Seasonal Changes on My Plot

September 3
A patchy yet substantial algal mat covered the surface of the pond; all trees' leaves were green. The forest floor was a tangled web of thick green vegetation.

September 12
The algal mat thinned noticeably, but the trees were still vibrantly green, and the soft forest floor still supported fresh plants.

October 8
Another view of my plot shows that the trees are beginning to change colors brilliantly; however the leaves have not yet begun to fall.

October 8
A picture of the pond view, done on my sporadically functioning webcam, reveals more of the beautiful fall colors on the trees surrounding a pond which now has very few algal growths on its surface.

October 8
A clearer picture taken on my phone reveals the clearer state of the pond and the colors of the trees as they enter the fall season.

October 21
The transition from summer to fall to winter is very evident on my plot as trees go from vibrant green to stunning colors (yellow, red, orange) to brown and seemingly lifeless. Here, just a few trees are clinging to their bright leaves still.

October 22
As the season progresses, the frost takes a toll on the ground as it begins to harden. Forest foliage is replaced by fallen leaves, which begin to rot and get decomposed.

October 22
At this point, there is almost no algae on the pond. The pond appears deeper and murkier than ever after the rains come and there is no more algae to mask its depth.

October 23
The brief "Indian summer," heavy rains, frosts, sunshine, and cold weather have combined to have an extraordinary effect on the plot, an effect that happens every year but was more graphically illustrated for me this year.

October 23
Scrambling for one last picture of the seasonal changes on my plot, I encounted a deer and a large heron. Because the underbrush was no longer lush, but rather brittle and crunchy, they both fled very quickly.
The pond remained nearly algae-free, and most trees were skeletal or nearing that stage. It was a big difference from a mere month or two earlier. The air was a little crisper, the trees less showy, the forest quieter, the ground harder and less populated by plants.

Plot Study Response

How I felt about the plot study project:
     Trekking over to my plot each week was not necessarily something I looked forward to after a hard volleyball practice or writing an American history paper, but every time I ventured over to my plot I discovered something new and intriguing that I had not previously expected to be a part of my plot. "How Great Thou Art" was always running through my head as I examined the fallen leaves, delicate spider webs, fishes' dainty air bubbles, and even the quick lope of a deer after I had surprised it. I don't consider myself a nature girl, but rather a city girl. However, this project allowed me to access that side of myself, if only for a few brief moments each week. Were the bug bites, mudstained sweatpants, and scratched arms worth these peaceful times? Yes. Although I admit to being skeptical of the project at times, at the very least it's an experience that will make for interesting conversations around the dinner table.

5 things I learned from the plot study:
1) I learned about purple loosestrife and its negative effect on communities, but I also learned to identify weeds such as purple aster, which benefit ecosystems as insects pollinate them.
2) I learned that pond water, soil, leaves, and grass are much more complex than they are often credited for; God created them to serve their purpose in an ecosystem perfectly. I was astounded by the beauty of some of the pictures captured with the microscope camera.
3) I learned that littering is a widespread problem that can affect the environment even deep within the woods. It's not confined to the roadside, and it's an issue that should be addressed because such trash as the plastic tarps and bags I found can damage habitats and even kill organisms when they become embedded in the muck or are handled by unsuspecting animals.
4) Both biotic and abiotic factors can drastically affect an ecosystem. I saw the abiotic factor of precipitation level bring a creek in a ditch on my plot from thin and shallow to nonexistent to wide and deep throughout the early to mid-fall.
5) The inner workings on my plot were much more complicated than it first appeared. Between the competition, predation, mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism on my plot, there were a ton of interactions going on in my plot than I would have ever imagined just walking around in it. Food chains and webs built on the concept of trophic levels would've gone right over my head if I had gone traipsing around my plot before this class, but after our class discussions a small plot of woods and pond surface turned into a complex network of survival.

