Flora and Fauna Abundance and Diversity in Danby Forest Habitat

<b>Meta Data:</b> Census: Catagorical - Corresponds to the sampling week. In this entry, each census number is purely for grouping, the numerical value is arbitrary and does not signify any type of ranking. The numbers were assigned as follows: Week 5 = census 1, week 7 = census 2, week 8 = census 3. Calendar Date: Catagorical - The calendar date the data was collected. Campus: Catagorical - The university campus in which the data was collected, as well as the institute of education with which the group is affiliated. This data set is part of a joint effort by York University and the University of Toronto. Group_ID: Categorical - Unique group identifier within each lab. This entry describes the lab section (submitted as “lab” followed by the section number) as well as the lab group (submitted as “group” followed by the group number). The lab groups were assigned by the Teaching Assistant. Habitat: Categorical – The ecological environment that housed the flora and fauna recorded. The Habitat studied in this data set is the Danby Forest of the York University Keele Campus. The Danby forest is an urban forest containing species like: Europeen buckthorn, Box elder, and Ironwood. Lat (Latitude): Continuous – Geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a location on the surface of the Earth. Provided by Teaching Assistant. Long (Longitude): Continuous - Geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a location on the surface of the Earth. Provided by Teaching Assistant. Elevation: Continuous – The height of a geographic location relative to the surface of the Earth. Provided by Teaching Assitant. Rep (Replicates): Discreet - Replicates were assigned based on the assigned task of the group members. For the herbaceous plants, 25 replicates were recorded; for the woody plants, 25 replicates were recorded; for the invertebrates and vertebrates observed by point surveys, 2 replicates were recorded (one for vertebrates and the other for invertebrates); for invertebrates observed by pan trap and sweep net, 6 and 10 replicates were recorded respectively. For the purposes of this lab, the replicate number is arbitrary and does not signify any type of ranking. Its presence is to signify that each row is a new subject. Abundance Native Plants: Discreet - The number of observed plants native to the studied habitat. Nativity was determined by eye, with the aid of the Teaching Assistant. Abundance Exotic Plants: Discreet – The number of observed plants foreign to the studied habitat. Whether or not a specimen was exotic was determined by eye, with the aid of the Teaching Assistant. Most species of grass were determined to be foreign. Total Number Flowers (Quadrat): Discreet – The number of observable flowers present in each quadrat. Quadrats measuring one squared meter were placed every two meters along the transect, alternating from left to right. Flowers were distinguished as any notable outward appendage in either bud or blossom form. Flowers that were observed in bud form were included in the total tally of flowers. Abundance Woody Plants: Discreet - The number of observable trees within half a meter of the transect. Trees were defined as woody plants that had a height greater than a meter and a half. If no tree was observed, a 0 was recorded. Canopy Cover: Continuous – The percentage of the area covered by the aboveground flora. This percentage was estimated by mentally dividing the area into quadrats, and then counting the number of quadrats that were filled. Partially filled quadrats were assigned a value of 5 percent, with whole quadrats valued at 10 percent. Ground Cover: Continuous – The percentage of the surface covered by the vegetative ground. This percentage was estimated by mentally dividing the area into quadrats, and then counting the number of quadrats that were filled. Partially filled quadrats were assigned a value of 5 percent, with whole quadrats valued at 10 percent. Total Flower Number (Transect): Discreet - The number of observable flowers present at each two meter interval along the transect. Flowers were distinguished as any notable outward appendage in either bud or blossom form. Flowers that were observed in bud form were included in the total tally of flowers. Abundance Vertebrates: Discreet - The number of vertebrate organisms observed via point surveys. Vertebrates were distinguished by eye, noting the presence of a vertebral column as the primary indicator. Vertebrate Species: Discreet - The number of vertebrate species observed via point surveys. Species were distinguished visually with the aid of the Teaching Assistant and by consulting the lab manual. Abundance Human: Discreet - The number of other humans observed via point surveys. Only casual bystanders were included in this data. Abundance Invertebrate Pantraps: Discreet - The number of invertebrate organisms caught in pan traps placed along the length of the transect. 6 pan traps were placed along the transect, starting at the beginning of the transect. Each pan trap was considered one replicated, and the total number of invertebrates caught were summed for each trap. Abundance Invertebrate Sweeps: Discreet - The number of invertebrate organisms caught in sweep nets along the length of the transect. Sweeps were performed 10 times at each habitat and were performed in a fluid swinging motion. To observe the captured specimens, the mesh of the sweep net was clasped and closed by hand, and each organism was counted by eye. Abundance Invertebrates Observed: Discreet - The number of invertebrate organisms observed via point surveys. Individuals were recorded visually and counted manually. Invertebrates were distinguished by eye, noting a lack of a vertebral column as the primary indicator. <b> </b> <b>Methods</b>: 50 meters of yard tape was measured out linearly to establish a transect. Two yard tapes were used to construct the transect, each measured out to 25 meters. The yard tape was held relatively taut and then placed as low to the ground as possible so as not to disturb any foliage Herbaceous Plants (Quadrats): A quadrat of one squared meter was deployed every two meters along the length of the transect, alternating left and right after each deployment. For each quadrat, the number of individual native plants, the number of individual exotic plants, and the total number of flower heads were recorded. Native plants and exotic plants were distinguished visually, with rough guidelines from the Teaching Assistant. Each quadrat was observed for roughly one minute. Woody Plants (Transect): At every two meter interval along the length of the transect, the observer looked for trees within half a meter of the transect. A tree was defined as a woody plant that is greater than a meter and a half in height. If no tree is present, a 0 was recorded. At every interval, the observer estimated the coverage of the canopy, the coverage of the ground and counted the number of total observable flowers. The coverage was estimated by dividing the area into quadrats and then summing the total area covered. The coverage was recorded as a percent of the area observed and each square was deemed to be worth 10 percent. Each interval along the transect was observed for roughly one minute. The number of flowers recorded included those that were in bud form. Vertebrates and Invertebrates (Point Surveys): Starting at the beginning of the transect, organisms were recorded by sight as the observer moved along its length. Vertebrates were recorded for number of individuals, number of species, as well as the number of other humans nearby. Invertebrates were recorded for total number of individuals observed. These observations occurred in two distinct fifteen minute periods, one for invertebrate observations and the other for vertebrate observations. Invertebrates (Pan Traps and Sweep Nets): Six pan traps were placed along the length of the transect, starting at the origin. The pan traps were placed 3 meters apart, alternating in colors from blue, to yellow, to white. Each pan trap was filled just under the brim with a solution of water and soap. The pan traps were left idle for a period of thirty minutes. Sweeps were conducted along the length of transect using the Sweep nets. Sweeping was performed at knee height, and was done in a fluid swinging motion. The mesh of the sweep net was inverted so as to allow counting of the organisms caught. <b>Study site</b>: The experiment was conducted on Thursday, October 20^th, 2016 between 2:30 - 5:30 pm in the Danby Forest of York University. The weather was very rainy, with an approximate temperature of 13°C. <b>Equipment</b>: Yard Tape, Pan Traps, Quadrats, Sweep Nets, <b>Hypothesis</b>: The diversity of vertebrate species in this forest habitat will increase with a greater number of exotic plants, woody plants and a high percentage of canopy cover. This is expected since these environmental factors will create a diverse environment suitable for a large variety of species.<br> <b>Predictions</b>: 1) The larger the number of exotic plants, the greater the number of vertebrates species. 2) The larger the canopy cover, the greater the number of vertebrates species. 3) The larger the number of woody plants, the greater the number of vertebrates species.