Volume 18, Number 2
March - April 2001

The Institute of Ecosystem Studies has
been fortunate over the past few years to
have the assistance of young professionals
working through service organizations
such as AmeriCorps and the Student
Conservation Association.

These interns, who typically spend from
several months to two years at IES, have
worked in the Education Program and in
the Native Plant Program. They have lent
their energy and creativity to developing
and teaching our Ecology Field Programs
for School Groups. They have written
articles for the IES Newsletter, including
this issue (page 3), and have created
interpretive materials for the many
visitors to our display gardens; one such,
a Fern Glen Trail Guide , will be published
shortly. They also have contributed their
time to the local community, as educa-
tors, scout leaders and, in one case, as an
EMT.

We thank our interns, past, present and
future. Their contributions to the
Institute’s programs are outstanding.

The IES Newsletter is published by the
Institute of Ecosystem Studies, located at the
Mary Flagler Cary Arboretum in Millbrook,
New York.

Director: Gene E. Likens
Administrator: Joseph S. Warner
Head of Education: Alan R. Berkowitz
Newsletter Editor: Jill Cadwallader

Address newsletter correspondence to:

Public Information Office
Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Education Program, Box R
Millbrook NY 12545-0178
e-mail: CadwalladerJ@ecostudies.org

Printing: Central Press, Millbrook, N.Y.

Do the Few Speak for the Many? -
Bacteria and Carbon in the Hudson River

MOUNT MARCY, Adirondack Park —
Water flowing down the slopes of Mount
Marcy, the highest peak in New York state, is
the source of the Hudson River. And the
soils and hillsides of surrounding Essex
County, 375 miles north of where the river
flows into New York Harbor, are just the
first of some 13,000 square miles of water-
sheds that drain into tributaries and into the
Hudson River itself. The river, for all its
power, is at the mercy of these watersheds
when it comes to the quality of its ecosys-
tem, and the long-term health of this most
majestic of waters depends in no small
measure upon resident creatures that are
essentially invisible.

MILLBROOK, N.Y. — Scientists at the
Institute of Ecosystem Studies are studying
the ecology of the Hudson River, from its
microscopic primary producers to the larger
plants and animals whose lives depend on
their tiny rivermates. The newest member of
the scientific team is postdoctoral associate
Dr. Roxane Maranger, whose research is
supported by the Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of
Canada. Dr. Maranger is studying microbial
carbon dynamics, the exchange of carbon (a
nutrient that is critical for life) between
bacteria and the river environment.

regularly spaced along this 200 km (125 mi)
tidal freshwater reach. One of her goals is to
determine if there is a spatial pattern to
microbial production and respiration, and if
knowledge of this pattern can aid in
understanding the whole river system. In
other words, can data gathered at one part of
the river be extrapolated to other parts?

“Historically,” explains Maranger, “produc-
tion has been the focus of attention, but in
die last decade or so more emphasis has been
put on respiration as an important compo-
nent of carbon dynamics.” After analyzing
the samples she collected last year, Maranger
found that while respiration remains more or
less the same along the entire transect,
production rates were higher in the northern
reaches — more carbon was being converted
to biomass in that part of the river.

What drives the production part of the
microbial carbon cycle? She has two
hypotheses. First, in the portion of the river
near Albany, the organic matter that bacteria
consume may be of higher nutritional value.
And second, there is less grazing pressure
there than in the southern stretch, where
there are more zebra mussels and other
consumers. In other words, in the northern

continued on page 2

Bacteria are just single-celled
organisms but they are major forces
in all the world’s rivers, and they
play an especially important role in
the Hudson River ecosystem. An
average bacterium is 1 g-meter long -
it would take about 25,400 of them,
in a line, to reach 2.5 cm (one inch).
How can such miniscule creatures be
so powerful? The answer lies in their
ability to convert nutrients to living
matter: their role in the carbon cycle
involves production, the process by
which they take up carbon to create
cellular material, and respiration,
during which they release carbon
back to the environment. The
balance of these two processes -
production and respiration - will
determine whether bacteria act to
add organic carbon to, or remove it
from, the river.

