Derek's+Journal+Page

Derek Lee focus - plants 10/4/08 Day 1

-At Manoa Stream, we were able to observe many different habitats. There were those in the water- home for the ducks, fish, and various other critters. The water was a sickly green color and we especially noticed that the fish camouflaged very well with the aquatic plants and dirty water. We realized that after minutes of struggling to spot a fish, then scooping down and ending up catching many small, well camouflaged ones (well for ben and josh... I on the other hand didn't do so well in catching fish; got lucky and caught a leaf one time, but no fish). Aside from the dviersity of niches we saw in the water, we saw many in the air and soil as well. We observed lots of mosquitos and flying insects above the waters and soil, who well, apparently didn't like us very much (and I mean observed as in //ran away from//).
 * __Free Journal #1-__**

And under the sickly green stream water, a form of predator-prey relationship we saw would be the fish, the predator, and the algae, the prey (look below). Basically what happens in this predator-prey relationship is that the fish eats the algae. End of story. The algae doesn't really run because well, it can't so that makes it much easier on the fish that prey on it.
 * __Assigned Journal #1-__**

THE PREDATOR (FISH) VERSUS THE PREY (ALGAE)

10/18/08 Day 2
 * __Free Journal #2-__**

__Flowers__- -approximately an inch width -1st flower 11 petals, 2nd flower 11 petals -pollinated by ant (i know this not only are pollinating conditions on this flower are perfect for an ant, but also because I see an ant pollinating this flower at this very moment) -most flowers are not close to the sides of the stream, but a bit further away. __Above vs. Belowground Biomass__- -I pulled out a small plant and found that the mass of the above portion was far greater than that of the below portion.
 * Observations:**

-Why is it that the ants pollinate this yellow flower? -Are there more insects that pollinate this same flower? -Why do the plants have a layer of grime on them? (Rain with insect slime?) -Why is it that none of the flowers grow close to banks of the stream but start from a couple feet away? Could it be the pollinators don't travel that close to the stream? Could it be that the flowers that previously grew there were wiped out? -Why is it that there's only one type of flower growing in this area of the stream? Perhaps other species of flowers were eaten by insects? Perhaps other species of flowers are yet to arrive? -The flowers don't seem to be very spread out among the grass. What possible reasons would explain why the flowers aren't as close to each other as one would expect?
 * Questions:**

__**Assigned Journal #2**__- -While studying the flowers, I realized that there was a symbiotic relationship between the flowers and the ants that pollinate it. They share a mutual relationship because they both help each other in some way. The ants pollinate the plants and in turn, the plants provide the ants with food (or nectar).

Theme: Inference; Hypothesis formation.

11/8/08 Day 3 __**Free Journal #3**__-

-there are more flowers on this side of the stream facing the park, than the one next to the wall by the houses. -there are only one species of flower in the area...interesting... -besides the flowers, I noticed that many weeds sprouted in a pattern as well and didn't grow together -there were LOTS of bitten leaves with holes in the withering grass
 * Observations**-

-Why are there more flowers on one side of the stream than the other? (Could it be because of stream flooding, elevation, or perhaps just being closer to civilization?) -Why is it that the weeds never grow together in one spot, but are scattered in groups along the banks of the stream? (Is that just how the seeds have spread? Or could there be another possibility?) -Which kind of animals could have eaten the leaves on the tall plants and have left massive holes? (Could it be some sort of flying creature or perhaps a land animal?) -How does the relationship between the insects and the plants that they eat affect the ecosystem?
 * Questions-**

1. Flowers do not spawn too close to the banks of the stream because pollinators normally don't travel that close to the stream, perhaps in fear of being washed away or drowning. 2. There is only one species of flower down by the stream because that flower has been really suited to the environment where they are able to be pollinated by the creatures there, when other flower species haven't, thus leaving only spores of this one flower to be reproduced. 3. Flowers do not grow close to each other because of competition among other flowers. Those that get pollinated are able to reproduce in their area and so those that don't leave no offspring.
 * Hypotheses-**

__**Assigned Journal Entry #3-**__ In our eco-zone, there are some environmental pressures that could be driving natural selection. For example, among the plants, sunlight is crucial to survival. And it is survival of the fittest, really. Whichever plant grows the tallest and expands more will get more sunlight. Those plants that do not grow tall or are unable to reduce in numbers eventually die out, leaving taller plants to obtain more sunlight, and produce more offspring of their kind (with acquired, heritable traits that would also let their offspring grow tall). Certain traits and characteristics that help the plants to survive will be passed on to the next generation while those who don't have those certain traits will most likely die out, leaving those that do to reproduce.

11/29/08 Day 2

__**Free Journal #4-**__ -soil erosion near the banks of the streams -causing fewer flowers -soil nearest to the banks look darker than the soil

Hypothesis: Generally, the flowers that grow the closest to the banks of the stream, that are not washed away, grow taller on average than the other flowers couple of feet away. Procedure: How I did this experiment was that I measured three flowers near the bank and three flowers four or five feet away. I did this on one side of the stream and did it on the other as well, to make sure that it was not just that one side. After taking measurements of a total of twelve flowers, I put it into a table which for some reason i can't drag onto the blog...so i made put it on this link: [|Height of Flowers at Manoa Stream.xlsx]
 * Experiment-**

Flower A= Near Banks, Right Side of Stream Flower B= Away from Banks, Right Side of Stream Flower C= Near Banks, Left Side of Stream Flower D= Away from Banks, Left Side of Stream

My Conclusions: So after carefully measuring each flower twice, I have come up with my results. Generally, the measurements were really close. But on average, on the right side of the stream, flowers near the banks had an average of 7.7 cm height and the flowers a couple of feet away had an average of 7.1 cm. On the left side, the average for the bank flowers was 7cm and the flowers farther away had an average of 6.3 cm. So in conclusion, this tells me that flowers growing closer to the banks grow taller on average than flowers who grow farther away. Most likely, this is because of the ample amount of water in the soil closer to the banks than those farther away. Other factors may include other organism involvement, or competition among the plants for sunlight.

__**Assigned Journal Entry #4-**__ In our eco-zone at Manoa Stream, the carbon cycle is quite simple. The water in the stream and plants such as trees, grass, and flowers take in carbon dioxide and store it in the ecosystem through photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere through cellular respiration by the ducks, fishes, plants, and every other living organism. The carbon dioxide stored in the stream is also released into the atmosphere.

Stream + Plants (photosynthesis) **>** (give off) CO2 into atmosphere Stream, Plants, Animals, Living Organisms (cellular respiration) **<** (take in) CO2 from atmosphere