In my recent field data collection activities, I delved into the backyard to explore the world of arthropods. With keen eyes and plastic cups in hand, I sampled 11 replicates during sunny days and 11 during stormy days to understand how temperature might affect arthropod populations. While implementing my sampling design, I encountered some hiccups navigating through the backyard’s nooks and crannies. Uneven terrain and occasional weather disturbances made it a bit tricky to ensure consistent sample placement. Nonetheless, my determination prevailed, and I managed to collect valuable data for my research.
While I was collecting and looking at the data, I saw some interesting things happening. Even though nothing really big surprised me and went against what I thought, I noticed some small changes in how many arthropods there were when the weather was different. These little patterns got me thinking about everything going on in the ecosystem. As I study the data more, these observations are giving me ideas to look into about how different things might affect arthropods in the backyard, not just temperature.