Maranger’s research spans the
distance from Albany south to the
Tappan Zee Bridge some 45 kilo-
meters (28 miles) north of New York
Harbor. Working in the river’s deep
central channel, she collects water
samples each month, from April
through October, at 40 stations

Rivers are Roxane Maranger’s outdoor laboratories.

Bacteria and Carbon, from page 1

part of the river, production is being
controlled from the bottom (food quality)
up, and, to the south, from the top (preda-
tors) down. However, with respiration levels
remaining relatively constant along the
length of the study area, Maranger deter-
mined that we can estimate the bacterial
carbon balance of whole reaches of the river
using results from a few sampling sites.

Of all the major aquatic ecosystems, rivers
remain the most poorly understood. Not
only that, but large rivers tend to be heavily
affected by pollutants. “Because of the work
done by IES ecologists over the years,”
Maranger says, “there’s a good understanding
of the Hudson River ecosystem. This isn’t
necessarily true of other rivers. I came to the

Institute of Ecosystem Studies in order to
learn more about how to study river
dynamics.” Maranger will carry these skills
with her when she continues her research in
other, less well-studied aquatic systems.

* * * * *

Roxane J. Maranger’s two year postdoctoral
appointment at IES began in January 2000,
after she received her doctorate in environ-
mental science at the Universite du Quebec a
Montreal. As an undergraduate at McGill
University, also in Montreal, with a joint
major in biology and drama, she found the
theories of behavioral ecology and social
structure to be useful in her drama studies.
Those who know her here at IES — for
example, the volunteers attending the

Institute’s annual Volunteer Recognition
Ceremony in April, where she was the guest
speaker — will agree that she can also bring a
touch of the theater to explanations of
ecology. Maranger credits her interest in all
things aquatic to childhood summers spent
on a lake in northern Ontario.

Maranger collaborates on this study with
Drs. Michael Pace, at IES, and Paul del
Giorgio, himself a former IES postdoctoral
associate now working at the University of
Maryland’s Horn Point Laboratory.

Maranger is supported in her work by
research assistants David Fischer (see
following article), Heather Malcom, Alex
Nixon and Gregory Lampman. •

Research Support Staff: Part 2 of a Series

David Fischer, of the Hudson River
Group

There’s a spot in the Hudson River, between
Rhinecliff on the eastern shore and Kingston
to the west, that David Fischer has visited
every two weeks, from April to December,
since 1987. Routine collection of water
samples from this spot, east of the shipping
channel where the water is approximately 7
meters (just over 20 feet) deep, provides a
continuous record of physical, chemical and
biological parameters. The resulting long-
term data are a baseline against which
Institute of Ecosystem Studies scientists and
their colleagues elsewhere can monitor
changes in the Hudson River.

But this biweekly voyage is only one of
the jobs on Fischer’s task list. As research
assistant for Drs. Michael Pace and Stuart
Findlay, he also lends his expertise to their
postdoctoral associates, graduate students and
Research Experiences for Undergraduates
students, dividing his time between work in
the field — primarily on the Hudson River
but also on local lakes and streams and at on-
site experiments — and in the laboratory.

A typical day of field work on the Hudson
River begins when Fischer picks up the
Institute’s Boston whaler on its trailer, and
drives to a public boat ramp on the river’s
eastern shore. At the sampling sites, either
the long-term monitoring station described
above or at other locations, he collects river
water and makes some measurements
immediately while preserving the rest of the
sample for later analysis in the laboratory.
When assisting Dr. Maranger (see previous
article), for example, he pilots the boat from
Albany to the Tappan Zee Bridge, collects
samples at the 40 stations, and uses an
automatic sensor called a sonde to measure
temperature, dissolved oxygen and turbidity.
He preserves the remainder of each sample
for laboratory mea-
surements of seston
(suspended particulate
matter), dissolved
organic carbon, and
bacterial production.

His field work for Pace,
Findlay and the others
involves similar
techniques and analyses.

Fischer has been
involved in some large-
scale experiments done
on-site at the Institute as
well. For example,
several years ago he
helped Findlay and former graduate
student William Sobczak build and use a
hyporheotron, a device that mimics the
flow of a stream through sediment. Its use
facilitates study of the microbial community
that thrives in hyporheic sediments, the
gravel bars through which water flows along
the course of a meandering stream. The IES
hyporheotron is a 3-meter (approx. 10 foot)
pipe partially filled with gravel; as stream

water flows through the pipe, the scientists
sample oxygen, dissolved organic carbon
and the microbial community itself —
bacterial numbers and production levels
— at intervals along its length.

