Ryan's+Journal

Job: Biotic Free Journal #1 Manoa stream was a good choice to study the ecosystem there because we all live nearby to the stream and I can walk there. The section of the stream we chose was a really interesting part of the stream because the stream was deep and running and there were plenty of plants and life forms in and around the stream. It was also pretty easy to access the other side of the stream because the stream wasn't wide enough so that we couldn't cross using the stones that tick out of the stream to cross.

Assigned Journal Entry #1 There are many different types of niches in this stream that we are studying. At the stream, the thing that was visible at first site was all of the plant life around the stream, There was many different plants that looked like they have been growing there for awhile. The second thing that i noticed was the different types of organisms that lived on and in the stream. There were ducks that were swimming around and looking for food and when on closer inspection, we found a few strange looking fish that appeared to be eating the algae on the rocks or just lying around. The fish looking like older tadpoles as it still had the shape of its slender tail. Its eye was located on the top of its head but the other wasn't visible. The tadpole's main food source was the algae on the rocks so the rocks were a vital part of the tadpoles diet. The stream was about 15 feet across which provided a wide area for the tadpoles and the ducks to live in. The ducks although they were in the back part of the stream, they had bright orange feet and brown spotted body. Its beak was rounded at the tip so it looked like they were fishermen and fished in the stream. There were also a few birds that looked like they ate the tadpoles and guppies. They flew down landed on a rock and started pecking in the water. The stream varied in depth and in the shallower parts of the stream, the younger and smaller fish were there probably not having to fight as much current. The deepest part of the stream was about a foot deep and not many bottom feeders were over there. The older, bigger and stronger fish were within the 6 inch to 8 inch deep part of the stream eating algae of of the bigger rocks. The guppies may have evolved creating each others niches. The bigger fish live in the deeper part of the stream. An indirect form of a predator-prey relationship was that of the guppies and the ducks and birds. The guppies fed on the algae on the rocks in the stream and the ducks and birds fed on the guppies. The ducks probably go after the bigger fish and the birds go after the younger fish because the birds beaks aren't big enough to eat the larger guppies. [|guppiefish.JPG][|ducksmanoa2.JPG][|cardinalmanoa.JPG][|IMG_0147.JPG]

Free Journal #2 When I took closer inspection at Manoa Stream for the second time, I found that the fish on the bottom of the stream, are usually algae eaters and dont move very much. They can move fast or burrow if they have to though because when I tried to catch one to take observations, it was hard to catch. The stream is divided in to three different sections. The first upper level, the second level right after the stream goes down stream and the third level which is a steeper cut off that the stream runs through. In the first part of the stream, the organisms that i found were usually just the bottom feeders because the stream bed was full of algae covered rocks which is perfect for the bottom feeders living style. The second part of the stream held small mosquito fish. The mosquito fish probably stayed around that part of the stream because their food source is mosquito larvae and mosquitos lay their larvae on open calm waters. In the third part of the stream, there were the tadpoles. The tadpoles most likely stayed over there because there isn't much competition for food and space. The last part of the stream is on concrete that was put there by the humans so i figured that there must not be much if any life forms. The stream though was different. Someone had built a straight path for the rocks which connected the two different sides of the stream to each other.

Assigned Journal entry #2 A community interaction that I saw was indirectly happening was the way that the fish and organisms were spaced out along the stream. The way that they were spaced was that the bottom feeders were on the deepest part of the stream, the mosquito fish and other small fish were right before the stream dropped off to a lower level and the tadpoles were at right when the stream cuts off to the concrete. This probably happened because of competition for the food and space that created their living style. The tadpoles probably moved all the way to the end of the stream because since they are weak, they go to the calmest part of the stream so that they can eat and grow peacefully. The bottom feeders probably were in the deepest part of the stream so that they can hide from predators and there are plenty algae covered rocks which are perfect for the bottom feeders diet. The bottom feeders also live in the deepest part of the stream because it helps give them protection from the ducks. The bottom feeders can quickly swim or burrow their way to safety while if they lived in shallower parts of the stream, their survival rate would be lower for they are more prone to getting eaten as the water is not deep enough to provide the protection that they need to survive. The mosquito and other small fish live in the open space of the stream because that is where the mosquitos lay their larvae. The mosquitos choose to lay their larvae in a calm and open body of water in the stream so that the larvae has more of a chance of surviving. The ducks basically took control of the entire stream. They take control of the stream because they are by far the biggest organisms and they live on top of the water instead of underneath the water. Most of the organisms in Manoa Stream are probably invasive species because that is mostly what is inside of the stream and they have taken control of what little stream space there is. The competition in the stream spaced out the organisms all except for the ducks because they live a completely different way then the bottom feeders and the tadpoles.

