Plant and Animal Species Activity in Pond and Impermeable Settings

<b>Study:</b><br>This study examines the relationship between the number of herbaceous plants, woody plants, vertebrates and invertebrates within the pond and impermeable settings. This field study was conducted near a pond and on a baseball diamond between 3:00 PM-4:30 PM at York University's Keele Campus on Tuesday October 18th, 2016. The temperature was around 25 degrees Celsius with high cloud cover, strong winds, and light rain.<br><b>Hypothesis:</b><b><br></b>There is a correlation between setting and abundance of vertebrates, vertebrate species, abundance of humans, and abundance of invertebrates. To be specific, all of these categories will increase/decrease in number in a particular setting. In the case of these settings (pond and impermeable), an increase will occur in the pond setting and a decrease will occur in the impermeable setting.<b><br></b><b>Prediction:</b><b><br></b>The prediction relates to the hypothesis in the sense that the abundance of vertebrates, vertebrate species, abundance of humans, and abundance of invertebrates increases/decreases in a particular setting (pond or impermeable). These categories increased in the pond setting which was surrounded by plants that attract invertebrates and roads/sidewalks on which there was high human activity as opposed to the impermeable setting.<b>Methods:</b> Herbaceous Plants (Pond)The study was conducted near the Stong pond at approximately 3:17 PM at York University. The overcast was cloudy and very windy. The quadrat was the survey method used to observe the abundance of both native and exotic vegetation in the area. A 50 meter transect line was placed along the area of study. The quadrat was randomly placed on the left side of the transect to avoid disturbing the pan traps from 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. If there is no plant in the quadrant, a blank was noted. Woody Plants (Pond) The study was conducted at the grasslands near the Stong pond at approximately 3:45 PM at 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. Herbaceous Plants and Woody Plants (Impermeable) Same method as the Stong Pond, however, the study was conducted at approximately 3:40 pm. The overcast was partly cloudy but very windy.Vertebrates and InvertebratesTwo 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 both pond and impermeable area settings. 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 for each habitat setting. After conducting the sweep nets, the total number of invertebrates found within the pan traps were counted and recorded. The method for collecting data from pan traps and sweep nets for both pond and impermeable area settings were identical. Data was recorded in an Excel spreadsheet and uploaded to Figshare. <b>Meta-data:</b>Habitat: the edge of the Stong pond near the grasslands. The impermeable was located at the baseball diamond at the near the Osgoode housing complex. The data is categorical.Abundance in Quadrats: 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. Latitude:<b> </b>is a geographic coordinate that tells the distance of the area from north to south. The data is continuous.Longitude:<b> </b>is a geographic coordinate that tells the distance of the area from east to west. The data is continuous.Elevation: is how much the altitude or height of the location relative to ground level. The data is continuous.Census: is the count or survey of the population. The data is continuous.Total Number of Flower Heads:<b> </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>Abundance Wood Plants:<b> </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.Replications: each study was replicated 25 times in both pond and impermeable area. The data is continuous.Canopy Cover:<b> </b>the canopy coverage was measured on how much coverage the outer layer of the tree provides. The data is continuous.Ground Cover: any vegetation that grows over an area of ground. The data is continuous. Total Number of Flower Heads (transect):<b> </b>within the quadrant, the flower heads from the separate plant was counted through visual inspection. 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. Abundance of Vertebrates: 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.Vertebrate Species: 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.Abundance of Humans: 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. Abundance of Invertebrates: 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.Abundance Invertebrates Pan Traps: through visual inspection, the number of vertebrates within each pan trap was observed. Pan traps were left out in the pond area between 3:17 PM-3:30 PM before the number of invertebrates were counted and recorded. Pan traps were left out in the impermeable area between 4:00 PM-4:10 PM before the number of invertebrates were counted and recorded. Data is continuous. Abundance Invertebrates Sweeps: through visual inspection, the number of invertebrates found in the sweep net at the end of each trial/sweep was observed. Data is continuous. <b>Side Notes:</b>-Due to the weather conditions, vertebrate and invertebrate activity may not have been at its regular level<br>-Humans were excluded in the count of abudances/species of vertebrates