Flora and Fauna Abundance and Diversity in Danby Forest Habitat

Meta Data:

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.

Methods:

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.

Study site: The experiment
was conducted on Thursday, October 20th, 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.

Equipment: Yard Tape, Pan
Traps, Quadrats, Sweep Nets,

Hypothesis:  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.

Predictions:

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.