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Post 5

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I used the haphazard / area sampling strategy.  The only difficulty I had was finding enough replicates.  I had to return to the site and establish two more plots to ensure that I had 10 replicates for each environmental gradient. I choose the haphazard strategy because I felt if I used random or systematic plot location that I may not have found enough representative Cedar trees within a reasonable amount of plot locations.  My only concern with haphazard is the potential for introducing bias into the research.

I will continue to use the established plots but will begin collecting additional information specifically for each tree.  Every Cedar tree within my plots has been marked and numbered.

To better test my hypothesis and if had the time to set up a long-term research project I think I would design this experiment to be manipulative in a controlled environment.  I think a manipulative experiment could help determine the level of resistance with better accuracy.

Blog Post 8: Tables and Graphs

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I chose to create a graph to represent the data I collected. It was beneficial that we had created a graph/table for our hypothesis as I learned from that what information I needed to include and I also learned some important lessons about the type of graph to use based on my study design. I had done my hypothesis graph incorrectly so I needed to do some research to figure out the type of graph that I should use. My response variable (birds) is a categorical variable and my predictor variable (temperature) is a continuous variable. Therefore my study design is a logistic regression. Initially I had created a line chart. However, a line chart would suggest that the response variable was continuous. I did some research and in the end I decided that a point graph (called a scatter plot in some journals) was the best way to chart my observations and results. I also had trouble with the legend and knowing what information should be included there. I tried to create it so that if an individual read the chart without knowing any information about my research study they would be able to decipher the results.  I think a table would have given more information than I was able to include in the graph such as the times of day that the observations were collected or information on other variables such as cloud cover and wind. However, I chose to create a graph because the visual information included in a figure can often tell a story that words cannot. My results surprised me and suggest that my hypothesis is not true, or rather that the null hypothesis may be correct. I would be interested in doing further research on the subject of bird activity with weather and expand it beyond temperature alone. How much of an affect is cloud cover on bird activity or humidity? Also, do smaller birds have different tolerances to weather than larger birds? Lastly, is bird activity affected by a combination of variables that include temperature but also precipitation, wind, cloud cover, humidity and time of day?

Blog Post 8: Tables and Graphs

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I did not have too much troubles organizing my graphs. The outcome was as expected for small birds but the data did not seem to signify anything significant for large or medium sized birds. This may be because weather effects small birds more so than larger birds, but I have not found anything that confirms this and will have to continue my research to see if this is a potential explanation.

Post 9: Field Research Reflections

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I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started this course. I think Biology really teaches you how research works, atleast in the sciences. I knew what ecology was but now I have a more in-depth understanding. I don’t think that I would have done this online if I had known that it would have been such a deep dive.

The project itself was fine. I chose a topic that related to my experiences doing silviculture surveys so I didn’t have to figure a lot out. It was a good choice because there was much more to learn: writing a scientific paper, doing statistical analysis, literature reviews, etc. Not much about my methods changed. Though, my analysis did change as I realized that it was possible for me to do much more with the data than I originally envisioned. I also learned a lot, in general, about my topic of choice.

Next year I need to carry out a piece of research, which will be a major part of my degree (9 credits) and this project has helped me develop skills and knowledge that will assist in my research. It’s also helped me with my understanding of statistics. In terms of ecological theory, I find it a bit… theoretical. I’m interested in tangible, practical applications of knowledge. I’m glad there are people who are involved with ecological theory development but I’m going to be working on an applied basis.

Blog Post #3 – Ongoing Field Observations

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  1. Identify the organism or biological attribute that you plan to study.

After visiting my study site several times over the last week, I am eager to focus my research project on bird species in some way.  Over the last couple days, my ideas for study subjects have been wide ranging. Amongst some of my ideas:

  • attempting to sample the abundance of all individual bird species I encounter  at various points in the park (an unrealistic idea for someone with little to no working knowledge of bird identification, especially by song)
  • Measuring the abundance of bird species at different times of day, to see when activity is highest. (an appealing idea, but again with little knowledge of various bird species this study would likely have a large bias due to my own inaccuracies)
  • I then thought about grouping birds into groups (ie: songbirds, water birds, birds of prey) and sampling throughout the park at various times of day.  (Better, as I’m confident I can accurately tell the difference between these 3 groups, however the studies I looked at still put considerable emphasis on using bird songs to count species that have low visibility.)

