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SCIENCE 6 - Species Guide Assignment

Ecosystems - General Information

Project Design Assistance: Greenbelt Native Plant Center - NYC Parks
Find links to specialized lists of appropriate species for several of the ecosystems.

Ecoregions of NY
A big graphic showing ecoregions over the whole state of New York.

Forever Wild: Urban Ecosystems - NYC Parks

Natural Areas Conservancy Map
An interactive map showing the location of several ecosystem types in NYC.

Ecological Community Guides - New York Natural Heritage Program
This is a collection of detailed guides about different ecosystem types. There are multiple pages of links to guides for a variety of ecosystems in NY.

Restoring New York City's Ecosystems in the Face of Climate Change - NYC Parks
This source discusses actions that the city is taking to preserve different ecosystems in NYC.

New York State Wildlife Action Plan - NY State Department of Environmental Conservation
A general wildlife resource for the entire state. You can skim this enormous document to find images and captions of organisms and their relationships.

Salt Marsh

START HERE

Inwood Hill Park - NYC Parks
Includes info about one park and some history of the salt marsh ecosystem.

What is a salt marsh? - National Ocean Service
This is a quick overview of the salt marsh ecosystem.

Salt Marshes - National Park Service
Find a quick overview and more articles linked at the bottom.

Relationship Stuck in the Mud - Envirobites
Envirobites (This reports on an experiment that looked at ecological relationships in a salt march)

Salt Water Marshes - NYC Parks
This resources describes a type of mutualism in salt marshes.

Salt Marsh Food Web - North Carolina Aquariums Education Section
This resource is a lesson plan for teaching about Salt Marshes. It’s full of good information about the food web of a salt marsh as well as the individual organisms that can be found there.

Marine Park - Salt Marshes in New York City Parks - NYC Parks
Includes info about one park and some history of the salt marsh ecosystem

Salt Marsh Habitat by Lauren Kohout - Moulton Ecology, Fall 2020
Local Ecology Spotlight Project emphasizing facilitative interactions, trophic cascades, and future management implications

Nature Lovers Flock To Marine Park Salt Marsh To See Shorebirds by Loretta Chin - Canarsie Courier

Freshwater Wetland

START HERE

Blue Heron Park - NYC Parks
Includes info about one park and background on this ecosystem.

What is a Wetland and 8 Other Wetland Facts - World Wildlife Fund

Freshwater Wetlands Program - New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Gives information on why wetlands are important. Also gives info on NY policies to protect wetlands.

Wetlands in the Watersheds of the New York City Water Supply System - New York City Department of Environmental Protection
A long document mostly focused on upstate with background on what a freshwater wetland is and why it is important.

Ecology of Wetland Ecosystems - Nature Education
This resource describes interactions between biotic and abiotic factors as well as interactions between biotic factors in this ecosystem.

Mount Lorretto Unique Area - NYC Audubon
A unique area wetland on Staten Island. Includes a wildlife list.

New York Freshwater Wetland Symbiosis
Several organism cards with notes allow students to determine symbiotic relationships that exist between some of them.

Upland Forest

START HERE

Forests and the Environment - New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Learn what a forest is and why forests are important.

Forever Wild: Nature Preserves - NYC Parks
Explore a very different part of New York City in these preserved natural spaces, which contain the salt marshes, forests, and meadows native to the city. These nature preserves contain excellent opportunities to hike, explore, and spot regional birds and wildlife. Includes a hyperlinked list to information about specific parks in NYC.

Guidelines For Urban Forest Restoration - NYC Parks
BIG overview of restoration in NYC forests. Includes information about the ecology of forest ecosystems.

Forest Ecosytem Community Connections - Alaska's Forests and Wildlife
Alaska’s Forests and Wildlife (this gives a great overview of the ecological relationships and energy flow in a forest ecosystem with specific examples for different niches.

Upland Forest - NYC Parks
Contains a species list.

Meadow

START HERE

A Native Meadow in Progress, the Dene Slope Opens to the Public - Central Park Conservancy
This resource details this restored meadow in Central Park, the restoration efforts, and some general info about meadows.

How a Rooftop Meadow of Bees and Butterflies Shows N.Y.C.’s Future - The New York Times
A Greenpoint building is part of a push to combat climate change and make the city more welcoming to wildlife.

Marine Park Preserve - NYC Parks
Includes info about one park but not much info about the meadow ecosystem.

4 Park Pollinator Hotspots - Prospect Park Alliance
This resource has big pictures of meadows and a little information about meadows in Prospect Park.

Life Cycle Of An Urban Meadow: The Naval Cemetery Landscape In Four Seasons - Brooklyn Greenway Initiative
This resource highlights seasonal changes in species in a meadow ecosystem in the Naval Yards in Brooklyn.

Beach Dune

START HERE

Maritime Dunes - New York Natural Heritage Program
This is an overview of the dunes ecosystem that includes species lists.

Dune - National Geographic Society
Encyclopedic entry. A dune is a mound of sand this is formed by the wind, usually along the beach or in a desert. Dunes form when wind blows sand into a sheltered area behind an obstacle.

Shoreline Habitats - NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Gives info on what shoreline habitats are and why they are important.

Barrier Island Ecosystems - US Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources

Coastal Dunes: Geomorphology - The Nature Education Knowledge Project
A heavy overview that focuses more on the geology side.

Dune Ecology: Beaches and Primary Dunes - NJ Sea Grant
A hefty 11-page overview and breakdown of two different kinds of dunes within a typical beach dune ecosystem.

Exploring and Caring for Jamaica Bay and Rockaway - Jamaica Bay Rockaway Parks Conservancy
This gives an overview of these two areas including information about the ecosystems present as well as information on how people use these spaces.

Sand Dune: Ecosystem at the Edge - Discovery Education
This describes the biotic factors of this ecosystem. Be careful because it includes some information about dunes that aren’t beach dunes!

How Sand Dunes Work - How Stuff Works
This describes some biotic-abiotic interactions.