Stacy A. McNulty
Research Associate

Adirondack Ecological Center
SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry
6312 State Route 28N
Newcomb, NY 12852 
 
(518) 582-4551 ext. 102 -office
(518) 582-2181 - fax
smcnulty@esf.edu

 

• Teaching
• Research Interests and Educational Philosophy
• Prospective Students
• Research and Applied Projects
• Curriculum Vita
• Adirondack Ecological Center

Teaching

• Courses Taught at Adirondack Ecological Center
• EFB 498 Issues in Global Conservation Research Problems in Environmental and Forest Biology (1-3 credits) Undergraduates in Biology or other natural resource fields conduct an independent research project. Students collect new or use existing data, organize and analyze the information, write a report, and present the information via a web site, poster, presentation, or other means. Project topics, duration and credit hours depend on a variety of factors and typically last 8-12 weeks during summer but can be arranged during the school year.

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Research Interests and Educational Philosophy

My research interests are based in northeastern temperate ecosystems and include forest ecology, landscape ecology, and the study of impacts of human land use on wildlife habitat. I am fascinated by the complex relationship between public and private land management in the Adirondack Park and the crossroads between science and policy. I believe that research is highly effective when coupled with an applied component and powerful tools such as a Geographic Information System. GIS provides a framework within which investigations of ecological integrity and wildlife-human interactions can be conducted at multiple scales. In combination with field explorations and ground-based data collection, GIS is useful for exploring conservation of biodiversity and impacts of recreation, development, and forest management in the Northern Forest.

I am an advocate of student involvement in research at both the undergraduate and graduate level. It is critically important to expose students and visitors to the Adirondack Ecological Center at Huntington Wildlife Forest to the breadth and depth of connections between humans and their environment, not as an abstract concept, but as an ongoing effort to both protect the myriad natural resources and maintain a vibrant human community in the Park. I mentor and work with graduate and undergraduate students who gain proficiency with field biology, computer analysis, project management, communication and leadership. An NSF-supported program Integrating Science and Stewardship is one opportunity for students to get hands-on experience with current issues facing the human and natural systems of the Adirondacks (UMEB program).

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Prospective Students

I seek motivated, energetic students interested in pursuing applied field biology and forest ecology. My interests are wide and centered on the Northern Forest, which stretches from the Adirondack region of New York to the timberlands of Maine. Together with other faculty at ESF and colleagues in other organizations, my students and I embark upon research projects designed to answer pertinent questions and result in information of benefit to the wildlife, lands and people of the region. For other project ideas, see Current Research at AEC and ALTEMP projects.

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Research and Applied Projects

• Adirondack All-Taxa Biological Inventory: Inventory and Monitoring of the Natural Resources of the Adirondack Park
• Adirondack Long-Term Ecological Monitoring Program (ALTEMP). Responsibilities include surveys of:
  • Terrestrial salamanders
  • Vernal pool-amphibian reproduction
  • Boreal bird population trends, distribution, and habitat association
  • Breeding songbirds
  • Beaver activity
  • White-tailed deer demographics, movement, migration, and social behavior
  • Habitat inventory (floristics, structure and composition, and habitat components) and forest change
  • Phenology
  • Tree seed production
• Ecological Land Unit and Ecosystem Mapping for the Adirondack Region - a higher-resolution landform/landcover map (in progress)
• Effects of topography, weather, and other factors on radiotelemetry accuracy
• Impact to the forest from disturbance and nonnative invasives such as Beech Bark Disease
• Using GIS to Assist the Inventory Portion of the Adirondack Forest Preserve Unit Management Planning Process

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Curriculum Vita

Education

State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY (1994-1997); Master of Science in Environmental and Forest Biology

State University of New York at Geneseo, Geneseo, NY (1990-1994); Bachelor of Arts in Biology with a minor in Environmental Studies

Service

• Reviewer for Journal of Wildlife Management and Wildlife Society Bulletin
• Council on Geospatial Modeling and Analysis (interdepartmental GIS group at ESF)
• Coordinator, Huntington Lecture Series, a weekly presentation arena during July-August
• Editor, Remotely Wild, newsletter of The Wildlife Society’s (TWS) GIS, Remote Sensing, and Telemetry Working Group (1999-2006)
• Administrator for several e-mail listservers, including TWS-L (1998-2000)
• Editor, Spruce Moose AEC newsletter

Publications

McNulty, S.A., S. Droege, and R.D. Masters.  2008.  Long-term trends in breeding birds in an old-growth Adirondack forest and the surrounding region.  Wilson Journal of Ornithology 120:153–158.

McNulty, S. 2006. The Adirondack Ecological Center at Huntington Wildlife Forest, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Ecological Society of America Bulletin 87:59-65.

McNulty, S., C. Milewski, D. Spada, and R. Curran. 2005. The Adirondack All-Taxa Biological Inventory: Surveying Life in the Park. Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies 12:4-7.

McNulty, S. A. and R. D. Masters. 2005. Changes to the Adirondack forest: Implications of beech bark disease on forest structure and seed production. USDA Forest Service Beech Bark Disease Symposium Proceedings, Paul Smiths, NY.

Jakubas, W. J., C. R. McLaughlin, P. G. Jensen, and S. A. McNulty. 2005. Alternate year beechnut production and its influence on bear and marten populations. USDA Forest Service Beech Bark Disease Symposium Proceedings, Paul Smiths, NY.

Nyland, R. D. and McNulty, S.A. 2004. Interpretation of silvicultural terminology in wildlife research and management: The example of Webb et al. (1977). Journal of Wildlife Management 68:1159-1160.

McNulty, S. A. 2004. Stitching Together the Patchwork Quilt: Using GIS to Assist the Inventory Portion of the Adirondack Forest Preserve Unit Management Planning Process. Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies Vol. 11:5-9.

Haulton, S. McNulty, B. A. Rudolph, and W. F. Porter. 2001. Evaluating 4 methods to capture white-tailed deer. Wildlife Society Bulletin 29:255-264.

McNulty, S. A., W. F. Porter, N. E. Mathews, and J. A. Hill. 1997. Localized management for reducing white-tailed deer populations. Wildlife Society Bulletin 25:265-271.

McNulty, S. A. 1997. Influence of logging disturbance on recruitment and social organization of white-tailed deer in the central Adirondacks. M. S. Thesis, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, N.Y. 90pp.

Professional Affiliations

• Adirondack GIS User’s Group
• Adirondack Research Consortium
• Ecological Society of America
• Society for Conservation Biology
• The Wildlife Society

Full CV