Flora and Fauna Abundance and Diversity in Grassland and Disturbed Area Habitats

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. Habitats studied in this data set are the Danby grassland and the
disturbed area adjacent to the Danby Woods of the York University Keele Campus.

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. Other
researchers, as well as 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 randomly 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 13th,
2016 between 2:30 - 5:30 pm on the Danby grassland and disturbed area of York
University. The weather was very sunny and fairly windy, with an approximate
temperature of 13°C.

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

Hypothesis:  Habitats
with a large number of native plants, vertebrate species and percentage of
vegetative ground will see a greater abundance of vertebrates. This is expected
since these environmental factors will promote a strong ecological niche to
sustain vertebrate organisms.

Predictions:

1)
The larger the number of native plants, the greater the abundance of vertebrates

2)
The larger the ground cover, the greater the abundance of vertebrates

3)
The larger the number of vertebrate species, the greater the abundance of vertebrates.