User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
The organism which I plan to study is the distribution of Spotted Knapweed, Centaurea biebersteinii.
The Knapweed plants have light purple flowers with thin and extending petals. The stalk is light-green, thin, and does not cover a lot of horizontal space. Each plant may have multiple flowers and stands 1 to 2 feet tall, generally speaking. The Knapweed plants seem to grow both in patches and also individually.
In each of the three stratum types, forested, forested with minimal/no cover, and open grassland, the physical features of each plant appeared similar. The distribution between areas is different, however. The Knapweed is virtually non-existent in the forested area; however, in areas of forest with no cover, Knapweed seems to grow in large patches as well as regularly by themselves. In the open grassland, Knapweed does not grow in patches, rather, it grows individually and often.
Processes that may play a part in this observed pattern could be access to sunlight, or competition with other species. Soil type is fairly uniform throughout this entire mountainside region, and precipitation is fairly rare in arid Kamloops this time of year.
Because of these observations, I hypothesize that Knapweed will grow more frequently in areas with more access to sunlight; if a stratum has more access to sunlight, then Knapweed will grow in greater frequency than in other stratums.
A response variable could be Knapweed frequency (continuous), or perhaps Knapweed density (continuous), and a explanatory variable could be access to sunlight (can be set up categorically or continuously).
Very well laid out. It was easy to understand what you are trying to study and how each location compares to the other.
It might be easiest to study density, as you could almost just look at it and tell if there is a difference, but crack on with frequency too and perhaps there might be a difference.
Something that popped into my mind was the consideration of clouds/cloudiness during your period of study. Would that take an affect on a particular location(s) more than others? Or are the three locations you choose close enough together that cloud cover would virtually be the same for all locations. Just something to consider if you want.
Good luck with your study!