Stephanie's+Journal

__Stephanie's Journal - Lily Pond __

**Visit #1 (Cycle 5B) ** //Free Journaling: // Our area is the Punahou lily pond. Many white and orange coy fish live in its murky waters. Smaller gray fish and some catfish also live in the lily pond. On the island in the middle, gray birds wander around, and occasionally turtles can be seen. Most of the time the turtles swim in the water, but they also climb on the island and on the shallow area where there is cement. The majority of the lily pads float towards the middle of the pond, and some even grow yellow lilies. The lily pads range in color from light green to even purpleish-brown.

I think this site will be a good place to “study” because different species of animals live together near this one pond. In the water, small and big fish of different species live and share the same food. Turtles also live in this habitat. The same birds are not always in the same location near the pond, but they fly to the pond everyday. This place is also good because it is convenient, so if we need more research or observations, we can just walk to a different place on Punahou campus.

//Journal Entry #1: // The niches of the fish and turtles in the lily pond include the pond’s dark, murky water and the lily pads. Abiotic factors include the moderate water temperature and rocks/dirt that sink to the bottom of the pond. Biotic factors include the lily pads and their branches in the water. Relative to each fish species, each type of fish is also part of the niche. The turtles are also part of the fish’s niche, and the fish are part of the turtles’ niche. Smaller animals that live/roam around the lily pond are birds, flies, mosquitoes, gnats, and some bees. Only about a fourth of the pond's water can be seen, because the lily pads take up most of the space. Large, healthy trees and bushes ranging in species (some even with yellow flowers) grow near the back of the pond. Most of it grows near the chapel.

Pictures: 

**Visit #2 (Cycle 6F) ** //Free Journaling: // Most of the time, the turtles are in the water. Occasionally though, they bask in the sun near the edges of the island with the hala tree. When the turtles are not on land, many gray birds fly to the island. The majority of the pond is covered with dark green lily pads, but the lily pads shift slightly once in a while. When I last went, all the lily pads were clustered near the back of the pond. Not many lilies bloom in the pond. They are all yellow or have a tinge of white, with a darker shade of yellow in the center. The lilies are not very large in size, only about 4-6 inches wide. They are pointy near the ends, but hardly get wet. They sit the lily pads and are connected with a short stem.

Questions: Do the birds ever go near the turtles? Why are there so many fish near the big rock? Do the fish affect the lily pads in any way? Approximately how many fish are currently living in the pond? (if there is a large number, how are they all fed?) Do insects affect the lily pads (bees, flies, mosquitoes, etc.)?

//Journal Entry #2: // One of the community interactions in the pond is symbiosis. There is mutualism between the fish and algae under the lily pads because the algae provides food for the fish, while the fish clean the lily pads. When the sun strikes the pond (most of the day and afternoon), it probably builds moisture because of the wetness and heat. This helps both the fish and lily pads survive and grow healthily.

Pictures: 

**<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Visit #3 (Cycle 8F) **<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> //<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Free Journaling: //<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Animals: In the later afternoon (around 4:00-5:00), there are many more animals by the lily pond. I saw a flock of small brown birds. There were about 20 of them. I also saw a couple of Mina birds and three turtles. All the turtles tend to stay on the island’s curb, instead of in the middle. One of them appeared to be sitting on a lily pad near the island. Most of the birds I saw were all one species—the small brown ones. However, there was a red cardinal. I noticed that most of the coy fish I saw hung out by the side of the lily pond—closer to the side with rocks. The smaller, gray fish are all over, but I noticed some near the island (because there were no lily pads there). One of the turtle’s heads popped out of the water near me. It was small, with a slightly pointed snout/mouth. It also was black with bright green stripes. Part of it (near the eyes) was red. It had a red stripe on both sides of its face. The turtles at the lily pond all are around the same size. Some are smaller, but most of them have shells no longer than a foot in length. I saw about five coy fish that were very large. One was about a foot in a half in length. The turtles I saw all had green moss growing on their shells. Two of the turtles swimming in the same area were different because on had green and red on its face, while the other one didn’t. The one with the stripes had moss on its shell, but one area of the shell had no moss. The other turtle had no growth on its back that was visible. Plants: None of the lilies were fully bloomed during this time of day. Most of them are closed (in a bud-like shape) and only a few are slightly open. There is no variation in color of the lilies (besides the pale yellow). Many of the lily pads were covered with a substance. It was not moss, and there are literally thousands of them on some lily pads. These spots were round circles and white/brown. There are a few red ants roaming on the lily pads near the curb. Abiotic factors: The water in the lily pond looks mostly clear. Not too many foreign objects are in the water. A few particles of dust of possibly food are floating, but other than a hat and plastic Gatorade bottle, there is nothing foreign. The stems of the lily pads are about a ¼ of an inch wide. It looks like they are growing moss/a brown fur on them.

