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Blog Post 9: Field Research Reflections
Create a final blog post that reflects on your field research. You both designed a field experiment and then carried it out. Did you have any issues with the implementation or have to make any changes to your design? Has engaging in the practice of ecology altered your appreciation for how ecological theory is developed?
I had to alter my design several times and had to return to my site and review my notes and photographs many times. Doing this research was very interesting, but a lot harder than I had thought. Whenever I thought I had figured out the best way to collect and analyze my information, I would learn more from reading different studies in the course reading and finding better ways (I hope) to do the study. Also, the weather and seasonal aspect of it makes it a lot harder than some other types of research. The plants that I was trying to study changed throughout the semester from lush to shriveled to now I can’t even see them as of today. That made it difficult when going back to look for certain individuals to confirm my data. Luckily the many photographs really helped.
Engaging in the practice of ecology has definitely altered my appreciation for how ecological theory is developed. It is difficult, but very interesting and I hope that I can do more in the future, with what I have learnt.
