Ecology Lab 2: Oberservation and Data Collection of the Common Plantain

This study was done in collaboration with 3 other team members composed of Muhammad Akram, Daniel Germani, and Markian Plawiuk. During data collection for this particular data set, Markian took on the role as lab assistant. This study took place at York University Keele Campus on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2015 at the Danby Grassland. The conditions of the environment where the study took place were 23 degrees Celsius, sunny, with mild breezy conditions. The Danby Grassland consisted of a large abundance of plant species no taller than knee height, with a clumped dispersion pattern, as “patches” of individuals crowding together were common. There were minor amounts of debris present within the area at the time of study. The study began at approximately 3:10PM, and concluded at approximately 4:02PM. The purpose of this study was to collect a dataset comprised of 50 individuals of common plantain (<em>Plantago major</em>) along the length of a randomly placed transect tape within the grassland. This study allowed for team members to familiarize themelves with distance methods used in practical ecology studies to estimate and observe population abundances and distributions. Each individual’s distance along the transect tape, height, number of leaves, number of flowers, and it’s crowdedness amongst other individuals within the immediate surrounding areas of observation were noted. Efficiency and effectiveness was ensured by having one team member moving along the transect line and taking note of the distance, number of leaves, flowers, and crowdedness, while the lab assistant measured the height of each species and reassured that the leaf count was correct. Both group members were responsible for making sure that movement along the transect line was as straight as possible and not skewed, and for spotting the next target individual located along the transect tape. This method of sampling used with the transect was the line method, as individuals located directly under the transect tape were recorded. The origin of the transect tape was held in place to the ground of the random location of origin of study by firmly and securely placing a pencil into the ground holding the end of the tape to ensure the distances measured were as accurate as possible. If the end of the grassland field was approached prior to the completion of data collection, a brand new random origin location was selected within the area of study to avoid biased sampling, and observations were resumed normally with new distances recorded till enough individuals have been observed.