The Natural World

of Roosevelt Island
Jack Burkhalter, Ph.D.
Student in Urban Naturalist
Program, NY Botanical Garden

February 12, 2020

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Pink evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa Nutt.)
 Acknowledgments
o Rossana Ceruzzi, Wildlife Freedom Foundation
o Julia Ferguson, RI Garden Club
o Christina Delfico, idig2learn, RI Garden Club
o Anthony Longo, GRIN, RI Garden Club
o Sherry Thomas, Landscaper

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Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
New York State
o NYS is committed to environmental protection
o Open Space Protection, State Park
Restoration, Climate Smart Communities
Program, and more; Go to--
o https://www.governor.ny.gov/programs/leading
-climate-change-protecting-our-environment

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[listen]

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Birds of Roosevelt Island
Native, Visitors & Migrants https://www.youtube.com/watch?
reload=9&v=sL_YJC1SjHE

White-throated
sparrow
(Zonotrichia albicollis)

Both migratory and

native. Spring song “My
sweet Canada, Canada”
or “Old Sam Peabody,
Peabody”

Seen all over the Island

Photo credit: allaboutbirds.org

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 Minnahanonck Island in 1609
In 1609, when Henry Hudson sailed in the Lenape
Native Americans called the current Roosevelt
Island Minnahanonck Island, translated as “nice
island.” Lenape fished, hunted, gathered berries,
and foraged.

Wetlands at the northern end with streams,

forests, some beach-like shoreline, and
surrounded by a river teaming with life.

After the Dutch arrived to settle, the Island

became the site of hog farms and was called
Hogs Island (Varckens Eylandt).

Sources: Mannahatta Project at https://welikia.org/m-map.php; Berdy and RI

Historical Society, Images of Roosevelt Island, Arcadia: 2003.

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 Commerce vs. Environment
Seal of the City of New York
Beavers can swim
up to 15 miles per
1609: Henry Hudson sailed up the Hudson in, hour and hold their
there were hundreds of thousands of breath for up to 15
beavers in the waters of Mannahatta minutes at a time.
and 60 million in No. America
1614: Island renamed New Amsterdam
1626: Dutch bought island from the Natives,
trading metal tools for Natives’ beaver
pelts to make hats and coats
1800: Beavers completely vanished in the
United States east of the Mississippi

• Laurel wreath surrounding the seal

• Laurel branch upon which the sailor and the
native stand
• Bald eagle at the top
• Flour barrels represent the city’s exclusive
monopoly to mill and export (by law, 1674)

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 What lived on Minnahanonck Island?

Animals (Ex.) Birds (Ex.)

1. Meadow vole 1 a. Semipalmated plover
2. White-footed mouse b. Sharp-shinned hawk
3. Deer mouse c. Passenger pigeon
b.
4. Southern flying squirrel d. Bald eagle
5. Eastern cottontail e. White-rumped sandpiper
6. Eastern chipmunk f. Osprey
7. Big brown bat 5 e. g. Wild turkey
h. Black-capped chickadee

7 h. 8
Source: Mannahatta Project at https://welikia.org/m-map.php
 What lived on Minnahanonck Island?
Reptiles (Ex.) 1 Plants (Ex.)
1. Eastern painted turtle a. Black cherry
2. Snapping turtle b. Starved panicgrass
3. Eastern garter snake c. American chestnut b
4. Diamondback terrapin 3 d. Allegheny blackberry
5. Northern black racer 2 e. Marsh blue violet
6. Eastern milk snake f. Red maple

e 4

3
4 d c
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Source: Mannahatta Project at https://welikia.org/m-map.php
Roosevelt Island now

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 What now lives on Roosevelt Island?
Diverse Trees: Young and Old, Native and Not

Cottonwood, RIGC

Photo collage credits: Julia Ferguson, Christina Delfico

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What now lives on Roosevelt Island?
Flowering Plants: Both Natives and Non-Natives

