Taylor's+Journal

Free Journal #1:
Rocky Hill is a place up a trail from Punahou School. There is lots of greenery, rocks with moss and other organisms, but not a lot of animals. The coordinates are for latitude, 21°18'14.91"N and the Longitude is 157°49'33.58"W. I believe Rocky Hill is a good location because it is conivent for everyone in the group. We can all walk up there after school and most of the project members live in the Manoa area. Secondly there is a lot of greenery up there that we can observe and types of species.

Assigned Journal Entry #1:
There are bugs that live at Rocky Hill that eat the leaves on certain plants There are snails that live in the dirt and leave their shells behind to look for new ones There is duckweed that has spread across a small pond there Down a steep trail there are rocks where a vine has attached itself

Free Journal #2:
Observations: Birds fed off of tree from up above The farther we went down the rock walled trail the bigger the vines became There were lots of small snail shells and only a few big snail shells There were organisms like Hibiscus Flower, Hala Tree, Taro Plants and Cotton

Questions: Why were there more small shells than big shells? Why are there not a lot of animals up at Rocky Hill? What trees do the birds feed off of? Why do they pick those specific trees?

Assigned Journal Entry #2:
Community Interactions: Vines and Rocks: Vines have a place to grow and live while the rocks are held together by the vines and have some type of protection - Mutualism Bugs and Leaves: Bugs eat the leaves - Predation Birds and Trees: Birds drink the nectar from the tree - Predation Duckweed and Pond: Duckweed grows on the water - Commensalism

Free Journal #3:
Observations Continued: There were birds found inside rocks and some were feeding off the trees The organisms we previously found have become greener Less holes in plants (Bugs eating less?) Not a lot of snail shells at all There is a lot of litter there which can hurt any organisms living there

Inferences: When there is more rain the plants become greener The older the vines on the rocks are the bigger then are The longer the birds beak is then it can drink more nectar

If...Then... Statements: If there is more rain then plants become greener If a vine is older then it is bigger than a new vine If a bird's beak is long then it can drink more nectar

Assigned Journal Entry #3:
There isn't much competition but there is one example of Natural Selection. There are two different species of bugs that eat the same green leaf plant (picture of the plant is shown earlier in one of my entries). One is a black six legged bug and another is a brown stripped or dotted bug. This is where Natural Selection comes into play, there is more of the brown bug I think because it can camoflauge either with the dirt and/or leaves better. This is survival of the fittest because the black beetle will either evolve over time or die out.

Free Journal #4:
Observations Continued: The duckweed has grown denser on the water and has bugs that grow inside the plant These bugs can walk on top of the duckweed and live inside of it There are birds at Rocky Hill than the previous visit There was a greater variety of birds feeding than before Cardinal feeding up in the tree Large group of small birds on these tall grasses Found more snail shells than before (Pattern of less then more snail shells?)

Experiment: To see if the higher up a hill you go the taller the plants are because they are reaching for the light Materials: Hypothesis: Taller plants are higher up the hill because they reach for the sunlight
 * Two Red Flower Cactus Plants
 * Tape Measure

Conclusion: I think that natural selection plays a part in this project because some plants are bigger and others are smaller. The big trees grow bigger and faster because of the amount of sunlight and water they get. The flower bush also gets water and some sunlight, but not too much or else the flowers could dry out.

[[image:mycarboncyclebooyeahh.png align="center"]]
The carbon cycle of this ecosystem is mainly based on the plants because the area lacks animals. The sun is absorbed by the plants and trees through photosynthesis (taking in CO2) and then produces oxygen for humans to breathe. The plants also respirate CO2 through respiration. The humans take in the oxygen and breathe out the CO2. There are also fishes that live in the pond with the duckweed. The fishes take in the O2 in the water and respirate CO2.