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

Taking Action

 This is my now trash-free plot:

 This is some of the trash I picked up:

Seasonal Changes

The leaves have started to fall now and the colors have begun to change. It was kind of wet today from the downpour this morning.

Biotic or Not?

Biotic :
1. Ants
2. Woodpeckers
3. Squirrels
4. Deer
5. Poison ivy
6. Mushrooms
7. Pine Trees
8. Vines
9. Chipmunks
10. Rabbits
11. Mosquitoes
12. Bees
13. Grass
14. Cardinals
15. Chickadees

Abiotic:
1. Temperature(about 59 degrees F)
2. Dirt
3. Sand
4. Rocks
5. Air

Seasonal Changes

From Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Not much has changed these past few weeks, but the mosquito population has greatly decreased. I am not getting bitten as much anymore.

Looking Closely

When looking in the Microscope it was really cool to see all the little veins in the leaf. These are  pictures of what it looks like. It's the best I could do with a camera.

I am pretty sure that this is lichen on a piece of bark. It was kind of sandy or dirty under the microscope. It also had a couple of tiny hairs on it, which I think is gross.

My Plot is an Ecosystem

Species

1. deer
2. raccoon

Population

1. herd of deer
2. gaze of raccoons

Communities

1. A herd of deer, a dray of squirrels, and a rafter of turkeys.
2. A nest of rabbits, a gaze of raccoons, and a swarm of mosquitoes.

An Ecosystem is many communities along with non-living things. Such as the 2 communities above (and more) with plants (pine trees, grass, etc.) and rocks, dirt.

Seasonal Changes

As you can probably see there weren't any really big changes in the plot these past weeks. The pictures look as if they could have been taken on the same day! There is still an annoying woodpecker flying around, but that's about all the action there is.

Seasonal Changes

from today

Seasonal Changes

From September 6, 2011

Expression Poem

My Plot Study

The ants crawl quickly on their way

While deer run up the hill

Mosquitoes keep landing on me

The wind gives me a chill

The trees form a roof

The birds sing a tune

The leaves fall down

It’s getting close to noon

The woodpecker keeps on pecking

The chipmunks store their food

I hear the crickets chirping

Now it’s time to conclude

Meet My Plot

My Plot is a wooded area near my house. I chose it because of its location and convience. I can hear lots of bugs and birds while I am out there. Some bugs were flying around me, but I couldn't see the birds. Many pine trees as well as dead trees are laying around. Small plants and rocks cover most of the ground and vines of some sort are crawling up trees. The plot seems like it will be a good place to see seasonal changes.