Uncovering Critter Boards |
Uncovering Critter Boards:
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Introduction
A strong wetland will attract of reptiles, amphibians and bugs. A bug is small creature with an exoskeleton. An amphibian is a creature born and grows-up in water and spends its adulthood in land. And a reptile is a scaled, cold-blooded creature that can live on land and water. The Fernhill Wetlands had major reconstruction done in the fall of 2014. It serves as a natural water cleaner for our used, waste water. It is important to us to study these species and critters because we want to see how the reconstruction will affect these critters.
Research Question & Hypothesis
- Is a greater diversity of amphibians, reptiles and terrestrial macroinvertebrates found under a critter board in an open field (transect 2) or in an area planted with trees (transect 3)?
- We think that there will be more diversity of critters in an open field, under the critter boards in transect 2, because...
Methods
The people at Clean Water Services laid out critter boards throughout the wetlands for us to do our research. “What’s a critter board?” you ask. A critter board is a thin sheet of metal that animals and bugs like to hide and burrow under. We left the critter boards for a few months and came back to do our research. We went to each critter board one at a time and lifted them to see what was under them. After that we recorded what we found to save the data. Each of the critter boards were in different transect groups, such as transect 2 which was in the open field and transect 3 was in a more wooded area, closer to water.
Materials:
Procedures:
1. Using critter board map, locate Transect 3, Board A. Record habitat information on Data Sheet.
2. Lift cover board and set to side. Quickly record any creatures that hop/slither/move away.
3. Are there any animals stuck to the critter board? Add them to your data sheet.
4. Now, record any smaller critters than can be found. Lift up leaves or stones - be thorough! Use a lens to get a closer look.
5. Try to identify all animals found, and write their full name on the data sheet (e.g, “Cucumber Beetle”). If you cannot identify them, record a description that will help you (e.g. “beetle, 1 cm. long, green with black spots.”)
6. Complete steps 1-5 with boards B-F for Transect 3, or until half of your time has run out.
7. Move to Transect 2. Start with cover board A and repeat steps. Take your time!
The people at Clean Water Services laid out critter boards throughout the wetlands for us to do our research. “What’s a critter board?” you ask. A critter board is a thin sheet of metal that animals and bugs like to hide and burrow under. We left the critter boards for a few months and came back to do our research. We went to each critter board one at a time and lifted them to see what was under them. After that we recorded what we found to save the data. Each of the critter boards were in different transect groups, such as transect 2 which was in the open field and transect 3 was in a more wooded area, closer to water.
Materials:
- Critter boards (already placed by Clean Water Services)
- Critter board map and procedures
- ID Books: insects, amphibians, reptiles
- String (to divide area in four), ruler, lens (did not use this detailed procedure in 2015)
- Habitat sheet, data sheet, clipboard, pencils
Procedures:
1. Using critter board map, locate Transect 3, Board A. Record habitat information on Data Sheet.
2. Lift cover board and set to side. Quickly record any creatures that hop/slither/move away.
3. Are there any animals stuck to the critter board? Add them to your data sheet.
4. Now, record any smaller critters than can be found. Lift up leaves or stones - be thorough! Use a lens to get a closer look.
5. Try to identify all animals found, and write their full name on the data sheet (e.g, “Cucumber Beetle”). If you cannot identify them, record a description that will help you (e.g. “beetle, 1 cm. long, green with black spots.”)
6. Complete steps 1-5 with boards B-F for Transect 3, or until half of your time has run out.
7. Move to Transect 2. Start with cover board A and repeat steps. Take your time!
Results:
Transect 2 is in a more open field area.
Transect 3 had more cover of shrubs and trees behind Dabbler's March.
Conclusions:
It seems like our hypothesis is correct--that there was more diversity in the open field. However, we feel more confident to say our data is inconclusive, because we basically found the same types of animals in both locations. We found mice and moles in the open field transect 2, but our study wasn't lookiong at mammals. It appears that the reconstruction is not harming the critters. There were some errors in our study. We could have been more quiet, we could have been more organized in our data collection. We may have misidentified the critters--because the critters moved so quick after being uncovered from the board. In the future we think we should not only check for diversity, but just do a simple animal count, of how what's present. We wonder how the renovation will affect critters in the years to come and we it would be interesting to check other areas.
It seems like our hypothesis is correct--that there was more diversity in the open field. However, we feel more confident to say our data is inconclusive, because we basically found the same types of animals in both locations. We found mice and moles in the open field transect 2, but our study wasn't lookiong at mammals. It appears that the reconstruction is not harming the critters. There were some errors in our study. We could have been more quiet, we could have been more organized in our data collection. We may have misidentified the critters--because the critters moved so quick after being uncovered from the board. In the future we think we should not only check for diversity, but just do a simple animal count, of how what's present. We wonder how the renovation will affect critters in the years to come and we it would be interesting to check other areas.
Reflection:
Overall we liked doing the research because it was fun. The best part was the moment of suspense before lifting up the critter board to see what would be underneath. The biggest challenge was keeping the group together and collecting our data in an organized manner. This project should be continued because it's a fun way to learn and will help us in the future by knowing the scientific process. Plus, it helps the people of Fernhill know if the restoration is helping working.
Overall we liked doing the research because it was fun. The best part was the moment of suspense before lifting up the critter board to see what would be underneath. The biggest challenge was keeping the group together and collecting our data in an organized manner. This project should be continued because it's a fun way to learn and will help us in the future by knowing the scientific process. Plus, it helps the people of Fernhill know if the restoration is helping working.