The last few times I have been out to my area of study I have adjusted the area of study. Instead of comparing the species diversity in a single square with a perimeter of 1km, I have instead opted to focus on the second question from blog post one. This has required led me to compare the success of douglas maple trees in a few different tributaries. Since discovering a credible website that is able to show me a range of map styles for the area I have chosen to study, I have been able to compare my hand drawn map and photos to the online map and discover which tributaries are large enough to be present on a map and which are more likely just tiny valleys. In addition to this, I have walked up and down a few of the tributaries marked on the map, including the original tributary that sparked my interest in order count the quantity of douglas maple trees and try to observe a pattern with where they seem to grow most frequently.
By making some key observations about physiographic factors, I have been able to come up with a reasonable hypothesis to base my field research on. Some of the key physiographic factors included: the grade of the tributary, the consistency of the slope (no chance for water to pool), presence of blockages within the tributary. These factors differed among the tributaries I observed and lead me to believe that the key predictor variables are the grade of the mountain and the presence of blockages within the tributary. My response variable in this research experiment is the success rate of douglas maple trees which will be measured by the abundance of different maple tree trunks in a given area and the average width of tree trunks in the same given area. The response and predictor variables in this case are both continuous and so my study design will be based on the regression form.
My prediction for this experiment is:
The success of douglas maple trees is very dependant on the soil moisture and water quantity available year round. Since tributaries with steep gradients seem to have less blockages that allow the water to pool and become absorbed by the soil and a faster current to push blockages downstream, the success of douglas maple trees will decrease or be nonexistent on a steep gradient.
My hypothesis for this experiment is:
If the grade of the slope directly impacts the success of douglas maple trees, then as the gradient becomes steeper the success of douglas maple trees will decrease.
From My Field Journal:
I will try and post the photos in the comments, however I’m getting an error that says I cannot upload media when trying to add them here.
Your hypothesis is clear and sounds like you have a great study site. Try to narrow down your prediction, which might be easier once you narrow down your sampling strategy such as how many tributaries you are studying and how they differ. My only concern is your project could be quite large, how many tributaries are you going to try to sample to get enough variation in steepness of slope? Perhaps there are key ones that are quite different and you find 3 to do.
Did you try making your photo sizes smaller before uploading them? Also remember your field journal. If you have trouble uploading after making smaller let me know and we can contact IT.