2023 Long Island Natural History Conference

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 2023 Long Island Natural History Conference! Whether you were with us in person at the Scully Estate or watched the live stream, we hope you found it to be informative and enjoyable.  We hope you’ll make plans to join us again in 2024!

All presentations from the 2023 event are posted below and will be added to the full collection of conference presentations in our video library.

A list of posters/authors from the 2023 conference poster session is also provided below.

2023 CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

Long Island Terrestrial Mammal Survey: How to get involved  
Arielle Santos, Conservation Scientist 
Seatuck Environmental Association 
Characterization of Northern Long-eared Bat hibernation behavior in coastal populations infected with White-Nose Syndrome
Casey Pendergast, Threatened & Endangered Species Biologist 
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation 
Assessing salt marsh health on Long Island
Nicole Maher, Ph.D, Senior Coastal Scientist
The Nature Conservancy
The flora and fauna of Fischers Island
Terrence McNamara
H.L. Furgerson Museum, Fishers Island
Disappearing southern New England river herring, data gaps, and the need to revisit incidental bycatch in northwestern Atlantic commercial fisheries
Kevin Job, Fisheries Biologist
CT Department of Energy & Environmental Protection
Peconic bay scallops (Argopecten irradians irradians): current status and potential solutions to restore an iconic and commercially important Long Island shellfish species
Harrison Tobi
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County
Diet and behavior of a pair of Eastern Coyote (Canis latrans) in Nassau County
Stephane Perreault, Naturalist
Greentree Foundation
CONSERVATION UPDATE: Spotted Turtles, Otters & Coyotes
Mike Bottini, Wildlife Biologist
Seatuck Environmental Association
CONSERVATION UPDATE: Plum Island
Louise Harrison, Long Island Natural Areas Manager
Save the Sound
CONSERVATION UPDATE: Central Pine Barrens
Polly Weigand, Science & Stewardship Program Manager
Central Pine Barrens Commission
CONSERVATION UPDATE: River Herring & Eels
Enrico Nardone, Executive Director
Seatuck Environmental Association
CONSERVATION UPDATE: Whale Strandings
Alison DePerte
Atlantic Marine Conservation Society
CONSERVATION UPDATE: Wildlife Collaborative for Offshore Wind
Carl Lobue
The Nature Conservancy
CONSERVATION UPDATE: Vernal Pools, Diamondback Terrapins & Water Reuse
John Turner, Senior Conservation Policy Advocate
Seatuck Environmental Association

2023 CONFERENCE POSTER SESSION

An application of GIS and time series analysis to investigate the Impacts of COVID-19 on groundwater trend fluctuations caused by Manufacturing sites and Residential Living on Long Island, NY
Presenter: Jeff Hope, Department of Geology, Environment & Sustainability, Hofstra University (jhope3@pride.hofstra.edu)Additional Authors: Merlijn Van der Vegt, Grace Varnum, Monae Morrisson-John, Antonios Marsello and K.G Tsakiri

Biogeochemical Activity of Critical Zone Clays on Long Island’s North Shore
Presenter: Vanessa Alfonso, Brooklyn College, CUNY (vmdAlfonso@gmail.com)
Additional Authors: Peter M. Groffman, Zhongqi Cheng, David E. Seidemann, Stephen U. Aja

Evaluating Future Flood Risks in Rockaway, NY through Geomorphological Analysis & Flood
Simulations
Presenter: Nicholas Mead, Department of Geology, Environment & Sustainability, Hofstra University (nmead1@pride.hofstra.edu)
Additional Authors: Jacqueline Bourgeois 

Fine-scale GPS Tracking of Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger): Local and Migratory Movements
Author: Kate Robb, Town of Hempstead Department of Conservation and Waterways (kathrob@hempsteadny.gov)
Additional Authors: Katharine Goodenough, Tara Schneider-Moran, Robert Longiaru 

First Vertebrate Fossils from Cretaceous Strata on Long Island
with New Sedimentological Data & Observations
Presenter: William Jude Hart, Department of Geology, Environment, and Sustainability, Hofstra University (williamjudehart@gmail.com)
Additional Author: J Bret Bennington

Long Island Coyote diets: little seasonal but much geographic variation
Presenter: Russell Burke, Department of Biology, Hofstra University (biorlb@hofstra.edu)
Additional Authors: M. Bottini, T. Brock, N. Duncan, C. Giles, L. Filippi, J. Murray

Passage of PIT-tagged Spawning Alosa pseudoharengus (Alewife) through Rock Ramp Fishway on Peconic River (2020-22)
Presenter: Peter Daniel, Department of Biology, Hofstra University (peter.c.daniel@hofstra.edu)
Additional Authors: Rida Shah 

Seeds as evidence of frugivory in the diets of Long Island Coyotes (Canis latrans)
Presenter: Seth Moody, Department of Biology, Hofstra University (smoody1@pride.hofstra.edu)
Additional Author: Russell Burke

