Support Needed for Important Staten Island Ecological Study

NEW YORK - April 20, 2015 - PRLog -- Seth Wollney,  PhD Student CUNY College of Staten Island; is looking for funding for an important Staten Island NYC ecological research project. Wollney say's "Like most people, we New Yorkers want to live in a healthy, sustainable city. To that end, there may be nothing more important than having rich greenspaces that support abundant biodiversity within the urban landscapes that make our city a thriving metropolis."

Ponds are noted for their abundant and rich varieties of plant and animal life, which all are maintained in a delicate ecological balance. Life forms range from microscopic bacteria to insects, fish, small animals, and birds. As ponds age, the number of species living in it steadily increases until, finally, the growth of larger plants, algae, and the accumulation of wastes convert it into a marsh or cause it to dry up.

Since the summer of 2012,  a research team has been working at various ponds around Staten Island, New York. Experimental sites were selected because of their differing histories and physical characteristics. For research, turtles in the selected sites were captured and obseved in an on-going ecology and health study. Collaborators on this project include the American Museum of Natural History, Authentic Research Experience in Microbiology Brooklyn College – CUNY, Staten Island Zoo and the Staten Island Museum

Parks, wetlands, and open areas provide countless benefits to city dwellers. Clean air and water, space to recreate, and budding trees keep us connected with the natural world while helping to support wildlife in surround habitats. Restoration and conservation of these important “ecosystem services” could not be possible without scientific understanding of the functioning and processes that occur. The first step to building a better city through ecology is to identify the organisms at each designated research site.

Ecological research funding has decreased in recent years as the need for and number of research projects has increased, making the grants game extremely competitive.  Funding for the research has been  crowd funding page on Experiment.com.  Experiment.com helps fund the next wave of scientific research as a platform for enabling new scientific discoveries.

Once funds are raised, all donations will be transferred to an account at the CUNY Research Foundation which will then be made available for research activities such as genetic sequencing and field assistants.

Experiment.com is an “all-or-none” site which requires that the fundraising campaign reach a funding goal of $17,000 in order to receive any of the donations by May 19, 2015!

Visit http://www.Experiment.com/NYCeDNA for more information on how to donate. If you have any questions about this project or how to donate, you can contact:

Seth Wollney, Doctoral Student

College of Staten Island and Graduate Center - CUNY

Seth.Wollney@csi.cuny.edu