The Biology Department at Farmingdale State College has many exciting things going on from new underwater drones, to new research, to great internship opportunities.
SoFar Trident Drones
Dr. Peter J. Park was awarded two grant-funded Sofar Trident underwater drones through the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)’s partnership with Sofar to support a world-wide conservation-focused initiative to “monitor, protect, and tell unique stories” about the marine environments where recipients work. The Sofar Trident drone is an agile, high-speed, portable underwater drone that can be utilized in both freshwater and saltwater, and while in use, it can live-stream in full HD to a phone or tablet.
With all this data in hand and the stories that can be told, innovative lessons focused on experience, research, and analysis can be developed by the Biology faculty, all of which aligns with the mission of Farmingdale to provide student-centered learning for a technologically dynamic society.
New Research By Dr. Amanda Shore
Assistant Professor at Farmindale State College and Marine Biologist Dr. Amanda Shore through research funded by the National Science Foundation studied the Flower Garden Banks which are located 100 miles from the Texas and Louisiana coast line. The research hopes to determine whether extreme storms pose a long-term threat to the Flower Garden Banks. Dr. Amanda Shore helped to publish an article “Frontiers | On a Reef Far, Far Away: Anthropogenic Impacts Following Extreme Storms Affect Sponge Health and Bacterial Communities | Marine Science”
Over the past three decades, nearshore marine ecosystems have experienced population declines, due in part to stressors associated with terrestrial runoff. It has been assumed, however, that offshore marine ecosystems (more than 100 km from land) are not impacted significantly by terrestrial runoff. These recent findings challenge this assumption and suggest that flooding events can impact even very far offshore ecosystems. The surprisingly far reach of contaminated floodwaters observed in the FGBNMS has raised concerns about the risk of disease outbreaks in the FGBNMS, and this ground-breaking discovery has been recently highlighted by various media outlets including Houston Public Media and the National Science Foundation’s web panel for Research News.
For more information about this important research, read the full press release or read the full research.
SeaGrant
In the summer of 2021, New York Sea Grant will partner with Farmingdale State College in support of a new internship program, led by Dr. Peter J. Park, Assistant Professor of Biology at Farmingdale State College, and Antoinette Clemetson, Fisheries Specialist at New York Sea Grant, in a field project that will integrate interests in fisheries, community science, and environmental education. A major goal of this program is to broaden participation in marine and coastal professions by providing training and mentorship to the next generation of scientists, decision makers, and citizens.
The internship which Dr. Peter Park and Antoinette Clemetson are leading allows for one student intern to be involved in this research. The intern will join a network of students participating in similar programs across the country and will be connected to professional development opportunities through New York Sea Grant and other Sea Grant programs. The intern will also have opportunities to deliver professional presentations on their work, meet leaders in relevant fields, and be exposed to career opportunities in Sea Grant and NOAA. We hope this internship continues year-after-year for Farmingdale State Colleges students.
