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Post 9: Field Research Reflections

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Overall, I think the field research was great experience that allowed me to fully understand how many steps and details are required in order to conduct a good research project. I had no issues with the implementation of my design since I kept it simple yet efficient to gather the necessary information I required for my hypothesis. I think next time I would do more sites to gather more information because it would provide more evidence to either support or deny my hypothesis, whereas data from 4 sites isn’t sufficient enough. Engaging in the practice of ecology altered my appreciated for how ecological theory is developed because I realized how difficult it is to study nature since it is so ever-changing and to get the best results you can you have to think creatively to form an efficient, yet effective, way of conducting and analyzing your research.

Post 8: Tables and Graphs

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The table I created clearly displays the data collected at each site for my research. The number of alive and dead spruce trees are presented, as well as fallen spruce trees and other vegetation that was present. The most important column in the table is the percent dead trees that I calculated for each site because this is what either confirms or denies my hypothesis. I had no difficulties organizing the data since it was very simple data that was collected. The outcome was not what I expected since I expected Site 4 to have the highest percent of dead trees but instead Site 2, which has sparse tree density, actually had the highest percentage of dead trees present. I believe I got the results I did because site 2 had fewer trees than site 3 and 4, so the ratio between dead and alive trees to the total amount were close together, whereas when you have more trees your percentage is going to be lower. In order to further confirm my hypothesis, I think I need to study more sites in the area to gather more data.

 

Table 1. Recorded field data from Spruce Beetle Research in Kluane, Yukon. The count of dead and alive trees are stated as well as the percent of dead trees calculated for each research site.

Site – Tree Density Alive Spruce Tree Dead Standing Spruce Tree Fallen Spruce Tree Other vegetation Percent Dead Trees
1 – Low Density 17 1 5 13 35.2
2 – Sparse 16 6 10 5 50.00
3 – Cluster 32 3 4 8 21.8
4 – High Density 91 10 26 2 39.5

Post 7: Theoretical Perspectives

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My hypothesis touches on the ecological process of invasive species and their impact on native species. In the situation of the Spruce Beetle and Spruce trees, the presence of the invasive spruce beetle has a negative impact on the spruce tree population as they burrow themselves into the bark of the tree through small holes and slowly kill the tree by depriving them of their essential nutrients. By the spruce beetle impacting the spruce trees, it in turn also affects the surrounding ecosystem as spruce trees provide habitat for some animals and insects in the community. Another idea that underpins my research, is the impact that climate change has on the intensity of the spruce beetle destruction in Kluane because other researchers have linked the spruce beetle infestations to higher summer temperatures.

 

Keywords:

Spruce Beetle

Invasive species

Climate Change

Post 6: Data Collection

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The four sites I selected each have a different tree density: site 1 has low density, site 2 has sparser density but denser than site 1, site 3 has a mixture of low and high density in different areas of plot, site 4 has high density. Sites 1-3 has an elevation of around 810masl and site 4 has an elevation of 860m. Each site was selected randomly by throwing a stick and choosing the site based on where the stick landed. Once the sites were chosen a 10m by 10m quadrat was set up using 4 wooden stakes and a 50 m rope to wrap around each stake to clearly outline the quadrat. GPS points were taken at each wooden stake in order to map the sites later. I then took field observation notes on the area and where the site was located based on the surrounding areas. Then I walked along transects within the quadrats in order to ensure that I counted all the trees in the site. When walking along the transects, I recorded how many spruce trees were dead and alive as well as the other trees and bushes in the site. One issue I had while implementing this sampling design was when I got to Site 4 with the higher tree density, it was hard to make a perfect 10m by 10m square and also difficult to get through the trees and ensure that I counted all of the ones I needed to. I noticed that the site with higher density had more dead trees than the sites with lower tree density, which provides evidence to prove my hypothesis as correct.

Post 5: Design Reflections

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I used a random sample technique to choose the 4 sites I selected. In order to keep it truly random, I threw a stick randomly and wherever that stick landed would be the area for the new plot. Once the plot was selected, I used a measuring tape to measure a 10 m x 10 m plot. A wooden steak was placed at each corner and then string was wrapped around all 4 wooden steaks of the plot so that I could clearly see the outline of the plot. Once the quadrat was set up, I walked in transects throughout the plot and recorded the data. A main difficulty I had implementing this was that it was hard to tell which trees, especially dead fallen trees, were spruce trees and not another species. I did some research to find out that in order to tell if the tree has died due to the spruce beetle, that I should look for patterned lines and wholes on the bark as that’s a sign that that tree has died from the beetles. Another difficulty is that in the denser tree cover plot, it was hard to count all the trees without losing count since there were so many trees. To try to fix this, I just made sure that I recounted the plot 2 or 3 times to ensure I have the correct number. Something I found surprising is that plot 2 (with sparse tree cover), actually had a higher amount of dead trees than the other plots. I think the technique I used works well for the area that it is and that by throwing the sticks, ensures that the plots are random.

