Student Searches for Solutions to Florida’s Droughts

Tuesday, August 31 9:55 am

2010 Young Naturalist Award winner Annika studied the effect of a manufacturing byproduct on the water-retaining properties of grass. Credit: Photo courtesy of Annika

Driving along Florida highways with her family, 12-year-old Annika couldn’t help but notice huge stacks of gray, chalky material piled high in nearby fields — and to wonder what it was.

When she learned that this material was phosphogypsum — a waste product of phosphate fertilizer manufacturing that is difficult to dispose because it contains low amounts of radium — Annika began to think about ways to put those chalky piles to use. Her research led to some interesting findings — and to a winning entry in the 2010 Young Naturalist Awards.

Aware of Central Florida’s severe drought and water shortage, Annika began to research phosphogypsum’s properties to find out if it could be mixed with soil to help retain water. If so, Annika would be finding a way conserve water while turning a manufacturing waste product into an asset for the community.

To test her hypothesis, she planted four pans with St. Augustine grass. She added varying amounts of phosphogypsum to three of the pans, carefully watered the grass for several weeks, then simulated drought conditions and recorded the results. While her findings were not conclusive, Annika’s experiment did show that phosphogypsum might help to conserve water during periods of drought, which she recounts in her essay Project Phosphogypsum: The Effect of Phosphogypsum on the Water-Retaining Properties of St. Augustine Grass.

The panel of judges, including Museum scientists and staff, who read Annika’s essay praised her for researching a topic so relevant to a problem facing her community. Annika plans to continue experiments in the hopes of finding a safe and environmentally friendly use for phosphogypsum.

To learn more about Annika’s research and to read about the 12 other winners from 2010, visit the Young Naturalist Awards website.

The Young Naturalist Awards is a nationwide, science-based research contest for students in grades 7 through 12 presented by the Museum. Since 2006, the program has been made possible through the exceptional generosity of Alcoa Foundation as part of its commitment to supporting student achievement in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines.

To learn more about the Young Naturalist Awards, visit amnh.org/yna.

Lights, Camera, Action: Museum Launches Rose Center Anniversary Video Contest

Monday, August 30 4:59 pm

Science is explosive… and it makes for awesome videos. In two minutes or less, show us how recent science breakthroughs have moved you, inspired you, or impacted your life. The winner will receive a weekend trip for two to New York City to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the Museum on October 10. For a complete list of rules, click here.

‘Stocky Dragon,’ A European Velociraptor Relative, Described

1:30 pm

Balaur bondoc — the first reasonably complete skeleton of a carnivorous dinosaur from the last part of the Age of Dinosaurs in Europe, a description of which appears as the cover article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today — provides insight into an ecosystem very different from that of today. Europe at the end of the Cretaceous was an island archipelago dominated by smaller and more primitive animals than related species living on larger landmasses. Balaur bondoc, though similar in size to its relative, Velociraptor, has unusual features.

“We’ve all been waiting for something like this,” says Mark Norell, chair of the Division of Paleontology at the Museum. “Balaur bondoc is heavy, with unexpectedly stocky limbs and fused bones. It shows just how unusual the fauna of the area was during the waning years of the dinosaur era.”

Balaur bondoc, whose scientific name means “stocky dragon,” is a partial skeleton that was unearthed in Romania. It has 20 unique features when compared to its nearest relatives, including a re-evolved functional big toe with a large claw that can be hyperextended, presumably to slash prey. This feature, when combined with the large claw on the second toe that is typical of Balaur’s relatives, makes the new species double-clawed. Its feet and legs are short and stocky, with bones fused together, and the pelvis has enormous muscle attachment areas, indicating that this species was adapted for strength over speed. Finally, its hand is atrophied and some of the bones are fused, features that would have made grasping difficult.

“Balaur is a new breed of predatory dinosaur,” says Stephen Brusatte, a graduate student at Columbia University who is affiliated with the Museum. “Its anatomy shows that it probably hunted in a different way than its less stocky relatives. Compared to Velociraptor, Balaur was probably more of a kickboxer than a sprinter, and it might have been able to take down larger animals than itself, as many carnivores do today.”

The fossilized hindlimb Balaur bondoc showing the double sickle claws of the foot, one of 20 unique features found on a Late Cretaceous island in what is now Europe. Credit: Mick Ellison

Looking Up in Central Park: Museum-Led Bird Walks Start in September

Thursday, August 26 4:01 pm

There’s no better way to celebrate fall than to observe bird migration on an eight-week series of walks through Central Park with Museum naturalists Stephen C. Quinn, Joseph DiCostanzo, and Harold Feinberg. Leading groups of up to 25 birders, these experienced tour guides teach participants to use field marks, habitat, behavior, and song to identify birds. Check out a video of a bird walk led by Stephen Quinn below.

Bronx Student Snaps Up Young Naturalist Award

Tuesday, August 24 10:46 am

2010 Young Naturalist Award winner Erik Z. studied snapping turtles in the Bronx, collecting data on more than 200 turtles. Courtesy of Erik Z.

How many snapping turtles do you think you can find in the Bronx?

Last year, Erik Z., then a rising senior at New York’s Bronx High School of Science, launched a research project to find out how these large and magnificent animals manage to survive in New York City. Erik, who has always been fascinated by reptiles, also wondered if turtle populations differed depending on their proximity to humans. His study eventually led him to capture, collect data on, and release 225 snapping turtles — and to win one of this year’s Young Naturalist Awards.

For his award-winning study, Erik first identified four very different turtle habitats throughout the Bronx. Some habitats were in more developed areas while others were farther from human activity. He then set out to capture and collect data on snapping turtles at each location, carefully weighing and identifying the sex of each animal in addition to marking the carapace of each turtle he caught before releasing them.

Erik’s analysis of the data showed that the population of turtles in each location was distinct and that the sex ratio differed widely depending on turtles’ proximity to humans. (To find out why, and to read about the 12 other winners from 2010, visit the Young Naturalist Awards website.)

Erik’s essay, Investigating the Ecology of Chelydra s. serpentine, the Common Snapping Turtle in a Highly Urban Setting, was of such caliber that Christopher Raxworthy, associate curator in the Museum’s Department of Herpetology, said, “With a little extra work, this could be published in a scientific journal.”

Erik plans to pursue research as an undergraduate. This fall, he entered the renowned herpetology program at the University of Kansas.

The Young Naturalist Awards is a nationwide, science-based research contest for students in grades 7 through 12 presented by the Museum. Since 2006, the program has been made possible through the exceptional generosity of Alcoa Foundation as part of its commitment to supporting student achievement in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines.

To learn more about the Young Naturalist Awards, visit amnh.org/yna.