Category: Nancy Elliot

Post 8: Table & Graphs

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The data I collected was the number of trees with and without ivy in a 5 m radius. Each block, A through E, had five replicates. It was difficult deciding what sort of statistics to conduct on the data. I wanted to keep it straightforward and focused on the abundance of ivy on trees within the radius and then broaden out to look at each block as a whole. I believe looking at the relative frequency of the presence/absence of ivy will achieve this. Since the blocks vary in size it could potentially be helpful to standardize the frequency somehow between the blocks.

 

Table 2

Summary of data collected. The first letter delineates the block and the following number the replicate.
Point Radius (5m) # of Trees with Ivy # of Trees without Ivy Total # of Trees in Radius Relative Frequency with Ivy Relative Frequency without Ivy
A.1 7 4 11 0.6364 0.3636
A.2 1 5 6 0.1667 0.8333
A.3 2 3 5 0.4000 0.6000
A.4 5 1 6 0.8333 0.1667
A.5 5 5 10 0.5000 0.5000
ATotal 20 18 38 0.5263 0.4737
B.1 2 9 11 0.1818 0.8182
B.2 0 8 8 0.0000 1.0000
B.3 1 3 4 0.2500 0.7500
B.4 1 5 6 0.1667 0.8333
B.5 4 4 8 0.5000 0.5000
BTotal 8 29 37 0.2162 0.7838
C.1 5 3 8 0.6250 0.3750
C.2 0 1 1 0.0000 1.0000
C.3 4 3 7 0.5714 0.4286
C.4 1 5 6 0.1667 0.8333
C.5 1 4 5 0.2000 0.8000
CTotal 11 16 27 0.4074 0.5926
D.1 2 4 6 0.3333 0.6667
D.2 1 5 6 0.1667 0.8333
D.3 4 4 8 0.5000 0.5000
D.4 2 4 6 0.3333 0.6667
D.5 5 3 8 0.6250 0.3750
DTotal 14 20 34 0.4118 0.5882
E.1 1 4 5 0.2000 0.8000
E.2 0 3 3 0.0000 1.0000
E.3 3 5 8 0.3750 0.6250
E.4 1 5 6 0.1667 0.8333
E.5 5 2 7 0.7143 0.2857
ETotal 10 19 29 0.3448 0.6552
BlockTotal 63 102 165 0.3818 0.6182

 

 

Post 6: Data Collection

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My study area within Colliery Dam Park is composed of five blocks (A, B, C, D, and E) fragmented by paths. Within each block I sampled five replicates for a total of 25. Each replicate was a point radius of 5 m in which I determined how many trees did or did not have English ivy growing on them.

Since the blocks are different sizes, I was unsure if larger blocks should have had more replicates to accurately scale the replicates to block area. Additionally, the varying block size made it so that I had to generate new random numbers to determine replicate locations. For small blocks I would walk too far out of the study area.

Blocks C and D had the most similar distribution while Blocks A and B had the most dissimilar distribution of trees with vs without ivy. This is interesting because both sets of blocks are located next to one another.

 

Field observations and data.

 

Post 5: Design Reflection

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There were some difficulties in implementing your sampling strategy. The difficulties mainly surrounded what parameters to record when examining the absence or presence of English Ivy. Such difficulties were if the type of tree or what side the ivy was growing on should be recorded. I wanted to keep the sampling strategy straightforward without generalizing.

I plan on continuing using the same data collection technique as it is straightforward and efficient to using randomly selected point-radii to examine the absence or presence of ivy.

Blog Post 9: Field Research Reflections

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My field research was done at a local park every day for approximately a month. This was a large time commitment but made easier as I have to enter the park multiple times a day on my route to school or work. This part of the project was well planned out as it was convenient for me to frequent my sampling area as often as needed.

This project has shown me how time-consuming and how many more variables there seems to be in ecology research compared to the laboratory experiments that I am used to. Out in the field, it is very difficult to make controls like you can in the lab, therefore, it seems that many many more replicates need to be done to ensure accurate data.

I feel that my experiment worked well for the resources and time commitment I had available but if I was to have access to more I would design one in a rural setting where the results could have larger implications to ecological topics. This would have been a far too large and engaging experiment for a few short weeks though.

Blog Post 8: Tables and Graphs

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For my research data, I decided to analyze it using the Kruskal-Wallis statistic test. This allows me to compare the median of my response variable to multiple intervals of my predictor variable. I used Minitab 18 to coordinate the data and calculate the medians, means and standard deviations which I then used to for the graph below.

