For Release: Thursday, April 23, 2009
Citizen Science on Hudson River Eels
High School Students and Volunteers Track Migrations from Sea to Stream
Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester County high school students and community volunteers are engaging in research on migrating juvenile American eels in several Hudson Valley tributaries as part research being initiated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's (DEC) Hudson River Estuary Program and the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve. Approximately 60 students, teachers, college interns, and community volunteers are checking nets at sites at Crum Elbow in Hyde Park, the Fall Kill in Poughkeepsie, the Indian Brook in Cold Spring, Furnace Brook in Cortlandt and Minnisceongo Creek in West Haverstraw. The work runs from April through late May.
American eels have one of the most unusual life cycles of any fish. They are born in the Sargasso Sea, over 1,000 miles from the Hudson River, and arrive here as nearly transparent, two-inch long "glass eels." On a daily basis, the students check a ten-foot cone-shaped "fyke net" designed to catch these tiny fish, counting and releasing the glass eels back into the water and recording environmental data on temperature and tides. As part of their work, the students also look for and count river herring that migrate into tributaries at this time of year. The Poughkeepsie and Cortlandt sites are in their second year, and already are showing significantly greater numbers of migrating eels.
The goals of DEC's Hudson River Estuary Program and the Research Reserve, also part of DEC, include involving citizens in hands-on exploration of their local ecosystems. Through a positive, engaging experience with science in their community, students realize that they themselves are capable of doing scientific research in cooperation with other students and organizations, and that their own local ecosystems are beautiful and surprising.
Ecologically, the students are gathering needed information about eels in these tributaries. This type of fish has existed for millions of years, yet eel numbers have declined at many East Coast sites without a clear reason. Student-level research can help answer some basic questions about this very mysterious animal and the habitats the eels use throughout their far-reaching lives.
This study was inspired by the work of scientists Tom Lake of the Estuary Program and Robert Schmidt of Bard College at Simon's Rock. This project is possible by the combined help of many partners, including Poughkeepsie High School, the Mid-Hudson Children's Museum, the Dutchess BOCES Academy of Environmental Science, Ossining High School, and the Constitution Marsh Audubon Center and Sanctuary.
The project can be found on the DEC website. Interested press should arrange a site visit with Chris Bowser, Science Educator with the Estuary Program and Research Reserve, at (845) 264-5041, chbowser@gw.dec.state.ny.us. Photos are also available.