Post 4: Sampling Strategies

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Systematic had the fastest estimated sampling time at 12 hours and 35 minutes.

Red maple – 8.25%

White Oak – 37.91%

Striped Maple – 0%

White Pine: (12.8-36.0)/36.0*100 = -64.44%

 

Random

Red Maple – -8.84%

White Oak – 16.40%

Striped Maple – -57.5%

White Pine- 0%

 

Haphazard

Red Maple – 5.68%

White Oak – 37.92%

Striped Maple – 0%

White Pine– 60%

 

The accuracy decreased as the species abundance increased, and I think systematic and haphazard are the most accurate and actually had similar results for both.

 

Post 3: Ongoing Field Observations

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I plan to study the Spruce Beetle, Dendroctonus rufipennis, and their impacts on the spruce tree community in Kluane, Yukon.

Site 1 is right off a road with lots of dead trees and bush in the area, 840m elevation

Site 2 is similar to Site 1 with low tree density and same elevation

Site 3 has more open space than other sites but has less human interference than Site 1 and 2, same elevation

Site 4 is on the edge of a ridge that is just east of other sites. High tree density with forest floor covered in moss and has elevation of 860m.

Hypothesis and prediction:

If the tree density increases, then there will be a greater density of dead spruce trees meaning a denser population of spruce beetles.

Based on the 4 areas chosen, with Site 1 having the smallest tree density and Site 4 having higher tree density, I predict that Site 4 will have a greater amount of dead trees compared to the other sites chosen.

The response variable is the percent of dead trees within the plot area which are continuous because it is an infinite amount since the impact of the spruce beetle could increase or decrease the amount between seasons and/or years. The predictor variable is the total number of spruce trees in the plot and it categorical because there is a finite number of trees within the plot area.

Post 2: Sources of Scientific Information

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The source is Plant acclimation to long-term high nitrogen deposition in an N-rich tropical forest (https://www.pnas.org/content/115/20/5187). This source is an academic, peer-reviewed research material because it was written by an expert in the field as Xiankai Lu works for South China Botanical Garden and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It also includes in-text citations, contains a bibliography, been reviewed by at least one referee and also contains reports of a lab study conducted (has methods and results section).

 

Reference:

Xiankai, L., Vitousek, P.M., Mao, Q., Gilliam, F.S., et al. 2018. Plant acclimation to long-term high nitrogen deposition in a N-rich tropical forest. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 115(20): 5187-5192.

 

 

Post 1: Observations

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The study site I have selected is a wooded forest area in Kluane, Yukon. It is pretty heavily forested and not much human interference in this area. It is a massive area so I decided to study an area that is approximately 400 m2. It is on top of a hillslope, and is heavily forested and has lots of animal traffic throughout it with many different tree and plant species. The forest floor is heavily covered in a thick layer of moss as well I visited the site on September 4th, 2018 at around 4-5pm. The weather at this time was around 10-12oC, and was a very sunny, clear day. There are many subjects that this project can be based on, I can focus on the tree species in the area or some of the insect species that are prominent in this area. I know that this area is severely affected by the spruce beetle, and that is why most of the tree cover here is dead. When you look at this area you can see many of the trees are a greyish colour, meaning they are dead or about to die and the main reason is due to these beetles. One question that could form based on these observations is how great is the impact that these insects have on the spruce population in this region. Another question is whether these insects are an issue due to some environmental factor such as weather or another species. Also is this species a native or invasive species which has created this immense issue?

Blog Post 3 – On-going Observations

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Site Visit #2 

Date: February 24, 2019 

Weather: -16 degrees Celsius, partly cloudy 

Time: 14:45 

Initial thoughts/Observations: 

Over the last number of weeks since my first visit to Gold Bar Park, I have been doing some review of the literature on methods for point count surveys to determine presence/abundance of individual birds based on habitat cover. During my review and discussion with Nancy, I decided to change my study area to a larger park that would allow my point count locations to be further separate and allow me to have more replicate sites.  

I was finally able to visit my new study area today to review the topography and vegetation types to determine the two habitat areas. The new study area I chose is an urban park within Edmonton, called Terwillegar Park. It is a large city park along a large meander of the North Saskatchewan River with a large forested riparian area and an open area with a few man-made water bodies and scattered trees. When I was walking through the park, I saw the same activity of birds within the forested area compared to the open area.  

During my site visit today I had a chance to review the locations of my four-point count locations sites within both the forested riparian area and the open area.

 

Forest Point Count 4Organism/Biological Attribute of Choice 

I have decided to study the relationship between percent cover and abundance/density of overwintering bird species. 

Hypothesis:  

The abundance and density of overwintering birds is determined by the amount of cover. 

Prediction:  

The greater cover will have greater abundance/density of overwintering bird species. 

Response Variable:  

Bird density/abundance 

Predictor Variable:  

Forest cover 

Data Sheet:

Datasheet