 

I finally decided that water bird observations would be the direction I took as there are fewer species and each is fairly easy to accurately identify, even for an inexperienced bird watcher like myself.  They are also highly visible given their propensity for water and shore-based activities, so the need to identify based on song is eliminated. I will focus my observations on the 2 ponds in the park as I have not observed water birds outside of the immediate area of the ponds.

I knew I wanted to look at behavior patterns throughout the course of the day to see if I could discern any differences.  Once I thought more about bird behavior, I realized I would need to find a way to quantify these activities in a way that I could then interpret as data.  My admittedly limited experience in ecology prior to this course led me on a clumsy search through the library resources where I eventually stumbled upon the term “Time-activity budgets”.  This describes perfectly what I was hoping to sample and I’ve found several good papers describing techniques that would be feasible for the scope of this project.

I finally settled on measuring the time-activity budgets of 4 common waterfowl species at 3 different times of day (dawn, midday, dusk)

      • Mallard
      • Canada Goose
      • Franklins Gull
      • Spotted Sandpiper

Note: This species list is still subject to change as I had not taken note of specific species abundance of waterfowl during my previous visits. I plan to use the 4 most common species present in the park and will finalize my list during a trial data collection period this weekend!

  1. Use your field journal to document observations of your organism or biological attribute along an environmental gradient. Choose at least three locations along the gradient and observe and record any changes in the distribution, abundance, or character of your object of study.
    • I’ve noticed that some species (ie: the Gulls) spend a lot of time on the shore while others (ie: Mallards and Canadian Geese) are often found swimming in the open water. Therefore, the gradient I am using in my observations:  Shoreline (land) → shallows (estimated < 5 m from shore or visible foliage above waterline) →  open water
    • Sample Times: Dawn/midday/Dusk
    • Using the “Rule of 10” suggestion from the tutorials, I plan to collect data at my site on 10 different days (10 replicates).
      • 10 days x 3 times of day = 30 total sample periods
    • I plan to sample 3 individuals from each species at each visit
      • 4 bird species x 3 individuals/species = 12 individual birds/period x 30 sample periods = 360 individual birds analyzed.
    • I will be recording bird activities in a categorical nature (ie: Feeding, Resting, Comfort care, Locomotion, etc) every 15 seconds for 5 minutes, for each subject analyzed.
      • 5 minutes/bird, recording behavior every 15 seconds = 20 data points/bird
      • Each sample period: record data for 1-3 members (depending on abundance, goal=3) of each target species = 4-12 birds x 5 minutes each = 20-60 minutes= 80-240 data points/sample period
      • 10 days of sampling at 3 periods/day = 30 total sample periods = 2400-7200 data points collected
  2. Think about the underlying processes that may cause any patterns that you have observed. Postulate one hypothesis and make one formal prediction based on that hypothesis. Your hypothesis may include the environmental gradient; however, if you come up with a hypothesis that you want to pursue within one part of the gradient or one site, that is acceptable as well.

I predict that the water bird species studied will display increased levels of higher-energy activities (flight, feeding, etc) in dusk/dawn periods due to cooler temperatures, and increased display of lower energy activities (comfort, resting) mid-day when temperatures are higher.

The null hypothesis would be that time of day has no effect on the time-activity budgets of water bird species.

In studying 4 different species, I also hope to detect differences in activity patterns between them. I predict that the larger species (ie: Canada Geese) will spend more time feeding than their smaller comparators due to the increased energy demands required by larger organisms.

The null hypothesis here would be that the size of bird has no effect on behavior patterns throughout the day.

 

  1. Based on your hypothesis and prediction, list one potential response variable and one potential explanatory variable and whether they would be categorical or continuous. Use the experimental design tutorial to help you with this.
    • Response variable: behavior patterns (categorical)
    • Explanatory variable: time of day (categorical)

Based on the tutorial on experimental design, my study would be classified as a tabular design.

