Category: Post 9: Field Research Reflections

Blog Post 9: Field Research Reflections

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Before starting this blog post I must admit that Ecology is not one of my strong spots. I am currently in my last semester of a Cellular, Molecular, Microbiology degree; therefore, I am more interested in the molecular process that occur. Because of this, I found this field project very difficult. With that being said, I think the majority of my difficulties rooted from not being as interested in this discipline of Biology.

I must say though, that I was able to learn a lot about trouble shooting and independent learning throughout this course and field project.

I had many time constraints, therefore, I decided to implement a study design that I was able to best understand. I found it easy to implement my study design and carry out the point counts. The hardest part of the field project for me was analyzing the data without using statistical tests. I found it difficult to compare my results with literature as my individual study was proceeded on such a small scale.

Overall, this class was able to open my eyes to another area of biology. I was able to determine different ways in which the ecological theory is developed; however, I still need lots more practice to facilitate my overall knowledge.

Blog Post 9

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I had originally planned to do my study on Haida Gwaii and I was a little too ambitious thinking I could identify lichens to genus level. I could successfully ID some to genus level but not enough to be consistent so, once I arrived in Victoria and decided to do my study at Mount Douglas Park, I broadened my study to just look at the three dominant lichen growth forms of crustose, foliose, and fruticose which I could easily identify in the field. I had to make two changes to my design, the first of which was eliminating the transect on the northern side of the park and instead doing two transects in the southern portion along the same trail. The northern side of the park had dense under story vegetation which would have been difficult to get through and sample trees and the tree community was different, having mostly red cedars whereas the southern portion was Douglas fir dominated. Site reconnaissance is important! The second change was that I had hypothesized too many things that would have made my sample design too complicated. I decided to keep my first two hypotheses that were that lichen distribution differed between tree aspect, and the second that lichen abundance differed between tree type (deciduous and coniferous). I ditched the third hypothesis that lichen distribution differed between the upper and lower forest.

Developing an appropriate experimental and sampling design was a challenge but what an incredible learning experience this has been. I now feel like I have a much more solid base of understanding when approaching scientific articles and understanding the varying methodologies and approaches to various problems. Clarity is incredibly important when defining research questions and study variables. Dealing with statistics is a mentally painful experience for me but it is such an integral part of ecology that I am really trying to understand, and this course helped me understand why certain statistical methods are used in certain situations regarding categorical and continuous variables. My appreciation for the work that goes into ecological studies has deepened, and I now have a much better understanding of how much planning has to happen before the actual field data collection. 

I also thoroughly enjoyed learning more about lichens which are gaining more presence in the literature as important members of the ecological community. They fix nitrogen, cycle minerals, provide food and nest materials for wildlife, and can be used as indicators of air quality. They are fascinating and so beautiful to observe in the forest, and just like anything, when I learn the names of more species out there, my connection to that place and to nature as a whole deepens which I am always grateful for.

Thanks for your guidance throughout the course, Nancy!

Post 9: Field Research Reflections

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I had a limited amount of time to carry out my field research project as I travelled a long way to the beach for only a day. There were of course various other reasons, one of them being that I’m starting a full time job thus I would like to finish my studies as soon as possible with concentration before starting work and I’m recently married. Marriage comes with a lot of responsibilities. I had done my fair bit of research before I even went to the beach to do any measurements and I had been thinking about a research topic for a very long time. I recently went to Morocco for my honeymoon and collected some sea shells as a souvenir. I was looking at the various sea shell sizes at home and was questioning the reason behind the varying sizes, so I thought I’d do a sea shell size related topic. I then went online and did some research as to what is involved in measurements at the beach.

In my opinion the most challenging part of this research project was figuring out a topic to base my research on. Once I had a topic in mind the rest was straightforward. Although I found similar research studies to mine online, I have gained a lot of appreciation for how ecological theory is developed. It is only after completing my own research project that I understood the amount of effort that goes into developing the theory and experimental design. It is also very necessary to have the right equipment for the research project. Sometimes what seems like a very simple study comes with a lot of complications.

Post 9: Field Research Reflections

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Designing and implementing a field research project for this class was a great way to provide practical experience in the work required, and difficulties encountered by a practising field biologist.While I had a concrete idea of what I wanted to study (impact of different habitats on bird species presence and abundance) it took quite a while to determine the correct location in which to implement this study to minimize confounding variables and ensure that the results between study sites would truly be comparable. I began my project at Stanley Park’s Lost Lagoon which would essentially be comparing species diversity and presence between 3 different sites within one habitat (Lost lagoon) with differing levels of anthropogenic influence.   The surrounding areas of the Lagoon were observed and evaluated for bird species presence and abundance along an urbanized gradient.

Once my study site was selected I had no real difficulty in implementing the project design (point count surveys within each of the three habitat types representing different levels of urbanization). However, despite all my sites being relatively close to one another it still took a considerable amount of time to visit two point count survey locations in each of the three sites on a number of different days. This really helped me understand the difficulty in ensuring that enough replicate samples are taken in a study to ensure that the data collected is truly representative of the conditions on the site.

This research project has given me an appreciation for the amount work and forethought that is required in developing and implementing successful research projects whose results can be robust enough to help develop and further the principles in ecological theory. Overall, it was an interesting hands-on experience that will give me insight as a future biologist.

