DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.4056288.v1
title: YorkU.Forest.Oct-24-2016

description: Census: refers to the corresponding sampling week (Week 5= Census 1, Week 6= Census 2, Week 7= Census 3) Calendar.date: represents the date in which the samples were collected Campus: Represents the university the data collection took place Group_ID: The identifying numbers of each lab class and group that collected the data Habitat: Categorical variable which represents the location in which the data collection took place Rep: A shortcut for replicate, which indicates the number of times the data was collected for each variable Abundance.native.plants: discrete variable representing the total number of native plants (plants naturally found in the area) found inside the quadrat along the trasect Abundance.exotic.plants: discrete variable which shows the total number of exotic plants (plants that usually grow somewhere else) present within the quadrat along the transect Total.number.flowers (quadrat): discrete variable showing the number of individual flowers found within the quadrat Abundance.woody.plants: discrete variable that represents the number of trees 1.5 meters or taller found half a meter away from the transect at every two meters Canopy.cover: continuous variable showing the percentage of canopy coverage at half a meter away from the transect at every two meters Ground.cover: continuous variable which represents the percentage of vegetation present at half a meter away from the transect at every two meters Total.flower.numbers (transect): discrete variable representing the number of flowers present at half a meter along the transect at every two meters Abundance.vertebrates: Discrete variable which shows the number of vertebrates present within a 50-meter radius of the data collection location for 15 minutes Vertebrate.richness: Discrete variable showing the number of vertebrate species found within 50-meter radius of the data collection location for 15 minutes Abundance.human: discrete variable representing the number of humans that aren’t a part of the class found within a 50-meter radius of the data collection location for 15 minutes Abundance.invertebrates.pantraps: discrete variable which shows the number of invertebrates found in pantraps after 40 minutes Abundance.invertebrates.sweeps: discrete variable which represent the number of invertebrates present in the sweep nets at every sweep along the transect Abundance.invertebrates.observed: discrete variable showing the number of invertebrates observed within a 5-meter radius from the data collection location for 15 minutes Method: The data collection was conducted at York University (Keele Campus) forest between 3pm and 3:50pm, lasting 50 minutes, on Monday, October 24, 2016. The coordinates for the location is -79.50721 longitude and 43.76876 latitude with an elevation of 126.302. The weather was cold and very windy with a temperature of 9 degrees Celsius. It was also partly cloudy with the sun coming out every now and then. The data collection was done by Angel Conje, Emma Zacharias, Rania Rawanduzy, and Bukunmi Omotoso. Upon arriving at the forest, one transect was laid across the area creating a 30 meter line. Another transect was connected to one end of the first transect to create an overall 50-meter line, which will be where all the collection was conducted. The quadrat sampling was done along a 50-meter transect and the quadrant was placed at every 2 meters, and the number of native plants, exotic plants, and flowers found within the transect were counted. The quadrat was placed randomly and alternating the left and the right of the transects, resulting in 25 replications (Emma). At every two meters along the transect, the number of woody plants that were 1.5 meters or taller within 0.5 meters of the line was determined as well as the canopy coverage, the vegetation coverage, and the number of flowers. The canopy coverage was determined by looking up and seeing how much of the sky was covered by the trees' branches. Meanwhile, the vegetation coverage was determined by looking down and estimating how much live vegetation was present within the same 0.5 meters of the transect. In the same area, the number of flowers were also counted. This resulted in 25 replications (Angel).A 50-meter radius was surveyed at the beginning of the transect. The number of vertebrates species observed, and the number of people that do not belong to the lab were counted within 15 minutes. At the same spot, the number of individual invertebrates within a 5-meter radius was recorded for another 15 minutes (Bukunmi). Six pan traps filled with soapy water were placed 3 meters apart along the transect. The colours of the pans were alternated. After 40 minutes, the number of invertebrates in the pan traps was recorded. While waiting, ten sweeps were conducted next to the 50-meter transects using a sweep net. At the end of each sweep, the number of invertebrates in the net was recorded (Rania).Hypothesis:As vegetation increases, the abundance of invertebrates will increase because there is a higher availability of plants which most invertebrates eat, thus allowing more of them to thrive.Predictions:There will be more woody plants found in the forest than in the impermeable surface.There will be more native plants and less exotic plants in the forest than in the grasslands.<br><br><br>