Field Study Project
Week 1
Site Intro
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Focus Questions
Q: What California biome is your area and why?
A: Temperate woodland and shrubland. It is temperate because of the latitude of the area, woodland because there are trees, and shrubland because there are plants growing low to the ground. Q: What type of relationships do you see between organisms in your area? Name each relationship you see and explain it. Name at least three. A: Birds excrete waste, which acts as compost for the plants. Fish do this as well, for the muddy floor of the creek. Birds also help propagate seeds of plants such as blackberries, when they eat them and then excrete them elsewhere. Q: Describe a food chain in your area. A: A food chain in our area includes small mosquito-like insects which are eaten by the fish and the tadpoles. Then, the tadpoles and fish can be eaten by the birds. The birds also eat the insects. The insects and the fish eat plants, which grow under water, and overhang the water. |
Week 2
New Observations
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Focus Questions
Q: What is man’s impact in your area? (Name 2 specific examples of types of pollution)
A: In my area, I saw two tennis balls in the creek and one in the bushes, which were an example of pollution. I also saw a bridge, which is a disturbance of the environment around it. Q: What are the limiting factors in your area for plants? For animals? A: A limiting factor for plants in my area is a lack of nutrients, which the soil is poor of. The animals would be limited by the closeness of humans, as well as the lack of abundant plants. |
Week 3
New Observations
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Focus Questions
Q: Why are bacteria important for plants in your area? For animals? For soil? (What role do they play?)
A: Bacteria fulfill many roles, including decomposition and nitrogen fixation. Both of these supply plants and animals with nutrients, either by giving them back, or by releasing them. Q: In general, where are fungi found? What is their role in the world? A: Fungi are usually found in areas that are dark and wet. They are responsible for decomposition of dead plant material that falls to the ground. They also decompose trees and dead animals. |
Photos
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Week 4
New Observations
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Focus Questions
Research the invertebrates in your area.
Q: What is their role? A: Invertebrates are responsible for things like providing food - birds and other vertebrates can eat them - and also getting rid of decomposing material, like dead animals, and leaf litter. There are other roles that they fill as well, such as pollinating flowers, and filtering water. Q: Where are they found and why? A: Some invertebrates can live almost anywhere, while others only survive in a limited number of habitats, sometimes depending on a single plant species that they eat or use for some other purpose. In my area, the insects I saw were pollinating plants, sitting under rocks, or perching on the surface of the water. |
Week 5
New Observations
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Focus Questions
Q: Identify any bryophytes, seedless vascular plants, gymnosperms, or angiosperms (monocot or dicot) that you have in your area. For each, explain why you classified them the way you did.
A: I think the plant in picture #1 to the right is a vascular seedless plant because it looked very similar to a fern to me. The plant in picture #2 is poison oak which is a dicot angiosperm because of the way the veins in the leaves branch out. Pictures #3 and #4 show monocot angiosperms because of the parallel veins in the leaves. In pictures #5, #6, and #7, we see blackberry plants which are dicot angiosperms as shown by the branching veins. The plants in pictures #8, #9, and #10 are dicot angiosperms because of the veins branching in the leaves. Picture #11 is of a fallen branch from a bay tree, which is a dicot angiosperm because it is a tree with flowers, not cones. Picture #12 depicts a stinging nettle plant which is abundant in my area. I think it is a dicot angiosperm because of the nonparallel veins. In picture #13, you can see some algae in the creek in my area. I was informed that this type of algae is not a plant, it is a plantlike protist. |
Photos
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Week 6
New Observations
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Focus Questions
Q: What is the difference between dermal, vascular and ground tissue? How are they arranged in a plant?
A: Ground tissue is the tissue in the root, responsible for active nutrient absorption. Vascular tissue consists of channels which let the water and other plant fluids to go through the other tissues of the plant. The final type of tissue is simply responsible for protecting the plant, storage, and any thing else. The ground tissue is at the bottom of the plant, the vascular is in the center, while the dermal is on the outside. Q: What are the essential nutrients needed in soil? Why are each important? A: The essential nutrients needed in soil are phosphorous, nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and sulfur. The first three are primary, while the later are secondary. The primary are used in plants for enzyme activity, and building. They cause abundant, flourishing , healthy plants with lots of foliage. The secondary nutrients are mainly used for construction. Q: Explain different methods of pollination you see in your area. A: One method of pollination seen is the pollination by butterflies, as well as bees. This is shown by Black Berry plants. Another type of pollination is preformed by wind, when the pollen is transported by air. One final way some of the plants in my area were pollinated is through water, the example being algae. Q: What are some adaptations the plants in your area have? A: One adaptation is the spikes on the Black Berries, which prevent them from being eaten. Another adaptation is the chemical secreted by the poison oak and stinging nettle, which also makes them inedible, or at least unlikely to be eaten. One final adaptation is the strength of the leaves of grassy plants growing in the water. Their rigidity makes them stand up to the flowing water, and avoid from being drowned. |
Wrap-up
Analysis and Conclusion
My environment has not changed much over the period of the past 6 weeks. Some of the changes I did see were mostly abiotic, and insignificant. However, there were some changes which concerned biotic factors. One change was the blooming of different plants, which included black berry, as well as some grasses. In the beginning of the study, I observed many different insects, including water striders, dragonflies, and flies in general. However, the number of insects declined towards the middle of the study, and although it came back up towards the end, it was still fewer than in the beginning. There were also some tadpoles, which disappeared in the course of the study. I believe that they either got carried away by the current, which got stronger, or they turned into frogs and left the stream, in which case they left the area because I have seen no trace of them. The main producers in my area are plants, which photosynthesize, and algae, which photosynthesizes as well. The consumers are more varied, including birds, insects, and animals such as humans and horses. From this lab, I learned the importance of plants as producers and regulators of the environment. They provide food for a variety of organisms, and without them there would be less life and interactions in my area.