Category: Post 7: Theoretical Perspectives

Blog Post 7: Theoretical Perspectives

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The hypothesis of my research involves determining whether the presence of other plant species growing near an individual bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) plant contributes to its growth and abundance. I want to understand whether greater diversity in garden plots reduce the intraspecific competitions; thus, resulting in larger bean plants. The ecological processes that my hypothesis might touch on include the biotic factor such as competition, mainly the intraspecific, but also interspecific competitions. Other ecological processes to be explored include the abiotic factors such as soil moisture, water balance and nitrogen fixation. The species richness in biodiversity will also be relevant to this topic.

Exploring all these different processes could lead to significant findings that could lead to further research, which could potentially improve current beans cultivation practices, and other plant species in a more sustainable and productive way.

The keywords that I would use to describe my research project are intra-specific competition, sustainable development, and nitrogen fixation.

 

 

Blog Post 7: Theoretical Perspectives

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For my research project, I’m studying how soil moisture affects the distribution of western redcedar trees (Thuja plicata). This touches on how abiotic factors, such as soil moisture, can affect organisms. Water is a fundamental resource required for life, so it follows that it would play a significant role in the ecosystem. If water is scarce, the more tolerant organisms will be better competitors and have a better chance at survival.

I have found that Douglas-fir trees (Pseudotsuga menziesii) are the most common tree in both sites with cedars and without. Douglas-firs require more well-drained soil compared to western redcedar, indicating that Douglas-firs are likely to be more tolerant of water scarcity. Therefore, Douglas-firs can be found in the sites with less soil moisture, where western redcedars can not survive.

The keywords that I would use to describe this project are soil moisture, tolerance, and western redcedar.

Blog Post 7: Theoretical Perspectives

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The study I am doing seeks to investigate the effect of soil pH on plant diversity in peatlands but it also investigates the connection between soil pH and plant diversity of peatlands to land-use changes.  Some of the processes that could be at play in this study are water-logging and soil composition.  It could be that the plants that are growing closer to the pathway are not able to grow further into the peatland due to water-logging or soil composition.  It might be that the soil that was brought in to build the pathway created a better environment for these specific plants or perhaps the soil that was brought in even carried some viable seeds with it. 

The keywords that I would use to summarize my research would be peatland land-use changes, plant diversity and soil pH.

Post 7: Theoretical Perspectives

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Based on my research so far the theoretical basis of my research is competition, niches, and succession. The areas I am researching have at one point been logged and so I am observing different levels of succession where the forest on the west side of the ridge has recovered from the logging event whereas the east side of the ridge has not recovered and is currently impeded by urbanization. The ferns are dealing with various levels of competition and different communities and so fill different niches in each treatment condition and have evolved to thrive in each niche to compete with the other plants. In addition, there is likely a difference in diversity between the three treatments since old-growth forests may have more diversity than areas that have had a more recent disturbance. This means that high diversity would be expected on the west side of the ridge as opposed to the east side where the logging has been more recent. Furthermore, the ferns may have evolved so that ferns in the forest have bigger leaves in order to collect more sun versus the ferns in the sunlight condition, which have smaller leaves as they can easily collect sufficient sun for photosynthesis. 

Some keywords that summarize this project are as follows: ferns; Tracheophyta; vascular plants; competition; niche; community; succession; Pacific Northwest; ridge; Galbraith Mountain; sunlight; shade; logging; new growth forest; urbanization; diversity; disturbance. These words were chosen based on the research I have conducted so far for this study as well as descriptors of the subject and its locations.

Blog Post 7: Theoretical Perspectives

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My research project is examining the expansion of a stand of Trembling Aspen Populus tremuloides into a field at Campbell Valley Park in southwestern BC. According to some preliminary research I have done soil quality, sunlight availability (Romme et al., 2005), climate change, fire suppression, grazing and human interactions (Widenmaier & L Strong, 2010) are all potential factors for tree encroachment. The Aspen tree is one of the most common deciduous trees in North America and can reproduce asexually producing shoots that travel under the soil and produce cloned trees as large in area as a few acres(Mitton & Grant, 1980). Aspen are considered early succession species that take advantage of disturbed environments (Romme et al., 2005). Therefore, some keywords that would describe my research project would be early succession, tree encroachment, environmental gradient.

References:

Mitton, J. B., & Grant, M. C. (1980). Observations on the Ecology and Evolution of Quaking Aspen, Populus tremuloides, in the Colorado Front Range. American Journal of Botany, 67(2), 202–209. https://doi.org/10.2307/2442643

Romme, W. H., Turner, M. G., Tuskan, G. A., & Reed, R. A. (2005). Establishment, Persistence, and Growth of Aspen (Populus tremuloides) Seedlings in Yellowstone National Park. Ecology, 86(2), 404–418.

