In an April 19 lecture at Fordham’s McGinley Center Commons, Steven Cohen, Ph.D., executive director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, will discuss the nation’s evolution from preservation to sustainability. The talk, which is free and open to the public, will also cover topics related to renewable energy, the sharing economy, and technological advances.

Cohen’s lecture, “Building Sustainable Cities and Living Sustainable Lifestyles,” is part of a series of events for Earth Month, organized by the Bronx Science Consortium, a partnership between the University, the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG), Bronx Zoo, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Montefiore Health System, and co-hosted by Fordham’s Office of Research.

Though Earth Day is officially on April 22, the consortium has dedicated the entire month of April to environmental literacy.

The consortium’s Earth Month began on April 5 with a presentation about securing funding for scientific research, led by Walter L. Goldschmidths, vice president of and executive director of the Office of Sponsored Programs at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. That same day, the University also held a research forum with guest chair Brian M. Broom of the NYBG. Fordham’s Bronx partner, the Bronx Zoo, hosted a Nature Club Family Event and Bronx Zoo Quest on April 8, which aimed to connect families to nature through activities in different locations around the zoo.

Some remaining events of Earth Month include:

• The NYBG’s dazzling garden exhibition of the artwork of American glass sculptor Dale Chihuly on April 22; On the same day, the garden will also host an Earth Day procession and behind-the-scenes tours of its Plant Research Laboratory, among other Earth Day-centric activities. On April 28, the NYBG will present a science-humanities seminar.

• The Bronx Zoo’s “Earth Fair” on April 22, which will feature products and services that are environmentally friendly; On April 29, the Bronx Zoo will host its annual 5k run/walk Run for the Wild.

Ron Jacobson, Ph.D., associate vice president in the Office of the Provost, said the series of Bronx Consortium events encourages the local community to work together for the good of the environment.

“It’s an opportunity for Fordham scientists and students to interact with other world class institutions in the Bronx,” he said.
(Earth photo by Bruce Irving, Creative Commons)

The Sept. 30 event, held at the Bronx Zoo, was a collaboration of the five-member Bronx Consortium, consisting of the zoo, Fordham, the New York Botanical Garden, Montefiore Medical Center, and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

For many of the researchers the event served to update fellow participants on the status of ongoing data collection and results.

Rats!

For Matthew Combs, a graduate student at the Calder Center, the event marked the end of data collection on rat migration in Manhattan.

“We pretty much covered the whole island and finished yesterday,” he said.

Combs’ work was part of a large study headed by Jason Munshi South, PhD, associate professor of biological sciences, one that garnered much press attention over the past year.

The team collected rat DNA from all 41 Manhattan zip codes. Among the many findings was that rats, like their human counterparts, tended to stick around their own neighborhood until it got too crowded, after which they moved on to other locations.

“When it gets too crowded, the animals migrate out to find new habitat with fresher food,” said Combs. “In terms of actionable results, if we can map where the rats migrate from, and stop the populations at that source, then maybe we’ll be a bit more successful at preventing a prolonged infestation.”

Is Acupuncture for the Birds?

Many of the research studies, like Combs’, collected hundreds of samples, whereas others presented a single case study.

Jessica Chin, of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) at the Bronx Zoo, presented a case study of a 15-year-old parrot whose claw hock was swollen and beleaguered by arthritis. After trying a variety of meds for three months, including anti-inflammatory drugs, the parrot showed no signs of progress. The researchers turned to acupuncture instead.

“We had to restrain him, but he was usually chill when we poked him,” she said. “He showed significant improvement in about six weeks. He can now use his hock to grab food and he’s much happier. We believe the acupuncture did increase his quality of life.”

Chin said that the use of acupuncture is limited at the zoo because not all animals are agreeable to being poked. She noted that tigers are not as amenable as ostriches. She said that even the ostrich had to be coaxed into the process.

“We’d have to move with her and ‘Walk-walk-walk—poke! Walk-walk-walk—poke!’ And then do it the same way to get the pins out.”

However, the ostrich also showed improvement, she said.

Taming Lionfish Proteins

Fordham College at Rose Hill Juniors Zachary Mattes and Nina Le clocked more than 500 hours at the lab this past summer studying the genome code and proteins of the venomous lionfish. Paul Smith, PhD, supervised their research.

Mattes explained that the fish, native to the Pacific Ocean, has been introduced into the Atlantic Ocean, particularly in the Caribbean where the population has “skyrocketed.”

“Aside from the ecological impact, it’s an obvious danger to humans,” he said.

The two are using chromatography to isolate the two proteins that cause the neurotoxic effects. They plan to continue research of the protein structure of the venom through crystallography.

“This is only the beginning,” said Le.

Peer-to-Peer; Teen-to-Teen

Alongside the graduates and undergraduate researchers, high school students from Project TRUE, the urban ecology field research program, also presented their findings. Project TRUE pairs Fordham biologists with WCS educators that work together to train teens during the summer in areas that promote interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

Valerie Pierre-Louis, a student at the Lycée Français in Manhattan, said that Project TRUE taught her how to communicate science to her peers.

“As teenagers we know how to interact with each other and explain science,” said Pierre-Louis. “Some science words we may have to explain a little more, but after that they understand it.”

There’s also a benefit in meeting other researchers, students said.

“They are like my friends now,” said Moomitu Kashem, of Midwood High School in Brooklyn. “I’ve made so many connections from all these different high schools and I have a new bond with others who like science.”