Associate Professor of Biology William A. Pfitsch and Ernest H. Williams, the Christian A. Johnson Excellence in Teaching Professor of Biology, have published the article "Habitat restoration for lupine and specialist butterflies" in Restoration Ecology 17(2):226-233.
This study summarizes the summer research that Pfitsch and Williams conducted at the Rome Sand Plains between 2001 and 2006. Over that time a number of summer research students participated in this work: Dan Catlin '01, Ted Valenti '01, Katryna Swartwout '02, Stephanie Dunn '03, Charlotte Hodde '04, Krista Marran '04, Sarah McNeil '04, Ashley Kuenzi '05, Megan Malone '06, Jane Fitzgerald '07, Heather Michael '07, Luke Thornblade '07, Max Falkoff '08, Jenney Stringer '08, Sarah Bertino '09 and Will Caffry '09.
Additional students continued summer research in the Rome Sand Plains during the summers of 2007 and 2008, and work will continue at this site this summer.
Their studies have focused on habitat restoration at the Rome Sand Plains for declining wild blue lupine and a state threatened butterfly, the Frosted Elfin. White pines have invaded the sand barrens in this region. To examine their effect, the researchers removed canopy white pines, which then led to enhanced growth of lupine plants and altered distribution and habitat usage by the frosted elfins. Tree removal did not increase germination of new lupine plants, however, so continuing studies are addressing this aspect of habitat management.
Pfitsch and Williams were supported and assisted in this work by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, the Central and Western New York Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, the National Wildlife Federation, and by Hamilton College.
This study summarizes the summer research that Pfitsch and Williams conducted at the Rome Sand Plains between 2001 and 2006. Over that time a number of summer research students participated in this work: Dan Catlin '01, Ted Valenti '01, Katryna Swartwout '02, Stephanie Dunn '03, Charlotte Hodde '04, Krista Marran '04, Sarah McNeil '04, Ashley Kuenzi '05, Megan Malone '06, Jane Fitzgerald '07, Heather Michael '07, Luke Thornblade '07, Max Falkoff '08, Jenney Stringer '08, Sarah Bertino '09 and Will Caffry '09.
Additional students continued summer research in the Rome Sand Plains during the summers of 2007 and 2008, and work will continue at this site this summer.
Their studies have focused on habitat restoration at the Rome Sand Plains for declining wild blue lupine and a state threatened butterfly, the Frosted Elfin. White pines have invaded the sand barrens in this region. To examine their effect, the researchers removed canopy white pines, which then led to enhanced growth of lupine plants and altered distribution and habitat usage by the frosted elfins. Tree removal did not increase germination of new lupine plants, however, so continuing studies are addressing this aspect of habitat management.
Pfitsch and Williams were supported and assisted in this work by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, the Central and Western New York Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, the National Wildlife Federation, and by Hamilton College.
