User:Megan Piccirillo/Notebook/Biology 210 at AU

Lab 1
Objective: To make careful observations about the characteristics of different species.

In order to achieve the above objective, I have observed a 20x20 ecological niche. My niche is located in the back of campus behind the “North side” residence halls. It is a relatively low traffic part of campus, as people do not regularly travel through the area to get to work, class, or their homes. The transect is part of a community garden on American University’s campus in Washington, DC. Within the transect, there are 4 wooden planters, each containing a different species of vegetation. To complete these observations, my group members and I walked to the transect and took notes using a pencil, paper, and a Smartphone’s camera (pictures below). We spent about 15 minutes collecting visual observations and also collected a soil, vegetation, and fecal specimen using a 50mL conical tube. The specimen collected from within the 20x20 transect was used to conduct a Hay Infusion. Completing the Hay Infusion involved combining 500mL of water with 10-12g of the soil/vegetation/fecal specimen in a jar. 0.1g of dried milk was added to the mixture and mixed gently for 10 seconds. The jar was left unopened for a week to allow Protista to grow.

The abiotic factors include:
• Direct sunlight, as there is no vegetation or constructed object to provide shade
• Frozen soil, due to recent temperatures
• Frost and ice on the plants, due to recent weather and temperatures
• 4 constructed 3x6 rectangular vegetation planters
• Fence: the area is fenced in, which provides protect from larger animals that may eat the growing vegetation

The biotic factors include:
• Woodchips surrounding the vegetation boxes
• Dried out grass and weeds surrounding the vegetation boxes
• Animal feces
• Decomposing plant matter in and around the vegetation boxes
• Vegetation variation of the planters (kale, cucumber, lettuce, and Brussels sprouts)
MP

1/26/2015 I have gained access. MP