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 (Plantago major) 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.

本研究与另外三名团队成员合作完成，成员包括穆罕默德·阿克拉姆（Muhammad Akram）、丹尼尔·杰马尼（Daniel Germani）与马尔基安·普拉维克（Markian Plawiuk）。在本次数据集的数据采集阶段，马尔基安担任实验室助理。本研究于2015年9月22日星期二，在约克大学基尔校区（York University Keele Campus）的丹比草地（Danby Grassland）开展。当日研究区域的环境条件为：气温23摄氏度，晴，伴有微风。丹比草地内分布有大量株高不超过膝高的植物，呈簇状分布格局，个体聚集形成“斑块”的现象颇为常见；研究区域内当时还存在少量杂物。本次研究始于当日约15:10，结束于约16:02。本研究的目的为沿草地内随机布设的样带卷尺（transect tape），采集50株普通车前（Plantago major）的数据集，以此帮助团队成员熟悉实用生态学研究中用于估算与观测种群丰度及分布的距离法。研究记录了每株植物在样带卷尺上的位置距离、株高、叶片数、花数，以及其紧邻观测区域内与其他个体的拥挤程度。实验分工明确：一名团队成员沿样带移动，记录样带距离、叶片数、花数及拥挤程度；实验室助理则负责测量每株植物的株高并复核叶片计数。两名组员共同负责确保沿样带的移动尽可能笔直无偏移，并定位样带卷尺上的下一个目标个体。本次样带采样采用样线法（line method），即仅记录样带卷尺正下方的个体。具体固定方式为：将样带卷尺的原点固定于随机选定的研究起始点，用铅笔牢牢插入地面固定卷尺末端，以确保测量距离尽可能精准。若在数据采集完成前抵达草地边缘，则在研究区域内重新选取随机起始点以避免有偏采样，随后恢复观测并记录新的距离数据，直至采集到足够数量的个体。