User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
My research touches on biotic and abiotic factors, physiological stress, chemical stressors, and the stress-exposure-response model (SER model). Biotic factors are brought up in my experiment because my research examines the influence a living organism has on another. My dog has a direct influence on the grass because the urea from her urine becomes toxic and creates dead spots in my yard. Urea, combined with shade and moisture, all play the role of abiotic factors that influence the condition of Common Fern Moss (Thuidium delicatulum). When these nonliving agencies reach a suboptimal level, Thuidium delicatulumfaces physiological stress through restricted growth or rotting. Urea has a similar effect on the grass in my yard. Increased exposure of urea causes toxicity to the grass and kills it. These cause-effect relationships mentioned above allude to the SER model (stress-exposure-response). The SER model demonstrates the biological or ecological changes as a result of the change in intensity of environmental stressors.
Three keywords that I could use to describe my research project are: chemical stressors, percent coverage, and abiotic factors.