3 testable hypotheses: • If the lily pond as a whole has different depths, then the deeper areas grow larger lily pads and the shallower areas grow smaller lily pads. • If the fish and turtles are not artificially fed, then they sustain themselves by eating the algae/moss on the lily pads’ stems, turtles’ shells, moss on the rocks (large stone by the chapel steps), and curb. • If the lilies are in full bloom during the afternoon (lots of sunlight), then they start to close up when the sun goes down.

//<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Journal Entry #3: //<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The lily pond itself has been around for decades at Punahou. It contains a great amount of animals, including fish and turtles-- each having a large variety within their kind. I noticed that both fish and turtles have individuals that vary in size. Some fish were enormous (appeared almost two feet long)! However, there was also a cluster of baby fish (each smaller than a finger). Water temperatures could drive Natural Selection in the lily pond. Since mostly all the organisms in the pond are in the water (besides the turtles occasionally), the water is a main abiotic factor that affects them. Just like in a pool, the afternoons are typically warmer than early day or evening. Different types of fish and water animals also have different temperatures they like to adjust to. Another environmental pressure that could be driving Natural Selection in the lily pond is space. The pond can only hold so much, yet the number of fish and turtles I observed in some areas was amazing. Some of the fish enjoy swimming near the pond’s central area or the island. Other fish stay near the corners where it is shallow. There were a couple locations where hardly any fish swam. If the population grows more and more, the fish and turtles cannot stay in the same place. They would need to spread out to have room. The need for food is another pressure for the animals. Sustaining themselves off of algae and other growing plants is important. If they aren’t artificially fed, they need to find a balance and dependable source of food in the pond alone.

