DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMALS IN DIFFERENT VEGETATIVE HABITATS WITHIN PIERMONT MARSH, NY

We set out to study how the animals in Piermont Marsh have acclimated to the increase of invasive species, Phragmites australis. Our research is to determine if P. australis affects the animals’ shelter locations, foraging, and ability to survive. We began our investigation by setting up camera traps to see what animals are in Piermont Marsh. The Ecology team spent the first few weeks collecting qualitative data on the different animals in and around Piermont Marsh. We collected data on large animals, which include mainly deer and fox, as well as flying predators, such as Osprey. For the remainder of the summer, we set out to find areas in which the vegetative species that are native to the Piermont Marsh are dominant in order to compare the animals that are located in those areas to the animals located in dense P. australis areas. In such locations, we setup our sites using the point count method. In the next field season, we plan to expand within current sites and add new ones.