Spatio-temporal Trends of Live Pinniped Strandings Highlighting Human Interaction Cases in New York, 1996-2021
Presenter: Victoria Gluck, New York Marine Rescue Center (vgluck@nymarinerescue.org)
Additional Authors: Wendy J. McFarlane, Joseph Warren, Megan E. Rickard, and Maxine A. Montello 

Survey of leafminers in Northern Nassau County, NY
Presenter: Karissa Hough, Department of Biology, Hofstra University (KHough1@pride.hofstra.edu)
Additional Authors: Stephane Perreault and Russell Burke

The Effect of Topography on Soil Characteristics, Diversity and Biomass in Interior Plots of SUNY Old Westbury Forest
Presenter: Jyoti Pun Mehta, SUNY Old Westbury (jmehta@oldwestbury.edu)
Additional Authors: Fernando Nieto, Kelis S. Figueroa, Kylie A. Snyder, and Lilian C. Mendoza

Tidal Inundation Trends in Hempstead Bay: Trend estimates from tidal data and sedimentation
Presenter: Karolina Vera, Town of Hempstead: Department Conservation and Waterways (verakarolina29@gmail.com)
Additional Authors: James P. Browne and Cassidy Freudenberg 

Tracking Post-Release Movement Patterns in New York’s Rehabilitated Cold Stunned Sea Turtles and Insight into Utilization of Local New York Waters
Presenter: Maxine Montello, New York Marine Rescue Center (mmontello@nymarinerescue.org)
Additional Authors: Joseph Warren and Wendy McFarlane 

Using stable isotopes and trace elements to elucidate the structure of the estuarine food web in Middle Bay, Hempstead, NY
Presenter: Cassidy Freudenberg, Town of Hempstead: Department Conservation and Waterways (cassfre@hempsteadny.gov)
Additional Authors: James P. Browne, Jessica Dutton, Michaela Livingston, and Karolina Vera 

Utilizing A Noninvasive Sampling Method to Estimate Raccoon (Procyon lotor) Movement and Population Size
Presenter: Justin Torres, Department of Biology, Hofstra University (jtorres10@pride.hofstra.edu)
Additional Author: Russell Burke

Diamondback Terrapin populations in the Middle Bay of Hempstead Bay, Long Island, New York
Presenter: Cassidy Freudenberg, Town of Hempstead: Department Conservation and Waterways (cassfre@hempsteadny.gov)
Additional Authors: James P. Browne, Sharon Sclafani, Michael Farina, and Russell Burke 

 

Thank You To Our 2023 Conference Sponsors

Patrons

Group for the East End

PSEG

Sierra Club

 

Supporters

North Fork Audubon Society

Peconic Land Trust

Save the Sound

Save the Great South Bay

South Shore Audubon Society

Friends

American Littoral Society

Canio’s

Center for Environmental Education and Discovery

Central Pine Barrens Commission

Coastal Protection Technologies

Coastal Steward Long Island

Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island

Dropseed Native Landscapes

Four Harbors Audubon Society

Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt

Friends of Wertheim Wildlife Refuge

Huntington-Oyster Bay Audubon Society

Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference, Inc.

Friends

Long Island Pine Barrens Society

New York Flora Association

North Shore Audubon Society

North Shore Land Alliance

NY Marine Rescue Center

Peconic Bay Keeper

Protozone Interactives

Quogue Wildlife Refuge

The Coalition For Hither Woods, Inc.

The Nature Conservancy

Southampton Trails Preservation Society

South Fork Natural History Museum

Surfrider Foundation Eastern Long Island Chapter

About the LI Natural History Conference

The Long Island Natural History Conference is the largest regional forum for the exchange of information about Long Island’s natural history. The annual event brings together Long Island’s leading naturalists to exchange current information, identifies research and management needs, and encourages collaborations and a greater region-wide interest in Long Island’s natural history.

The Conference was established by the Long Island Nature Organization (LINO) in 2012 to support education and research about the natural history of Long Island. The conference resulted from the vision and dedication of Mike Bottini, Tim Green, John Turner and the late James Monaco.

The conference was founded with the following goals:

  • Introduce people doing field research, natural resource management, and conservation projects on Long Island
  • Exchange current information on the natural history of Long Island
  • Identify research and management needs
  • Foster friendships and collegial relationships
  • Encourage a greater region-wide interest in Long Island’s natural history.

Seatuck assumed management of the Long Island Natural History Conference following its merger with LINO in 2020.

Video Library

Thanks to the Brookhaven National Laboratory, the majority of presentations from the first eight conferences (2012-2019) have been recorded and uploaded to YouTube.  A full listing of these recordings (more than 90 in all!) can be found here. You can find presentations by browsing either the SPEAKER INDEX or the TOPIC INDEX below.