School of Arts and Sciences

Painted flags and banners lie at the intersection of painting and textile conservation. The 37^th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment’s battle flag from the Civil War presented challenges and advantages of bridging the two disciplines by providing an opportunity for study and experimentation for a graduate student from the Patricia H. and Richard E. Garman Art Conservation Department at SUNY Buffalo State College. This study was conducted to better understand the materials and degradation products present in a painted Civil War flag, which then informed the subsequent treatment of said flag. By characterizing the materials, the severe damage in the painted areas on the silk was explained. Overall, areas of the flag were documented with multi-modal imaging (MMI) and observed using microscopy on cross sections. The elements present in the silk and the paint were identified using a combination of x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy identified components of the materials. Raman was used to further identify pigments where FTIR was inconclusive. Pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (py-GC-MS) was used to confirm the identity of organic materials within the painted regions. The conservation treatment of the flag was dominated by experimentation of techniques to establish a workflow, so future students may be able to complete the treatment. The milestones achieved to date include successfully unfurling and flattening the flag with the aid of humidification, providing recommendations for future humidification, and establishing treatment protocols for stain reduction, efflorescence reduction, and consolidation.

Understanding government spending and how our taxes are utilized in different sectors is important in our communities. The fact that the government has the ability to fund areas in need and contribute to communities is great. What needs to be monitored is the funding utilization and areas of specific impact. This will allow for the demographic data to be collected and with the right people in place ensure a balance of services provided. This ongoing research will contribute directly to the city of Buffalo and communities surrounding Buffalo State.

Understanding the role of non-native taxa in contemporary communities remains a critical area of research in ecology. While many studies have demonstrated broad changes in macrophyte communities following invasions, each new invader potentially creates consequences for the recipient community and the functional processes within it. Additionally, it remains unclear whether interactions between macroinvertebrates and vegetation also change after the arrival of non-native plants. Macroinvertebrates play an important role in maintaining ecosystem functionality, therefore disruptions to co-evolutionary adaptations between macroinvertebrates and native macrophytes remain a concern. This study investigates patterns in macroinvertebrate richness, abundance, functional feeding group representation, as well as plant richness and total biomass across five sites in upstate New York with varying dominance by the non-native macroalgae, Starry Stonewort. As N. obtusa proportional biomass increased within a site, both plant community richness and biomass declined (P < 0.001). Similarly, macroinvertebrate richness declined as the proportion on N. obtusa biomass increased (P = 0.026). The predator functional feeding group declined significantly (P = 0.044) as percent N. obtusa biomass increased, whereas other functional feeding groups were not significantly impacted. Findings suggest that this non-native macroalgae may alter some, though not all, plant and macroinvertebrate community metrics.

The purpose of this study was to explore parent perceptions of elementary general music instruction. This was a qualitative, multiple case study (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2009) in which the perceptions of elementary general music were gathered from a parent from each of the three geographical areas (rural, urban, and suburban) within Western New York. This study sought to determine how parents perceive elementary general music, as well as what types of perceptions of elementary general music exist in all geographical areas (i.e., rural, urban, and suburban districts).

The Kiss II” is a multiplex hologram created by Lloyd Cross in 1975. This particular copy was produced by Peter Claudius in the 1980s. It was previously owned by New York’s Museum of Holography, which was forced to close in 1992 due to financial failure. The hologram is now part of a private collection in Buffalo, New York—whose owners sought out conservation treatment. The primary condition concerns are instability and dirt and dust accumulation. In addition to addressing condition concerns, this project aims to improve upon the imaging and preventative protocol for holograms. Although there is much research available on the technology of holograms, there is very little information available regarding the conservation treatments of Multiplex holograms. The steps taken throughout the course of this project have been thoroughly documented to lay the groundwork for a suggested protocol for treating Multiplex holograms.

Non-native invasive species often displace native species, reducing species richness of invaded communities in the process. European buckthorn, (Rhamnus cathartica), is a well-established non-native woody species in North America that frequently displaces native plant species in its invaded North American range, often growing in dense, monotypic stands. I investigated the multi-trophic effects of buckthorn removal, assessing the effects of buckthorn removal buckthorn on the food web in a restored landscape at three levels of removal: Native, in which buckthorn was being actively managed and removed, Open Buckthorn, in which buckthorn has never been removed and allowed to grow into mature trees, and Closed Buckthorn, in which Buckthorn was removed in 2009, but allowed to grow back as dense, monotypic thickets of shrubbery.

Native plots had the highest number of plant species, with fewer species in both buckthorn treatments. Abundance of bees was highest in Native plots, with significantly lower occurrences in plots in both open and closed buckthorn. Results were similar for leaf-litter dwelling beetles, with significantly higher numbers of beetles occurring in native plots without buckthorn. Mice preferred to live in the closed buckthorn, with occurrences significantly higher in closed buckthorn than open buckthorn and native plots.

In short, European buckthorn alters community structure in North American woodlands by overtaking it: this invader driven march toward sameness starts by decreasing native plant diversity, and in turn decreasing the occurrence of important pollinators and detritivores, simplifying the community, shortening the food web, and causing biodiversity loss.