MIKE MAHONEY
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I'm an undergraduate majoring in Forest Ecosystem Science, working with the Stella Lab to complete my honor thesis. I'm passionate about natural resources management, and about applying a systems engineering mindset to tackling management challenges.
My current focus is on expanding work done on beaver impacts within the Huntington Wildlife Forest (HWF) to public lands throughout the Adirondacks, to see if the results from our small-scale study at the HWF are applicable to the greater Park. This research may have truly exciting implications for land management moving forward - adaptive management of beaver recolonization has promising applications in wetlands restoration, endangered species recovery, and ecosystem remediation, just to name a few areas. More information about me and my projects may be found at my personal website. If you're interested in learning more about my project - or are an ESF undergrad looking for research experience! - please contact me at: [email protected] Curriculum vitae Resume |
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ABOUT MY PROJECT
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I joined the Stella Lab in fall of 2017 to complete my honors' thesis, working with Rachel Zevin to complement her masters' research. My research is attempting to identify patterns in beaver foraging behaviors, and predict the impacts they have on forest structure and composition. I was fortunate to have a full 13-week field season in the summer of 2018, working for New York State's Department of Environmental Conservation's Bureau of Forest Health as a Beaver Impact Assessment Intern. Over the course of this season, I surveyed beaver impacts at 6 lakes and 12 rivers on DEC lands, measuring over 10,000 trees across 189 plots within 72 transects. I am currently analyzing the data from my field season, investigating whether models established for the HWF hold true across public lands in the rest of the Adirondack Park. |
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS
PROJECTS WITH THE STELLA LAB
"Impacts of beaver on forest structure and composition"
Presented at the Spotlight on Student Research on April 24th, 2018 at SUNY-ESF, Syracuse, NY.
PROJECTS WITH OTHER LABS
In association with Gretchen Dillon and Dr. Ruth Yanai's Forest Ecosystem Science lab, I have participated in research on the ecology, phenology, and pathosystem of beech bark disease in fertilized stands in New Hampshire as part of the MELHNE project. As a part of this work, I have presented the following at conferences:
"Impacts of fertilization on causal organisms of beech bark disease"
Presented at the Spotlight on Student Research on April 24th, 2018 at SUNY-ESF, Syracuse, NY.
In association with Gretchen Dillon and Dr. Ruth Yanai's Forest Ecosystem Science lab, I have participated in research on the ecology, phenology, and pathosystem of beech bark disease in fertilized stands in New Hampshire as part of the MELHNE project. As a part of this work, I have presented the following at conferences:
"Impacts of fertilization on causal organisms of beech bark disease"
Presented at the Spotlight on Student Research on April 24th, 2018 at SUNY-ESF, Syracuse, NY.
