Yorku.pond.impermeable.data.csv

Census: The day which a specific site was surveyed. The census
day correlates to when and where the data was collected.

Calendar.date: The exact day, month and year when the
census was conducted.  

Campus: The university where the census was conducted for this
particular experiment. 

Group_ID: The identification label corresponding to the group and
lab section who has conducted the census.  A group of 3-5 students
enrolled in the university were considered a group.

Habitat: The natural environment type where data is collected. An
area with environmental properties and interactions unique to that area was
considered an individual habitat. 

Lat: The latitude coordinate, in degrees, of the site at the current
repetition. This value was determined using a GPS.

Long: The longitude coordinate, in degrees, of the site at the
current repetition. This value was determined using a GPS.

Elevation: The elevation of the site at the current repetition,
measured in meters above sea level. This value was determined using a GPS.

Rep: The trial number of the current experiment. This value is
determined according to experimenter's count.

Abundance.native.plants: The number of individuals of a native plant
species seen in the 1m by 1 m quadrant. Individuals whose leaves were in the
quadrat but their roots were outside the quadrat were not considered.  A
plant species was considered native according to the lab technician's
description.

Abundance.exotic.plants: The number of individuals of an exotic plant
species seen in the 1m by 1m quadrat.  Individuals whose leaves were in
the quadrat but their roots were outside the quadrat were not considered. A
plant species was considered exotic according to the lab technician's
identification.

Total.number.flowers (quadrat): The total number of
flowers visible in the 1m by 1m quadrat. Only living flowers were considered in
this value, but flowers present could be of any maturity. Individuals with
flowers must have roots inside the quadrat for the flower to be
considered. 

Abundance.woody.plants: The number of individuals of woody plants
seen within 0.5m of the left and right side of the 25m long transect.  A
woody plant must be greater than 1.5m in height to be considered in this value.
The woody plant must not be uprooted for it to be considered

Canopy.cover:  The percentage of sky covered by trees in an
upward perspective used to represent how much light is blocked by trees. The
data was collected by putting our hands in a way to form a square and keeping
it toward the sky and estimating which percentage of the square does not let
light through. The same area square was used in each measurement. Only one
perspective was considered for each data value.

Ground.cover: The percentage of ground that was
covered by vegetation within a 1m radius of where standing. Estimations were
made by dividing the visual area directly below feet into smaller sections and
adding the sum area covered by any vegetation within the total area.

Total.number.flowers (transect): The total number of
flowers visible within 0.5m of the left and right side of the 25m long
transect. Only living flowers were considered in this value, but flowers could
be of any maturity. 

Abundance.vertebrates: The total number of individuals classified as
a vertebrate that was visible within a 50m radius of a central location in the
woodlot. Area was observed for 15 minutes. Individuals were counted by sight in
that time. Any species with recognizable vertebrate morphology were considered.
Any participants of the lab were not considered in the count.

Vertebrate.species: The number of different recognizable species
visible within a 50m radius of a central location in the woodlot. Area was
observed for 15 minutes. Any vertebrate with clear morphological
characteristics unique to other vertebrates in the area were considered to be
its own species group. This data was counted by sight. Any participants of the
lab were not considered in the count. 

Abundance.human: The total number of humans seen within a 50m
radius of a central location in the woodlot. Area was observed for 15 minutes.
Any participants of the lab were not considered in the count.

Abundance.invertebrates.pantraps: The total number of
individual insects visible in the soapy water of one single pan trap 1.5 hours
after it had been set. Pan traps were set in alternating patterns in the order
blue, white, and yellow. Invertebrates were counted by sight. Any species with
recognizable morphology of an invertebrate were considered. Any individuals not
in the soapy water were excluded from the count. Pan traps used were of
identical size and contained relatively equal volumes of soapy water.

Abundance.invertebrates.sweeps: The total number of individuals
taxonomically classified as an invertebrate that was visible in the sweep net
after a swift and repetitive figure eight movement along a transect for 50m.
Individuals were counted by sight. Any species with recognizable invertebrate
morphology were considered.

Abundance.invertebrates.observed: The total number of
individuals taxonomically classified as an invertebrate that was visible within
a 5m radius of a central location in the woodlot. Area was observed for 15
minutes. Individuals were counted by sight in that time. Any species with
recognizable invertebrate morphology were considered.

Data was collected in the Stong Pond and Seywell Baseball
Diamond found outside of York University campus on a Wednesday late October
around 3:00pm. There was an overcast, moderate winds and a temperature of 6oC. The pond was
surrounded by vegetation and trees. There was an open field of grass behind the
surrounding vegetation. Grass, leaves, branches and some litter covered the
ground. Animal activity was seen in the pond. A road, developed buildings and
pathways were nearby. The impermeable area consisted of two baseball diamonds;
each approximately 30m of gravel surrounded by an open patch of grass. This
area was next to a road connecting to parking lots and campus buildings. A
large group of geese remained at the site for all of the experiment. A dispersed
crowd of 36 York University students and two TAs were walking within and
between the areas collecting different samples.  

It is hypothesized that both the abundance of woody plants and
canopy cover will have an effect on the amount of ground coverage because the
abundance of trees takes up more ground space from other plants in addition to
the increased canopy coverage that prevents sufficient amount of sunlight to
reach the ground plants nearby.

It is predicted that areas consisting of a higher abundance of trees
will have less vegetation seen on the ground, thus less ground coverage.  

It is predicted that areas with less canopy coverage from nearby
trees will have a higher ground cover of vegetation.

The tree data was collected at the Stong Pond and Seywell
Baseball Diamonds on the York University campus. All four data sets were
recorded in each site for a total of 8 data sets.

Two 25 metre transects were spread out in a straight line for a
total measurement of 50 metres. Every two metres a 1 m x 1 m quadrat was
randomly placed while alternating right and left from the transect for a total
of 25 replications. This was performed in both sites. The total number of
native, exotic and flower plants were estimated in the quadrat. The type of species
known to be exotic or native were provided before the experiment was conducted.

Woody Plants - Two 25 metre transects were spread out in a
straight line for a total measurement of 50 metres to record if a tree is on
either side of the transect within 0.5 metres for every two metres along the
transect. A tree was considered to be a woody plant that was taller than 1.5
metres.  Canopy coverage was estimated at every two metres by looking up
and providing a rough percentage of how the trees covered the immediate
surrounding sight. The same methods were used to estimate the vegetative ground
cover at these locations. Finally, the total number of flowers were also
estimated within the 0.5 metre distance from the transect. This was performed
at both sites.

Vertebrates and Invertebrates - A 50 meter radius was surveyed
using two 25 meter transects placed in a straight line. The total number of
vertebrate species observed was recorded in a 15 minute interval. People that
belonged to the lab group were not included in the data. The invertebrate
abundance was done during a 15 minute observation interval as well within a
radius of 5 metres. This was performed at both sites.

 Invertebrates
– Two 25 metre transects were spread out in a straight line for a total
measurement of 50 metres.  6 pan traps were placed 3 meters apart. The pan
traps were placed with alternating colours at each location and the total
number of invertebrates were recorded in each. Next, sweep nets were used while
walking the entire 50 metre transect length. This was performed 10 times and
the total number of invertebrates was recorded after each time the experimenter
walked the 50 metres. These were separate methods in which invertebrate numbers
were measured. This was performed at both sites.