Mission
The Thousand Island Biological Station's research program focuses on the aquatic ecology of the river with an emphasis on fisheries, wetlands, limnology, invasive species, and ecological perturbations. |
|
Governor's Island Clayton, NY
|
History of TIBS
Governor' s Island was named for island summer resident Thomas G. Alvord, Lieutenant Governor of New York State in 1864. James and Lorraine Lewis donated the island to SUNY-ESF in 1971. The Lorraine E. Lewis Thousand Islands Biological Station (TIBS) was created in 2000 and received its first Director in 2001. Through the faculty of Environmental and Forest Biology an important aquatic research program was developed beginning with the St. Lawrence Seaway Winter Navigation Studies in the 1970' s. Research has continued through fisheries management studies with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) from 1983 to present.
The St. Lawrence River Ecosystem
The upper St. Lawrence River consists of a complex array of habitats including over 1,800 islands, 2,000 shoals, and thousands of acres of coastal wetlands. The St. Lawrence River is the only natural outlet to the Great Lakes, with a drainage basin of over a million square kilometers. It connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. It is the 10th largest river in the world in terms of flow with average discharge of over 243,000 cfs.
 |
|
St. Lawrence River Thousand Islands
|
The St. Lawrence River is home to several popular sportfish including, muskellunge, northern pike, walleye, largemouth bass and small mouth bass. Popular panfish species include yellow perch, rock bass, black crappie, and pumpkinseed and bluegill sunfish.
The ecosystem harbors a diverse array of aquatic and wetland plants and several NYS threatened and endangered species including the blanding’s turtle and pugnose shiner.