Project:

Biodiversity in New York City Parks: A Collaborative Project

Students:

Alexandra Authers, Jessica Wielgus, Tina Sherpa, lauren Turcios, Rachel Einhorn

School:

Frank McCourt HS,

Mentors:

Dora Miklos

Abstract:

Ecosystems are a community of animals, plants, micro-organisms and non-living things that share an environment. Each of the different species in an ecosystem contributes to maintaining a stable environment. A healthy ecosystem will have biodiversity so that if something goes wrong with one species it will not affect the ecosystem because it is not dependent on the one species fulfilling a role. A large population can mean more genetic diversity within a species increasing its ability to survive. Climate change, pollution, sea levels rising and the overall growth in human population poses a threat to biodiversity in the NYC parks. (1) We would like to take samples of parks on both the west and east sides of NYC to see if there are any similarities and to compare the amount of biodiversity on both sides of the city. In finding out this information we are hoping to see if there are areas in the city whose biodiversity has been more affected by climate change and to see if a future plan ne

Poster:

Team samples: