Durango Nature Studies habitat Assessment Project
In this project the 10th grade biology class conducted a survey at Durango Nature Studies' property here in Durango Colorado in order to evaluate the health of the environment and the current status of the frog population (focusing on the invasive bullfrog species and how it effects the leopard frog population).
To accurately assess ecosystem health, the 10th grade AHS biology students made four separate trips to DNS property to collect a variety of field data. Water quality tests were done to gauge coliform bacteria, nitrates, pH (measure of acidity or alkalinity), dissolved oxygen, and phosphates. The students also made multiple vegetation plot surveys and captured and counted aquatic macroinvertebrates in both the Florida River and the pond on the DNS property. To estimate frog populations, students conducted visual encounter surveys and collected mark-recapture data.
Mark-recapture data collection is when a portion of a population is captured, marked (with elastomer), and released. Later, another portion is captured and the number of marked individuals within the sample is counted. Because the number of marked individuals within the second sample should be proportional to the number of marked individuals in the whole population, an estimate of the total population size can be obtained by dividing the number of marked individuals by the proportion of marked individuals in the second sample.
A visual encounter survey (VES) is a scan search to determine species diversity and population density. The VES works on four assumptions: 1) Every individual has an equal chance of being counted during the survey, 2) Each species is equally likely to be observed during each sampling session, 3) Each individual is only counted once, and 4) Results from two or more observers surveying the same area simultaneously are identical.
After all of the data was gathered, students entered them into Excel spreadsheets to compare and contrast the effect one result would have on another. For example, because there weren't any stoneflies found in the Durango Nature Studies pond, it would be expected for a high level of phosphates to be found (which was the case). Excel was also used to calculate Shannon Weiner numbers and determine the average diversity index for our macroinvertibrate and leopard frog data.
The final step of the project was to write a paper summarizing all of our research and to voice our individual suggestions and recommendations to Durango Nature Studies on the status of their environmental habitat and what modifications can be made to promote its health. This turned out to be the most challenging aspect of the project for myself due to the fact that we were only allowed to write using objective language. So far in my life, I've been encouraged and occasionally forced to write primarily in creative letters that form rich similes and succulent metaphors. It took a total of 4 versions of my paper to squeeze out all of my descriptive language. With the absence of my descriptive language, strong conclusions and analysis took their place. In the end, I am very proud of how unnaturally analytical I was able to be in writing my paper (which can be found below along with my data tables).
To accurately assess ecosystem health, the 10th grade AHS biology students made four separate trips to DNS property to collect a variety of field data. Water quality tests were done to gauge coliform bacteria, nitrates, pH (measure of acidity or alkalinity), dissolved oxygen, and phosphates. The students also made multiple vegetation plot surveys and captured and counted aquatic macroinvertebrates in both the Florida River and the pond on the DNS property. To estimate frog populations, students conducted visual encounter surveys and collected mark-recapture data.
Mark-recapture data collection is when a portion of a population is captured, marked (with elastomer), and released. Later, another portion is captured and the number of marked individuals within the sample is counted. Because the number of marked individuals within the second sample should be proportional to the number of marked individuals in the whole population, an estimate of the total population size can be obtained by dividing the number of marked individuals by the proportion of marked individuals in the second sample.
A visual encounter survey (VES) is a scan search to determine species diversity and population density. The VES works on four assumptions: 1) Every individual has an equal chance of being counted during the survey, 2) Each species is equally likely to be observed during each sampling session, 3) Each individual is only counted once, and 4) Results from two or more observers surveying the same area simultaneously are identical.
After all of the data was gathered, students entered them into Excel spreadsheets to compare and contrast the effect one result would have on another. For example, because there weren't any stoneflies found in the Durango Nature Studies pond, it would be expected for a high level of phosphates to be found (which was the case). Excel was also used to calculate Shannon Weiner numbers and determine the average diversity index for our macroinvertibrate and leopard frog data.
The final step of the project was to write a paper summarizing all of our research and to voice our individual suggestions and recommendations to Durango Nature Studies on the status of their environmental habitat and what modifications can be made to promote its health. This turned out to be the most challenging aspect of the project for myself due to the fact that we were only allowed to write using objective language. So far in my life, I've been encouraged and occasionally forced to write primarily in creative letters that form rich similes and succulent metaphors. It took a total of 4 versions of my paper to squeeze out all of my descriptive language. With the absence of my descriptive language, strong conclusions and analysis took their place. In the end, I am very proud of how unnaturally analytical I was able to be in writing my paper (which can be found below along with my data tables).
dns4.pdf | |
File Size: | 214 kb |
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dns_data.pdf | |
File Size: | 104 kb |
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