Free Journal entry #3 This time when I went to Manoa Stream with my group, it was after a few days of heavy rain. The streams current was faster as well as the water level had risen slightly. This caused different habitats for the organisms. The amount of organisms seemed to have grown as there was a higher level of water in the stream and the different niches that the organisms usually lived, there was more variety inside of those niches. The east bank seemed to have shrunk because the plant growth there was exponential. My three hypothesis for experiments were
 * Hypothesis #1: If organisms were taken from their niches and put in to a one area, then the organisms would be driven to death because the change of niche is not what the organisms are used to and they wouldnt be adapted to the area.**


 * Hypothesis #2: If the time of day is different, then the amount of organisms will difer in different areas because the position of the light would change how the fish react in the water.**

Assigned Journal Entry #3: Some environmental pressures that were driving natural selection were the predation of the bottom feeders. I could tell that there was some sort of pressure that was on the bottom feeders because all the bottom feeders were similar in color and shape. The bottom feeders could have been different colors before but those brighter color bottom feeders could've been spotted easier in the water and got preyed upon so only the darker colored bottom feeders survived. The bottom feeders would've survived because it was harder to spot the darker colored bottom feeders on the bottom of the stream were the stream is covered in mud. I also noticed that there was mostly dark colored life forms that were living inside of the stream. Since the stream is over mud and rocks, it would be best for the life forms that are prey to be darker color so that the predators would have to have keener eye sight to pick out the camouflaged prey inside of the stream. The natural selection inside of the stream probably happened a while back because today, the stream life is almost all dark colored or a tan which would camouflage them perfectly on the stream bottom. Free Journal Entry #4 Today, my group journeyed to the stream a good deal earlier then the time that we usually go. We went at 11 am instead of our usual 4:30 pm. The current in the stream was going noticeably faster as it had been raining steadily all day. This current made it harder to cross the stream as well as someone had moved the rocks that connected the 2 sides of the stream. I observed that the amount of fishes in the different niches were completely different as there was plenty more bottom feeders that were sort of visible in the faster current. As I went down the bank of the stream where the current was at its fastest, there was little to no tadpoles there were they usually are at. They hypothesis that I tested was **Hypothesis: If organisms were taken from their niches and put in to a one area, then the organisms would be driven to death because the change of niche is not what the organisms are used to and they wouldnt be adapted to the area.** In order to conduct this experiment, the weekly visit before, I had gathered various amounts of biotic life inside the stream from many different niches and had put them into an entirely new and different ecosystem. For eleven days, I counted the number of the different organisms and noted on how they seemed to be adapting and changing towards the environment. Based on the results of this experiment, i concluded that the bottom feeders adapt more quickly then the others and that in order to get a more accurate result, to run the experiment more the once. __Graph__ __ Data Table __ Assigned Journal Entry #4 All ecosystems in world have carbon cycles and manoa stream was not an exception. Given the amount of plants that were on the stream bank, I say that the plants and weeds take in most of the C02 produced from the biotic life forms in and around the stream. Many different factors could also have a somewhat steady C02 output. The dead organisms could produce C02 from their rotting bodies and when humans come by to observe the stream, they also release a steady amount of C02. The carbon cycle would look something likes this (Biotic life/Decomposing bodies)- (Plants/ Weds). The biotic life would give off the C02 which would be taken in by the plant during photosynthesis and cellular respiration. The plants and weeds would then give off oxygen which would be taken in by the biotic life and the carbon cycle starts all over again.
 * Hypothesis #3: If there are less ducks hunting for fish and other organisms then there will be more fish and biotic life because the duck is the main predator for those fish.**
 * Date || Bottom Feeders || Tadpoles || Fresh Water Snails || Mosquito Fish || Cray Fish ||
 * 11/30/08 || 4 || 3 || 6 || 7 || 2 ||
 * 12/1/08 || 4 || 3 || 6 || 7 || 2 ||
 * 12/2/08 || 4 || 3 || 6 || 7 || 1 ||
 * 12/3/08 || 4 || 2 || 6 || 7 || 1 ||
 * 12/4/08 || 5 || 2 || 6 || 8 || 0 ||
 * 12/5/08 || 5 || 1 || 6 || 8 || 0 ||
 * 12/6/08 || 5 || 1 || 6 || 7 || 0 ||
 * 12/7/08 || 5 || 0 || 6 || 6 || 0 ||
 * 12/8/08 || 5 || 0 || 6 || 6 || 0 ||
 * 12/9/08 || 5 || 0 || 6 || 4 || 0 ||
 * 12/10/08 || 6 || 0 || 6 || 2 || 0 ||