With this year’s field season underway,
Fischer’s skills are in demand. In addition to
setting up hyporheotrons at IES, assisting
undergraduate and graduate students with
their field work, and continuing sampling
and routine monitoring in the Hudson River,
he will work for a while in Michigan and
Wisconsin. There, at the University of
Notre Dame Environmental Research
Center, he has been asked to train a new
research assistant working with Drs. Pace
and Jonathan Cole on a lake study. •
* * * * *

David Fischerjoined the Institute’s staff in
1987, after receiving his bachelor’s degree in
ecology at the State University of New York in
Purchase. He and his wife Heather, whom he
met while at Purchase, and their daughter
Maya live in Dover Plains, N. Y.

Forest-Free “Domtar Weeds”

We’re trying something new with the IES
Newsletter', beginning with the previous
issue, it is being printed on a new paper,
called Domtar Weeds, made of non-tree
fibers from sugar cane and hemp plants.

Sugar cane is one of the world’s most
widely grown crops; as such, its fibers —
natural by-products of sugar-making — are
readily available for other uses. Hemp, the
strongest natural fiber, lends strength and
durability to the paper. In addition, it takes
less energy to process and can be recycled
more times than wood fiber.

David Fischer is a key player with the IES Hudson River research team.

Beyond Syrup: Ecological Connections in the Sugar Bush

by Jamie McBride

I’m awake again! The temperature is rising
and it’s starting to fed like spring. It seems like
just yesterday I was basking in the summer sun,
spreading my leaves to its warm rays. I made
food through photosynthesis and used that food
to grow stronger, produce seeds, andpreparefor
utinter. It was a great year to be a tree! When
the weatherfmally turned cool, I was ready for
a long winterrest.Ihadstoredfoodand
nutrients in my trunk and roots, and when my
last leaf fell I gradually shut down and waited
out the winter. Now it’s getting warmer and
the forest is coming alive. The food I stored last
fall will help me get my new leaves growing . . .

The sugar maple ( Acersaccharum ) — like all
plants — photosynthesizes to make its food.
Photosynthesis is the process by which light
energy from the sun is captured and used to
make sugar from carbon dioxide and water.
While the plant uses much of this sugar
immediately, it stores some over tire winter
to give energy for spring growth. As water
enters the tree through the roots, it picks up
some of the stored sugar; this sugary water is
called sap. Exacdy what makes sap flow up
from the roots to branches is not completely
understood, but research by tire U.S. Forest
Service suggests the explanation lies in
positive pressure that builds inside the tree
from springtime temperature fluctuations.

If tree bark is penetrated, sap oozes out of
the hole due to the built up pressure.
Humans take advantage of this. During
March you may see buckets or tubes hanging
from sugar maple trunks collecting sap that
will be boiled down to make syrup. Sugar
maple sap (which this article may help you
appreciate more the next time you pour
syrup over your pancakes!), is one of the
links we humans have to the sugar maple.

What other species interact with this tree?
Like humans, the yellow-bellied sapsucker
and winter stonefly are attracted to its sap.
Defoliating insects and white-tailed deer
browse on its leaves, twigs, and buds. The
eastern bluebird and red squirrel are among
the animals that use the tree for shelter. The
tree benefits from relationships as well:
mycorrhizal fungi, for example, live on the
roots and help tire sugar maple bring in
nutrients and water.

Let’s focus on two of the creatures that
interact with the sugar maple, the yellow-
bellied sapsucker and the fiery searcher.

The sapsucker, a woodpecker, taps holes in
the bark of the tree and eats the flowing sap.
This interaction may seem small, but it is
part of a larger chain of events. Sap-eating
insects, for example, are attracted to the

During March, 28 school groups came to the Institute
to learn about the ecology of the sugar bush. Here,
with 3 rd graders from the Titusville Intermediate
School in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., is IES educator Jamie
McBride, a Student Conservation Association intern.

oozing woodpecker holes. When the
sapsucker, whose diet is not solely
vegetarian, comes to the tapped holes it
finds a concentration of insects and has a
nourishing meal. Other animals, like
warblers, kinglets, and squirrels, also eat
both sap and insects, and will make
woodpecker holes their feeding station.