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Photo collage credit: Julia Ferguson
 Grass Lawns & Non-native Ornamentals
Pros:
• Grass lawns are dramatic;
useful for activities
• Ornamentals:
--”Eye candy,” novel, colorful
--Easy to find at nurseries
Cons:
• Lawns:
--Increase CO2
--Deserts for native insects
--Costly to maintain; chemicals
• Ornamentals:
--English ivy, coleus, orna-
mental cabbage attract few
native pollinators/insects
--Potential for sustainable
habitat is lost
--Starve our wildlife
Source: Tallamy, D.W. 2017. Bringing Nature Home. Timber Press:
Portland, OR. 13
Trends in the Health of the Natural World
• Forests cover 31% of the land area on our planet1
• We’re losing 18.7 million acres of forests annually,
equivalent to 27 soccer fields every minute, mainly to
agriculture (palm oil, beef)1

Due to habitat loss and climate change:

• Flying insect populations declined by 77% between

1989 and 2016, in protected nature reserves in
Germany2
• In North America since 1970, we have lost over 3
billion birds3 (research led by researcher at Cornell
Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY)
1World Wildlife Foundation: https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation-and-forest-

degradation (accessed 2/8/2020).

2Hallmann, Caspar A. et al. More than 75 percent decline over 27 years in total flying insect

biomass in protected areas. PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0185809

October 18, 2017. (accessed 2/8/2020)
3Rosenberg, Kenneth V. et al. Science 04 Oct 2019: Vol. 366, Issue 6461, pp. 120-124.

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 Why are native plants important?
• Co-evolution: Plants, trees,
insects, birds and other animals
evolved together over thousands
of years
• Pollinators are specialized for
certain flowers/plants
• Pollinators use well-established
cues (color, pattern) to locate
food from known plants
• Non-native plants are not as
Ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) attractive, have less desirable
feeding from native coral honeysuckle (Lonicera
sempervirens) quality of nectar/pollen 15
Are there ANY wild* native plants
living on Roosevelt Island?

*Not known to be intentionally planted 16

Native plants growing wild • Gets its name
on Roosevelt Island from belief that its
roots helped with
snake bites
• Blooms late
summer and fall,
its nectar attracts
butterflies
White
Snakeroot
(Ageratina altissima)

Southpoint Park

Photo credit: Jack Burkhalter, 2019

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Native plants growing wild
Goldenrods are
on Roosevelt Island
NOT the source of
fall hay fever—
ragweeed is !
Pollinators love
goldenrods!
Canadian
Goldenrod
(Solidago canadensis)

Eastern RI shoreline,
under bridge pillar,
south of ferry terminal

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Photo credit: Jack Burkhalter, 2019
 Native plants growing wild
on Roosevelt Island
Rockweed
(Ascophyllum nodosum)
An alga
East channel of East River,
off of Roosevelt Island
Air Bladders: Create buoyancy
Photo credit: Jack Burkhalter, 2020
o Fronds hide smaller
organisms from
predators
o Provides food for fish
o Prevents desiccation of
intertidal species when
water recedes low tide
o Photosynthesis
captures water CO2
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Native plants growing wild
on Roosevelt Island

Creeping Wood
Sorrel
(Oxalis corniculata)
Flowers’ nectar and
pollen attract
honeybees, little
carpenter bees,
small leaf-cutting
Western cherry tree bees, Halictid bees,
esplanade Syrphid flies, small
butterflies, and
skippers.*

*https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/cr_wdsorrel.html
Photo credit: Jack Burkhalter, 2018 20
Native plants on Roosevelt
Island

New England
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Aster
(Symphyotrichum
novae-angliae)

Sleeping bumble
bee on cool, rainy
day

RI Garden Club,
Southpoint Park
Photo credit: Jack Burkhalter, 2019
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Native plants on Roosevelt
Island

Common
milkweed
(Asclepias syriaca)
Food for Monarch
butterfly larvae, flowers Photo credit: Jack Burkhalter, 2019

provide nectar to
diverse pollinators

Southpoint Park

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Photo credit: Julia Ferguson, 2019
Lichens—a sign of air quality
lichens are fungi living with algae
in a mutualistic relationship

