User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
I found it quite simple to organize and summarize my data as the results of my field data were not so complicated. I resorted to a table to display the length and aperture measurements on both Castle beach and Jetty beach. I also made a separate column for the length to aperture ratio for both beaches. Upon calculating all the ratios, I totalled the ratios for the exposed and sheltered shores and took a mean. One of my results at Castle beach was anomalous (n=8) since it had a large variance from the mean value of 1.58. Therefore, it does not fit the remaining values and I did not use it in my calculation. The lengths of the dog whelks are generally smaller and the aperture is larger at Castle beach, giving a smaller ratio. For instance, the highest value for the length to aperture ratio at Castle beach was 1.74 while the highest value at Jetty beach was 2.04. Similarly, the lowest value for the length to aperture ratio at Castle beach was 1.37, whereas the lowest value at Jetty beach was 1.42.
An interesting investigation involving dog whelks may be comparing the genetics of dog whelks on exposed and sheltered shores and trying to explain what differences in the genetic makeup cause the variation in shell size on the shores. This study can involve more shores and replicates. However, varying abiotic and biotic factors such as weather and predators may cause discrepancies in the results.