 

 

Sample data collection table that I have designed and will test this weekend:

L=land S=Shallows O= Open water

 

Blog Post 4

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The different sampling techniques did not have very much variation for me.  The most common species was Red Maple and the rarest was Sweet Birch.  The sampling error was similar in all three techniques but the time it took to do a random sampling was the shortest at 5.5 hours.  The accuracy did however change with the abundance of each species, the more abundant the less accurate.

 

Blog Post 4: Sampling Strategies

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The first sampling technique I explored was area/haphazard. I sampled 27 quadrats, which was estimated to take 14 hours and 30 minutes. The percent error for the two most common species were 11.0% and 14.2% respectively. The two most rare species had percent errors of 62.6% and 79.7%. Accuracy changed drastically when abundance decreased and sample time is not optimal, therefore, this strategy is not the best choice for the Mohn Mills community.

The second method I tested was area/random. The most abundant species had percent errors of 9.2% and 14.5% while the two least abundant were 13.3% and 47.9%. I believe that accuracy only changed drastically due to an outlier. Otherwise, they might be very similar. Estimated sampling time for this method, also 27 quadrats, was 14 hours and 16 minutes. This is very similar to the first method’s sampling time.

The third method I looked at was distance/haphazard. The sampling time for 27 quadrats was only 5 hours and 15 minutes, making it much more reasonable than the area strategies. Percent error for the most common species was 13.2% and 13.2%, while the two rarest were 8.57% and 26.9%. Although the last percent error was higher than the others, these values are the most consistent out of all three sampling techniques. Along with the reasonable sampling time, this makes the distance/haphazard method the best choice for this community.

Blog Post 7: Theoretical Perspectives

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My project touches on a couple theories, as it is determining when birds are most active in response to differing weather patterns.

My research is based on reproductive fitness and survival, as birds need to leave their nests in varying weather conditions in order to gather food and provide for themselves and their progeny. There are two theories that effect fitness and survival I read about while doing research they are as follows:

Optimal foraging theory: the individual will adapt foraging strategies to gain the most at the smallest cost

Movement Ecology paradigm: individual movements are the result of interactions between navigational capacities, environmental factors, and individual internal state

The birds in my research project play on both of these theories in that when they leave their nests they are producing movements (i.e. flapping or gliding) based on navigational capacities, environmental factors, and individual internal state. They are also trying to gain the most energy at the smallest cost which also influences their reactions to certain weather conditions.

Key words: reproductive fitness; optimal foraging theory; movement ecology paradigm

Post Seven: Theoretical Perspectives, Cates Park

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There are many ecological processes that relate to my research at Cates Park on the successful growth of Tsuga heterophylla on nurse logs.

  • Anthropogenic microdisturbances caused by timber harvesting is followed by gap phase microsuccessions occurring throughout the park where large, old growth trees have been logged.
  • These microsuccessions likely have founder-controlled communities, as the species that grow on nurse logs have similar environmental tolerances, as I have observed ample species richness.
  • Facilitation is an ecological process that benefits Tsuga heterophylla, as the substrate of the abiotic nurse habitats benefits this conifer’s success.
  • Because I am collecting information on canopy cover, I might be able to analyze asymmetric competition, to determine if larger species that cast more shade exclude smaller flora.

Keywords that summarize this research in Cates Park are

  • microdisturbance and microsuccession
  • nurse log
  • Temperate Rainforest

 

Blog Post 3: Ongoing Field Observations

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Prior to heading into the field on May 26, 2019 I came up with a rough plan of action. I decided to split my 2 15 acre sections into 3 plots per 15 acres. All plots being roughly 5 acres apart. I randomly selected a number (5 meters) as a radius to survey per plot. This allows for a very wide span of the 30 acre property. I have attached photos of my three pages of field notes, and a few photos of some of the plots found. Based on my little research on the Giant Hogweed before my field work I would hypothesize that I will only find them in the bottom 15 acres of my property, as it is a ‘disturbed’ site, where as the back 15 acres are a higher elevation as well as it is heavily forested. It is very possible that my hypothesis could be wrong, as the seeds of the Giant Hogweed can travel hundreds of meters, and with enough light could potential begin to grow in the forest.