Leaf Litter Lab
Collaborators- Matt, Joseph, Ike
Abstract- We went out into the woods and picked up lots and lots of leaves. After we did that we put them in a milk carton with a cup of alcohol under it and a heat lamp above it. It was then left there for 12 days without disturbance. Once we reached the 12th day we threw out the leaves and put some of the alcohol on a petri dish under a microscope and looked to see what was there. There were hundreds of very small insects in the alcohol, and just as many species.
Problem- What is the biodiversity of leaf litter?
Materials- Compound Microscope, Berless Funnel, Leaf Litter, Alcohol, Source of Light
Methods- 1. Collect a sample of leaf litter. Be sure to collect the entire layer down to the soil. 2. Examine the sample and classify what you see the layer is composed of. 3. Place your sample into the Berlese Funnel under the light source. Place a small beaker of alcohol under the funnel. The hope is that small invertebrates will travel away from the light and fall into your alcohol. 4. The next day, collect your beaker and examine the organisms you have collected under the microscopes. You will need to calculate the number of each species you have, and identify them. Each person may work on a portion of the sample and put your numbers together. Use the Identification pages to name each species. 5. Use the information to calculate the diversity indices for your sample.
Abstract- We went out into the woods and picked up lots and lots of leaves. After we did that we put them in a milk carton with a cup of alcohol under it and a heat lamp above it. It was then left there for 12 days without disturbance. Once we reached the 12th day we threw out the leaves and put some of the alcohol on a petri dish under a microscope and looked to see what was there. There were hundreds of very small insects in the alcohol, and just as many species.
Problem- What is the biodiversity of leaf litter?
Materials- Compound Microscope, Berless Funnel, Leaf Litter, Alcohol, Source of Light
Methods- 1. Collect a sample of leaf litter. Be sure to collect the entire layer down to the soil. 2. Examine the sample and classify what you see the layer is composed of. 3. Place your sample into the Berlese Funnel under the light source. Place a small beaker of alcohol under the funnel. The hope is that small invertebrates will travel away from the light and fall into your alcohol. 4. The next day, collect your beaker and examine the organisms you have collected under the microscopes. You will need to calculate the number of each species you have, and identify them. Each person may work on a portion of the sample and put your numbers together. Use the Identification pages to name each species. 5. Use the information to calculate the diversity indices for your sample.
Questions- 1.
What are two reasons the organisms move away from the light down the funnel?
What does this indicate about the organisms?- The light is probably too hot and bright because the organisms are used to the environment we pulled them from which is cold and dark.
2. Summarize whether you think the biodiversity of this litter is high or low density. If low, try to give some reasons why this might be.- The biodiversity is high because we found at least one of every species we found.
3. Why would an environmental scientist need to make more than one measurement if he was calculating the biodiversity? How would you take samples of a large forest?- A scientist needs to take more than one measurement because a measurement is just what was there at that time, and if you're taking samples from a large forest the you need to take samples from all over the forest.
Analysis- In our group during the experiment we didn't find as many different species of insects as we probably should have. I regret that, we actually spilled our cup of alcohol therefore losing most of our data for the experiment. However, from what we did get, we could tell that the species diversity or richness was high. Although, because we did spill the alcohol we didn't get very accurate results, thus this version of the experiment should not be trusted or used.
Conclusion- The problem was "how high is the biodiversity in leaf litter", and the problem was answered. It turns out the biodiversity of leaf litter is very high, even with our flawed experiment. This shows that in only about 20 leaves that are on the ground there are hundreds of species on those leaves.
General Analysis- To be honest, not much can be said due to the fact that the alcohol was spilled during the final observation. We lost a good 3/4 of our data. Although, what we did get showed that the biodiversity was high at best. With that said, the biodiversity on leaf litter is extraordinarily high, even when there is only one of each species the diversity is very high.
General Conclusion- This experiment shows just how many species of animals that exist on this planet. Without biodiversity life on this planet would not have been able to evolve. The biodiversity we have seen in the leaf litter shows that the insects that live in this environment would be able to adapt quickly to changes. At the top of the page there is an article on such biodiversity, and explaining such diversity.
2. Summarize whether you think the biodiversity of this litter is high or low density. If low, try to give some reasons why this might be.- The biodiversity is high because we found at least one of every species we found.
3. Why would an environmental scientist need to make more than one measurement if he was calculating the biodiversity? How would you take samples of a large forest?- A scientist needs to take more than one measurement because a measurement is just what was there at that time, and if you're taking samples from a large forest the you need to take samples from all over the forest.
Analysis- In our group during the experiment we didn't find as many different species of insects as we probably should have. I regret that, we actually spilled our cup of alcohol therefore losing most of our data for the experiment. However, from what we did get, we could tell that the species diversity or richness was high. Although, because we did spill the alcohol we didn't get very accurate results, thus this version of the experiment should not be trusted or used.
Conclusion- The problem was "how high is the biodiversity in leaf litter", and the problem was answered. It turns out the biodiversity of leaf litter is very high, even with our flawed experiment. This shows that in only about 20 leaves that are on the ground there are hundreds of species on those leaves.
General Analysis- To be honest, not much can be said due to the fact that the alcohol was spilled during the final observation. We lost a good 3/4 of our data. Although, what we did get showed that the biodiversity was high at best. With that said, the biodiversity on leaf litter is extraordinarily high, even when there is only one of each species the diversity is very high.
General Conclusion- This experiment shows just how many species of animals that exist on this planet. Without biodiversity life on this planet would not have been able to evolve. The biodiversity we have seen in the leaf litter shows that the insects that live in this environment would be able to adapt quickly to changes. At the top of the page there is an article on such biodiversity, and explaining such diversity.