Sampling Wild Carrots in the Danby Grassland using Transects

The purpose of this experiment is to determine if the traits of the plant, Wild Carrot or <em>Daucus carota</em>, has any effect on how the plants get dispersed. The experiment was conducted in the Danby Grassland at York University near Keele Street. A 30 m transect tape was randomly placed in the open area with shorter grasses (about 10 cm tall). A total of 20 individual wild carrots were sampled along the transect tape. The distance on transect, height, number of leaves, number of flowers, and level of crowding of each wild carrot were observed. All data were collected through visual observation, with the aid of a second transect tape when measuring the height. Data was collected during a sunny and hot day on September 23, 2015, from 3:30 pm to 4:00 pm, with a very slight breeze. Data was collected by Mandy Huynh, Dylan Stoll, Mariam Nnanna, and Jordan Deosamy. Dylan and Jordan were in charged of reading the distance on the transect tape and the height of each wild carrot. Miriam determined the level of crowding around each wild carrot within a range of 50 cm. Finally, I was in charge of counting the number of leaves and flowers, and recording all the data.