Lisa

I will send a check for $100.00.  Shame on the Queen Anne's County Board of 
Education.  We will get you there in spite of them.

George Jett

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lisa Spears" <>
To: <>
Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 7:06 AM
Subject: [MDOSPREY] FW: [MDOSPREY] Centreville Middle School


> To all,
>
> Sorry I did forget to mention one important fact... these students were 
> the
> only Middle School in our country asked to attend this international
> conference.  Kudos to these young adults!  Any kind words of support are
> good enough too!!
>
> Thank you for your support,
>
> Lisa
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Maryland Birds & Birding [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
> Behalf Of Lisa Spears
> Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 6:57 AM
> To: 
> Subject: [MDOSPREY] Centreville Middle School
>
> FYI...Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Keep in mind these are
> Middle School girls who are interested in science, and are continuing to
> pursue their finding on their own time. Arts and Sciences is not heavily
> supported in the school system, but thanks to the help of wonderful 
> teachers
> these kids have this opportunity to spread their wings. Again, any help 
> you
> can provide is most appreciated Most Kindest Regards, Lisa Spears
>  _____
>
>
> Centreville Middle School - Ecology Corp.
>
> 231 Ruthsburg Road
>
> Centreville, MD 21617
>
>
>
>
>
> Dear  MOS Members,
>
>
>
> I am writing on behalf of four Centreville Middle School students who have
> been invited to participate in the 7th International Conference on
> Environmental Management of Enclosed Coastal Seas in Caen, France, from 
> May
> 5 - 13, 2006.  At the conference, the students will present their 
> findings,
> attend seminars, participate in a study tour, interact with students from
> other countries, and visit historic sites in Paris and Normandy Beaches.
> They are the only students from a United States middle school whose 
> project
> was accepted for presentation.
>
>
>
> The students worked the majority of the summer and throughout the school
> year to collect data, learn required technology such as Powerpoint and
> ArcView software programs, Global Positioning Systems, GIS computer 
> mapping,
> and college level statistics in order to prepare their research project
> entitled "The Effects of Forest Fragmentation on Forest Interior Bird
> Species Diversity on a Coastal Watershed Landscape".  (see attached)
>
>
>
> As you may have recently read in the newspaper, the trip was denied by the
> Queen Anne's County Board of Education.  However, the parents, teacher and
> students (with the support of the Superintendent and Centreville Middle
> School) still plan on attending the conference, and are in the process of
> raising the thousands of dollars necessary for airfare, hotels and
> transportation to make this highly educational endeavor become a reality.
>
>
>
> All donations are tax deductible and you will be sent a receipt for your 
> tax
> records once your donation has been received.  Please include your full 
> name
> and address.  Additionally, a list of contributors' names will appear in 
> the
> school newsletter.
>
>
>
> The students would greatly appreciate your donation made payable to
> "Centreville Middle School - Ecology Corps." and sent to the attention of
>
> Mr. George Radcliffe,
>
> Centreville Middle School,
>
> 231 Ruthsburg Road, Centreville, MD 21617.
>
>
>
> Thank you,
>
>
>
> Lisa Spears, Sharon Brinster, Ecology Corps Fund Raising Coordinator
>
> 443-496-4631
>
> 410-827-7898
>
> 
>
> 
>
>
>
> The Effects of Forest Fragmentation on Forest Interior Bird Species
> Diversity on a Coastal Watershed Landscape
>
> Christina BRINSTER, AMANDA SPEARS, Charlotte Staver, AND JESSICA WHITE
>
> Centreville Middle School, Centreville, Maryland U.S.A.
>
>
>
> Abstract:
>
> Preston, Darlington, and others have shown a clear relationship between 
> the
> area (A) of oceanic islands and the number of species (S) they contain. 
> The
> relationship is expressed as S=CAz with studies involving birds showing 
> the
> value of z to approximate 0.3. This has been clearly demonstrated in
> research studies; as islands size increases, the number of species
> increases. Wilson and MacArthur's Island Biogeography Theory further
> predicts that the actual species on an island can change from year to year
> due to colonization and local extinction (turnover), but the number of
> species remains at equilibrium. Forest fragmentation creates forest 
> islands
> of different sizes on the mainland.  We investigated five different 
> forests
> islands on the Maryland Eastern Shore to see if this oceanic relationship
> fits forest bird species' counts. We also examined how key individual 
> forest
> species were affected by changing forest size by informally surveying 55
> forests.
>
>            We used Global Positioning System (GPS) units to run a series 
> of
> transects through each island, recording species at pre-identified points.
> We compiled a species count for each forest island. We found a significant
> correlation (r = .94, n = 11, P< .0001) between island area and the number
> of species found with a z value of 0.28. We found that the smallest 
> islands
> had a smaller number of true interior forest-breeding bird species and
> mostly had edge species. The data clearly show that larger forest islands
> have more species.
>
>            We estimated species turnover (T) for the two islands (Haint
> Woods, 3.4 acres; Andelot Farms, 141.4 acres) which had been sampled the
> previous year (2004).  Each island was sampled twice in 2005, and we could
> estimate the error in trying to replicate the study in the same year (RE).
> The annual turnover and replication error were almost identical for both
> forest areas (Haint Woods, T = 59%, RE = 60%; Andelot Farms, T = 24%; RE =
> 17%). This indicates that we cannot conclude there is any turnover since
> replication error could explain the differences. We can infer, however, 
> that
> replication error does increase as forest size decreases. Possibly other
> factors are at work as forest size decreases, and Wilson and MacArthur's
> equilibrium theory may not fit.
>
> This can be tested by looking at actual species' composition. In the 55
> forests informally surveyed, we found the minimum, mean, and median areas 
> of
> all forests in which each species was present.  We found that some species
> were rarely, if at all, found in small forest islands.  These area 
> sensitive
> species included the Black and White Warbler (Mniotilta varia) and
> Worm-Eating Warbler (Helmitheros vermivorus). This clearly would impact 
> the
> immigration needed to maintain equilibrium.
>
>            We have reached four conclusions. First, the island-species
> relationship seems to apply to forest islands. Second, replication error
> makes it impossible to see if turnover is occurring, but replication error
> clearly increases with decreasing forest size. Third, species' data 
> suggest
> that the immigration that Wilson and MacArthur predict might be limited by
> the fact that certain species may not colonize a smaller island.  Area
> sensitive species tend to drop out as forest size decreases, and the 
> smaller
> forests are populated predominantly by species that require a more
> generalized habitat.  Finally, our data suggest that management of land in
> coastal watersheds should focus on preserving large forest blocks.  One
> large forest seems to be clearly better than several small in maintaining
> the highest species diversity.
>
>