Plant and Animal Species Activity in a Forest Setting

Study:This study examines the relationship between the number of herbaceous plants, woody plants, vertebrates and invertebrates within a forest setting. This field study was conducted at Saywell Forest near Osgoode between 3:00 PM-3:45 PM at York University's Keele Campus on Tuesday October 25^th, 2016. The temperature was approximately 7°C with clear skies and brisk wind chill. <b> </b> Hypothesis:There is a negative correlation between the abundance of woody plants and groundcover. To be specific, the abundance of woody plants, canopy cover, ground cover and total number of flower head. All of these categories will increase/decrease in number in a particular setting. In the case of the Saywell Forest, there will be a decrease of ground cover will occur in the forest setting. Prediction:The prediction relates to the hypothesis in the sense that the the abundance of woody plants, canopy cover, ground cover and total number of flower heads increases/decreases in a particular setting in the Saywell Forest. To be specific, there is a negative relationship between the ground cover and the abundance of woody plant. There will be a decrease of ground cover when there will be an increase number of woody plants due to competition of resource belowground. For the canopy cover, the coverage will be random, there is no increase/decrease relative to other categories. <b> </b> Herbaceous Plant The study was conducted at the Saywell Forest at approximately 3:00 pm in York University. The overcast was clear and vey windy. The temperature was 7°C. The quadrat was the survey method used to observe the abundance of both native and exotic vegetation in the area. A 50 m transect line was placed on the area of study. The quadrat was randomly placed on the left side of the transect, so to not disturbed the pan trap being conducted in the other study. It was placed every 2 meters along the line. Within each quadrat, the number of native plants were counted as well as exotic plants. The total flower heads were also counted. It was replicated 25 times and every time a quadrat. If there is no plant in the quadrant, a blank was noted. Woody plantsThe study was conducted Saywell Forest near Osgoode at approximately 3:00 pm in York University. The transect was the second survey method used to observe the abundance of woody plants, the canopy coverage of the woody plants, the ground cover and the total number of flowers in the area of study. In every 2 meters along the transect line, a tree was recorded within 0.5 meters from the line. The canopy coverage of those trees were recorded by estimating its coverage of its outer layer. The ground cover was recorded by estimating the vegetation present, excluding grasses. The total number of the flower-heads was also recorded. 25 trials were conducted. Vertebrates and Invertebrates Two transects were used to cover 50 meters of land in order to perform the different methods of observations. A particular point on the transect was chosen to perform all methods of observations, which was at 0 meters, being the beginning of the transect. A 50 meter radius from the beginning of the transect was observed for any vertebrate species, which was further classified into abundance of vertebrates and abundance of species. At the same time, a 50-meter radius from the beginning of the transect was observed for the abundance of humans that do not belong to the lab. All of the above was performed within 15 minutes. In the next 15 minutes, the number of individual invertebrates within a 5 meter radius from the beginning of the transect was observed using a magnifying glass and recorded as abundance of invertebrates. All data was recorded in an Excel sheet and uploaded to Figshare. Invertebrates Two transects were used to measure 50 meters (25 meters each) in the forest setting. The two transects were placed parallel from other group’s transects. Six pan traps of alternating colors (blue, yellow, and white) were placed 3 meters apart along the transect. Sweep nets were used to capture insects along the 50 meter transect line. The total number of invertebrates found at the end of each sweep was counted and recorded in a table. Ten trials were conducted. After conducting the sweep nets, the total number of invertebrates found within the pan traps were counted and recorded. Data was recorded in an Excel spreadsheet and uploaded to Figshare. Meta-data: <b>Habitat-</b> The Saywell Forest near the grasslands near Osgoode. The data is categorical. <b>Abundance in quadrats-</b> The number of native and exotic plants present in both grassland and the disturbed open space. The native plants are naturally occurring in that specific area in a given time. In the other hand, exotic plants are plants that are living outside its native area, in which human activity introduced these species or just by chance. <i>Daucus corota, </i>an invasive species was considered as an exotic plant that was present in the study. The grass within the quadrat was counted approximately by divide the area within the quadrat as squares. Per side consist of 6 equal squares times it by the 4 sides of the quadrat. Each square is counted by 10. In other words, one quadrat consists of 240 grass blades in general. However, the shape of the quadrat is folded randomly per toss but the data is continuous. <b>Latitude- </b>is a geographic coordinate that tells the distance of the area from north to south. The data is continuous. <b>Longitude- </b>is a geographic coordinate that tells the distance of the area from east to west. The data is continuous. <b>Elevation-</b> is how much the altitude or height of the location relative to ground level. The data is continuous. <b>Census-</b> is the count or survey of the population. The data is continuous. <b>Total number of flower heads- </b>Within the quadrant, the flower heads from the separate was counted individually if its head is distinct. As for plants that had flower bearings that are arranged in clusters on a stem, those were counted in multiples of 10. The data is continuous<b>.</b> <b>Abundance wood plants- </b>In both the pond and in the impermeable area, what considered as a woody plant are trees near the transect lines. The trees recorded were doubled the height of the observer, which is 5 foot 4 inches. The data is continuous. <b>Replications-</b> Each study was replicated 25 times in both pond and impermeable area. The data is continuous. <b>Canopy cover- </b>The canopy coverage was measured on how much coverage the outer layer of the tree provides. The data is continuous. <b>Ground cover</b>- Any vegetation that grows over an area of ground. However, in the forest setting, the amount of dead leaves covering the ground made it difficult to quantify the coverage of the ground. The data is continuous. <b>Total number of flower heads (transect)- </b>Within the quadrant, the flower heads from the separate plant was. As for plants that had flower bearings that are arranged in clusters on a stem, those were counted in multiples of 10. The data is continuous. <b>Abundance invertebrates pan traps-</b>Through visual inspection, the number of invertebrates within each pan trap was observed. Pan traps were left out in the forest area along the transect line between 3:15PM-3:35PM before the number of invertebrates were counted and recorded. Data is continuous. <b>Abundance invertebrates sweeps</b>-Through visual inspection, the number of invertebrates found in the sweep net at the end of each sweep was observed. Data is continuous. <b>Abundance of Vertebrates-</b>Through visual inspection, the abundance of vertebrates within a 50 meter radius from the beginning of the transect were observed. Observations were recorded. Data is quantitative and numerical. <b>Vertebrate Species-</b> Through visual inspection, the number of vertebrate species within a 50 meter radius from the beginning of the transect were observed. Observations were recorded. Data is quantitative and numerical. <b>Abundance of Humans-</b> Through visual inspection, the abundance of humans (not from the lab) within a 50 meter radius were observed. Observations were recorded. Data is quantitative and numerical. <b>Abundance of Invertebrates-</b> Through visual inspection (with the help of a magnifying glass), abundance of invertebrates within a 5 meter radius from the beginning of the transect were observed. Observations were recorded. Data is quantitative and numerical. Side note: -Due to weather conditions, vertebrate and invertebrate activity may not have been at its regular level. -Humans were excluded in the count of abundance/species of vertebrates.