Contact: Jenni Brockman
Telephone: 804-443-3357
Fax: 804-443-6781
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Local Students Research Phragmites with Cornell Professor
Tappahannock, VA (April 10, 2001) - Students at Aylett Country Day and St. Margaret's schools are going far beyond textbook ecology lessons this spring - and what they learn about Phragmites will benefit the local environment. Their goal is to identify the insect species that feed on the invasive plant that is pushing out native marsh grasses and flowers.
At a recent Aylett Country Day School program, Alice Wellford of the Rappahannock Phragmites Action Committee displays Phragmites stems while Joe McCauley of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service directs student C.J. Trible's observations of insect larvae.
"If we can control Phragmites using insect pests, rather than expensive spraying or potentially dangerous burning, we have a much better chance of limiting its proliferation in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula," said SMS biology teacher Andrea Robinson.
This concept, called "biocontrol," is being investigated by Cornell University Professor Bernd Blossey. Eighty insect species feed on Phragmites in Europe, and 15 of them eat only Phragmites, Blossey explained.
Under his supervision, area students will measure the expanse of Phragmites stands in local creeks and marshes, gather stem samples and record their locations using Global Positioning System equipment, and dissect stems to collect and identify insect specimens.
"Research about the biological control of Phragmites is at exactly the point where science students can be of great help in answering basic questions about the weed's ecology," Blossey said. "Young people who participate in this project can learn about plant ecology, insect life cycles and biological control, all while contributing to actual scientific research that is attempting to solve a very real problem."
St. Margaret's students will use the school's kayaks to collect Phragmites in local marshes. Biology teacher and River Program Director Andrea Robinson and eighth-grader Paola Peralta tested the new watercraft in Hoskins Creek.
Participating students are members of Robinson's biology class at St. Margaret's and Judy Allen's seventh-grade science class at Aylett. They will conduct their research at multiple sites, including private land, state natural areas and Rappahannock River marshes. Area residents with Phragmites on their property are encouraged to open their land to the student researchers. For more information about participation, contact Allen or Byrd Waring at Aylett, 443-3214, or Robinson at St. Margaret's, 443-3357.
The Rappahannock Phragmites Action Committee and the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service support the research. It is funded by a grant from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
"We commend your efforts to provide students with a timely and 'hands-on' conservation-related educational experience," said VDCR Director Thomas L. Smith. "We also see this project as having potential to aid in conserving Virginia's biodiversity by supporting the search for a solution to Phragmites invasion of coastal marsh communities."
ACDS's Allen credits RRVNWR Refuge Manager Joe McCauley for making the project and its funding possible.
"We had an idea of what we wanted to do with the kids, but it was Joe who took the idea, developed the grant proposal, and got us the funds. It's exciting, because what we have is not only a neat opportunity for students to do research, but also a partnership between schools, the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and university researchers."
