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Husband and wife team Luis Malaret and Dianne Rocheleau bring students into the field to study the effects of forest management practice on the habitats of reptiles, amphibians and ants. |
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Changes in the 'hood
Professors Luis Malaret and Dianne Rocheleau's research
You're an American toad living in the cool leaf litter at the base of a shady tree. Suddenly, there are a lot of giants with big boots and noisy equipment stomping around in your neighborhood. The next day your tree is gone. Do you pack up the family and head for new digs, or do you hunker down and wait out the chaos?
The Adirondack setting
Ecologist Luis Malaret and geographer Dianne Rocheleau focus their research on several study sites near the village of Tupper Lake (pop. 3,935) in the Adirondack Park region of upstate New York. This part of New York is mountainous, heavily forested, largely rural, and sparsely populated. The Adirondacks have for decades been popular with hunters, fishermen, hikers, campers and summer tourists looking to "rusticate." Situated here is Lake Placid, the site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. The town of Saranac Lake was an international destination during the first half of the 20th century for tuberculosis patients hoping to be cured by the pure mountain air. Important economic activities today include logging and tourism.
Forest management and animal diversity
Malaret and Rocheleau's study examines how forest management practices affect animal diversity--that is, the number and kinds of animals living in a particular area. Their research makes use of several plots of land owned by Paul Smith's College, a foresty college near Tupper Lake. On those plots the College is conducting their own experiments on how forest management practices affect vegetation. One plot is left with the forest cover intact. At another plot, a forest clear-cut is simulated, while on the third plot only selected trees are removed. The scientists are investigating the effect of these practices on the vegetation of each plot. How does the vegetation change? How does it grow back? What does not grow back?
Participants
Malaret and Rocheleau are collaborating in this research with Marla Emery and Gary Wade of the USDA Forest Service. Several graduate and undergraduate students have assisted them in their field work, including Robin Roth, Alice Havorka, Monika Szymurska '01, Rachel Regeczi '03 (click for an online interview), and Loretta Neal '03.
The research process
Malaret and Rocheleau's examination of the animal population extends the Paul Smith's College's vegetation study. The Clark team has chosen to focus on several animals that are important indicators of environmental change: reptiles (snakes), amphibians (salamanders, frogs, and toads), and ants. In each year of the study the research team will travel to the forestry plots for 1-2 weeks in the month of June, and count the number and types of these animals found within several 23-meter diameter circles. Photographs are taken and information about the animals recorded in a field book. Samples of ants are sent to myrmecologists (scientists who study ants) for identification.
In 1999 Malaret and Rocheleau began the study with a survey of these animals before any changes were made to the forest plots. The animals were counted again in June 2000, after forest management practices had been implemented. Follow-up surveys will take place in June 2001, 2002, and 2003. Malaret hopes that funding will be available to continue the research in 2009, 2014, and 2019.
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Additional Resources
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Study area in New York state. Enlarge.
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American toad
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Garter snake
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Dusky salamander
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