Newsletter

Volume 10, Number 6
November - December 1993

Director’s Note

As a research and education institution, the
Institute of Ecosystem Studies values the
exchange of resources and information with
like organizations. Here in the mid-Hudson
Valley we are fortunate to be in close
proximity to a number of institutes of higher
learning, and we welcome opportunities to
interact with scientists, students and educators,
and to share facilities.

Dr. Gene E. Likens receives the gold medal of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement from
Dr. F. Sherwood Rowland, past Tyler Prize laureate and Donald Bren Professor of Chemistry at the
University of California at Irvine. To the right is co-recipient Dr. F. Herbert Bormann.

Dr. Likens Receives Tyler Prize

One institution with which we have a long-
standing relationship is Bard College. lES
ecologists studying the Hudson River receive
logistical support and site access from Bard’s
Field Station. Educators from Bard have
taught lES Continuing Education Program
Workshops, and Bard students have
participated in our Research Experiences for
Undergraduates program and worked as
research assistants in lES laboratories.

This issue of the lES Newsletter describes two
other collaborative efforts with Bard College;
research by Dr. Erik Kiviat as a Cary Summer
Fellow, and the Liberty Environmental Science
Academy, based at Bard with a science
curriculum developed by Institute educators.

The lES Newsletter is published by the
Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook,
Ne w Y ork. All newsletter correspondence
should be addressed to the editor.

Gene E. Likens, Director
Joseph S. Warner, Administrator
Alan R. Berkowitz, Head of Education

Editor; Jill Cadwallader
Printing; Central Press

INSTITUTE OF ECOSYSTEM STUDIES
Education Program
Box R (Route 44A)

Millbrook, NY 12545-0178
(914) 677-5359

Sometimes described as the “Nobel Prize
for ecology”, the Tyler Prize for Environ-
mental Achievement is widely recognized
as the most prestigious environmental
award in the world. Early in December, at a
ceremony in Los Angeles, Institute of
Ecosystem Studies Director Dr. Gene E.
Likens was awarded the 1993 Tyler Prize.
The prize, shared with Dr. F. Herbert
Bormann, Oastler Professor of Forest
Ecology, Emeritus, Yale University,
recognizes more than three decades of
pioneering ecological research with the
Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study in New
Hampshire.

Thirty years ago. Dr. Likens, Dr. Bormann
and colleagues asked whether chemical
analysis of stream water passing through a
forest ecosystem would provide clues to the
“health” of the surrounding environment.

To answer this question, the scientists
chose a parcel of White Mountain National
Forest, the Hubbard Brook Experimental
Forest in West Thornton, New Hampshire,
where everything flowing in to and out of
the watershed could be measured and
recorded precisely. They were joined in
these efforts by Dr. Robert S. Pierce (U.S.
Forest Service, now deceased) and Dr.

Noye M. Johnson (Dartmouth College, now
deceased). They named this new whole-
ecosystem research program for its site, and
scientists at the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem

Study (HBES) have produced some 1275
scientific publications and reports and four
books since 1963. (See the July - August
1993 issue of the lES Newsletter for more
on the HBES.)

In awarding the Tyler Prize for Environ-
mental Achievement to Dr. Likens and Dr.
Bormann, the Tyler Prize Executive
Committee honored their creation of the
premier model for ecosystem studies in the
world. The prize also recognizes the
scientists’ record of innovative scientific
leadership that has stretched the boundaries
of environmental knowledge through
discoveries that have changed American
law and international policy.

Dr. Ray T. Oglesby, Professor of Natural
Resources at Cornell University and a
former faculty colleague of Dr. Likens at
Cornell, said this honor is richly deserved.
“Gene Likens and his colleagues have done
extremely important research to help fellow
scientists and policy-makers understand
and tackle real problems. It is not an
overstatement to say that they have done
more for applied ecology than any group in
science. Given the present state of Earth’s
environment and the predictions of things to
come, that is an accomplishment to be very,
very proud of.”