Fungi, entering “wounds” in the bark,
can attack the heartwood. As the wood
decays and cavities develop, sapsuckers
may find shelter there and an abandoned
sapsucker nest may in turn become a
home to other cavity nesters such as the
eastern bluebird and black-capped
chickadee.

The fiery searcher, a black and green
beetle between 25-36 millimeters (1- 1 '
inches) long, feeds on leaf-eating caterpillars.
Since leaves are the site of photosynthesis, the
protection these beetles afford is crucial to
the well-being of the tree. The fiery searcher
lives under leaves and debris on the forest
floor and will climb sugar maples in search
of food. The tree provides habitat, shade and
a supply of caterpillars, while the beetle
provides a service by eating herbivorous
insects. Unfortunately for the beetle, its
presence may draw insect-eating birds like
the American robin, which could limit the
numbers of fiery searchers.

Over the past 50 years there has been
evidence that sugar maple trees are declining
in number through human accelerated
environmental change including acid rain and
the use of road salt. An article published
recently in Bioscience by a number of
scientists including the Institute’s own Drs.
Gene Likens and Kathleen Weathers and Mr.
Thomas Butler, reported positive correlations
between acid rain deposition and sugar maple
diebacks in the Northeast*. Like the taste of

syrup on the morning pancakes, this is a
reminder that humans are a part of all of
Earth’s ecosystems, not separated from them.
We alter the Earth to suit our needs and, like
other species, our actions are not free of
consequences. •

Jamie McBride came to IES as an intern though
the Student Conservation Association and
Audubon Expedition Institute where he is
completing a master’s degree in environ mental
education. While at IES, Jamie worked in the
Education Program teaching sugar maple
ecology and assisting with curriculum
development fix an urban ecosystem study
project in elementary schoolyards.

’ Driscoll, Charles T., Gregory B. Lawrence,
Arthur J. Bulger, Thomas J. Butler, Christopher
S. Cronan, Christopher Eagar, Kathleen F.
Lambert, Gene E. Likens, John L. Stoddard,
and Kathleen C. Weathers. Acidic Deposition in
the Northeastern United States: Sources and
Inputs, Ecosystem Effects, and Management
Strategies. Bioscience 51:3 (March 2001).

AmeriCorps member Shannon
Wood is an educator with the
Institute’s Ecology Field
Programs. During late winter, in
addition to leading Maple Sugar
Ecology and Plant Power
programs at IES, she volunteered
her time at an After School
Enrichment Program at Alden
Place Elementary School in
Millbrook. In a six-week
“Gardening in Winter" class, she
and her 3 rd and 4 "> grade students
planted, grew and observed
Swiss chard, carrots, lettuce,
sunflowers and alfalfa sprouts.
Here, she and Leanne Keeley
compare observations of a flat of
seedlings.

INSTITUTE OF
ECOSYSTEM STUDIES
Education Program
Box R

Millbrook, New York 12545-0178

Newsletter

Volume 18, Number 2
March - April 2001

Nonprofit Org.
US Postage
PAID

Millbrook, NY
Permit No. 16

Printed on
100% Recycled
Paper

CONTINUING EDUCATION

For information, or to request a catalogue, call the
Continuing Education office at 845-677-9643 or visit
www.ecostudies.org/cep . May - June programs are:
Gardening

May 12: Kitchen Gardening

June 3 (3 sessions): Gardening with Children

June 23: Beginning with Herbs

Landscape Design

June 2: Site Preparation for EES Gardens
June 23-24: Transit and Level Use

Biology

June 9-10: Tree Identification
June 16: Ethnobotany of North America
Natural Science Illustration
May 18: Wildlife Sketching at the Zoo
May 19-20: Painting Wildlife
June 9 and 21 : Spring Field Sketching
Natural Crafts and Skills
May 1 2: Spring Nature Crafts with Kids
June 3 or 23: Brentwood Trellis
Workshop

