Garrick's+Journal

Journal Entry 1:

Free Journal: My group and I choose to do Moanalua Garden. I think that this place is a god place to study because there is a stream, land, trees, and many different species. For example, there are crawfish, crabs, birds, and other living organisms. There is a polluted stream, with many organisms, there is a big park, and a lot of large trees. I find that this place is home to fishes that like to live in dirty water. This stream is polluted, and even has a warning sign that says leptospirosis. There are also a lot of litter found in stream, and around the park. This is a great spot to study the rest of the semester because there are a lot of different activities going on in this area. You can find ocean life, land life, and other organisms, and species.

Assigned Journal: There are many different organisms. The crabs in this environment survive off the dead fish in the stream. The fish what for the dead fish to float, and then they go and come out of their holes and eat the fish. The birds also do the same. They just eat some of the fish floating around in the stream.I found a lot of fish eating the algae on the rocks, and some of the dirty muck on the ground. I also noticed that the stream water level goes up and down, like high tide, and low tide. You could some erosion in the rock walls, and dirt walls. There were also some dead fish laying on the side of the stream.

Journal Entry 2:

Free Journal: I was assigned animal life in Moanalua Gardens. There were many different fish species, and there were many bird species. While there i saw some doves, seagulls, tilapia, guppies, bigger fish, crabs, flies, nats, and mosquitoes. A lot of these animals had predator prey relationships. The crabs eating the fish, the fish eating the algae, the birds eating some fish, the nats, and flies going for some of the dead fish. I was wondering why some of the fish were justing dying? Some of the dead fish that I saw didn't look like they got attacked. I was also wondering if the litter in the stream had something to do with the marine life in the stream?

Assigned Journal: I noticed a direct interaction going on in the stream. You could see crabs eating fish, and the fish eating the algae off of the rocks. The crabs would go for the dead fish, or if they could, they would catch the smaller fish swimming around their little caves. I could also see that there was some competition going on between the crab species in the stream. For the time that we were there we could see a few different looking crabs. It seemed like they were all going for the fish in the stream. There are many predator prey relationships going on also. For example, the fish and crabs, the dragonflies and nats, and the birds and the insects and fish.

Journal Entry 3:

Free Journal: I noticed that the stream has really changed in the few weeks that we have started going to Moanalua Botanical Gardens. The stream level of the water has a low and high tide. At around 12:00 to 3:00 the water is pretty high, and then after that the water seemed to be very low. I think that the weather also had a part to do with the water level, like when it rains or not. Although it rained a October 29, and 30 a lot, and when we went November 1 the stream water level was so low that in the middle of the stream the water was gone and you could walk across. There were a lot of mud, and rocks that make up the bottom of the stream. Same as before there are plants that are still growing in the stream, the stream is very polluted, and there is erosion all around the walls of the stream. I noticed that some of the fish in the pond could have been easily dying due to the the pollution of the river. There were also sewers that were leading into the stream. I think that the marine life in the stream evolve quicker due to mutation from the pollution and diseases in the stream. I was also wondering how the fish don't die in the stream. I think that it is because they have grown invincible to the diseases that live in the stream just like how ants can evolve to be defensive to pesticides. Hypothesis 1: If we were to take a fish that lives in the stream then it will evolve less quick than one that lives in the pond water. Hypothesis 2: If we clean up a part of the stream, the fish will live better then the fish in a polluted stream. Hypothesis 3: If there was more rainfall, then there will be more fish an area of the stream about 15 feet by 7 feet.

