The organism I plan to study is called the Vinca Minor, also called the lesser periwinkle. The three locations I chose to observe was the entrance to the trail, the centre of the trail, and a point of higher elevation on the trail to see how location and geographical constraints may affect the species and how it grows. The changes that I observed were that as I reached a point of higher elevation, the vinca minor was nowhere to be found, however near the entrance of the trail, as well as near the centre of the trail there was many to be found. This species was most prevalent in areas that received a large amount of sun, and not at all present in areas that had a larger amount of ferns present which I found to be quite interesting. My guess would be the underlying process for this observation was that the ferns and vinca minor would have to compete for resources, as well as space and therefore it was uncommon for them to be seen together. The vinca minor was only seen on the ground, usually in clusters and more often than not with English Ivy, but never climbing up trees as the ivy did. My hypothesis for this species is that it likes to be in areas of high sun exposure, but cannot easily compete for nutrients or space with the ferns and that they do not like to be at higher elevations. The response variable will be monitoring the presence of vinca minor in each area, specifically the number of flowers as this would provide indication of where the plant is thriving while being quantifiable. The predictor/explanatory variable will be the elevation, surrounding plant species, and sun exposure. I think this experiment would be best using categorial variables so that I can track how surrounding species, exposure to sun, and elevation impact the growth of the flower. My prediction is that the vinca minor will be more prevalent in areas of higher sun exposure, lower elevations, and in areas where the presence of ferns (Asplenium Viride) are not found.
Hi Michaela,
I like your field project, it sounds interesting, specific and easy to collect field data on (aka measurable). One thing I really struggled with was narrowing in on a specific attribute, and it looks like you have done this successfully. From reading some of your other posts, it sounds like your predictions are clear and falsifiable and you are finding patterns like sun exposure and fern density that are affecting the abundance and frequency of your subject (vinca minor).
When you are collecting counts for the plant, will you also be collecting measurements of sun exposure, elevation and presence/absence of ferns? Do you have a method to identify/evaluate sun exposure?
Your project sounds fun!
Good Luck! 🙂
Heidi
Your study seems clear and your hypothesis is testable. Do you have specific elevations to measure. Im not sure how we measure elevation or are you comparing your lowest elevation to be at the base of an area and you will measure up to the highest local elevation.
Good write up though and I think its pretty clear what you are studying.