Dataset 1: Danloy Grasslands

Data was collected at the Danloy Grasslands at the York University Keele campus. It was collected by throwing a 1m by 1m quadrant onto a patch of grassland in a random location 20 times, and observing the various types of vegetation in the quadrant and quantifying it. The richness of species in each quadrant were counted, the amount of individuals of each species present in the quadrant were counted, the total percentage the vegetation covered in the quadrant was recorded, and the percentage of grass observed in the quadrant was recorded.Hypothesis: A greater abundance of species in a given area or quadrant will reduce the percent cover of grass in that quadrant. This is because more individuals of different species compete with other species for resources such as sun exposure, resulting in growth and reproduction and therefore less room on the grassland floor for grass to grow.Predictions: It is expected that a high percent of total cover will result in a high value of abundance of species.It is expected that a high value of richness of species will result in a high value of abundance of species.It is expected that a low percent of grass cover will result in a high value of abundance of species.