Assigned Journal: A lot of the pressure that pushes natural selection in this environment are the conditions of the stream and the location of the stream. As it rains, the river gets higher, and when it stops raining for a while the stream level gets lower. I noticed that after it rained there were some dead fish on the side because the water level must have gotten lower and the fish that were bigger could not stay under the water and then died. It also has to do with the pollution of the stream. I found that the fish, and crabs that live in the stream are constantly surrounded by trash, litter, mucky water, and disease infected water. I think that these conditions have pressured natural selection into evolving these marine life, to adapt to there surroundings of the stream. I think that these fish and crabs wouldn't do as well as if they were caught and put into a freshwater tank, as to if they stayed in the same type of water as they were in. The pressure from the people who litter the stream, and throw rocks and objects in also affects the fish and crabs. When the water level of the stream gets lower, the fish have to find different ways around because the rocks are like detours. the fish can't swim in some areas without coming out of the water becuase the water is so low. This also pressures the natural selection for the fish and crabs. The fish stay small so that they can maneuver around the rocks which makes it harder for the crabs because they have to be faster, quicker, and have smaller portions of fish to eat.

Free Journal 4: I noticed that when it rains a lot the day before the fish seem to increase. There were a lot more fish, and crabs that were coming out. There were a lot of visible schools of fish swimming downstream, and upstream. The main type of fish was tilapea that we saw a lot of. While trying to start my experiment i was going for 5 days straight. I found that the fish seemed to increase when it rained. I thought that it was because the water level was higher, the current was stronger and therefore more fish was being brought in. After it rains the water gets a little more dirtier and dirtier. the water sometimes is getting browner when the water level is higher, and when the water level is lower, the ground is more clear. The water it self is not dirty. It is actually pretty clear when it is taken out. It is all the muck, and mud on the bottom that is dirty, and makes everything else look dirty. Compared to the other weeks, the water level is starting to get higher and higher as it starts to rain. For my experiment i wanted to see if the fish population in a 20ft by 7 ft area would increase if it rained. My hypothesis was, If there was more rainfall, then there will be more fish an area of the stream about 15 feet by 7 feet. My results were that as the rainfall increased in the stream area, the stream level would go higher, and the fish population would increase. I chose an area in the middle of the mouth of the stream that seem to be a common area. I found that as the water level increased so did the fish. I was sure to be there to count and see as much as i could within a 5 minute period at around 12:30. I also conducted another experiment. With this one i tested to see how the fish in the pond would react to different objects falling into the ware. I went one day and found a school of tilapia fish all in one area and decided to test this experiment. First, I gathered a few items such as large leaves, small leaves, small rocks, medium sized rocks, and a medium sized stick. THe larger leaf was about 5 inches long, and the smaller leaf was about 2-3 inches long. The small rock was shaped like a pebble, and the larger rock was more like a stone shape. The stick was about 7 inches long, and not very thick. My hypothesis was that if i tossed in a small pebble, the fish would react faster then if i threw in any other objects because the prey that the fish eat are sized like small objects. I also thought this because the stone would sink and not float like the stick, and leaves. I gathered up three of each object and slowed tossed them in the stream in 1 minute intervals so that the fish could regroup. I found that the fish responded better to the larger rock, then the smaller rock, and then the stick, larger leaf, and then the smaller leaf. The stick only made the fish move a little, but when i threw in the other objects the fish went for it like food, or scattered away. The leaves didn't do much but barely scare some of the fish. I think this because the leaves didn't make a splash in the water, or disturb the water that much. I found that the rocks did more because it made more of a disturbance then the other objects. I also noticed that the fish move, and react fast, as if they are scared of predators that have adapted better to eat them.
 * Object || 1st time || 2nd Time || 3rd Time ||
 * Small Rock || lots of movement || more movement || little less movement ||
 * Large Rock || lots of movement || lots of movement || little less movement ||
 * Small leaf || little movement || little movement || no movement ||
 * Large leaf || little movement || little movement || little movement ||
 * Stick || movement || little movement || movement ||

Assigned Journal: The carbon cycle in our stream area is pretty simple. You have the organisms like fish, and crabs that live in the stream, and then you have all the fresh plants, trees, and grass that help to absorb the carbon dioxide that is released from the stream. A lot of the fish go through cellular respiration to take in the oxygen and then breathe out the carbon dioxide, which is then absorbed by the plants around which although take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Some times the fish and plants both release carbon dioxide which is released into the air.