My Field Study

By Nick Bergo
Period 5/6
Objective
To study, analyze, research, and discover the reasons behind animal and plant life in a
small area of selected land and learn more about our native environment.
Site Description

Observation Descriptions:
Lots of sun, little to no shade
Significant amounts of visiting pollinators, I observed bees, butterflies, and even a hummingbird
Evidence of the spittlebugs
Dog feces indicating visiting dogs along trail
Smells of grass, fresh air
Relatively windy, due to location in the midst of a valley
Thistle, daisies, poppies, and few types of grasses and small plants
Two different bushes, one being the red hot poker, and the other not classified
Bird sounds nearby in the trees
Predictions:
Dying of flora around the site due to the California drought, not including the drought resistant
plants
Or the blooming of new flowers due to the current spring season pollinators
More fauna evidence shown after following visits at different types of day, for instance morning
and dusk
What I will need to collect:
Make a pictures over time analysis to compare the effect of less water to the plants on my site
over the following weeks, measure the height of the suspected dying plants, and evidence of
dryness contributing to its decline
Another pictures over time to show the possible new blooms of the flowers and plants this spring
Visit my site at different times of day to find evidence of more fauna
Record each observation and its time
Site Overview
Map:

*Underemphasized thistle to the right of the red hot poker

Original Photos:

Site Data
Abiotic and Biotic Data:
Measurem
ent

Intro

Week 2

Red hot
poker
height

2 feet for
leaves, 3.5
feet for
flower

Red hot
poker % of
coverage
Various
grasses
average
height

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

2 feet for
2 feet, 4
leaves
feet (same)
again, but 4
foot flower
height

Same as
week 3

Same as
week 4

Same

40%

38%

40%

40%

41%

38%

2-3 feet

3 feet

3 feet

4-5.5 feet
(significant
)

5 feet

4-5 feet

Various
55%
grasses %
of coverage

56%

48%

50%

48%

49%

Daisies

0.3 feet

0.2 feet

0.2 feet

0.2 feet

0.3 feet

0.5 feet

Week 3

height
Daisies %
3%
of coverage

2%

1%%

1%

1%

2%

Thistle
height

3-4 feet
(significant
growth)

3-4 feet
(same)

Same as
week 3

3 feet

3 feet

Thistle %
5%
of coverage

7%

10%

9%

8%

8%

Average
temperatur
e (Spring)

76 degrees

72 degrees

74 degrees

64 degrees

65 degrees

67 degrees

Average
sunlight
(Spring)

60% of day 55%

62%

30%

60%

50%

Average
rainfall
(Spring)

25%
chance

0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

Poppy
height

0.75 feet

1 foot

0.75 feet

0.5 feet

0.75 feet

0.5 feet

Poppy % of 2%
coverage

2%

1%

1%

1%

1%

Wind speed 6-10 mph

20 mph
(significant
)

15 mph

3 mph

10 mph

12 mph

Humidity

50-60%

45-50%

40%

83%

70%

60%

Estimation
of
insect/polli
nators seen

10

11

12

% of
butterflies

30%

50%

40%

0%

11%

0%

# of
droppings

1 from a
dog along
the trail

2 feet

% of
10%
hummingbi
rds

0%

0%

0%

11%

9%

% of bees

40%

40%

40%

73%

58%

50%

% of
20%
froghopper
s
(spittlebugs
)

10%

20%

27%

20%

9%

% of wasps 0%

0%

0%

0%

0%

32%

Focus Questions
Week 1:
1. Temperate coniferous forest, because my site, very close to where I live, has warm summers and
cool winters, adequate rainfall, a coastal region, has many species of trees, shrubs and grasses
underneath them, and inhabit the dominant trees of a coniferous forest (mix of conifers and
broadleaf evergreen trees and/or broadleaf deciduous trees).
2. One type of relationship that is obvious is the bee flower relationship. The bee pollinates the
flower to get nectar, while they are both profiting from the action. This type of relationship is a
mutualistic symbiosis, where both species live together, and in this case, both benefit from each
other. Another is the froghopper and plant relationship where nymph froghoppers encase
themselves in froth, spit, which insulates them, hides them and protects them by its acrid taste,
and during this, they pierce plants and suck sap from the plants, causing little harm to the plant.
This relationship, in my opinion could be classified and commensalism or mutualism, as it harms
the plant the slightest. And lastly, the humminbird red hot poker relationship. These plants, the
red hot poker or kniphofia, produce copious nectar that attracts sap suckers like the
hummingbird. In fact I even saw one the first time I visited my site. This relationship, like the
bees one, is a mutualistic symbiosis.
3. A food chain in my area is centered around the plants that grow there. The nectar rich plants
attract the bees, which attract predaceous insects, insectivorous birds, skunks, and lizards. This is
the very simple one that I believe happens in my area.
Week 2:
1. Dirt path and trash. Pollution from the non biodegradable trash and the destruction of plants to
form the dirt path.
2. The limiting factors for plants are the little water from our statewide drought and the relatively
non fertile soil (low-nutrient). For animals the limiting factors are limited habitats for larger
animals, little autotrophic plants desired by animals, and again little water source in the area.

Week 3:
1. Bacteria are important to plants and soil because they decompose complex organic matter, and
turns it into a good source of nutrients. This allows nitrogen fixation for plants, making it a lot
easier for plant growth and sustainability. And lastly, bioremediation is important because
bacteria can break down toxic compounds present in a natural environment. For animals, bacteria
helps them by bioremediation as well and helps autotrophs become good food sources.
2. Fungi are found naturally in the environment. Their role in the world in the world is to
decompose non-living things, similar to bacteria.
3. My area does not have any fungi, at least to to the extent of my vision. It is most presumably not
in my area because it is a very sunny spot, not very most/relatively dry.
Week 3 Photos

1.
2.

1.
2.

Week 4:
The role of the invertebrates in my area is to pollinate the plants.
The pollinators are found around the red hot poker flowers, the flowers of the thistle, poppies,
and daisies. However the spittle bugs are found on the leaves and stems of the plants. The
pollinators are found around the flowers because they seek the nectar, while the spittlebugs need
nutrients from the stems and leaves of the plants.
Week 5:
No bryophytes, seedless vascular plants, gymnosperms, but all angiosperms. The red hot poker
and grass are monocot, while the daisies, coyote bush, and thistle are dicot.
The monocot red hot poker and grass were defined because of their leaf shape, since the leaves
of these plants have all its veins concentrated to one end.

Week 6:
1. The differences are that the Dermal provides absorption and protection, the Ground provides
support and storage, and the Vascular provides transport and support. The Dermal layer is the
outermost layer, then comes the Ground, then Vascular, the innermost layer.

2. Important nutrients for soil include: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. Each are so important
because nitrogen enhances protein building by enzymes, Phosphorous for nutrient transport and
photosynthesis, and Potassium for water absorption and retention, and nutrient cycling through
leaves.
3. Examples of pollination in my area are: pollination by wind (anemophily) of the grasses,
pollination by insects (entomophily) on the flowering plants, and pollination by animals, in
particular the hummingbird (zoophily).