Abstract:
Contains the Following Research Reports: Variability of Electrical Resistivity at Rice Creek Field Station, Oswego, New York: Implications for the Distribution of Groundwater; A Survey of Small Mammal Populations at Rice Creek Field Station (Year 3); Butterfly Populations at Rice Creek Field Station, The 1998 Season
Description:
The summer of 1998 saw the continuation of the two long-term biological studies that initiated the Rice Creek Associates small grants program and the addition of a new project in the earth sciences. Rice Creek Associates was again joined by Oswego State's Division of Continuing Education and Office of Research and Sponsored Programs in support of the 1998 research efforts. Diane Chepko-Sade and Peter and Nick Weber indicate that the three years of data now available from their respective studies provide evidence of patterns of fluctuating population densities and environmentally related changes in habitat utilization that should lend significant insights into the dynamics of ecology at Rice Creek Field Station. Dave Valentino and Sam Peavy's explorations of innovative, non-invasive techniques for investigating conditions and structures beneath the surface of the earth open a whole new dimension to the natural history of the Field Station and the region. Diane is currently developing techniques of data management that will help her and her students track the fortunes of small mammal populations at Rice Creek in future years. Peter is well into the development of a monographic treatment of our butterfly populations. I am especially intrigued by Dave and Sam's suggestion that Lake Ontario, while receiving the surface runoff from a large part of north-central New York State, may at the same time be contributing water back into our subsurface aquifers. This year again I am left with the feeling that my enhanced understanding of the part of the world where I live and work is a significant return from the task of editing and formatting these reports.
Andrew P. Nelson, Director Rice Creek Field Station June 19, 1999