Widenmaier, K. J., & L Strong, W. (2010). Tree and forest encroachment into fescue grasslands on the Cypress Hills plateau, southeast Alberta, Canada. Forest Ecology and Management, 259(10), 1870–1879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2010.01.049

Blog Post 7: Theoretical Perspectives

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I am curious if the level of predator activity in an area affects the activity of a mole colony in the same area.
There are preceding works that provide a theoretical basis for my hypothesis. Some propose the use of models such as the Lotka-Volterra Model (Abrams, 2000) to show the relationship between predator and prey. This body of research creates an architecture around how to model predator and prey communities. The intent of my research is to identify if a relationship exists, and possibly what influences there may be on the communities in the WURA. Previous research paper’s such as this allow me with a basis on which to compare and contrast my own methods and results.
The focus of the research is on feral canines and feral felines acting as predators on eastern European moles in a semi urban setting. Some key words specific to my research project would be:
  • Mole
  • Canine
  • Predation
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References:
Abrams, Peter A. “The Evolution of Predator-Prey Interactions: Theory and Evidence.” Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, vol. 31, 2000, pp. 79–105. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/221726. Accessed 9 Mar. 2021.

Blog Post 7: Theoretical Perspectives

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My field project study involves assessing the abundance of Broadleaf Stonecrop using percent cover in 1m2 quadrats along a few environmental gradients including elevation from sea level and micro habitat transition from shoreline to forest. My hypothesis is that Broadleaf Stonecrop abundance is determined by the moisture of the substrate which is indicated by a categorical level of drainability. Therefore I have predicted that the Stonecrop is most abundant in areas with high degree of drainability.

Thus far during my data collection I have noticed several ecological influences that may be affecting the abundance and distribution of my study subject. These would include exposure to sunlight, the underlying substrate, degree of slope within the growing area, substrate moisture content, as well as competition with other vegetation. 

Since the Broadleaf Stonecrop is  a succulent, they seem to thrive with very little substrate moisture hence my above prediction. They also thrive in areas where very few other vegetative species would be able to grow primarily steep, ocean exposed rocky outcrops along the shoreline. They also seem to require a high degree of sunlight and their abundance decreases dramatically in higher vegetated areas that would shade out the Stonecrop. Interestingly, it has been observed that the Stonecrop also only grows along the ocean facing cliffs in the study area, not the lagoon facing side.

Therefore both abiotic and biotic factors are having a direct and indirect influence on where the Stonecrop is most abundant. This study also touches upon competition for space and resources among various vegetation, adaptability in seemingly harsher environments, and higher tolerance for dryer conditions.

Three keywords that could be used to describe this study are climatic stressors, substrate moisture, and slope gradient.

Post 7: Theoretical Perspectives

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There are several ecological processes and factors which are relevant to my hypothesis. The abundance and variety of bird species observed at each of the three locations will be affected by several influences. The ideas that unpin my research include:

  • Which indisputably granivorous birds are native to the area
  • The disturbances caused by hikers along the trail
  • The diversity and abundance of birds in relation to forest fragmentation
  • Temperature, precipitation, and other weather conditions which may affect behaviour
  • Makeup of birds present when considering migratory and sedentary species
  • Presence of predators at feeders

Keywords that I could use to describe my research project include indisputably granivorous birds, bird predators, aves, ornithology, and recreational path.

Post 7: Theoretical Perspectives

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My research project was to examine the presence of a green color on the trunk of aspen trees. My hypothesis was that the green color would be present only on the south side of the tree trunk in order to maximize sun exposure. The green indicates the presence of chlorophyll which trees use to perform photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is necessary for the trees to produce energy and is especially needed in the winter during the harsh conditions. The presence of the green color could be an indication that the trees are still able to photosynthesize in the winter without the presence of any leaves. This ability could give them a competitive advantage over other deciduous trees that do not have this ability. This ability would also likely improve the winter hardiness of the tree and give it a head start on leaf production in the spring which would allow the tree to make leaves ahead of others again giving it a competitive advantage and possibly blocking the access of other plants to the sun. This ability could also translate to increased reproductive fitness and overall increased survival rates. While I was collecting my data I also noticed that there was some variation noted in regards to tree circumference and the presence or absence of green color as well as related to the presence of surrounding competition and access to sunlight. I look forward to analyzing the data to see what I can learn from it. Three keywords I would use to describe my research project would be competitive advantage, winter survival, and resource sharing.

Post #7: Theoretical Perspectives

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I am studying how the abundance of Typha latifolia affects the timing of their seed dispersal. First and foremost what I will need to consider in this study is the reproductive behaviour and processes of this species as well as how they behave with each other and with other species in their respective ecosystems. Whether their seeds are resilient and their reproduction is easily achieved will be crucial things to consider as well as whether they live harmoniously among other species both of their own kind and others. This will give me very valuable information in order to properly interpret my data. However, because ecosystems are complex and there are many variables involved, other factors begging to be considered are nutrient availability (because one would assume species with enough nutrients would reproduce more optimally than those malnourished) and environmental factors such as wind, temperature and light (because these are also things that could effect reproductive behaviour). What I aim to do in my research is find out when cattails best like to reproduce and find out if the amount of neighbors of their own species present has anything to do with the timing of their seed dispersal. Some keywords I would include for this study would be invasive species, seed dispersal, reproductive behaviour, and interspecies competition.