Chris Evangelista
Fiddler Crabs in the Meadowlands
https://meri.njmeadowlands.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/P9060688.mov The video shows Fiddler crabs hurrying for cover across the mudflat, which resembles a migration. This usually takes place when a boat comes near to the place where they are foraging or sunbathing. A well known evolutionary treat, the sexually dimorphic claws of the Fiddler crabs are on full display in the recording. The … Read more
MRRI’s Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Talent
Friday, August 11, 2023, our GIS specialist Christopher Blackley received a master’s in Geographic Information Systems from Penn State University. Chris’s knowledge of geospatial system analysis and design is critical in helping the Meadowlands District government officials, engineers, and scientists communicate geographically. His capstone project at Penn State was: Raptor Migration and Phenological Adjustments within … Read more
The impact of evaporation on marshland sediment salinity
Aleshanee Mooney from MRRI assisted scientists from the Center for Natural Resources from NJIT during a routine salinity sensor maintenance at River Bend. Long-term measurement of the changes in salinity using digital salinity sensors and data loggers at River Bend. This research is funded by the National Science Foundation. The Principal Investigator is Dr. Michel … Read more
The Environmental Summer Scholars Institute (Rutgers University – Newark) visits the Meadowlands
Forty environmental scholars (10th and 11th graders) from public and private schools in Newark visit the Meadowlands to learn about environmental science and coastal wetlands. Environmental Scholars participating in a nature observing exercise. They identified critical features of wetlands and drew a living organism. Selected examples of the results of the nature observing exercise by … Read more
Imaging Benthic Biofilms in the Meadowlands
Benthic biofilms are matrixes of microbial cells and their secretions and have been shown to stabilize sediment in coastal environments. In the Meadowlands, biofilms may play an important role in limiting the mobility of contaminants associated with creek beds and mudflats.Only a few studies have investigated biofilm growth and how durable and effective their ability … Read more
Sampling for Ticks in the Meadowlands
Bergen County Department of Health Services Staff sampling for ticks in the Meadowlands The Gulf Coast Tick was found recently by the Bergen County Department of Health Services in the Meadowlands for the first time. The Gulf Coast Tick transmits the spotted fever rickettsiosis in humans Sampling for the Marsh Mosquito (Aedes taeniorhynchus) in the Meadowlands … Read more
Sediment and contaminant movement with the tides in the lower Hackensack River
In Estuaries, sediments and contaminants move around with the tide. This study measures the suspended sediment and flow direction from the main channel of the river to the marsh platform and the other way around. To determine in which directions contaminants are moving, MRRI scientists installed an Argonaut-ADV instrument that measures water velocity and direction, … Read more
MRRI Senior Experience Interns Excel!
Eliana Mendoza weighs evaporated water samples from the Hackensack River in the MRRI Laboratory One of the many great programs at the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority is the Meadowlands Research and Restoration Institute (MRRI) Senior Experience. Each year high school seniors enrolled in the Bergen County Academies spend one day a week working … Read more
A New Tool for Wildlife Research
The Atlantic Coast Leopard Frog is a recently discovered frog species found in freshwater ecosystems throughout the northeastern United States, and is the only amphibian species known to occur in the Meadowlands. In general, because Atlantic Coast Leopard Frogs are difficult to find and typically most active at night, they are difficult to study. As … Read more