June 2: Pond Ecology and Management
June 16: Backyard Wildlife Sanctuaries

Excursion

May 19: Cats kill Mountain Ecosystems

June 2: Canoe Exploration of the Great Swamp

June 9: Ecology of Black Rock Forest

June 16. Touring an Ecovillage: Sirius Community

SATURDAY ECOLOGY PROGRAM
Free public programs are held the first Saturday of
each month. These guided programs begin at 10 a.m.
at die Gifford House and last approximately two
hours. Call 845-677-7600 ext. 321 for information on
the following:

June 2. Late Spring Wildilower Walk
July 7: Nature Photography

IES SEMINARS

Free scientific seminars are held on Fridays from
September until early May. The fall schedule will be
available in August.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Become an IES Docent . . . For information, call Su
Marcy at 845-677-7600 ext. 317.

Calendar

SPRING PLANT SALE

perennials . . .peonies and tree peonies . . .ferns . . .
herbs . . . shrubs and trees ...and much more
Friday, May 18: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Saturday, May 19: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Sunday, May 20: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

ART EXHIBIT

Remnants: Ancient Forests and City Trees

by Prilla Smith Brackett

Photographs that the artist took while hiking in old
growth forest in New Hampshire and Maine
provided the subject matter for this series of
paintings. “Our view of wilderness is rooted in our
20th century consciousness,” Brackett writes in the
brochure accompanying her exhibit. “We see
resource, recreation, opportunity where once we saw
beauty. My work explores this view, depicting the
precarious existence of northern New England old
growth forests.”

Brackett’s paintings are on display at the Plant
Science Building through the end of May (except
Memorial Day, May 28). Hours: Monday through
Friday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Admission is by free
access permit from the Gifford House (see below).

THE ECOLOGY SHOP

New in the Shop ... jar candles with pressed flower
designs ... locally-made bead jewelry ... for children
... beetle finger puppets ... bingo games (science/
nature/wildflower) ... in the Garden Room . . .
scented geraniums ... herbs ... violets ... pansies
Senior Citizens Days: 10% off on Wednesdays

HOURS

Summer Hours: April 1 - September 30
Public attractions are open Mon. - Sat., 9 a.m-
6 p.m. & Sun. 1-6 p.m., with a free permit.

(Note: The Greenhouse closes at 3:30 p.m. daily.)
The Ecology Shop is open Mon - Fri., 11 a.m.-
5 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. & Sun. 1-5 p.m.

(The shop is closed weekdays from 1-1:30 p.m.)

• Freepermits are requiredfor visitors and are
available at the Gifford House Visitor and Education
Center until one hour before closing time.

GREENHOUSE

The large century plant ( Agave americana), a resident
of the Greenhouse since 1981, suddenly began
growing its once-in-a-Iifetime flower on April 23. The
following day, Greenhouse Manager David Bulkeley
removed the ceiling pane above the plant so the stalk
could grow; by the time the flower blooms, Bulkeley
says, the stalk could be over 10 meters (35 feet) tall.

MEMBERSHIP

Join the Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Benefits
include subscription to tire newsletter, member’s rate
for courses and excursions, a 10% discount on IES
Ecology Shop purchases, and participation in a
reciprocal admissions program. Individual member-
ship: $40; family membership: $50.

Call the IES Development Office at 845-677-5343.

The Institute’s Aldo Leopold Society
In addition to receiving the benefits listed above,
members of The Aldo Leopold Society are invited
guests at spring and fall IES science updates.

Call the IES Development Office at 845-677-5343-

TO CONTACT EES ...

... for research, graduate opportunities, library
and administration:

Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Box AB, Millbrook NY 12545-0129
Tel: 845-677-5343 • Fax: 845-677-5976
Street address: Plant Science Building,

65 Sharon Tpke. (Rte. 44A), Millbrook, N.Y.

... for education, general information and The
Ecology Shop:

Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Education Program,

Box R, Millbrook NY 12545-0178
Tel: 845-677-5359 • Fax: 845-677-6455
The Ecology Shop: 845-677-7600 ext. 309
Street address: Gifford House Visitor and
Education Center, 181 Sharon Tpke. (Rte. 44A),
Millbrook, N.Y.

... IES Website: www.ecostudies.org

For information on current IES public events and attractions, visit: www.ecostudies.org/welcome/ThisWeek.htmL
For garden tips, follow the link to the Perennial Garden Archives.