Category: Uncategorized

Sources of Scientific Information

 Find one source of ecological information. It can be online, from the library, or from a book on your shelf. Based on what you have learned in the “How to evaluate sources of scientific information tutorial”, create a post in which you a) say what the source is (and/or link to it), b) classify it into one of the four types of information discussed in the tutorial, and c) provide documentation to support your classification.

My source is an article available from the Thompson Rivers library, entitled Rising Atmospheric Carbon

Dioxide and Potential Impacts on the Growth and Toxicity of Poison Ivy . This is a peer-reviewed

Academic research paper. It is written by experts in their fields as indicated in the article, making it

academic. It does not say that the article is specifically reviewed in the article, however the Journal

publication guidelines state that the author(s) are responsible to have their paper peer reviewed. Also, it

is indicated as peer reviewed when using filters on the library website. The article contains methods and

discussion of results sections, indicating a research paper.

1. H. Ziska, R. C. Sicher, K. George, J. E. Mohan, Rising Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and Potential Impacts

on the Growth and Toxicity of Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans). Weed Science. 55, 288–292

(2007), doi:10.1614/ws-06-190.

Blog Post 1: Observations
Your initial post will describe the area that you have selected to observe. Give a brief physical description of the study area. Include its approximate size and location, and a general picture of its topography (i.e., canyon, flat, rolling hills, mountain slope, river bottom, etc.), vegetation (this can be very coarse, for example forested, grassland, wetland, city street with ornamental trees and shrubs, etc.), and designation, if any (i.e., Provincial or City park, golf course, etc.). Also note, when and at what time you visited the site and give an indication of weather and seasonality. Think about potential subjects that you might want to study for your research project. Based on your observations, list three questions that are interesting or striking and could form the subject of your research project. Support the descriptions above with images from your field journal (if you’re using paper and pen, scan your pages; if you’re using digital technology, save your files and submit those).

The area that I selected to observe is an approximately 1km trail that cuts through forested areas, disturbed areas and open field. It is located in the town of Little Current Ontario, on Manitoulin Island. The portion of the trail that I observed is about a minute walk from my house to the trail entrance, so I use it quite frequently. On the day of my last visit, September 21, the day was sunny and warm (18c) with little breeze. The time was approximately 11am.
The trail cuts across public forested land and borders private land. The stretch of trail I was on, is a portion of a large island wide trail system for hiking/ATV/snow mobile trail.
There has been an increase in human traffic this year as workers have been digging up land along the trail. It appears to be related to the hydro poles that cut through the area. Trucks, excavators, and backhoes have been down the trail. This area is generally underutilized, and my family is often the only people on the trail at any given time, with at most one or two other people crossing our path. They are commonly walking their dogs.
Several questions came to mind when observing the area. The poison ivy in the area was of particular interest however, as I am just recovering from over a month of discomfort associated with a large poison ivy rash that I obtained in that area.
Firstly, I had never noticed poison ivy growing along the trail in previous years, other than maybe an odd plant or patch of plants but now the area is covered in copious amounts- why?
Secondly, I wondered why the coverage is almost completely on one side of the trail.
Thirdly, I wondered if the increase this year is related to the workers activities.

field journal sketch

The data collection process was not only interesting but also challenging. The existence of numerous tree species both of which are springing and the grown ones made the process rather challenging. Getting to the field or the area of study was not as hard. However, studying the different species of trees and classifying them to ensure a seamless data collection process was rather hectic than earlier presumed. During the data collection, some trees were cut down and there were new species that had been planted with the area. These two variations brought some challenges in the sampling and data collection processes. Apart from these small hiccups, the data collection was effective and the sampling method worked well as postulated during the sampling strategies. The sampling method was not rigid but rather flexible hence allowing for in house variations such as including the new species that had been planted. Movement of people within the region and the changes in the climate could affect the species of the plans making them become more endangered or even causing deforestation to obtain more space for both residential and office purposes. The sampling process is effective hence I would still use the same structure for more research and data collection on the case study.

Since the beginning, I did not have to change the design of the study and there were only minimal issues that were then solved in the course of the study. Practice of ecology has made it possible to understand the influence of environmental factors on the population of species, not necessarily birds alone but possibly other species.

The outcome of the research went as expected and the data tabulated for ease of interpretation while graphs used for the sake of analysis. There were no unexpected findings determined.

The research article intends to state the ecological distribution of the birds in different ecological regions, relating to the density and patterns. Some of the key words for the research include urbanization, the species richness and birds.

There were a total of thirty species being considered for the study. Some of the ancillary patterns which reflects on the hypothesis indicated that the average of the number of birds in every hectare was the sum of the estimated density in all the species. The grams of the birds per Ha was the sum of all the species then multiplied by the average body mass of the species.

The sampling process for the trees was built on the analogy that the three main tree genus chosen were native the region. Sampling would ensure a clear understanding, observation and data collection of the different types of trees within the area. Sampling in this case is not limited to the individual trees but also their surroundings and the relationship they have with their immediate surrounding. There are different sampling techniques that can be employed in this case study. The probable sampling techniques to be used include simple random sampling (where the sample plots are placed randomly within the ecological gradient using random allocations the locations could not be similar in terms of the tree representations but they would have some samples within the environment), systematic sampling (a fixed selection is employed hence ensuring that the plots have a regular arrangement or rather pattern from which the case study can be carried out. The areas are carefully selected in such a way that all the samples are included within them), Cluster sampling (where the plants are grouped in clusters either systematically or stratified the subgroups or clusters are the ones used as the sampling units rather than the individuals within the population) and stratified sampling (where the population is divided into smaller groups or subgroups known as strata where each strata consists of a single population or rather according to the species). Stratified sampling is the best sampling method for this case study. It would ensure for classifying or rather sampling according to the different species. The sampling method is very advantageous for this study since it increases the precision and accuracy of the study hence reducing the errors and bias that could be made during the study. It also allows for the employment of other sampling procedures making the study dynamic hence producing better results and effective data collection.

The study explores the different types of trees in the different environmental ecosystems. The trees are distributed everywhere both in private and public land. There is a difference in their heights their physical appearances and even the smell or aroma which they emit. Some of the trees have bloomed and their different flowers have attracted various birds and even insects including butterflies and bees. From the different presentations and distributions, it is evident that there is an extent of variation in the types of trees across the ecological gradient. The difference lies in the species varieties, their color, heights, flowering and fruiting seasons, and the distribution both in the private and public areas. There are more than 100 species of trees within the region. A majority of them fall in the genus Eucalyptus. In as much as initially, oaks were the predominant species, the genus Eucalyptus is rather a majority within the region. The other types of trees include oaks, cones or rather cedars, Magnolia, Pine, cypress, palms amongst others. The tallest tree which is also the oldest is an Old Coast Redwood from which the town was named after. However, the redwood are very few as compared to the presumption that they would be numerous within the environmental gradient. The different types of eucalyptus have different features and also florals which bring forth the beauty of the area. The pines and other canopy trees create canopies that provides shade for humans. Eucalyptus trees consists of approximately 60 species (including E. acaciiformis,E. caesia, E. laeliae, E. maculosa amongst others) pine trees have about 30 different species(including P. eldarica, P. jeffreyi, P. mugo, P. sabiniana P.nigra amongst others) whilst the cypress consists of 7 different species which include Cupressus (C) arizonica, C. macrocarpa, C.torulosa, C. funebris amongst others. One of the hypothesis to be tested was whether human encroachment and population growth within the area affects the different types of trees within the area.