The impact of climate change on ecosystems has been the driving force of this research, in which I aimed to establish that an increase in temperature results in an increase in food and favorable temperature for the breeding of wasps, thus increasing their population. However, the implementation of this research was not an easy job because of the nature of the specimens selected. Wasps are not friendly insects, and during the process, I got stung several times despite having protective gear. Additionally, the sampling strategy was supposed to be random. However, wasps are mobile insects, and one may capture the same specimen twice if the sampling areas are close. As a result, I had to ensure that the sampling areas were as far away from each other as possible. However, having the sampling areas far apart meant more time would be taken to collect the data since the area was not easy accecible and I had to walk between the sampling regions. The second challenge was based on the time distribution. In this case, the research took more time than I had expected. Connecting between the sampling areas and collecting data on wasps took over three times the time allocated. As a result, the research did not meet its timelines.
However, engaging in the practice of ecology has changed my appreciation of how the ecological theory was developed. I have witnessed how human activities can cause biodiversity loss by engaging the ecosystems firsthand. In some sampling areas with some human activities, there were minimal wasps, but in areas without humans, there was no problem with the species’ population. As a result, I will push for changes in human activities that result in diversity loss. There should be an increase in the protected areas where insects, plants, and wild animals should be allowed to interbreed naturally.
Reference
Ladányi, M., & Horváth, L. (2020). A REVIEW OF THE POTENTIAL CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ON INSECT POPULATIONS- GENERAL AND AGRICULTURAL ASPECTS. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 8(2), 143-152.