanders has been introduced to Europe from Asia through the pet trade.  If this fungus were to be introduced to North America, the effects could be devestating to a continent that has some of the most diverse salamander species assemblages in the world.  The most abundant vertebrate in the forests of northeastern North America is the Redback Salamander (Plethodon cinereus).  If this invasive fungus were introduced to our regions forests, it could alter how these critical ecosystems function.  Click here to read the New York Times Article

http://nyti.ms/1tVcSbP

Wamogo H.S. Environmental Science Class Earthworm and Invasive Plant Project Continued

Avereage number of earthworms observed in various invasive plant incursions versus
paired control plots (no invasive plants) and p-values of paired t-tests comparing invasive versus control pairs.
(click on chart to zoom in)

We have analyzed the data collected by Wamogo High School's Environmental Science Class. We compared the number of earthworms collected in an invasive plant incursion versus a paired sample nearby that was not invaded by the same plant species with paired t-tests.  The average number of earthworms observed in invasive plant incursions was statistically significantly greater than the paired control.  One exception was under Autumn Olive were there was significantly fewer worms under the invasive plant than the control.  The variance associated with the Japanese Barberry and Autumn Olive samples were the lowest with respect to this sampling effort.  The students have discussed how this could help them plan future experiments exploring the relationship of introduced earthworms and invasive plant incursions.

Big City, Big Surprise: New York City's Newest Species Is a Frog

A new species of frog has been described for the North American Continent and it was found living in all places, New York City on Staten Island!  To date, observed in only one population. It looks very similiar to our Northern Leopard Frog.



Big City, Big Surprise: New York City's Newest Species Is a Frog

Wamogo High School A. P. Environmental Science Class investigates relationship between invasive plants and earthworms, Part 1.

Wamogo's Environmental Science Class has been sampling earthworms at White Memorial exploring relationships between invasive plants and introduced earthworm species.  The class has sampled worms in Autumn Olive, Japanese Knotweed, Japanese Barberry, and Goutweed incursions.  The stuedents collected a total of 90 0.25 square-meter quadrats, ranging from 0 to as many as 40 earthworms per quadrat (Chart 1).  The students also recorded the body measurements of each worm.  Body measurements of 340 earthworms ranged from 15 mm to 155 mm, averaging 56.8 mm (Chart 2).  The students are utilizing a pair-wise comparison by sampling quadrats in invasive plants versus non-invaded sites located near the incursion.  Future analysis will be presented here so check back to learn what the students observe.

Chart 1:  Frequency distribution of earthworms sampled in quadrats by Wamogo's Environmental Science Students.

Chart 2:  Frequency distribution of earthworm body measurements sampled by Wamogo's Environmental Science Students.