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The organism that I have chosen to study is the black spruce species (Picea mariana) since they are most abundant in the boreal forest where my study is taking place during winter in Canada. The different gradients that I will be looking at will be the different elevations on one of the hills in the forest.
Gradient 1: Low elevation
More leaf-less deciduous trees compared to coniferous trees, more animals/animal tracks such as feces,
Gradient 2: Medium elevation
Deciduous trees are decreasing in abundance compared to coniferous trees, vegetation is becoming more spaced out, more open areas, less animals/animal tracks
Gradient 3: High elevation
More coniferous trees compared to deciduous trees, less animals/animal tracks, vegetation more spaced out except for batches of coniferous trees, more open areas
My hypothesis is that the abundance of coniferous trees specifically the black spruce species will increase with elevation because they prefer more open, arid areas and there is less competition with deciduous trees. My response variable would be the abundance of black spruce trees which would be continuous by counting the number of these trees in a specified area. My explanatory variable would be the elevation which would be categorical.
Hello,
I enjoy your concept very much, and as a western Canadian, it will be interesting to follow along an eastern Canada experiment.
I am wondering how you will measure the different elevations of your sights. Is there data already available from ecological or economic surveys taken of the area.
I believe that you have chosen a good response variable as it will be relatively easy to sample and identify the common trees of your area.
Have you considered why elevation would have an affect on abundance of the black spruce?
Thank-you for an excellent post,
Darren Hildebrand
Hello,
I think your hypothesis is great. It is simple but interesting and I think your experimental design for sampling works well for this.
My only question is how from the data will you determine that its specifically the competition of black spruce which determines the abundance?
I think this is a great topic for your project. Good luck!
Amy Laycock.
Heya,
Good topic, the only thing I would posit is worth looking into is if there are any biogeoclimatic zones nearby with moisture that could influence their distribution