User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
This was my first time doing field research and it went better then I thought because of that. I did have challenges with weather changing at first but once I found a time of day that was relatively consistent it went much better. Writing the field report was also challenging for me. Making sure all the data I had was in the right section and used correctly was difficult. I have a greater appreciation for scientists that do this type of work regularly. Environmental ecologists have to contend with so many elements that are out of their control that I have a greater appreciation for them in particular. When conducting field research they cannot control the weather or other disturbances that may affect their study. Events like that can really affect the outcome of a study. Taking into account all the elements they cannot control is a lot of work. Even for my little study not being able to control the weather made it hard at first to conduct.
