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Stacy A. McNultyStacy McNulty
Research Associate

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

Teaching

  • EFB 484/684 Winter Mammalian Ecology - This 3 credit course will emphasize the adaptations enhancing over winter survivorship of mammals in northern environments.  Students will become familiar with concepts in mammalian ecology, activity patterns, population processes, habitat requirements and adaptations that enhance winter survivorship. Lectures and field exercises take place at the Adirondack Ecological Center in Newcomb, NY.
  • EFB 498 - 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.
  • Other courses at Adirondack Ecological Center

Current Graduate Advisees

Carissa AlzaCarissa Alza
cmalza@syr.edu

  • Degree Sought: MS
  • Graduate Advisor(s): Mcnulty and Stella
  • Area of Study: Conservation Biology
  • Undergraduate Institute: Millersville University of PA (Biological Sciences)

Personal Statement
I am interested in all things science and nature. I think the world is full of questions waiting to be asked and we have an obligation to seek the answers. And maybe, if we're lucky, we can make things better.

Graduate Research Topic
My research examines how avian species richness, composition, and guild diversity vary between beaver-impacted and non-impacted riparian zones within the central Adirondack Mountains. I am also examining how avian community structure changes as beaver ponds undergo successional changes. I will also be looking at vegetative structure and habitat variables to make links between beaver impacts and witnessed avian usage.

Favorite Quote
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."-Mahatma Gandhi

Shannon BuckleyShannon Buckley
shbuck01@syr.edu

  • Degree Sought: MS
  • Graduate Advisor(s): Mcnulty
  • Area of Study: Conservation Biology
  • Undergraduate Institute: Willamette University (Biology)

Research
As a Master’s student in Conservation Biology at ESF, my research focuses on declining neotropical migrant songbird species breeding in the Adirondack region. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in biology and Spanish from Willamette University in Oregon (2009), I have worked as a field technician studying Willow Flycatchers in California’s southern Sierra, as a naturalist intern at Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm in Ohio, and on a project with Cerulean Warblers in the Appalachian hills. I enjoy hiking, running, painting and playing cello.

Timothy McCoyTimothy McCoy
tjmccoy@syr.edu

  • Degree Sought: MS
  • Graduate Advisor(s): Mcnulty
  • Area of Study: Conservation Biology
  • Undergraduate Institute: SUNY-ESF (Conservation Bio)

Graduate Research Topic
I am conducting a study on the diet of the American marten (Martes americana) population in the Adirondacks. Through this study I hope to flesh out the relationships that martens have with important prey items including small mammals and masting tree species. Certain small mammal species and certain tree species exhibit pulse driven cycles. I want to know what role the marten plays in these cycles and how the marten benefits or declines from these interactions.

Favorite Quote
The worst thing that will probably happen—in fact is already well underway—is not energy depletion, economic collapse, conventional war, or the expansion of totalitarian governments. As terrible as these catastrophes would be for us, they can be repaired in a few generations. The one process now going on that will take millions of years to correct is loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive us — Edward O. Wilson

Home Page
Web Link

Sarah WilkinsonSarah Wilkinson
sawilkin@syr.edu

  • Degree Sought: MS
  • Graduate Advisor(s): Underwood and Mcnulty
  • Area of Study: Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management

Graduate Research Topic
Urban deer population dynamics, habitat restoration, land use shifts, GIS landscape analysis

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. 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 promote research at the undergraduate and graduate levels as well as participatory environmental science programs for ages "K through Grey" at ESF's Newcomb Campus and Huntington Wildlife Forest, via the Adirondack Interpretive Center and Adirondack Biodiversity Project.  It is critically important to expose students and visitors to the Adirondack Park to the connections between humans and their environment, not as an abstract concept, but as an ongoing effort to protect both natural resources and vibrant human communities. Student mentees gain proficiency with field and lab biology, computer analysis, project management, communication, team-building and leadership. I value a diverse, collaborative approach to learning and co-led "Integrating Science and Stewardship in the Adirondacks," a mentored research experience for underrepresented students in environmental biology and involving academic scholarship and career awareness (the NSF UMEB program).

Prospective Students

Please note: my year-round office is in Newcomb, NY approximately 150 miles northeast of ESF's main campus in Syracuse. 

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.

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
  • Boreal bird ecology, management and conservation
  • Ecological Land Unit and Ecosystem Mapping for the Adirondack Region
  • Population dynamics, forest ecology and predator-prey interactions of
    • Black bears
    • Small to mid-sized mammals
    • Salamanders
  • 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

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

Selected Publications (* denotes student author)

LaMere, C. R.*, S. A. McNulty and J. E. Hurst.  In press. Human-black bear conflicts are related to mast production in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State.  Proceedings of the Eastern Black Bear Workshop 2011.

Beier, C.M., J.A. Stella, M. Dovciak and S.A. McNulty. 2012. Local climatic drivers of changes in ice phenology and duration on high-elevation lakes in the Adirondack Mountains, New York. Climatic Change. DOI: 10.1007/s10584-012-0455-z.

Cale, J.A.*, McNulty, S.A., Teale, S.A., and Castello, J.D. 2012. The impact of beech thickets on northern hardwood forest biodiversity.  Biological Invasions.

Jensen, P.G., C.L. Demers, S.A. McNulty, W. Jakubas, and M.M. Humphries. 2012. Marten and fisher responses to fluctuations in prey populations and mast crops in the northern hardwood forest. Journal of Wildlife Management 76:489-502. DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.322.

Brunner, J.L., K.E. Barnett, C. Gosier, S.A. McNulty, M. Rubbo, and M.B. Kolozsvary.  2011. Ranavirus infection in die-offs of vernal pool amphibians in New York, USA.  Herpetological Review 42(1):76–79.

Jablonski, K.E.*, S. A. McNulty, and M. D. Schlesinger.  2010.  A digital spot-mapping method for avian field studies. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 122:772–776.

Stager, J.C., S. McNulty, C. Beier, and J. Chiarenzelli.  2009.  Historical patterns and effects of changes in Adirondack climates since the early 20th century.  Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies 15:14-24.

Allen, E., R. Curran, S. Halasz, J. Barge, S. McNulty, A. Keal, and M. Glennon.  2009.  Adirondack GIS: Resources, Wilderness, and Management.  Marguerite Madden, ed.  Pages 1135-1168 in the ASPRS Manual of Geographic Information Systems.  American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Bethesda, MD.  1352pp.

Signell, S., B. Zuckerberg*, S. McNulty, and W. Porter.  2008.  Development of an Adirondack Ecosystem Model.  Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies 15:13-17.

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. A. and R. D. Masters.  2005.  Changes to the Adirondack forest: Implications of beech bark disease on forest structure and seed production.  Pages 52-57 in Evans, C.A., J.A. Lucas, and M.J. Twery, eds.  Beech Bark Disease: Proceedings of the Beech Bark Disease Symposium.  General Technical Report NE-331.  Newtown Square, PA.  USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station.  149pp.

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.

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.

 

Service

Professional Affiliations

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State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
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