My Response

             This Plot Study Project has been a unique project. Never before have I had to make a blog for a class, but I liked the idea of it. Most of what I learned through this project was seeing what we have discussed in class in action. We applied symbiosis and microscope skills from science class to the project. It really helped me to better understand the concepts. I learned how food webs were prevelent in my own plot as well as learning about the diversity found there. Each assignment taught me something new or helped me to better understand something we learned in class. That's over 10 things! The information gained from this study will help me to better understand things we will learn in the future as well as comprehend things that happen in the real world. An example of this could be if you read about the population of predators and prey in Yellowstone. From doing this project I may determine why their populations rise and fall and part of the food web involved. Many other concepts from this project can be applied to other situations, but the possibilities are endless.

Food Web

Key:

Purple-omnivore

Yellow-producer

Orange-carnivore

Green-herbivore

Red-I couldn't firgure out if it was a decomposer or a carnivore

Note: The arrow points to what it eats

*Sorry that there are so many lines all going the same place, but everything ate the same things*

Seasonal Changes

 From Today:

A lot more leaves have fallen, the ground is nearly covered. Fall is in full bloom.

Producers and Consumers

Producers:
1. Pine Trees
2. Flowers
3. Maple Trees
4. Vines
5. Poison Ivy
6. Elm Trees
7. Hemlock Trees
8. Spruce Trees
9. Ferns
10. A type of Cherry Tree

Consumers:
11. Ants-omnivores
12. Spiders-carnivores
13. Chickadees-omnivores
14. Cardinals-omnivores
15. Blue Jays-omnivores
16. Butterflies-herbivores
17. Moths-herbivores
18. Mice-herbivores
19. Mosquitoes-omnivores
20. Worms-detritivores
21. Mourning Doves-omnivores
22. Moles-herbivores
23. Raccons-omnivores
24. Deer-herbivores
25. Squirrels-omnivores
26. Chipmunks-omnivores
27. Owls-carnivores
28. Bats-omnivores
29. Opossums-omnivores
30. Hawks-omnivores

Seasonal Changes

This week more leaves are starting to change and fall on my plot. Temperatures are a bit cooler too.

Biodiversity

I tried my best to correctly identify these fungi, but I am not sure I got them all right.

Common Dung Cup

Peziza vesiculosa

Lichen

Antrodia serialis

Piloderma bicolor

Field Mushroom or Meadow Mushroom

Agaricus campestris

Plot Community

Competition:
1. A Blue Jay steals nests from other birds
2. Vines steal light from trees that they climb on

Predation:
1. Hawks hunt mice
2. Owls hunt mice

Mutualism:
1. Butterfly and Flowers
2. Bee and Flowers

Commensalism:
1. Squirrel and the tree it lives in
2. Robin and the tree it makes its nest in

Parasitism:
1. Deer and ticks
2. Roundworm and raccoons