continued on page 2

Allan Burliner Photography

Tyler Prize, from page 1

Drs. Likens and Bormann discovered the
first evidence of acid rain in North America
while studying precipitation chemistry at
Hubbard Brook. Their findings prompted
the first international symposium on acid
rain, contributed to the understanding that
acid rain was a world-wide phenomenon,
and resulted in intensive studies of the
causes, transport and effects of acid rain in
the United States and Canada. Dr. Likens
continues to do research at Hubbard Brook,
and this summer began a study of the
environmental fate of the
chemicals that are replacing
chlorofluorocarbons as
aerosol propellants and
refrigerants. Chlorofluorocar-
bons are responsible for
depleting ozone in the
stratosphere and are being
phased out according to
intergovernmental accords.

Until Dr. Likens’ study, no
research had been done on
potential effects of their replacement
chemicals on natural forest ecosystems.

The Tyler Prize for Environmental Achieve-
ment was established in 1973 by Alice
Christine Tyler, a leading Los Angeles
philanthropist, and her husband John
Cummings Tyler to honor scientists whose
work distinguishes them as “guardians of
the future”. To date, 33 laureates have been
recognized for their outstanding achieve-
ments in environmentally related fields that
include chemical ecology, species diversity,
water quality, atmospheric chemistry and
the protection of the Earth’s atmosphere,
oceanography and renewable sources of
energy. The Tyler Prize is presented
annually and includes a $150,000 award.
Tyler laureates are selected by a committee
composed of top scientists, politicians and
leaders from the corporate sector.

The events of the Tyler Prize presentation
began with live radio interviews on CBS
and Voice of America, telephone interviews
with newspaper reporters from across the
United States, and an appearance on “Eco-
News”, a syndicated cable television
program. The Tyler Prize gold medal was
presented on Friday evening, December 3,
at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles.
Guests at the dinner included the Tyler
Prize executive committee, friends and
colleagues of Mrs. Tyler, members of the

Los Angeles community, and family and
friends of the recipients. A highlight for Dr.
Likens was that all members of his
immediate family — Phyllis Likens, his
wife, who is executive secretary of the
HBES, his son and three daughters, his
mother and his brother — were there to
share the evening with him.

In his acceptance address. Dr. Likens
expressed pride that the Tyler Committee
had chosen to honor the field of ecology.
“Because of its fundamentally integrative
nature, ecology has great potential for
generating broad understanding about
complex natural phenomena,” he said.
‘Human-accelerated environmental change’
is the term that Dr. Likens has given to the
assaults to our global ecosystem that
include acid rain, stratospheric ozone
depletion, climate change, deforestation

(especially in the tropics), toxification of the
biosphere, invasions of exotic species (such
as the zebra mussel in this region), and loss
of species. Quoting a colleague, he said that
“ecology must be made a part of the
decision-making checkerboard, not just one
of the checkers that can be moved around at
the whim of some politician”, and cited acid
rain and the commercial exploitation and
depletion of marine fish resources as
examples where application of ecological
principles could lead to more effective

management. In conclusion,
he listed six things that can
be done to reverse the
problems of human-acceler-
ated environmental change:

1. Scientists must dissemi-
nate new findings and then
work to make them clear and
understandable to the public
and decision-makers.
Uncertainties must be clear
and understood.

2. Politicians must provide leadership and
form partnerships with the public to make it
easier for individuals to accept responsibil-
ity about environmental issues.

3. Students must learn more about
environmental issues and ethics.

4. Teachers must provide a balanced
discussion of environmental issues. We
need more course offerings about the
relationship between ethics and the
environment, and about the multidisci-
plinary nature of environmental problems,
and there should be requirements for
students to take these courses.

5. Individuals must accept responsibility
for their part in environmental problems,
and take time to learn about their environ-
ment.

6. Reporters and editors must take the time
to get it right.

“I know how dangerous it is to quote Larry Bird here in ‘Laker-land’ ,
but I am very fond of what he said last February when he retired from
the Celtics basketball team: you can’t try to win awards. You just
have to play your game and try to help your team win. If you do it well
enough, the awards will just come’ ( USA Today . 3 February 1993).

We have a great team at Hubbard Brook.”

