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.