Field Study
MY SITE
site intro
The objective of this project is to record and study the aboitic and biotic factors and changes over time in a small portion of an ecosystem.
My site is a small pond within the creek with extremely slow flowing water. It is mostly shaded off by a large tree above. there anr only rocks on the shore of one side and large amounts of foliage on the other. there are many fish in the pond and the temperature of the whole area is relatively cool.
I predict that my site will remain relatively the same by the time this project is over. Although i do beleive that the creek will be smaller and the plants will slowly begin to die.
The objective of this project is to record and study the aboitic and biotic factors and changes over time in a small portion of an ecosystem.
My site is a small pond within the creek with extremely slow flowing water. It is mostly shaded off by a large tree above. there anr only rocks on the shore of one side and large amounts of foliage on the other. there are many fish in the pond and the temperature of the whole area is relatively cool.
I predict that my site will remain relatively the same by the time this project is over. Although i do beleive that the creek will be smaller and the plants will slowly begin to die.
focus questions
Week 1:
Week 2:
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 1:
- My site is part of the Temperate Forest Biome because of its deciduous trees and climate - warm, moist summers and mild winters.
- One relationship I see is the symbiotic relationship between mosquitoes and humans. It is a parasitic relationship where the mosquito benefits, but the human is harmed. Another relationship I see is the one between gnats and plants. The plant (such as grass) is eaten by the gnat. I also see a relationship between birds and all the insects living around my sight. These birds eat the insects, which make up the majority of their diet.
- One food chain in my area starts with the grass which gets its energy from the sun. This grass is eaten by the gnats, which are then eaten by the birds.
Week 2:
- Man's impact in my area is ground pollution, such as littering trash, and air pollution, such as when some people smoke and litter around my site. This can poison the wildlife in addition to ruining the scenery.
- The only limiting factor for plants on my site is the amount of sunlight available. The tall oak and bay trees compete for sunlight up high, casting shadows on any plants lower to the ground, including grasses or the shorter umbrella tree. For animals, the limiting factor would be the amount of food available.
Week 3
- Some bacterial that may be important to my site could be: e. Coli
- In general, fungi is found in dark damp areas. The role of fungi is to decompose dead material.
- I have not seen any fungi in my area.
Week 4
- The invertebrates in my area consist mostly of insects. Some of these are mosquitoes, gnats, dragon flies, and water striders. I also have many small fish in my site.
- The role of mosquitoes is primarily to feed birds and fish who prey on them. Gnats also provide food for animals higher up on the food chain and some pollinate plants. Dragon flies provide a food source for fish and amphibians and are an important part of the food chain. Water striders prey on other insects that land on the surface of the water, and are eaten by fish and frogs. The fish on my site are the predators. i know this becuase ive seen a few come up to the surface and eat a fly or water strider off of the top of the pond.
- Mosquitoes are found in the air, along with gnats and dragon flies, to both escape predators and hunt prey, such as other insects. Water striders are found on the surface of the water because they have adapted to take advantage of the surface tension of the water and hunt insects that land on the surface of the water. fish are found under the surface of the water.
Week 5
- Dermal, vascular, and ground tissue are plant tissues. The dermis forms the outside layer of the plant and provides protection and keeps the water inside the plant. The vascular is the very middle plant tissue. Its job s to transport water and minerals. The ground tissue is in between the dermal and vascular tissues. Its function is to complete photosynthesis and store energy.
- Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sulfur, Magnesium, Calcium, Iron, Boron, Manganese, Zinc, Molybdenum, and Copper are all necessary for plants to grow. These nutrients all help the plant perform specific actions like photosynthesis.
- In my area, I have angiosperms and gymnosperms. There are blackberry plants and stinging nettles that are angiosperms and oak covering are gymnosperms. The blackberry plants and the stinging nettles are both dicot.
- Stinging Nettle rooted deep in the the soil and large next to the water to support the roots. Black Berries taking up everything that is not soaked with water. Oak is covering my are which soaks up all the sun.
- 1. The essential nutrients needed in soil are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.Nitrogen helps to produce flowers, promote growth, and is need in the plants chlorophyll. Phosphorus helps with photosynthesis, root growth, form sugars, and effects flower blooming. Potassium helps with fruit quality, production of proteins, and reducing diseases.
- 2. The most visible source of pollination in my site is from bees pollinating the flowers through cross-pollination. The wind can also pollinate plants by carrying pollen from one plant to another but this is hard to observe. The last form of pollination is self-pollination, where the same plants stamen and stigma interact.