— Dr. Gene E. Likens, at the Tyler Prize presentation in Los
Angeles, thanking the many whose work and support contributed to
his receiving this award for environmental achievement.

The Ecology of Blanding’s Turtles

During 1993, Cary Summer Fellowships
were awarded to Dr. Marie-Josee Fortin
and Dr. Erik Kiviat. The research of Dr.
Fortin, a post-doctoral scientist at the
Centre D’ Etudes Nordiques, Universite
Laval, Quebec, was summarized in the
September-October issue of the newsletter.
Dr. Kiviat studied the B landing’s turtle.

For Dr. Erik Kiviat, associate professor of
environmental studies at Bard College,
Annandale, N. Y. and executive director of
Hudsonia*, the Hudson Valley is his
classroom and laboratory, and the threat-
ened Blanding’s turtles in Dutchess County
are his favorite subjects. This year, as a
Cary Summer Fellow, he combined this

long-term research interest with the
biogeochemical studies of lES microbial
ecologist Dr. Peter M. Groffman to
investigate the relationship between
Blanding’s turtles and their habitats.

Blanding’s turtles are shy creatures, but
when they emerge to bask in the sun they
are identified easily by a bright yellow chin
and throat. Adults grow to approximately

* Hudsonia is a non-profit institution for
research, education and technical
assistance in the environmental sciences,
with offices at the Bard College Field
Station.

25 cm (10 in.) and weigh almost 1 kilogram
(about 2 lbs). The reptiles’ range is from
Nebraska to Nova Scotia, but east of Ohio
populations are spotty: northern New York
along the St. Lawrence River, northeastern
Massachusetts and the adjacent comers of
New Hampshire and Maine, southern Nova
Scotia ... and Dutchess County. Blanding’s
turtles live in small wetlands, close to a
pond or lake that provides refuge in times of
drought and generally within a kilometer
(0.6 mile) of a sunny site with well-drained,
coarse-textured soil in which females lay
their eggs. The turtles eat insects, snails,
tadpoles, small clams, fish and probably
some plants, all creatures that owe their
existence to the wetland ecosystem.

Blanding’s l\irtles, continued

lES Cary Summer Fellow Dr. Erik Kiviat sampled
vegetation in Standing’s turtle habitats

In 1983 the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation declared the
Blanding’s turtle a threatened species in
New York. A number of factors brought the
turtles to such low population levels. A
significant number is run over by cars and
farm machinery each spring as they move
from one wetland to another and to the
fields, yards and gardens where they lay
their eggs. Raccoon predation also is
believed to be a limiting factor, as is the
mortality that results when children collect
the turtles as “pets”, then (assuming that
the animals survive) release them in
unsuitable habitats.

Loss and degradation of wetland habitats,
however, are the principal reasons for the
reptile’s threatened status. Not only are
these areas increasingly being filled or
drained, but the nature of even untouched
wetlands puts these ecosystems at risk:
wetlands receive materials from the
surrounding landscapes and therefore tend
to accumulate pollutants — excess nutri-
ents, toxic substances and silt. In Dutchess
County, most of the pollutants and silt come
from runoff from dumps and farmlands;
from fertilizers, pesticides and household
chemicals that leach from home septic
systems; and from the construction that
accompanies suburbanization.

How do the chemistry and function of the
Blanding’s turtle's ecosystem change as a
result of outside influences such as
increased nutrients? That question formed
the basis of the summer 1993 collaboration
between Drs. Kiviat and Groffman. Of the
10 known Blanding’s turtle sites in
Dutchess County, Dr. Kiviat selected five in
Clinton, Hyde Park and LaGrange that have
all three of the preferred habitats: wetland,
lake or pond, and dry nesting area. He did
his sampling just in the spring habitats, the
wetlands.

