User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
For the course project I have been gathering data on the ecology and communities of a 1km x 1km area in western Ukraine. The following information contains both my ongoing field observations and my considerations regarding a possible hypothesis.
Organism or Biological Attribute:
For the course project I have chosen to study the Eastern European Mole, and how it interacts with local predators such as dogs and cats.
Documentation:
I have been observing and documenting mole colonies, dog sightings, cat sightings, weather conditions, and mole hill activity over the last month in the observation areas. Specifically Zone 9, Zone 15, Zone 12, and zone 7. Contrasting to this, there is a single Zone I have been documenting called ‘Control zone’ east of the observation area which has no Canine or Cat activity observed.
Gradients Observed:
TOPOGRAPHY: In the control area, there is a gradient of topography with approximately a linear grade from the southern aspect dropping approximately 12 feet to the northern most aspect. Of note there is approximately an 8 foot gully near creek on western aspect of observation area.
VEGITATION: The general area which the moles are observed is the grassed areas which sit on a sandy aggregate soil.
PREDATORY CONCENTRATION: There appears to be a higher concentration of predators in north western aspect of observation areas, but less in south eastern area either due to topography, territorial behavior, access to food, or a combination there of.
GROUND: Keeping in mind soil types change throughout the area. Again, the mole hills appear in sandy soil but the depth gradient of tunnels is not able to be directly observed despite the research on moles that indicates that these can go as deep as 6 feet. There is a carpet of decomposing leaves and rich soil under the oak trees (often thick with acorns) but little to none under pine trees.
TEMPORAL: Over time the count of active mole hills, spoor, coil conditions, and weather changes which may affect activity levels of all organisms in observation area.
Three locations inside the Observation area are:
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North west aspect of Zone 9 – Medium to low dog activity in area/transit point no sleeping
Northwestern Aspect of Zone 15 – Low dog activity in area as they adhere to eastern aspect for midday sleeping.
South eastern aspect of Zone 7 – High Dog activity due to transit+sleeping area
Central area of Zone 12 – Low mole hill count, high dog activity during midday.
Control area: Zero dog/cat activity – Zone A (east of map)
Processes and Patterns
Anecdotally the mole hills appear more populus and active in zone 9 and 15, as well as the control area to the east. This seems to be inverse to the dog activity in those areas. The temperature changes over time seem to affect the mole activity to some extent.
Hypothesis
The number of predatory dogs and cats in the area directly effects the activity of the colonies in the observation area.
Response variable(continuous): Mole hills along the gradient of dog activity.
Explanatory/Predictor variable (continuous): Number of dogs in the area (based on sightings and new signs)
Initially this appears that a study for this hypothesis would be of a regression design
Your project looks very interesting and very well laid out. Your prediction and hypothesis are very clear. Will focusing solely on the predation be enough to account for other factors that affect mole distribution? Does the weather affect predator activity in the area and if so how would you account for this?
Generally, your project looks great.
Good job.
Instructor: Robyn Reudink