This summer, Fordham’s Louis Calder Biological Field Station hosted Freshwater Algae Identification, the first of a series of field-based courses that have been planned to take advantage of the facilities spread across the center’s 113-acre grounds.

The graduate course, which lasted two weeks, was taught by John Wehr, PhD, professor of biological sciences. The students, who hailed from as far away as Australia and Colorado, were a mix of water quality managers and graduate students who work in aquatic ecosystems and rely on algae species as the figurative canary in the coal mine. One student consults for property owners who use their lakes for recreational and aesthetic purposes.

“The students are concerned about identification from the point of view of toxins that some algal species produce,” said Wehr. “There are good and not so good outcomes of having algae in fresh water systems. Accurate identification of these organisms is critical in order to do a good job.”

The center hosts students and researchers interested in a variety of biological sciences, but this field-based course was a new approach. For two weeks, students collected specimens from Calder Lake and nearby locations in Connecticut and Westchester and Rockland Counties. They then examined them in a newly renovated classroom on the second floor of the century-old boathouse, perched alongside Calder Lake.

Although Calder Lake not very large, Wehr said it features a variety of “microhabitats.” As such, it is host to nearly 1,000 different species of algae. Some species only appear in the early spring, and to prepare for the course Wehr collected them right after the ice on the surface of the lake melted. The goal was to give the students the broadest diversity of organisms possible.

Whether focused on amphibian biology, birdcalls, plant identification, or another topic, field courses work best when done in an intensive environment, said Wehr. The field course is a model that other field stations around the country follow, and one that he hopes will take off at Calder, too.

“We wanted to try to make a bigger presence for the field station as an educational resource for the wider region,” he said. “We’re hoping that this is going to make for a model so that we can host courses on other topics.”

Like Fordham’s other campuses, the canter suffered little in the way of major damage. Strong winds did topple dozens of large trees though (not including those in the 113 acres of forest), including one that snapped a power cable, leading to a two-week period where the center was forced to run on generators.

John D. Wehr, Ph.D., the director of the center, said Calder was well-prepared for such an event, having recently installed three building-level power generators this year and one last year in each of the main buildings there.

Several houses on the perimeter of the grounds were left without heat or power, so residents there were moved into buildings with power.

John Spaccarelli, Director of Special Projects and Facilities Management, said there was only one scare,

near the original Lord and Burnham greenhouse, which was constructed in early-mid 1900’s.

“The closest call that we had was we had pine tree that fell alongside the greenhouse that’s attached to Calder Hall. It fell parallel to the greenhouse, not across it. If had gone across it, it would have chopped it in half,” he said.

Keeping the power humming was more that just a matter of comfort for the professors and students working there, Wehr explained.

“Being without power for that length of time after the storm would have been a disaster for our many people here. The loss of thousands of samples (water, DNA, microbes, plants, insect, etc.) from fridges, freezers, ovens, etc, would have set back or ended ongoing research programs, theses, or dissertations of many students and staff working here,” he said.

“This included research on water quality in upstate New York watersheds, long-term studies of deer ticks, bat hibernation, and green roof vegetation, among many others.  But because we had the generators, we came though fine.”

Like Fordham’s other campuses, the center infrastructure suffered little major damage. Strong winds, however, toppled dozens of large trees (not including those in the 113 acres of forest), including one that snapped a telephone wire, leading to a two-week period where the center was forced to run on generators.

John D. Wehr, Ph.D., director of the center, said Calder was well-prepared for Sandy, having recently installed three building-level power generators this year and one last year in each of the main buildings.

Several houses on the perimeter of the grounds were left without heat or power, so residents there were moved into other buildings.

John Spaccarelli, director of Special Projects and Facilities Management, said there was only one structural close call—near the original Lord & Burnham greenhouse, constructed in the early- to mid-1900’s.

“A pine tree that fell alongside the greenhouse [but]it fell parallel to the greenhouse, not across it. If had gone across it, it would have chopped it in half,” he said.

Keeping the power humming was more than just a matter of comfort for the faculty and students working there, Wehr said.

“Being without power for that length of time after the storm could have been a disaster,” he said. “The loss of thousands of samples (water, DNA, microbes, plants, insect, etc.) from fridges, freezers, and ovens would have set back or ended ongoing research programs, theses, and dissertations of many students and staff.”

“This includes research on water quality in upstate New York watersheds, long-term studies of deer ticks, bat hibernation, and green roof vegetation, among many others.

“Because we had the generators, we came though fine.”