Blog Post 9: Reflections

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Conducting my field project did present a number of challenges, but none of them were insurmountable. As my project progressed and I researched relevant literature, I broadened my hypotheses. Originally, I was focussed on competition but as I did more reading, the importance of facilitation within forested communities became part of my study. This feels like valuable knowledge and I’m already looking at forests and plants in a different light.

There were no issues with implementing the project, although I did try both randomized and strategic experimental designs before settling on a strategic one.

Certainly engaging in practicing ecology has increased my appreciation for it. One thing that struck me was how challenging it must be for ecologists to relate the significance of their findings to resource planners, managers, the public, and policy makers. Obviously there is a big disconnect here or our policies would be better aligned with the alterations to the planet’s ecosystems that are occuring.

Overall an excellent and well-designed course. Now I just have to get the last few pages of my final report finished up!

Blog Post 9

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My field research presented many challenges including needing to broaden my hypothesis, problems with the weather, and difficulties carrying out my methods. Many changes were made to account for the problems I encountered to make my project stronger. I have learned a lot of respect for the amount of time and energy that goes into standing in the snow and rain to observe ecological aspects of the study.

Post 9: Field Research Reflections

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Well, where do I begin?! I have learned so much in this course & I am very grateful to Nancy for her ability to teach me new concepts through the difficult interface of distance learning. I am thankful for the insight & feedback provided to me throughout this course.

I chose Community & Ecosystem Ecology as my first correspondence course through TRU with multiple factors in mind; The course sounded unique & interesting and I was hopeful it would give me a better understanding of the natural world & how it functions.  I have not been disappointed. By designing & learning how to do an actual hands-on field research project, I now have some new skills & a richer overall appreciation for what ecologists & scientists in related fields carry out on a regular basis. I appreciate even more so that it is absolutely critical to support our scientists & their development of ecological theory as our planet & all of its inhabitant’s head into a relatively uncertain future.

With regard to my field research project- at first I did run into a few challenges. The location I chose to conduct my field research project is a place I attend every single day. It only made sense that I would take my daily observations & the resulting questions I had about the site & put them into a project for analysis. Well as it turned out, I couldn’t decide on exactly what I wanted to know, or how I was to ask the question, or develop any type of hypothesis…in the end, I finally decided on observing abundance of individual plant species located in two sites within the borders of same park, and I feel that I chose the right project to focus on.

Because of this course & the knowledge & skills that I have since acquired, I have been inspired to conduct multiple field research samples throughout the year, since I will be on site every day anyhow, and I will record the data into bar graphs to observe the results. I am very curious to know if I will find any type of decline or increase in plant abundance throughout different parts of the year, or, if the temperature here in Victoria holds steady enough to support the same plants years round? It should be interesting to see, & something I am looking forward to!

 

Good luck to all, thanks again Nancy, & here’s to a happy & healthy 2018!!

 

Michelle

~A Hopeful Science Nerd~

 

Post 9.

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Post 9. Field Research Reflections.

This project opened my eyes to a feature of the forest that I see all the time but didn’t know its importance. I always liked looking at the advanced nurse logs bearing huge trees on top of the dead wood. There are many examples in parks on Vancouver Island. I thought they were a mere curiosity; but they are an important part of the rainforest ecosystem. My study determined that dead wood hosts a wider variety of plants than the ground around them. They also have more individual plants packed on top of them than on the ground. Plants that grow on the nurse logs tend to be taller than equivalent plants growing nearby on the ground. These trees that died are literally supplying their own replacement.

Some areas for future study could include why some logs and stumps did not host any growth at all or if nurse logs are as important, or even exist, in other types of forests.

 

Post 9: Field Research Reflections

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Designing and implementing a field research project for this class was a great way to provide practical experience in the work required, and difficulties encountered by a practicing field biologist.

While I had a concrete idea of what I wanted to study (impact of different habitats on bird species presence and abundance) it took quite a while to determine the correct location in which to implement this study to minimize confounding variables and ensure that the results between study sites would truly be comparable. I began my project at Surrey Bend Regional Park but with the help of Dr. Hebert quickly determined that the sites in this location were not similar enough to compare, and I would essentially be comparing species diversity and presence between two different habitats with differing levels of anthropogenic influence. As a result, it would be nearly impossible to determine if it was the habitat type or past human impacts that were influencing the birds present on the site. In the end, I changed my location to Burnaby Lake Regional Park and the surrounding area and evaluated bird species presence and abundance along an urbanized gradient.

Once my study site was selected I had no real difficulty in implementing the project design (point count surveys within each of the three habitat types representing different levels of urbanization). However, despite all my sites being relatively close to one another it still took a considerable amount of time to visit two point count survey locations in each of the three habitats on a number of different days. This really helped me understand the difficulty in ensuring that enough replicate samples are taken in a study to ensure that the data collected is truly representative of the conditions on the site.

Overall, this research project has given me an appreciation for the amount work and forethought that is required in developing and implementing successful research projects whose results can be robust enough to help develop and further the principles in ecological theory. I look forward to applying the skills I have acquired in this class to my work as an applied field biologist.

Blog Post 9: Field Research Reflections

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This whole process has kind of been eye opening. The main thing I’ve taken from the process is that things don’t always go according to plan when it comes to research. The project I conducted had many compromises due to the nature of the study; having no lab equipment to work with really did change how I approached this study. For example I had to look at average weights of tide pools vs individual samples due to limitations in measurement. This project has made me appreciate how much work goes into ecological studies. It has given me practice in application of research techniques that I believe will be useful in future research.

Thank you Nancy for all your help throughout the course!