- 3. Most of the plants in my area have all adapted to be able to sustain life with little amounts of water and still flourish since my site id far from the creek and were in a drought. Another adaptation is with the juniper bush and pomegranate plantssince they grew through each other to both get sunlight in the persimmon tree. Allthe plants have also adapted to the soil because some the nutrients in the soil arelow and most of the plants are still growing well
Analysis
Many changes have occurred in my site through out this study. The main organism change was the growth of the fish population. At first there were only several small fish in my small pond. As the weeks progressed, the number of fish began to increase and but by the last week there was significantly more fish, some much larger than the originals. Another change I noticed on my site is the growth of algae. For the the first few weeks, there was not much algae, if any. Then part way through, I noticed a small portion of the creek bed was had algae growing on it. As the weeks passed by, more and more algae grew until the entire creek bed was covered by it. In addition, most of the algae was green at the beginning, but after six weeks there was a lot of brown algae. This growth can be explained by the abundant sunlight the creek was receiving and the presence of nitrates or phosphates in the water. week there was very little grass that only covered a small patch of dirt, but by the end of thestudy it had spread a significant amount. biotic change that occur was the spread of grass on my site. The first week there was very little grass that only covered a small patch of dirt, but by the end of the study it had spread a significant amount. One dominant organism on my site was the oak tree. I have learned that oak trees are deciduous, live in the northern hemisphere in temperate climates, and can absorb 50 gallons of water a day. It has changed over the past few weeks in the size of its canopy. The leaves on this tree used to cover about 35% of my site but now cover only about 30%. Some factors that might have affected this tree are temperature, water supply, and fungal diseases. The temperature has fluctuated over the past weeks, from colder temperatures to hot temperatures, and this could have caused loss of foliage. There has also been very little rainfall which could negatively affect this organism. In addition, it is possible that this tree has a fungal disease which can kill it. This organism is dominant because of the large amount of sunlight it absorbs, its size, and the widespread effects it has on other organisms.
Conclusion
We did meet our objective in gaining experience of how it is being a field study scientist. We also met our objective in observing a specific area, and predicting the changes that would occur in this area. Originally I predicted a decrease in depth of the creek and the creek speed, increase in average temperatures, and little to no precipitation. Two out of my three predictions were correct. I correctly predicted that the average temperatures would increase over the weeks, and I was correct in my prediction of little precipitation. However, I was partially wrong in my prediction of the creek depth and speed. While the speed and depth did decrease at one point overall it had increased from the beginning of the site study.
Opinion
I overall really enjoyed the field study project. I thought that it was an interesting way to learn about our subject. I really liked being in nature and learning through real life experiences rather than just through a textbook. I also enjoyed the freedom of being able to pick a spot and hang out and observe it freely. I think some improvements would be picking sites within a certain distance as sometimes walking there could be a drag. However I also liked the distance most of the time as it allowed me to socialize and think about results.
Many changes have occurred in my site through out this study. The main organism change was the growth of the fish population. At first there were only several small fish in my small pond. As the weeks progressed, the number of fish began to increase and but by the last week there was significantly more fish, some much larger than the originals. Another change I noticed on my site is the growth of algae. For the the first few weeks, there was not much algae, if any. Then part way through, I noticed a small portion of the creek bed was had algae growing on it. As the weeks passed by, more and more algae grew until the entire creek bed was covered by it. In addition, most of the algae was green at the beginning, but after six weeks there was a lot of brown algae. This growth can be explained by the abundant sunlight the creek was receiving and the presence of nitrates or phosphates in the water. week there was very little grass that only covered a small patch of dirt, but by the end of thestudy it had spread a significant amount. biotic change that occur was the spread of grass on my site. The first week there was very little grass that only covered a small patch of dirt, but by the end of the study it had spread a significant amount. One dominant organism on my site was the oak tree. I have learned that oak trees are deciduous, live in the northern hemisphere in temperate climates, and can absorb 50 gallons of water a day. It has changed over the past few weeks in the size of its canopy. The leaves on this tree used to cover about 35% of my site but now cover only about 30%. Some factors that might have affected this tree are temperature, water supply, and fungal diseases. The temperature has fluctuated over the past weeks, from colder temperatures to hot temperatures, and this could have caused loss of foliage. There has also been very little rainfall which could negatively affect this organism. In addition, it is possible that this tree has a fungal disease which can kill it. This organism is dominant because of the large amount of sunlight it absorbs, its size, and the widespread effects it has on other organisms.
Conclusion
We did meet our objective in gaining experience of how it is being a field study scientist. We also met our objective in observing a specific area, and predicting the changes that would occur in this area. Originally I predicted a decrease in depth of the creek and the creek speed, increase in average temperatures, and little to no precipitation. Two out of my three predictions were correct. I correctly predicted that the average temperatures would increase over the weeks, and I was correct in my prediction of little precipitation. However, I was partially wrong in my prediction of the creek depth and speed. While the speed and depth did decrease at one point overall it had increased from the beginning of the site study.
Opinion
I overall really enjoyed the field study project. I thought that it was an interesting way to learn about our subject. I really liked being in nature and learning through real life experiences rather than just through a textbook. I also enjoyed the freedom of being able to pick a spot and hang out and observe it freely. I think some improvements would be picking sites within a certain distance as sometimes walking there could be a drag. However I also liked the distance most of the time as it allowed me to socialize and think about results.