Comparing the Diversity and Abundance of Plants, Vertebrates and Invertebrates in Pond vs Impermeable areas

Metadata: habitat: categorical. pond.area defined as shore area around a small body of water at least 100m in diameter on York campus. Impermeable.area is defined as a gravel area (baseball diamond) with mostly impermeable materials. lat: continuous. Used GPS unit and record location each plot of impermeable.area and pond.area. long: continuous. Used GPS unit and record location each plot of impermeable.area and pond.area. elevation: continuous. Used GPS unit and record location each plot of impermeable.area and pond.area. abundance.native.plants: discrete. Counted total number of native plants within 1m x1m quadrats randomly placed every 2m along a 50m transect tape, alternating from left side to right side, (total of 25 times). abundance.exotic.plants: discrete. Counted total number of exotic plants within 1m x1m quadrats randomly placed every 2m along a 50m transect tape, alternating from left side to right side, (total of 25 times). total.number.flowers (quadrats): discrete.Counted total number of flowers that were fully bloomed (not buds) within 1m x1m quadrats placed randomly every 2 meter along a 50m transect tape, alternating from left side to right side, (total of 25 times). abundance.woody.plants: discrete. Every 2m along the 50m transect tape the number of trees or woody plants within 0.5 meter of both sides of the transect tape were counted (total of 25 times). A tree was defined as being taller than 1.5 meters. canopy.cover: discrete. Every 2m along the 50m transect tape an estimate of canopy coverage in percentage was made by looking up. ground.cover: discrete. Every 2m along the 50m transect tape an estimate in percentage of vegetative ground cover for a 0.5mx0.5m area was made by looking down. total.flower.numbers (transect): discrete. Every 2m along the 50m transect tape, the total number fully bloomed flower heads (not buds) within a 0.5mx0.5m area adjacent to the transect tape was counted. abundance.vertebrates: discrete. Total number of vertebrates observed in 15 minutes within a 50m radius of the beginning of the transect tape. vertebrate.species: discrete. The number of different vertebrate species observed in 15 minutes within a 50m radius of the beginning of the transect tape. abudance.people:discrete. Total number of humans (not including those participating in the lab) observed in 15 minutes within a 50m radius of the beginning of the transect tape. abundance.invertebrates.pantraps: discrete.Total number of invertebrates captured via pan trap after being left for 45 minutes. Pan traps were placed 3m apart on the ground along the transect tape in alternating colours of yellow and blue. abundance.invertebrates.sweeps: discrete. Total number of invertebrates captured via sweep net which were swept along the 50m transect. abundance.invertebrates.observed: discrete. Total number of invertebrates observed in 15 minutes within a 5m radius of the beginning of the transect tape. Study Site: Temp: 27°C Wind Speed: 7km/h Sunny. Stong Pond(near pond), York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada: 43.77061-79.506621 151.321945Passey Field (impermeable area), York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada: 43.768235-79.50731 137.745789 Methods:In order to assess the abundance and diversity of herbaceous plants, woody plants, vertebrates, and invertebrates near the pond and in the impermeable area, 50m of transect tape was laid in a straight line parallel to the pond, and a second 50m tape was laid in a straight line on the ground of the impermeable area.The following methods were then implemented similarly for both the pond area and impermeable area: For measurement of herbaceous plants, every 2m along the transect, a quadrat (1mx1m) was randomly placed adjacent to the tape, alternating between the left and right side for the entire 50m for a total of 25 quadrats. For each quadrat, the same person counted the individual number of native plants, the individual number of exotic plants, and the number of observed flower heads within the quadrat.For measurement of woody plants, every 2m along the transect (total of 25 measurements) if a tree was observed within 0.5m of either side of the transect, it was recorded. At these same points, the same person looked upwards to estimate the canopy coverage, and then looked down at a 0.5mx0.5m area of the ground adjacent to the transect, to estimate vegetative ground cover and count the total number of flowers in that area. For measurement of vertebrates and invertebrates, the area within a 50m radius of the beginning of the transect tape was surveyed for 15 minutes and the total number of vertebrates and number of different vertebrate species were observed. In the same area and time interval, the number of people (not including those participating in the lab) were counted. In another 15 minute interval, the number of individual invertebrates within a 5m radius of the transect tape were observed.For measurement of invertebrates, 6 pan traps filled halfway with detergent were placed along the length of the transect tape, each spaced 3m apart and in alternating colours (yellow and blue). After sitting 45 minutes, the total number of invertebrates found within each pan trap were counted. 10 sweep nets were also conducted along the 50m transect and the total number of invertebrates found at the end of each sweep were counted. Hypothesis: The abundance and diversity of vegetation, vertebrates, and invertebrates in the pond area would be greater than in the impermeable area because the pond area provides more resources including water, nutrients, and shelter for the animals and plants allowing them to thrive in the pond environment rather than the impermeable area. Predictions:1. There will be more herbaceous and wood plants in the pond area in comparison to the impermeable area.2. There will be more vertebrates and invertebrates in the pond area in comparison to the impermeable area.3. There will not be any woody plants in the impermeable area.