The best Blanding’s turtle habitats in this
area seem to be the wetlands of small deep
glacial kettles — pits perhaps created by
chunks of glacial ice — with abundant
buttonbush, a shrub that is well-adapted for
a wet habitat and whose dense growth
provides refuge for the turtles. In 1979 Dr.
Kiviat began censusing turtle populations,
and he is continuing to add to this data base
at his current study sites. With a special
permit from the DEC, he captures turtles
and photographs them for a permanent
record based upon the shell pattern. Before
releasing them where he found them, he
records size, weight and sex, notes any
injuries or external parasites, then glues a
tag with an identification number to the
shell. During the past summer. Dr. Kiviat
examined the general nature of the turtles’
habitats as well, doing a vegetation analysis
to determine the structure of the habitat,
listing all plant species and recording their
relative abundance, and sampling the soils.

Overenrichment by nitrogen, a nutrient, can
change habitats drastically and be harmful
to resident animals and plants. When

nitrogen enters the ecosystem from
fertilizers, sewage and atmospheric
deposition, it can be transported in surface
water or by groundwater to wetlands and
lakes. In Dr. Groffman’s laboratory at the
lES Plant Science Building, soil samples
from each of Dr. Kiviat’ s turtle sites were
analyzed for nitrogenous compounds. Drs.
Kiviat and Groffman hope to find if
increased nitrogen degrades Blanding’s
turtle habitats, and if there are fewer turtles
in habitats with high nitrogen levels. By
tracking chemicals through the ecosystem
they will be able to assess the impact of
human activity on the turtles.

Dr. Kiviat will continue the research he
began as a Cary Summer Fellow, learning
more about the turtles’ springtime wetland
habitats and the land use on adjacent
properties. His goal is to study the relation-
ships between the landscape, biogeochemis-
try, soils, water, vegetation, food and the
turtles. Perhaps eventually the Blanding’s
turtles of Dutchess County will help
humans understand the intricacies of
wetlands on a much larger scale.

Reaching Out to Young Scientists

The Liberty Environmental Science
Academy (LES A), a joint program of Bank
Street College of Education (New York
City), Bard College (Annandale, N.Y.) and
lES, serves students who are among those
least likely to pursue careers in mathemat-
ics and science. In 1993, 60 African-
American and Latino students from
secondary schools in Community District
Three in Manhattan spent two weeks at
Bard in an integrated academic program of
science and writing activities. Students in
grades 7-9 studied forest ecology, learning
about local plants and animals and their
interactions with each other and the non-
living environment, while those in grades

10-12 used quantitative techniques to do
experimental and comparative studies and
applied problem solving in ecology.

Kass Hogan, lES educational research and
development specialist, is the LESA
science program coordinator. She works
closely with educators at Bank Street and
Bard to develop the science curriculum
and oversee its implementation. Last
summer, LESA students spent a day at the
Institute working with lES Research
Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
students (see the September - October
issue of the lES Newsletter for an article
on the 1993 REU program at the Institute).

1993 REU program participant Joel Brown, who compared exotic and native plant species in old
fields, demonstrates field research techniques to a group of LESA students.

Calendar

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Certificate in Natural Science Illustration

A new Certificiate in Natural Science Illustration is
being offered by the Institute. This certificate is for
students interested in professional illustration work
as well as for those who want to learn to draw for
pleasure. Upcoming classes are:

• Pen and Ink I

• Pen and Ink II

• Botanical Watercolor Illustration
• Outdoor Sketching
• Colored Pencil Illustration

Catalogues listing winter and spring semester
classes, workshops and excursions — 50 in all —
are available from the Gifford House. Winter
semester highlights include:

Jan. 29: The Hows of Houseplants
Feb. 5: Gardens for Dry Sites and Dry Years
Feb. 12: The Landscape with Perennials in the
Mixed Border (workshop)

Feb. 26: Planting the Seeds for Your New
Business (workshop)

Mar. 5: Designing a Flower Garden (workshop)
Mar. 9: Philadelphia Flower Show (excursion)

Mar. 19: Raised Bed Vegetable Gardening
Mar. 19: Ecological Landscape Assessment
(workshop)

The lES Continuing Education Program office has a
new telephone number. Call 914/677-9643 for
information on certificate programs or individual
offerings, or to register.

