User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
First day of sampling occurred on Saturday, Feb 27th at approximately 9:30am within the headland island of Pipers Lagoon, in Nanaimo B.C.
Study Hypothesis: Broadleaf Stonecrop abundance is determined by substrate drainability.
For my first day, I sampled three replicates on the Western portion, and one replicate on the Northern portion of the headland island. Each replicate consisted of a 40m long transect with the starting point randomly placed above the high water mark along the backshore. I originally planned to do a 50m length but felt it was redundant to sample that far into the inland forest. I chose the heading of each transect to be approximately towards the center of the headland island. Each transect, therefore, covered the full environmental gradient from coast to inland forest.
Along each transect, I placed a 1m2 quadrat starting at 0m and then every 3m, for a total of 14 subsamples per transect. Within each quadrat, I recorded the elevation above sea level, the substrate type, the sloping characteristic (gradient), the percent cover of my study subject (Broadleaf Stonecrop), and the distance along the transect. I also made note of the amount of sun exposure specifically whether it was an open space, or shaded by other vegetation.
Overall my study design was effective, albeit somewhat time-consuming. To speed things up a bit I may take pictures of each quadrat and from those assess the percent abundance and substrate type. I did have to adjust the starting locations of a couple transects slightly to allow for safer access to points along the transect.
Generally, my data collected thus far does tend to agree with my hypothesis, although based on patterns observed, sun exposure does seem to also play an important role in the Broadleaf Stonecrop abundance.
I will continue to implement this study design throughout the remaining area of the headland island. This will require 2 more transects in the Northern portion and 3 each in the Eastern and Southern portions for a total of 12 transects (replicates).
