My design was largely implemented as planned; the only major change involved the use of a stratified random sampling strategy (using discrete phragmite density categories) in place of the simple random sampling strategy I had originally intended. This makes the correlation of phragmite and cattail density easier from a statistical perspective, and allows me to make useful conclusions in my final report. Engaging in the practice of ecology has confirmed for me the importance of field observation in informing ecological theory. Ecological theory can indeed really not be developed a priori as many other sciences can; field observation is a critical part of the empirical data collection needed for the development of any theory.