DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.3984231.v1
title: YorkU.grassland-disturbed.oct42016

description: The overall study examines the relationship of plant species and invertebrate and vertebrate ­species in relation to their surrounding environment. Comparisons and data were collected at a grasslands lot and a disturbed area at York University, Keele Campus. Four different survey methods were conducted and specifically for this weeks data collected on Oct 4, 2016, the relationship between the total number of flowers along a transect were analyzed by noting the abundance of woody plants, canopy cover and ground vegetation cover.<b>Methods</b>Four survey methods were used to compare and analyze the plant species, as well as the invertebrate and vertebrate species in a grasslands lot and a disturbed area.In the first survey of herbaceous plants, two 25m transact tapes were place end-to-end in a straight line to form a 50m sampling transect. Students began at one end of the 50m transact line and proceeded towards the other end. A quadrat was thrown perpendicularly, approximately 0.5m away from the transect every 2m – beginning on the left, the quadrat was thrown in alternated direction (left, right, left, right, etc.) Students observed and recorded the abundance of native plants, abundance of exotic plants, as well as the total number of flower found in each quadrat. This process was carried for 50m of transect tape. The procedure was carried out identically for both the grasslands and disturbed habitats.In the second survey of woody plants, using the same 50m transect tape laid down in the first survey, students were observing and recording the abundance of woody plants (trees), canopy cover, ground cover and total number of flowers. Data was collected at 2m intervals along the transect and noted only the trees that were 0.5m away from the transect. If a tree was present in a 0.5m distance, then a canopy cover percentage was recorded, if not, zero was recorded. At each 2m interval, students also noted the percentage of ground cover in the surround area as well as the total amount of flowers at each interval. The procedure was carried out identically for both the grasslands and disturbed habitats.In the third survey of vertebrate and invertebrates, using the same 50m transect tape laid down as mentioned in the first survey. At the 50m mark along the transect, the parameter was assessed in order to determine the abundance of vertebrates, the number of vertebrate species and the abundance of humans. At the 5m mark along the transect, the surround area was assessed for 15 minutes in order to determine the abundance of invertebrates present. The procedure was carried out identically for both the grasslands and disturbed habitats.In the fourth survey of invertebrates, six pan traps containing soap water were strategically spaced at 3m intervals, in an alternating colour pattern along the right side of the length of the transect. The number of abundance of invertebrates was collected as continuous data and represents the total number of insects found in each of the pans. The pan traps were laid out in this manner to collect the abundance of invertebrates for both the grasslands and the disturbed areas. The continuous data for pan traps in each of the two scenarios were only collected after ten trials of sweep net abundance tests were conducted along part of the same transect. Along the transect, ten trials of the sweep net tests were conducted to verify the abundance of invertebrates. Each sweep net transect measuring 50 meters was considered a trial. The abundance of invertebrates were collected at the end of each trial as continuous data by counting the total number of insects found inside the sweep net.<b>Hypothesis</b>There will be a positive correlation that more flowers will be present in the grasslands lot than a disturbed area, as well as the number of flowers will increase when there is a decrease in the total percentage of ground coverage along the transect.There will be a decrease of the total amount of flowers present when a woody plant is present increasing the canopy cover. <b>Prediction</b>There will be a positive correlation that more flowers will be present in the grasslands lot than a disturbed area due to the environmental layout and surroundings of the various plant species. In the grasslands lot, there is an abundance of viable vegetation space for existing and new flowers to develop, where as the disturbed area is much more urbanized and is affected by human interaction due to the pathway created for students to walk through on campus. Also, the number of flowers will increase when there is lower ground percent coverage because developing and growing flowers will occupy more of the area than the non-viable ground coverage. If a woody plant is present in the measured area, the canopy cover increases reducing the amount of sunlight available for plants to develop and reproduce. As the canopy cover percentage increases, there is less sunlight available for photosynthesis to occur and for plants to be able to survive under the canopy, thus leading to a decrease in flowers presents when a woody plant is present.<b>Metadata</b>- Overall the study took approximately 2 hours to complete all four surveys on both the grasslands lot and disturbed area - Weather conditions during the grasslands lot was sunny, partly cloudy and 21°C around 3PM - Weather conditions during the disturbed area sampling was sunny, partly cloud, windy and 18°C around 4:15PM - Grasslands lot was located near a pond at York University - Disturbed area was located near buildings, parking areas and cement pathways for students to walk through campus- Abundance Native Plant: a numerical, quantitative measure of the number of native plants found approximately 0.5m from the transect tape - Abundance Exotic Plant: a numerical, quantitative count of the total number of exotic plants found with the quadrat – each quadrat was thrown 0.5m away from the transect line. Each single stem sprouting from the ground within the quadrat is counted as one plant. - Total Number of Flowers (Survey Method 1): a numerical, quantitative data of the total number of flowering buds found in a quadrat. Each flowering brand was counted as a single flower.- Abundance of Woody Plants: a numerical, quantitative measure of the number of woody plants found approximately 0.5m from the transect tape. A woody plant was considered if the height of the plant was over 1.5m. - Canopy Cover: a numerical, quantitative measure calculated in a percentage of the amount of cover the woody plant was covering. A zero was recorded if no woody plant was measured at the interval.- Ground Cover: a numerical, quantitative measure calculated in a percentage of the amount ground cover at each 2m interval along the transect. - Total Number of Flowers (Survey Method 2): a numerical, quantitative data of the total number of flowering buds found along the transect. A flower was consider if the stem was approximately 0.2m away from the transect on either side.- Abundance Vertebrates/Invertebrates: a numerical, quantitative data of the total number of vertebrates and invertebrates - Vertebrate Species: a numerical, quantitative data of the total number of different vertebrate species present - Abundance Human: a numerical, quantitative data of the total number of humans present not including the students enrolled in BIOL 2050 Lab 07- Abundance Invertebrate pan traps: a numerical, quantitative data of the total number of invertebrates collected in the pan traps laid at 3m intervals along the transect - Abundance invertebrate sweeps: a numerical, quantitative data of the total number of invertebrate collected in the sweep net walking along the 50m transect- The pan traps for both the grasslands and the disturbed area followed the color order: white, blue, and yellow in the same repeated pattern. - While the pan traps were left out to collect data in the form of invertebrates in the grasslands for about 40 minutes, they were only left out in the disturbed area for about 20 minutes before the data was reported - It is important to note that the 50 meter transect in the grasslands contained significant amount of vegetation while the transect in the disturbed area was scant in comparison and mostly contained grass.<br><br><br><br><br>