Lichens (L-common green shield; R-gold dust lichen) on cherry Mosses & lichens living in remnant of
tree, east esplanade of RI pier, east side of Roosevelt Landings 23
 • Tan and black coloring
help them blend in with
the tall dry grasses that
Native pollinators and they eat
insects on Roosevelt Island • Makes a buzzing noise
by rubbing its hind
wings against its
forewings
Differential • Well-adapted to urban
living--makes a home in
Grasshopper empty lots, gardens and
overgrown areas*
(Melanoplus
differentialis)

Southpoint Park

Photo credit: Jack Burkhalter, 2019

*https://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.asp?identification=Differential-Grasshopper 24
 Native pollinators and
insects on Roosevelt Island

Common
Buckeye
Butterfly
(Junonia coenia)

feeding on nectar of
Frost Aster
(Symphyotrichum
pilosum)

Cornell Tech campus

southeastern hillside 25
Photo credit: Jack Burkhalter, 2019
 Native pollinators and
insects on Roosevelt Island

Bald-faced hornet
(Dolichovespula maculata)
and
Ailanthus webworm
moth
(Atteva aurea)

feeding on nectar, pollen of

native Black cohosh
(Actaea racemose)

RI Garden Club 26
Photo credit: Jack Burkhalter, 2019
 Native pollinators and Notice my orange
insects on Roosevelt Island eyespots—they may
confuse predators!
Males have royal blue
wings topside, female
have brown
Eastern Tailed-
blue Butterfly female
(Cupido comyntas)

feeding on native
goldenrod blossoms
(Solidago spp.) male

Southpoint Park

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Photo credit: Jack Burkhalter, 2019
 o Wings beat 130 times
Native pollinators and other per second!
insects on Roosevelt Island o Beating combined
with their large
bodies vibrates
flowers until they
Bumble Bee release pollen
(Bombus spp.) o Buzz pollination helps
plants produce more
fruit.
feasting on pollen and
nectar of Halberdleaf
rosemallow
(Hibiscus laevis)
to feed its larvae

Cornel Tech campus

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Native pollinators and other
insects on Roosevelt Island

Drone Fly
(Eristalis tenax)

gathering nectar from

native Smooth Aster
(Aster laevis)

Cornell Tech campus,

southeastern hillside

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Photo credit: Jack Burkhalter, 2019
Birds of Roosevelt Island
Native, Visitors & Migrants

Canada Geese
(Branta canadensis)

and

Rock Doves
(Columba livia)

Southpoint Park,
Strecker Memorial
Lab
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Photo credit: Jack Burkhalter, 2019
 The oldest Black-
Birds of Roosevelt Island crowned Night-
Native, Visitors & Migrants Heron on record
was a female who
was at least 21
Black-crowned years old1

night heron
(Nycticorax
nycticorax)

Southpoint Park
Eastern shoreline

Photo credit: Rossana Ceruzzi, 2020 31

1Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-crowned_Night-Heron
 Birds of Roosevelt Island
Native, Visitors & Migrants

Northern
mockingbird
(Mimus polyglottos)

Sitting on pokeweed
(Phytolacca americana)
eating berries; has nests in
Southpoint Park and in trees
near Firefighters’ Field

Southpoint Park
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Photo credit: Rossana Ceruzzi, 2020
 Notice broken, white
Birds of Roosevelt Island eye-ring, rust-colored
Native, Visitors & Migrants breast, yellow bill

American robin
(Turdus migratorius)

The robin nests all over

the Island

Photo credit: bioPGH Blog: American

Robins | Phipps ...phipps.conservatory.org

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Birds of Roosevelt Island Plucks acorns off oak
Native, Visitors & Migrants trees, and as squirrels
do, caches them,
many of which later
become oak seedlings
Blue jay
(Cyanocitta cristata)

Notice crest, black

eyestreak, dark
necklace, dark stripes on
blue tail wings

Visitor to Island
? Nest

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 I weigh as much
Birds of Roosevelt Island
as 6 paperclips,
Native, Visitors & Migrants
2 pennies, or a
¼ slice of whole
grain bread!
Ruby-crowned
Kinglet
(Regulus calendula)

These tiny birds (0.23 oz,

or 6.5 g) are very active
and often come close to
people

Migration stop on the

Island

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Thank
you!
Northern cardinal

Monarch butterfly caterpillar

Easter tiger swallowtail feeding on Mountain mint flowers feeding on Common milkweed
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