Ecological Preserve

Researchers swab the trunk of an ailanthus tree to then bring back to the lab to analyze for traces of animal DNA A  team from Dr. Julie Lockwood’s research lab used the EcoPreserve and Jockey Hollow National Historical Park to test the efficacy of sampling environmental DNA from trees and soil to detect cryptic arboreal mammals. The eDNA results  form the EcoPreserve compared favorably with the Snapshot USA wildlife cam monitoring conducted by Dr. Rick Lathrop’s and bat surveys conducted…

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 Long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata) Our Wildlife camera trapping campaign this fall captured images of both long-tailed weasels and mink hunting along Buell Brook.  Note the long skinny tail of the weasel in comparison to the thicker, stubbier tail of the mink. This is the first time we have confirmed the presence of these comparatively rare wildlife species in the EcoPreserve.

white-tailed deer doe and fawn. Red fox. The EcoPreserve again participated in SNAPSHOT USA. Snapshot is a huge collaborative effort to sample mammal populations with camera traps. The study is designed to sample sites stratified across habitats and development zones (suburban/rural/wild/urban) across the US.  The EcoPreserve is New Jersey’s only SNAPSHOT site. For more information go to https://app.wildlifeinsights.org/initiatives/2000156/Snapshot-USA Under the direction of EcoPreserve Director, Rick Lathrop, graduate student Kendall Edredge and several undergraduate students set up the cameras, reviewed the…

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The Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) (Lycorma delicatula) is an introduced insect that has been spreading across New Jersey. SLF feeds on sap from a myriad of plants   including grapevines, maples, black walnut, birch and willow. SLF’s feeding damage stresses plants which can decrease their health and in some cases cause death. Starting in April of 2022, Dr. George Hamilton, a member of the entomology department at Rutgers University, began a project at the preserve examining the phenology of SLF on a variety…

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