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Blog Post 2 – Sources of Scientific Information

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I chose a paper from the TRU library: Assessment of atmospheric pollution with heavy metals and nitrogen using Pleurozium schreberi mosses as bioindicator in Latvia: spatial and temporal aspects. It is written by an expert in the field, it includes in-text citations, and it also contains a bibliography. It is ACADEMIC MATERIAL. It was reviewed by at least 1 referee before publication. It is PEER REVIEWED. It describes “methods” in details and also reports all results of the field/lab study completed by the authors. It is RESEARCH MATERIAL.

Reference:

Tabors, G., Nikodemus, O., Dobkeviča, L., Kļaviņa, L., Ajanoviča, A., Viligurs, K., & Krūze, I. (2017). Assessment of atmospheric pollution with heavy metals and nitrogen using Pleurozium schreberi mosses as bioindicator in Latvia: spatial and temporal aspects. Environmental & Experimental Biology, 15(2), 143–150. https://doi-org.ezproxy.tru.ca/10.22364/eeb.15.

 

Blog Post 1 – Observation

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In the city, green spaces tend to be limited. Luckily, my apartment’s backyard is one that I could only dream of as a renter. I live on the ground floor of a 5 story apartment building. My apartment has a small, fenced patio which faces a shared green space between all the tenants.

Behind the green space, there is a beautiful path that leads a very large forested area (large for being in the city). In that forested area, there is another path that goes on for kilometres, winding through the trees, following a river. Very close to home, in the forest, there is a 2 square km area that I’ve been conveniently using as an off leash dog park. It is a place I go to almost every day. This is the area that I have decided to observe for this experiment.

I call it the peninsula in the woods, which is very accurate. It is an area that is surrounded by a river and is only connected to the land by one very small portion. The best way to describe it would be “wild”. There are as many live, healthy trees as there are dead ones. It seems that the main beings tampering with the land are deer, carving random trails through the brush, laying down and leaving concentrated spots of flattened grass. There are broken branches scattered everywhere. I’ve observed two areas where humans may have been recently. The first one being a couple of wood planks nailed to a tree, a possible tree house in the making? However, it hasn’t changed in a year. The second being a couple of large tree trunks laid down horizontally surrounding an area where there seems to have been a fire pit at some point. Once again, this place hasn’t changed in a year. Vegetation of all sorts can be found here. I’ve seen various types of moss, tall grasses, small bushes, large bushes and trees of all kinds. I would have to spend some time specifically to identify the vegetation, it isn’t my forte. I have seen many beavers in the water. There is a dam in the river that’s been flooded. That dam was built over the summer. As well, during the night, it is very common to hear coyotes howling nearby. Almost too close for comfort. It is precisely the reason why I don’t let my cat out in the night.

Potential Subjects:

  • As the cold temperatures arrive, the shallow river will begin to freeze. It could be interesting to try measuring wildlife activity as it gets colder. I could walk through and note all the signs of animal activity. Then, over the next while keep track of any changes in the ecosystem all while keeping in mind the temperature.
  • Moss has always been an interesting topic for me. It is said that moss grows on the north side of trees. I have always wondered if that was true. This could be a great opportunity to go through and record the location of moss on trees to see if it demonstrates accurately the cardinal points.

  • Just by listening to them, it seems the coyotes are dangerously close to the buildings. I would like to find out how daring they actually are by tracking them and finding the closest signs of their presence. With that, I could search the peninsula, but also other parts of the forest surrounding my building. I could look for feces, fur, tracks, etc.

 

Blog Post 6

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I have sampled twelve replicates. There have been a few issues with collecting data, such as implementing the sampling strategy, systematic sampling. When sampling, there was two instances in which I had to turn around and find another spot to continue, unless I wanted to fall down a cliff. Another issue I have run into is that the past two months, there has been quite a bit of precipitation. This has made it difficult to obtain soil samples that are not uncharacteristically wet.

While collecting my data, I noted that the distribution of sagebrush on hill tops is approximately what I expected. However, there was one quadrant in the valleys where there were more sagebrush than expected.

Blog Post 9: Field Research Reflections

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My field research project aimed to observe the impact a remediated landfill has on the surrounding environment through the measurement of percent yellowing of Polystichum munitum and Pteridium aquilinum and topsoil quality along the anthropogenic gradient.

Implementation of the field experiment was straightforward once an effective sampling strategy was conducted. A potential future replicated study would greatly benefit from having a larger sample size, since some of the soil nutrient quality results had larger than expected variations along the entire anthropogenic gradient.

With regards to selecting a plant organism to monitor if any physiological change in plants is present along the anthropogenic gradient, although P. munitum and P. aquilinum were sampled due to their large abundance along the entire area, these fern species are known for their resistance and resilience. As a result, perhaps less resistant species could have been measured to potentially observe a greater physiological change as a result of the anthropogenic impact.

Photo 1. Yellowing and/or wilting on P. aquilinum (bracken fern) frond.

However, percent yellowing of P. munitum (sword fern) was noted to be greater in locations closer to and encompassing the remediated landfill site. For both fern species, in some instances it was difficult to distinguish between yellowing and potential wilting (Photo 1), with different light discolouration patterns found (ex. tinted vs. spotted/patchy yellowing)(Photo 2). Perhaps a future experiment could accommodate for the two types of yellowing. Percent yellowing of P. aquilinum (bracken fern) was more difficult to define due to seasonal wilting already present at the time of sampling (Photo 1), therefore, it formulated a smaller role in the project than expected.

