My Response: The Aftermath (or should I say, the "Afterscience"?)

            All in all, I am very glad I had this opportunity to take a closer look at God's creation and keep track of many changes that occur over the course of just a month or so. Sure I was not always the happiest when I had to spend time figuring out what species of tree was in front of me, for instance, but looking back I am able to appreciate the entire project. The main reason I could appreciate this is that I learned many things I would otherwise probably not known. (1)First of all, doing the plot study taught me that God knows precisely what colors work together and which shades compliment each other. (2)Secondly, while looking for different species of trees, I knew that every single leaf was unique—no matter how many leaves I looked at, it was very obvious that none were exactly alike (honestly, this is unfathomable…amazing!). (3)Third of all, I learned you can only truly see what changes are occurring if you look extremely closely and maybe even keep a picture album record. In other words, if you were to just look out your window at the trees every morning, you might be able to notice something was a bit different, but seeing pictures of the month lets you zero in on what is different. (4)Something else I found out has to do with the interactions on my plot; before this project, I never really thought about how many diverse creatures live in the same community. It did not ever process in my mind that so many organisms could share one space and live contentedly. (5)Lastly, I learned how to sit back and enjoy nature. Even while writing my response, I stopped for at least fifteen minutes and just stared out the window watching various animals roam around just enjoying life. It started when a bird flew into the window scaring me, but moved on to me being mesmerized by the fluidity of a squirrel scampering up trees and jumping branches, as well as two dogs running around and checking out many odd items in the grass and tree beds. It was interesting how small things such as the way a dog’s legs take steps at the right time in the right order, and how smoothly a squirrel can soar from tree to tree all amaze me so much. In conclusion, completing the study of my plot was quite beneficial for me and I am thankful that I was able to do so.

Seasonal Changes

Timmy The Tasty Tree and his leaves undergo the season of fall...boy do their colors develop beautifully!

                                 LEAVES:

(I appologize that this picture absolutely refused to rotate)

 

BARK:                                                                                      

• Timmy, a very tasty tree, is about 25 feet tall, and one-foot in diameter.
• For the most part, his branches remain vertical, although not straight up...but a few meander off at a horizontal angle quite intensely.
• His bark has very small bumps all over it, and yet it is a pretty smooth texture.

Here we have a far-out (yes, both meanings appy) picture synopsis of Timmy's gradual color change over the course of a month:

Day 1:                                  (9/25/10)            

 

Day 2:                                      (10/3/10)



Day 3:                                        (10/9/10)

Day 4:                                       (10/16/10)

Day 5:                                       (10/25/10)

Producers & Comsumers

Producers:

1. Trees
2. Weeds
3. Flowers
4. Moss
5. Grass
6. Poison Ivy
7. Cattails
8. Lilypads
9. Vines
10. Daylilies

Consumers:

• Omnivores
1. Mice
2. Squirrels
3. Oppossum
4. Moles
5. Birds
6. Turkeys
7. Chipmunk
8. Bass
9. Ants
10. Humans
• Herbivores
1. Rabbit
2. Deer
3. Groundhogs
• Carnivores
1. Spiders
2. Frogs
3. Snakes
• Decomposers
1. Mushrooms
2. Worms
• Detritivores
1. Pillbugs
2. Raccoons
3. Maggots

Biodiversity

                                                                           TREES!                                           

Red Maple:

  

 
  Buttonbush:

 

 

 

Silver Maple:

 

Tall Gallberry Holly:

Fringe Tree:

 

Plot Community

Various interactions which are found on my plot:

• Competition:              sunfish & bass         chipmunks & squirrel
• Predation:                   spider & fly                      bird & worm
• Symbiosis:
• Mutualism:  caterpillars & tree ants     ants & aphids
• Commensalism: beetles & mice             moss & tree
• Parasitism:        mites & bees                birds & flees

My Plot is an Ecosystem

Organisms in different categories found at my plot:

Human Activity Assessment

There are so many ways in which human activity has impacted or could in the future impact my plot. First off, pesticides could be a problem; they could come from already developed surrounding lots could work their way into the area thus hurting any organisms in it. One of the many ways in which pesticides spread is through runoff. Runoff is the process in which pesticides move in water over a slope of some sort. Actually, the pesticides either become mixed into the water or attached to the soil which then erodes.* There also might be some pesticides coming into the lake. If they reached the water, there may be certain problems different from those that would occur if the pesticides only went onto the land. To be more specific, some pesticides are highly toxic to fish and not as much to birds, insects, or other plants, and other pesticides may be the exact opposite. So, depending on the pesticide type, amount, and location, that will impact the effect it has on the natural balance.

A second human activity that could potentially have a very bad impact on my plot environment deals with trash. Even though I found a very small amount of trash, this may become much more of an issue down the road. The next owner of the house and lot could be a very untidy person, for instance, they might litter even in their own property every once in a while. If this were to happen, there might be small creatures that try eating the garbage and get sick, or even die, depending on what remained on the fragments of trash.

Also in regard to the future, is the ever present concern of people deciding they want to do some sort of construction in the place of God’s beautiful creation. As previously mentioned, if new property owners were to take over, this might create a bit more uneasiness. Since different people do different things with their property, it is hard to tell if the next people might decide to build a huge playhouse or another building down by the lake or not. Of course, if this were to happen, there would be much controversy, due to the harm that this would do to any organisms in the area as well as the greater species living in other surrounding places that live off of the organisms here.

Even though the current people living there have done a certain amount of clearing away the brush and a few trees, it seems that their work has done little harm to the environment. In fact, it could be true that what they did helped out some animals by giving an easier route to their habitats, or helped them by way of different means. Some other ways this would effect the vegetation in the spot includes decreasing the risk of fire (now that is good!), as well as decreasing some habitats of smaller animals (and now back to the negatives).

Over all, it seems as if the current human activities occurring in my plot are pretty beneficial for at least the nearby environment. Hopefully this will continue to be true for a very long time!

* Some of this information was taken from http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/pesticides/c_2.htm

Taking Action: Trash Patrol

Picking up trash is more fun than you might think!!

                               Bandit: I'm sure she was searching for trash with her nose!