BIOL3250: Lab 2

To study if human activity impacted species diversity of a given area, I observed two different regions, one with more human activity and one with less. To pick my sites accordingly, I did a pilot experiment to observe which sites had more and less activity. I first began my study at Hillside Gardens at High Park with a tally clicker and a smartphone to use the iNaturalist app for species identification. Each replication lasted for a duration of 20 minutes; keeping a strict timeline helped ensure I spent equal time at both sites and therefore equal time for species identification. Before I began the observation period, I ensured to keep record of the geographical coordinate since point of observation would vary with each visit to the study site. During the observation period, I used the tally clicker to keep track of the human activity surrounding me, this includes walking and socialization within my immediate surrounding that could possibly disrupt organisms in the study. I kept track of the number of species observed, and identified species using the iNaturalist app. After the duration was complete, I continued to the next site of observation which was the Hiking Trail at High Park. I continued this same process, by keeping record of the geographical coordinate, keeping tally of human activity, and observing species diversity and richness. In doing so, I was able to collect data of different species within each study site, species richness, and number of human activity.