Create a blog post where you briefly discuss the theoretical basis of your research project.
Growing up near this piece of land, I have seen the terrain change drastically over the past few years. Once a land roamed by elk, deer and moose, we rarely see coyotes crossing the fields. There has been a dramatic loss of tall trees and large shrubbery and an increase of small shrubs and grasses. The small bird population has increased,but diversity of species has actually decreased. After observing all this, I began to piece together the changes that had happened around this area, and I came to the conclusion that the biggest impact that could change this area would be the surrounding anthropological effects: Construction. Although it may not be super close to the area in study, I know that construction has dramatically changed the soil quality of nearby agricultural areas due to soil contamination and downstream effects. Those changes can be mitigated through proper maintenance, however the wetland area demonstrates these implications without any mitigation methods.
What ecological processes might your hypothesis touch on?
What ideas underpin your research?
Therefore, my hypothesis touches on the ecological process of downstream contamination due to soil or water contamination. It strongly relates to the relationship between dominant vegetation and the effecting changes on the influence of the biome of an ecosystem. Alongside temperature, climate, location, sunlight ect. We know that the dominant vegetation determines the species diversity, ecological niches ect. of current populations. Although I cannot compare this current location to ten years prior, I can compare it to similar locations that are currently unaffected by construction impacts.
Please list three keywords that you could use to describe your research project.
Wetland
Downstream contamination
Vegetation Population
really meaningful when you have connections to the land you are studying!