SUNDAY ECOLOGY PROGRAMS

Free public programs are held on the first and
third Sunday of each month, except over holiday
weekends. Programs begin at 2 p.m. at the Gifford
House on Route 44A unless otherwise noted. Last-
minute schedule changes are sometimes unavoid-
able, so call 914/677-5359 to confirm the day’s
topic.

For general information, call the

Sunday Ecology Programs, continued:

Feb. 6: Research at the Institute of Ecosystem
Studies, a slide presentation by Dr. Gene E. Likens
Feb. 20: President’s Day weekend, no program
Mar. 6: to be announced
Mar. 20: Coral Reefs of the Bay Islands of
Honduras, a slide presentation by Dr. Nina Caraco

• In case of poor weather, call 677-5358 after
1 p.m. to learn the status of the day’s program. For
outdoor programs, wear long pants tucked into
socks and sturdy waterproof shoes.

lES SEMINARS

The Institute’s program of scientific seminars
features presentations by visiting scientists. These free
seminars are held each Friday at 3:30 p.m. in the
Plant Science Building. Last-minute schedule changes
are sometimes unavoidable, so call 914/677-5343 to
confirm the day ’ s topic .

Jan. 14: Mechanisms of Coexistence of Optimal
Foragers: Temporal Partitioning in Two Species
of Gerbils, Dr. Burt Kotler, Mitrani Center for
Desert Ecology, Israel

Jan. 21: The Role of Surface Waters in Landscape
Level Carbon Dioxide Dynamics, Dr. Tim Kratz,
Univ. of Wisconsin

Jan. 28: Nitrogen vs. Phosphorus Limitation in
Coastal Marine Ecosystems: Evolution of a New
Paradigm, Dr. Robert W. Howarth, Cornell Univ.

Feb. 4: Neighborhood Ecology Investigations for
Urban Youth: A National Community-Based
Education Program, Dr. Karen Hollweg, VINE
Network, Washington D.C.

Feb. 1 1 : (Topic: G.E. Hutchinson), Dr. Nancy
Slack, Russell Sage College
Feb. 18: to be announced

Feb. 25: The Blowdown Cycles of Southern Beech
Forests in Tierra del Fuego, Dr. Alan Rebertus,
Univ. of Missouri

lES Education Program Office at the Gifford
9141677-5359 weekdays from 8:30 - 4:30.

GREENHOUSE

The lES greenhouse is a year-round tropical plant
paradise as well as a site for controlled environmental
research. The greenhouse is open until 4:00 p.m.
daily except public holidays. Admission is by free
permit from the Gifford House.

GIFT SHOP

Senior Citizens Days: On Wednesdays, senior
citizens receive a 10% discount (except sale items).
January “Month-Long Sale”: All regularly priced
gifts discounted 20%, books discounted 10% and
mostholiday items discounted 50%.

HOURS

(Winter hours: October 1 - April 30;
closed on public holidays)

Public attractions are open Mon. - Sat., 9 a.m. -
4 p.m. & Sun. 1 - 4 p.m.; trails and roadways are
closed when snow-covered. The Gift and Plant Shop
is open Mon..- Sat., 1 1a.m. - 4 p.m. & Sun. 1 - 4 p.m.
(The shop is closed weekdays from 1 - 1 :30 p.m.)

• All visitors must pick up a free permit at the
Gifford House Visitor and Education Center on
Route 44 A for access to lES public attractions.
Permits are available until 3:00 p.m. daily.

MEMBERSHIP

Become a member of the Institute of Ecosystem
Studies. Benefits include a member's rate for lES
courses and excursions, a 10% discount on Gift Shop
purchases, a free subscription to the lES Newsletter,
and participation in a reciprocal admissions program,
with benefits at over 100 nature centers, forest
preserves, gardens and conservatories in the U.S. and
Canada. Individual membership is $30; family
membership is $40. For information on memberships,
call Janice Claiborne at 914/677-5343.

House Visitor and Education Center:

INSTITUTE OF
ECOSYSTEM STUDIES
Education Program
Box R

Millbrook, New York 12545-0178

Nonprofit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID

Millbrook, N.Y.
Permit No. 16

Newsletter

Volume 10, Number 6
November - December 1993

100% Recycled
Paper