Fig.1. Average squirrel abundance measured at View Royal Park in relation to the number of domestic dogs present.

The average amount of squirrels was calculated within each interval and plotted here with error bars that were calculated using the individual standard deviation. There is an inverse relationship between the number of dogs present and the number of squirrels observed. The statistical test used to analyze this data was the Kruskal-Wallis test. The P-value was found to be P<0.05, therefore, we can reject the null hypothesis and all the means are different.

 

Post 3: Ongoing Field Observations

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I’ve decided to examine the abundance and distribution of English Ivy in Colliery Dam Park. The ivy is seen throughout the park on a variety of trees, ferns, and shrubbery. Community groups have conducted pulls to remove the invasive species. Some trees are still covered in the dead ivy and you can see where they have been clipping from the roots at the base of the trees. The paths and trails fragment the parkland.

Hypothesis: That paths and trails have a negative impact on English Ivy dispersal because of fragmentation of habitat.

A potential response variable is the presence or absence of English Ivy on trees. This response variable would be categorical. A predictor variable is that fragmentation between the strata has effects on the dispersal of ivy.

English Ivy on tree.
Partial map of Colliery Dam Park showing fragmentation from the trails.

Post 1: Observations

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Colliery Dam Park is four-hectare B.C. Historic Provincial Park located at 635 Wakesiah Avenue, Nanaimo. I visited the park in the afternoon after it had lightly rained that morning. It was approximately 5 °C. It’s generally flat and forested predominately by Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar, Western Hemlock, and Big Leaf Maples. There is a number of invasive plants such as Daphne, English Holly, English Ivy, Himalayan Blackberry, and Scotch Broom. I was aware that Scotch Broom was invasive, but I never realized English Ivy was too. Many of the trees and ferns were covered by the Ivy and it appeared the amount of ivy increased the farther from the main path you went. Additionally, there has been work done in recent years on the dams and spillways.

Hypothesize:

  1. How does the distribution and abundance of English Ivy change throughout the park and/or the main path?
  2. Do the dams and spillways affect the growth of certain plant species?
  3. How does the distribution and abundance of Daphne change throughout the park?
Initial field observations
English Ivy growing on ferns and trees.

Blog Post 8 – Tables and Graphs

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I found that summarizing my data into a visually representative table or graph was relatively easy. The table I submitted summarizes the number of individuals (abundance) counted within the two habitat areas within Terwillegar Park. My prediction was that bird abundance would increase with increase in tree/forest cover. When I summarized my data into the table it was noticeable that the highest number of individuals was the forested area.  In my paper I plan on creating a visually representative bar graph of the data collected as this will display the difference in abundance easier than in table form.
 

Table 1: Recorded point count data from Terwillegar Park, Edmonton, Alberta.   

Habitat Type  Number of Birds   
  March 9, 2019  March 12, 2019 
Open Area with Scattered Cover  15  8 
Forest Area 

 

 53  51 

 

Blog Post 7 – Theoretical Perspective

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The theoretical basis of my research project is examining how amount of cover effects overwintering birds’ presence/abundance in an urban park. My hypothesis/prediction is primarily concerned with the abundance of overwintering birds in an open area with scattered trees versus a forested area with dense cover allowing birds to escape the elements, but hypothesis and predictions could also be tied o that a dense forest has greater foraging capabilities for these birds than the open areas do. 

The ideas the underpins my research is wondering how birds can cope with the conditions that we experience during the winter months and how cover affects the birds.  

Keywords: urban park, overwintering, bird abundance/presence, cover type. 

Blog Post 6 – Data Collection

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To date I have completed my first round of point count surveys within Terwillegar Park to determine overwintering bird abundance/presence based on forest cover within the park (open area with scattered tree cover and forested cover). In my first round of point count surveys I completed 4 replicates in each of the areas mentioned above. I will complete at least one more day of data collection this week, bringing total replicates to 8 in each area.

To date the only problem that arose with implementing my sampling was by the time I reached the last point count locations, the number of people and their pets increased resulting in disturbance during my 10 minutes of recording bird observations.

Ancillary information that I have observed, such as the number of people and there pets that make me reflect on my hypothesis could lead to additional questions and studies to be completed however they will not be studied in my paper. The one question I have thought about on numerous occasions is does the increased presence of dogs impact the abundance of birds present in the park.