Reminder: there will be no meetings in January or February.

March 13, 2012* Tuesday, 7:30 PM
Eric Morgan: "Ecology of a Southwest New England Forest and its Invasion by a Non Native Tree Species."
Learn about a statistical analysis of the invasion of the Amur Cork Tree (Phellodendron amurense) throughout the eastern United States. This tree has been noted as a particular problem right here in Forest Park, Queens. Eric is on staff at the Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens in Stamford, Connecticut. A major aspect of his work is the acquisition and maintenance of the Arboretum's living collections, including the display beds, trees and shrubs, and an expanding selection of tropical plants which are added each year. He is also curator of the herbarium and research departments, and has published on tropical biology topics regarding Florida and Peru.
Location: Bill Paterson Nature Center, Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich

April 10, 2012* Tuesday, 7:30 PM
Jennifer Dean: "Tracking Invasive Species in New York with Volunteers and Professionals." Invasive species are a major threat to biodiversity, particularly at localized scales. In New York, the State invasive species database (iMapInvasives) was developed to provide an online mapping tool for aggregating and sharing invasive species data. Since 2010, the New York Natural Heritage Program has been training users to enter data into iMapInvasives to gain a better understanding of infestations and to help with the early detection and rapid response of new invaders. Jennifer earned her Ph.D. from Penn State University in Entomology with a focus on plant-insect interactions, and a B.S. in Plant Biology from Ohio University. She is the Invasive Species Biologist for the New York Natural Heritage Program, where she provides biological expertise for the database, conducts state-wide outreach, and collaborates with other groups throughout the state that are concerned with—and track—invasive species.

Dr. Dean wished us to convey the follow announcement:

iMapInvasives is offering a free training session on April 12 in Riverhead, NY. Learn about the program and become trained to report infestations into the NYS invasive species database. More information and registration can be found at www.imapinvasives.org/nytraining.

Location: Museum of Long Island Natural Sciences, Earth and Space Science Building, Gil Hanson Room (Room 123), SUNY at Stony Brook, Stony Brook

May 8, 2012* Tuesday, 7:30 PM
John Potente: "Ethnobotany of Costa Rica."
Learn about the practical uses and applications of plant materials in this Central American country. John has been the LIBS Corresponding Secretary, the newsletter editor, and editor of the 2010 LIBS/Torrey book on tidal marshes.
Location: Bill Paterson Nature Center, Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich

June 12, 2012 Tuesday, 5:30 PM (please note early start time for the barbecue)
Annual Barbecue
The annual barbecue, featuring Chef Eric's made-to-order hot dogs and hamburgers. Salads, deviled eggs, desserts, etc. gladly accepted. The traditional location—on the green behind the Muttontown Preserve meeting house.
Location: Bill Paterson Nature Center, Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich

September 11, 2012* Tuesday, 7:30 PM
Adam Negrin: “Long Island Flora AtlasDevelopmental Process and Potential for Future Research.”
The presentation will cover the processes involved in making the LI Flora Atlas. This will give credit to the long term efforts of botanists to properly identify and voucher plant species on Long Island, review the assembly of the plant database, describe mapmaking via ESRI ArcGIS software, list the protocol and labors of the committee review process, and show the final work involved in remaking the maps and organizing content for publication and future research. The potential for testing a wide variety of historical, ecological, and biogeographical hypotheses with modern statistical software will be described. Adam is currently a PhD candidate at the CUNY Graduate Center, focusing on natural plant products research in a laboratory at Lehman College. A Long Island native, he was originally trained in botany, plant taxonomy, and ecology. His current work is based on seeking answers to ethnobotanical questions using quantitative geographic, phytochemical, and systematics-based methods.
Location: Bill Paterson Nature Center, Muttontown Preserve, East Norwich

* Refreshments and informal talk begin at 7:30.
Formal meeting starts at 8:00 PM.
Directions to Muttontown: 516-354-6506
Directions to Stony Brook: 516-354-6506

2013 programs (partial list)
2014 programs

LIBS Speakers' Bureau