Photo 2. Tinted yellowing (left) vs. spotted/patchy yellowing (right) on different P. munitum (sword fern) fronds.

Once all soil and fern data was collected, further researching the impact of landfills on soil nutrient constituency and that impact on surrounding aboveground plants greatly helped in interpreting the found results. Moreover, at first data appeared to refute results from other research papers, particularly with soil nutrient levels being lower in the remediated landfill site than at the historically forested site, even though landfill leachate is known to have high levels of nitrogen. However, once the data was interpreted incorporating the impact of the landfill cover present underground in the remediated landfill area, the found results became more interpretable to current research.

Overall, by engaging in the practice of ecology, I have attained a much greater appreciation for the work required to organise and implement a field study, and the rewarding experience of being able to relate ecological theory to the real world environment. Through the inspiring hard work of many individuals and their field research, a valuable framework of ecological theory is developed, paving the way for future scientists and students alike to engage in learning about and appreciating the natural world around us.

Blog 7

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In my research I am looking to determine the distribution and frequency of Pinus banksiana on bedrock substrate versus soil substrate. It has been observed and noted in literature that P.banksiana grows in dry, well drained , sandy or rocky terrain. This is an observation that I have also made of the species in the North. P.banksiana is found amidst the forest canopy with soil substrate as well. There may be many ecological processes at work to determine where Pinus banksiana will grow. I believe variables that underpin the frequency and growth of P.banksiana include soil depth and nutrients. As well as canopy cover and elevation. Not only does P.banksiana appear to grow most abundantly on bedrock, this bedrock is not apart of the boreal canopy and is usually situated at a higher elevation then the rest of the surrounding foliage. Another ecological factor to consider is how P.banksiana reproduces and what conditions these reproductive processes need in order to produce viable offspring.

My keywords : Pinus banksiana , bed rock , distribution

Blog 6

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Materials used in data collection include, 300m measuring tape for transect line and quadrant marking; as well as measuring distance from center of quadrant to species and DBH. Field journal and pencil ( not pen because ink has begun to freeze while writing due to cold temperatures). A compass to ensure my transect line ran from North to South. Activities have included me walking the randomly generated step to transect point in each substrate area. I then will walk the randomly generated steps between quadrants marking the area with bright green tennis balls ( they stand out well against the small amount of snow) Species distances and DBH are measured and recorded in field journal.

So far I have collected 10 replicates on bedrock, and 10 replicates amongst soil substrate. I have found my experimental design and methods easy to carry out without too many problems. The only difficulty I have found is trying to walk through thick brush with measuring tape , trying to keep line as straight as possible.  I have noticed that along with jack pine frequency being more common on bedrock, the species also appears to be distributed heavily in higher elevations then the rest of the forest canopy. It seems as though jack pines have adapted away from the boreal canopy, thus away from species competition. I still expect to see relative frequency and distribution higher amongst bedrock though the variable of elevation may be contributing to this bedrock preference. That or the high drainage of bedrock with low soil and water content may have determining factors for Jack pine abundance.

Ongoing Field Observations

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The organism I have chosen to study is the leaves on the trees in my study area.  While at my study area I was observing the environment around me trying to decide what to study.  I looked on the ground and noticed that the leaves had begun to fall recently.  I studied the leaves on the ground and in the trees.  I noticed that the leaves had a white substance on them, presumably fungus or mould.  I am going to study the leaves from the different trees in all the areas of the park to see whether the leaves’ placement has an affect on if and how much of the white substance is on the leaves.  My hypothesis is that the placement of the leaves has an affect on whether the leaves will have the substance and will also affect the amount of substance.  I postulate that the leaves still in the trees will have less of the substance than the leaves on the ground.  Some continuous variables could be the amount of moisture the leaves are exposed to, amount of sunlight exposed to and temperature; some categorical variables are species of tree, the size of leave, thickness of leaf, colour of leaf, and other organisms around the leaves.  

Blog Post 3

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I plan to study Calliope hummingbird distribution at three banding sites (even after reading the Gotelli and Ellison paper!).

All three banding sites that I have chosen have more Rufous than Calliope captures, but the percentage of Calliope captures is distinct at each site. The Cinnabar site had the fewest numbers of hummingbirds overall, almost all of which are Rufous. The Cassiar Ranch site has the highest percentage of Calliope captures. The Private Residence site has the highest numbers of hummingbirds overall, with the Calliope percentage falling somewhere between the two other sites.

Feeding and banding protocols are identical for all sites. All three sites are within 52km of each other, at similar elevations and with abundant water sources. The most obvious differences in my site observations are forest age and density.

My hypothesis is that as surrounding forest age and density decrease, the percentage of Calliope hummingbird captures will increase. The response variable for this project is the percentage of Calliope captures (categorical). Potential explanatory variables for this project are forest age and density (continuous).

Blog Post 6: Data Collection

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I went out and sampled 5 plots of 1m x 1m each at my site.  I did not have any problems implementing my sample design.  I did notice that the less grass there was the more thistle there was.  The taller the grasses were the less there was of thistle.  And in plots that did not have a lot of grasses there appeared to be significantly more amounts of thistle present.  This goes well with my hypothesis.

Blog Post 5: Design Reflections

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I did not have any difficulties implementing my sampling strategy.  The data I collected was not surprising as I’ve done a bit of work with Thistle in the past.  I will not be collecting any further data or modifying my approach.  

I have done this type of sampling in the past with work but on a bit of a larger scale so I was comfortable with this and I based everything on what was done for my work sampling.