What I will do with new knowledge about my plot and ecology:
     With new insights and information gained through my plot study, I will have to make a few notable changes in lifestyle. Regularly recycling and picking up and disposing of litter are two habits of action that I can build. Also, I have a greater appreciation for the complexity and beauty of God's creation and His established order in the natural world, including levels of organization, trophic levels within food chains and webs, the details within each tiny organism as viewed by a microscope, the hundreds of factors that work together to make conditions balanced in an ecosystem, the different interactions between species, and even the sheer number of species that God made and put on the Earth, from the tiniest insects and phytoplankton to fascinating fungi to the hawk and deer. The adaptations that organisms make to survive changes in weather (observed throughout these two months) and the organisms around them is incredible, and through watching other organisms cope with these things I see how humans must cope and change. I don't plan on having a career in biology, but the fresh viewpoint the project gave me is something I can and will use.

The Producers and Consumers of My Plot

Producers

1. Grass
2. Goldenrod
3. Purple loosestrife
4. Queen Anne's Lace
5. English daisies
6. Maple
7. Oak
8. Sassafras
9. Purple Aster
10. Algae
11. Black-eyed Susan
12. Ferns

Consumers

1. Squirrels (omnivore)
2. Fungus (decomposer)
3. Rabbits (herbivore)
4. Raccoons (omnivore)
5. Deer (herbivore)
6. Frogs (carnivore)
7. Mosquitoes (carnivore)
8. Hawk (carnivore)
9. Fish (herbivore)
10. Dragonflies (carnivore)
11. Butterflies (herbivore)
12. Spiders (carnivore)
13. Geese (herbivore)
14. Snake (carnivore)
15. Woodchuck (herbivore)
16. Mice (herbivore)
17. Chipmunks (omnivore)
18. Snapping turtles (carnivore)
19. Moths (herbivore)
20. Bats (carnivore)

Source for verification of consumer type: www.nationalgeographic.com

Biodiversity on My Plot: Identification of 5 Weed Species

English Daisy Bellis perennis
http://www.msuturfweeds.net/id-tool/broadleaf/

Purple Aster Aster novae-angliae
http://www.perennials.com/seeplant.html?item=1.085.180

 Goldenrod Solidago virgaurea
http://www.herbs2000.com/herbs/herbs_goldenrod.htm

Queen Anne's Lace Daucuscarota
http://www.woodrow.org/teachers/bi/2000/Ethnobotany/queen_anne_s_lace.html

Purple Loosestrife Lythrum salicaria
http://www.nalusda.gov/aquatics/loosestrife.shtml

Note: The web addresses beneath each label are the locations at which I matched my picture to an online picture and found the weed's scientific name. The pictures are not of the best quality because my laptop webcam reacted strangely to the lighting and environment of my plot, and quality was lost when I tranferred pictures from my phone to the computer. I can show you a few of my pictures in person or even go out and pick samples of the weeds if that would earn me more/better credit for this project; technical struggles inhibited me from giving the best portrayal of weed biodiversity on my plot.

Plot Community: Interactions that Occur Among Species

COMPETITION
1. Different species of trees compete for sunlight and water with their branches and leaves and roots.
2. Squirrels compete for nuts/food and locations in which to store them.
PREDATION
1. Some birds are predators of insects.
2. Frogs predate on flies.
SYMBIOSIS: Mutualism
1. Pollination benefits both the pollinator (bees, butterflies) and the pollinated (flowers, flowering weeds). It's a necessary process that allows the plant to cross-pollinate, strengthening its species' reproductive power, while the pollinator receives pleasant nectars or other satisfying nutrients in return. (Pollination)
2. When birds eat seeds of plants, they have a meal but also are able to spread the seeds of the plant when they unload their excrement, thus aiding the plant.

SYMBIOSIS: Commensalism

1. A mosquito draws blood from a deer, rabbit, or other creature; it has a meal while the animal barely notices (aside from possible itching symptoms).
2. Deer feces become a source of nutrients for flies and other insects, while the deer remains unaffected.
SYMBIOSIS: Parasitism
1. Ticks lodge themselves into the bodies of mammals.
2. Raccoon roundworm may affect raccoons, birds, squirrels, and rabbits by progressing through their life cycle within a host animal's small intenstine and other body parts. (Raccoon Roundworm)
3. Fungus attaches to and lives off of trees, dead or alive.

1. Raccoon Roundworm (Baylisascaris). DNR, n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2011. <http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12150_12220-27261--,00.html>.
2. Pollination. Missouri Botanical Garden, 2009. Web. 1 Oct. 2011. <http://www.mbgnet.net/bioplants/pollination.html>.