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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> **Visit #4 (Cycle 10F)** //<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Free Journaling: <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">  <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Animals: Today, I noticed some very different animal behaviors. It may have been due to the time of day—exact noon, because I have never seen so many turtles out of the water before. There were seven turtles on the island alone! I also spotted two others by the steps on the Winnie side. These turtles were probably sun bathing, because the majority of them were in the sunlight. The weather was very sunny and warm. There was also another interesting animal behavior I have never seen at the lily pond before. Two small birds were bathing in the water. They were next to each other, swiftly fluttering their wings to produce splashes. After they were finished, they flew off to another location. Another behavior that seemed to be constant throughout all my lily pond visits was when the fish followed me. As soon as they sense a human is near, they swim towards it. This could be because they are hungry, and they hope they will be fed if a human comes. Surprisingly, it did not seem to bother the turtles or fish when the birds were bathing in the pond. It might be a regular habit for some birds, so the water critters may have gotten used to it already. // <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I came to the lily pond at 6:00, there was hardly any light. The sky darkened a lot in a span of just 10 minutes. When I when to measure the lily (previously in the shade), it was moving! There were tons of coy fish surrounding it, so they probably disturbed the lily. Someone had also left some Cheerios on the cement, so a turtle came out of the water to eat them. Next to that turtle, there were also four other small turtles in the water watching. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Plants: Last week, many of the lilies were half-bloomed. Today, however, most of them (in the sun) were large, and had their pedals spread wide open at noon. I was also curious to see if there was any herbivory in the lily pond. There probably was, because I noticed very small holes in the lily pads near the curb/wall. The insects that eat the lily pads are probably ants or spider insects because they do not fly. If they could fly, there would be damage done to all the lily pads. But since only the lily pads close to the edge of the wall are damaged, the insects that eat it probably can’t fly. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At 6:00, most of the lilies were fully closed—except for one. They were closed, and their pedals came to a sharp point at the top. Another interesting thing about the lilies when they were closed is that they lean towards a certain direction. Even thought they are totally closed, they don't stand totally upright. The lily I was watching closely (the one in the sun earlier), was slightly submerged. Half of it was under water, but the top half was still visible. I wondered why this lily (and a couple others) were slightly submerged now, but not during noon. Since there was some movement in the water which looked like rain drops earlier, I guessed that it had rained before I came. The water level in the pond must have risen. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> **<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Experiment **<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">: The hypothesis I tested was, “If the lilies are in full bloom during noon (lots of sunlight), then they will start to close up when the sun goes down”. To test this I focused on two specific lilies during different times of the day. On Sunday, I took pictures of these lilies at 12:00 pm and 6:00 pm. During 12:00, the sun was out, and the weather was extremely hot and sunny. At 6:00, there was still a little light. However, the sun was not nearly as strong as it was at noon. Within ten minutes—by the time it reached 6:10—there was hardly any light at all. I needed a flashlight to make observations. I measured the lilies with a ruler in inches. I took note of the width and lengths of the flower itself—the lilies were not perfect circles, so their petal span’s width differed from its length. I measured the top of the flower only. Since sunlight was the variable I was testing, I chose one flower in direct sunlight, and one flower in the shade (by the wall). I wanted to measure the area of the top of the lily (because that is how I can tell how far the pedals open). However, since the flowers were not perfect circles, I just used the product of the length and width. These product numbers are not accurate (in determining the size of the pedal span), because the lilies are not squares or rectangles. But they //<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">are //<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> accurate in finding the pedal span of each lily in relation to each other. The lily in the sun's pedal span during noon was 5.85 inches by 5.60 inches. At 6:00, the numbers shrank to 0.2 by 0.2 of an inch. The lily in the shade (at noon) was 4.75 inches by 3.70 inches. When I came back later, it was only 1 inch by 0.75 inches. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">**Conclusion:** My hypothesis (If the lilies are in full bloom during noon, then they will start to close up at evening) was supported by my data. Since the lilies in direct sunlight had a larger pedal span (overall), compared to the lilies located in the shade, it proves that lilies open up more when they are in the sun. My hypothesis was also supported by my data when I tested two different lilies at different times of the day. During noon (when the sun was //very// strong), the lily in the sun was visibly large. Six hours later, it had closed up almost completely. It looked like it almost came to a point at its tip where all its pedal closed. The same concept happened for the lily in the shade. The numbers 4.75 • 3.70 decreased to 1 • 0.75 inches. This probably happens because plants photosynthesis during the day when the sun is out. Especially when the sun is strong, plants take advantage of it. Lilies probably don't get dehydrated because their stems are always in the water/pond. Therefore, they are able to photosynthesis as much as they want during the day. They can't take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen in the night, so they close up. During the day when they photosynthesize, their pedals open up as much as they can to catch as much sun as possible. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">//Journal Entry #4:// <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The carbon in the lily pond ecosystem takes place as chemical energy or a gas in the atmosphere (carbon dioxide). Plants, such as trees, lily pads, moss, algae, grass, lily flowers, and bushes in the water, take in the carbon dioxide from the air. More specifically, these plants include the Hala tree, <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Nymphaea odorant <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">lily species, grass on the island, etc. Cellular respiration takes place during both day and night, but photosynthesis only takes place during the day. When carbon dioxide and water is converted into glucose and oxygen in the presence of sunlight, the carbon is now in a different form. It is split into glucose and oxygen. During respiration from animals and plants, carbon dioxide is released into the air or pond water. Fungi, which grows on dead things also uses respiration to break down the dead organisms/molecules, so more carbon dioxide is released into the air. At the lily pond, there is a carbon cycle involving the turtles, fish, and birds and the trees, bushes, and floating lily pads. Since the lily pads have stems that grow in the water, the oxygen is probably released in the pond water. Therefore, the fish and turtles have enough oxygen to survive in the pond. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Morning Pictures: <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Night Pictures: