Ecology Lab Report

On September 17th, 2015 our group went on the Orange Trail of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens, Georgia to collect data for our lab. The biome of this area that we explored fit a temperate deciduous forest type. We walked along the trail and picked random spots to start measuring our transects. We measured DBH size and canopy coverage at 10, 20, 30, and 40 meters respectively along each transect for a total of six transects. We used a densitometer to measure the percent of canopy coverage of the tree closest to the center of the sampling points along each of the transects. We used a measuring tape to measure out 10, 20, 30, and 40 meters respectively along each of the six

An association between enzyme production, gene copy number, and gene evolution was explored by conducting analysis of the salivary amylase enzyme, AMY1A gene copy number, and the ancestral starch consumption in Homo Sapiens (Tracey 2017, p.22). It was hypothesized that the relative amount of starch consumption was very high for my personal ancestral diet, thus my AMY1 diploid gene copy number in my genome and salivary amylase concentration would be significantly higher than the population mean. With a population of 28 subjects (n=28), individual saliva samples were collected and compared to a calibration curve to determine the approximate amylase concentration by analyzing absorbance values. Individual samples of buccal cheek cells were

Ecology is the branch of biology that studies the relationship between organisms and their environment. Ecology is a basic tool of environmental science.

Biodiversity presents occurrence of variety of species and their natural community in which they live. By the definition it is “The degree of variation of life forms within a given species, ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. It is a measure of the health of ecosystems and is in part a function of climate.” (Rutherford) Ecosystem is on the other hand, “ community and its abiotic environment”( Rutherford). Biodiversity exists in every ecosystem, weather it is big one, or just ecosystem of one garden, it has the same importance because without it nature loses its ability to perform major functions needed for life on Earth, as it is oxygen production. Trough this investigation, two different ecosystems will be explored and

In this lab, we studied the health and response of a protist community in an environmental change. The objective of this lab was to study and learn about how variables, such as a more acidic environment, impact the community in a habitat. Furthermore, it was also to learn about how diversity is quantified. To test this, we added protist communities to habitats of different pH levels, from 7 to 4, and let them live there for a week. We then studied the results and investigated which protists lived better in which environments. We discovered that at a pH of 7, the neutral pH of spring water, protists were able to live. As the pH was decreased, however, protists began to die off and could not survive in such acidic conditions. We also noticed that the lower the pH, the lower the diversity because fewer types of protists could survive. We can use this information to see how acidic conditions in nature such as those caused by acid rain can affect communities. We now know that an acidic environment can be extremely harmful to a community and so we should be more cautious of acid rain. If acidic conditions are bad for protists, it is quite possible that they are unfavorable for humans as well.

The bar chart was used to compare the number of species in each transect. In transect A, there were 5 different species. The species in this area were mostly grass, forbs, moss, bugs and beetles. Bugs and beetles made up a small population of this transect. In transect B, there were also 5 species. The species were mostly grass, shrubs, forbs, moss and bugs. In this transect, shrubs were found which makes transect B more diversed than A. In Transect C, 8 species were located in this area. The species included shrubs, grass, fobs, evergreen, trees, dirt, bugs and spiders. New species such as evergreen, trees, dirt and spiders were located in this location. Therefore the test that diversity happens through ecological succession was

Ecology: The study of the interactions between organisms and the other living and nonliving components of their environment.

The article discussed the changes in many habitats due to anthropogenic activity. Anthropogenic is an adjective that describes changes in nature due to the people. Next, this article discussed climate change and the impact that it is having on species like clams, and fish due to ocean temperatures rising. The article also addressed carbon dating of fossils to look for cause of extinctions. Human development and agriculture have had a tremendous impact on the population of many species that are terrestrial. Deforestation is a big problem that has caused a decline in the bird species. Commercial fishing in many areas has led to a decline in fish populations. Furthermore this article

Ecology is the branch of biology that studies the interactions of organisms with each other, and with their physical and chemical environments. Another main topic discussed in this chapter is ecosystems. Ecosystems are habitats or areas that consists of two basic components. Ecosystems include such things as biotic and abiotic components. Biotic components are living organisms within an ecosystem and abiotic components are things like sunlight, temperature, and rainfall. Within an ecosystem are producer and autotrophs. Producers and autotrophs consist of plants, algae, and bacteria. These two organisms obtain food from inorganic materials and light energy. As to where consumer and heterotrophs obtain energy by eating plants or the animals that eat the plants. An ecosystem is made up of several different parts. Each part of an ecosystem is different from the other. None of these parts within the ecosystem rely on the other. They are all interdependent being either predators or

“Biological diversity is of fundamental importance to the functioning of all natural and human-engineered ecosystems, and by extension to the ecosystem services that nature provides free of charge to human society ”(Lloyd, 2014). Biodiversity is very important to both plants, animals and humans on Earth and if one species is destroyed it throw the balance off .

There are different sorts of environments scattered over the earth, but what and where are they? In World Biodiversity Expedition, the reader is to collect data about these organisms and the environment they are settled at. A biome is often mistaken as an ecosystem, however, it is defined by non-living factors such as climate, soils, and vegetation. This unit helped me understand more clearly that there are so many organisms that I did not know anything about. I learned a lot from this specific unit when it comes to discoverying animals and organisms that I did not know exist.

Forest communities like Battle Park have different environmental factors within their area. On different slopes, depending on the direction it is facing, the soil and area could be wetter or drier. This study is looking to see if the north-facing and south-facing sites have differences in basal area, density, species richness, and diversity. Also, there may be some similarities in the area since both are from the same park.

Data were collected in September and November 2017 at the Elk Valley Preserve and Field Station in Banner Elk, NC. The preserve is located at 36°10'17.2"N 81°54'45.9"W, in Avery County in western North Carolina. The area is a mixed deciduous forest at an altitude of 1,127 m above sea level. Data were collected in early fall, during which temperatures average around 10-18 degrees Celsius. Summers in Banner Elk are typically mild, with temperatures averaging 21 degrees Celsius, and winters are cold and snowy, averaging near zero degrees Celsius. During the months of September and November there is an overall average precipitation of 12-25cm.

Ecology today can be defined as “the study of the interrelationships between living things and their environment”. It is important to understand that when we say that ecology includes the “environment”, we are talking about everything that is external to an organism, all the biotic and abiotic. Nowadays it also attempts to understand and explain the how and why of the origins and mechanisms of interactions.

Franck and Brownstone define biological diversity as 'the variety and variability of living organisms and the biological communities in which they live' (36). Decades of progress in both the scientific and political arenas have advanced environmental legislation to protect biodiversity at not only the ecosystem level, but for specific species and genetic material as well. Research has shown the importance of every organism and their role in the global ecosystem, and legislation has gradually matured to protect not only species which may become endangered, but the habitats they need to survive as well. Growing consciousness surrounding environmental issues has enabled these protections to be