yorku.grassland.disturbed.oct4-2016

CAMPUS ECOLOGY META-DATA
Location
This survey was conducted on Tuesday, October 4, 2016 from 3:29 pm to 4:28 pm. The weather conditions were partly cloudy and 18 degrees Celsius. The data was collected through a number of methods in both the grassland and the disturbed open area.
The field site was located on the York University-Keele Campus on a grassland area (Latitude 43.775, Longitude -79.505) and a disturbed open area (Latitude 43.776, Longitude -79.498) near Keele Street and York Boulevard. The grassland was approximately 200m by 350m wide and tall trees surrounded its perimeter. The disturbed open area was approximately 20m by 60m wide and a parking lot and trees surrounded its perimeter.  
MethodsSurvey
1 - Herbaceous plants
Data
for herbaceous plants was collected using a 1 metre (m) by 1 metre quadrat in
both the grassland and the disturbed open area. Within each quadrat, the
abundance of native plants, the abundance of exotic plants and the total number
of individual flower heads were counted and recorded. This process was repeated
25 times in each habitat. 

Survey 2 - Woody plants
Data
for woody plants was collected using a 50 metre transect in the grassland and
disturbed open area habitats. The total number of trees within 0.5 metres of
the transect was counted and recorded. Furthermore, an estimation of the canopy
coverage, vegetative ground coverage, and the total number of flowers were recorded
by walking along the transect. These variables were measured every 2 metres.
This process was completed until 25 replicates were achieved in each habitat.
Survey 3 -  Vertebrates and Invertebrates
The data for vertebrates was collected using the point survey method.  The abundance of vertebrate species and the identity of each species within a 50 metre radius of our location in the grassland and disturbed area was recorded. This was done during two fifteen minute surveys (one survey per habitat).  In addition, the abundance of people within 50 metres of the grassland and disturbed area for a total of 15 minutes was recorded.
Survey 4 - Invertebrates
The data for invertebrates was collected using pan traps and sweep nets. For pan traps, data was collected by placing 6 solo bowls of different colours (white, yellow and blue), filled with 60 millilitres (mL) of soapy water, along the length of the transect. These bowls were placed while alternating colours in both the grassland and disturbed open areas. After approximately one hour, a count of the total number of insects captured was recorded. For sweep nets, data was collected by walking along the 50 metre transect in the grassland and disturbed open area for 1-2 minutes.  While walking, the sweep nets were waved in the air to collect insects.  At the end of this period, the total number of insects was counted and recorded.  This was repeated 10 times. The recognizable taxonomic unit for captures was recorded for both the pan trap and sweep net data. The abundance of insects was also collected by observing the number of insects within 5 meters of the grassland and disturbed open area for 15 minutes.  

Data Column Headers and Key to Variables
Census: Census refers to the week during which surveying and sampling was done. Census 1 refers to the first (of three) sampling weeks.
Calendar Date: Calendar date is the day on which the surveying and sampling was done. For Census 1, the data was collected on October 4th, 2016.
Campus: The university campus where the survey was conducted.
Data Collectors (Group ID): The group ID consists of the lab number and group number (lab02group02). This was used to identify who collected the data.
Habitat: Habitat refers to the location in which observations were made. The grassland habitat is defined as an open area at least 250 metres by 250 metres in size with few trees.  The disturbed open space is similar to grassland in size. However, the vegetation of the grasslands was more mixed, with a higher proportion of different species as opposed to those found in the disturbed areas.
Lat: The latitude of the location of the field site.
Long: The longitude of the location of the field site.
Rep: The replication number of each variable.
Abundance of Native Plants: The total number of native plants within a 1m by 1m quadrat, repeated 25 times in each habitat.
Abundance of Exotic Plants: The total number of exotic plants within a 1 metre by 1 metre quadrat, repeated 25 times in each habitat.
Total Number of Flowers (Quadrat): The total number of independent flower heads within a 1 metre by 1 metre quadrat, repeated 25 times in each habitat.
Abundance of Woody Plants: The abundance of shrubs and other plants observed 0.5 metres from both sides of the transect tape.
Canopy Cover: An estimation of canopy coverage at every other metre of the transect in percentage (%).
Ground Cover: An estimation of vegetative ground cover at every other metre of the transect in percentage (%) (alternating with canopy coverage).
Total Number of Flowers (Transect): The total number of independent flower heads within 0.5 metre of the transect, repeated 25 times in each habitat.
Abundance Vertebrates: The abundance of vertebrate animals observed within 50 metres (a measuring tape was used as a guide) of the grassland and disturbed habitats for a total of 15 minutes.
Vertebrate Species: A list of the vertebrate species observed within 50 metres of the grassland and disturbed open space for a total of 15 minutes.
Abundance Human: The observation of the number of people within 50 metres of the grassland and disturbed open space (excluding people within our lab group) for a total of 15 minutes.  
Abundance Invertebrates (Pan Traps): The total abundance of insects captured via 6 pan traps.
Abundance Invertebrates (Sweeps): The total abundance of insects captured via 10 sweep nets. The sweep net used had a 32 centimetre diameter.
Abundance Invertebrates Observed: The total abundance of flying insects observed within 5 metres of the grassland and disturbed open space for a total of 15 minutes.
Invertebrate Species: A list of the invertebrate species in recognizable taxonomic units per sample (rtus), which is the number of different recognizable species.

Hypothesis and Predictions
Survey 1 - Herbaceous plants
Hypothesis: Regions of the grassland will have a lower abundance of exotic plant species and a higher abundance of native plant species and total number of flower heads.
Prediction: If the regions of grassland have a lower abundance of exotic plant species and a higher abundance of native plant species and total number of flower heads, then the viability and diversity of native and flowering plant species is better supported for in an undisturbed habitat compared to that of the disturbed habitat.
Survey 2 - Woody plants
Hypothesis: Regions of the grassland will have a higher abundance of trees and therefore greater canopy coverage than regions of the disturbed open area.
Prediction: If the regions of grassland have a higher abundance of trees and a greater canopy coverage, then the environment and resources (such as nutrients) required for the growth and survival of such woody plants is greater in regions of grassland compared to regions of disturbed open area.
Survey 3 - Vertebrates and Invertebrates
Hypothesis: The presence of both vertebrate and invertebrate species will be greater in the grassland regions when compared to the disturbed open area.
Prediction: If the grassland has a greater presence of both vertebrates and invertebrates, then the resources provided in this environment are crucial for the survival and longevity of the individuals amongst these groups compared to the resources provided within the disturbed open area.
Survey 4 - Invertebrates
Hypothesis: There will be a greater number of invertebrates in the grassland habitat compared to the disturbed habitat.
Prediction: If there is a greater number of invertebrates in the grassland, then the higher number of varying plant species and coverage by plants in this habitat plays a critical role in the survival of these organisms.

Details of Data
The data obtained in this experiment is continuous as the data was recorded numerically for abundance of native and exotic plants, total number of flowers for quadrat and transect, abundance of woody plants, canopy and ground cover, abundance of vertebrates, invertebrates and humans, and vertebrate and vertebrate species (recorded in rtus for recognizable taxonomic units per sample).

Equipment Used
Quadrat: 1 metre by 1 metre in area
Pan Trap: 6 plastic bowls (2 white, 2 yellow, 2 blue), 17.5 centimetres in diameter and 4.5 centimetres in depth
Soapy Water: 720 millilitres of a water and soap mixture
Sweep Net: 32 centimetres in diameter
Transect: 30 metres in length