Local wetlands take a Swan dive

Introduced from England in the 19th century as companion icons of beauty, elegance and purity, mute swans have literally taken over the fresh and brackish environments of the Atlantic Coast. They reproduce abundantly, have few predators, aggressively displace native waterfowl and have such a formidable appetite that they eat most of all submerged aquatic vegetation in lakes, ponds and estuaries, which in turn leads to erosion, anoxia and extinction of local aquatic biodiversity and their associated ecosystems. In NYC, the Wildlife Trust, and members of its Bioscape Initiative, are currently studying ways to alleviate this problem. It is true, the swans are hardly to blame. The culprit here is human 'management' - or a lack thereof.

Images by Valerie Druguet


home - about us - programs - urban nature journal - join - newsroom - shop - faq
Website design by Milton Glaser, Inc. 2004
New York Arts. New York Charitable Foundation. Central Park Project. New York Artists. Christo and Jeanne-Claude. NYC Arts. Urban Ecology and New York, New York Economic Development. NNYN. Ted Kheel. Support New York Arts. Protect New York Environment. New York Artists. Buy Art Prints. New York City Economy. Manhattan Arts. Manhattan Society. Gates Project Central Park. Nurture New York Nature. NNYN. NNYN.org.

Top Google Searches March 2005

     1.

nicole dehuff

     2.

 star wars trailer

     3.

 allison krauss whiskey lullaby

     4.

 chris ledoux

     5.

 ncaa brackets

     6.

 tara reid

     7.

 shannon elizabeth

     8.

 leprechaun

     9.

 harry potter

   10.

 mario vazquez