PhD Program in Biology, The Graduate Center, City University of New York

Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior

Andrew Bernick

CUNY—College of Staten Island
Biology Dept., Rm. 6S-143
2800 Victory Blvd
Staten Island, NY 10314

tel: 718.982.3997 (lab)
fax: 718.982.3852
email: bernick@postbox.csi.cuny.edu

Undergraduate Education: University Of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI (1989-1993)
Began EEB program: September 1999
Current Advisor: Dr. Richard R. Veit (College of Staten Island)

Note to prospective students: If you are thinking of entering the CUNY-EEB program, I would be more than willing to discuss the finer points of the program here—please feel free to contact me by email or telephone.

Interests/Research:

Research Locale: Various sites around the NYC area.

I am interested in the foraging ecology and metapopulation dynamics of New York City wader bird colonies. My proposed thesis research will use banding/wing tag data and radio tracking information on Black-Crowned Night-Herons; I am attempting to answer questions regarding foraging ecology, intercolony movement, characterization of fluctuations and dispersal within metapopulations, and investigation of the persistence of populations in a highly disturbed environment.

Waders (herons, egrets, and ibis) breed/have bred on over twelve islands around the New York City area. Colony increases and decreases have been detected as a result of annual colonial waterbird nesting surveys conducted by the NYC Audubon Society. However, no quantifiable data have been gathered on the movement of individuals among these colonies. By marking individuals with colony-specific wing tags and radio transmitters, we can gather data on movement both within and among breeding seasons, and attempt to quantify immigration, emigration, migration, and colonization within these populations, and to indicate major foraging sites around New York Harbor.

I am also involved in the following projects:

1. monitoring avian productivity and survivorship at four passerine banding stations around Staten Island and Brooklyn (with Jarrod Santora and E. Thomas Brown, CSI)
2. studying past and present populations of the introduced Monk Parakeet around NYC
3. seabird foraging ecology in the Antarctic (assistant to Dr. R. Veit)
4. conducting bird surveys for the Jamaica Bay Ecosystem Restoration Project (for the US National Park Service and US Army Corps of Engineers)

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