Concrete Ornithology: Field Zoology Week 2: Stream Ecology

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Field Zoology Week 2: Stream Ecology

The LECTURE covered various aspects of statistics including

The types of sampling design: random, systematic, stratified random, paired, repeated sampling and the problems with pseudoreplication
the difference between fixed and random effects
Parametric versus nonparametric and distributions such as Normal and Poisson
Problems with standard analysis including spatial and temporal autocorrelation
When to use Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) type versus regression type analysis
the signal-to-noise ratio analogy and what is the sign (difference between groups or slope) and the noise (points away from the group average or the regression line)
what is power
what is the deal with p-values

The lecture also covered various aspects of aquatic ecology including

the key differences between aquatic and terrestrial habitats in terms of abiotic conditions (e.g., pH, salinity, O2, flow rates, stream order and so on)
the key differences between aquatic and terrestrial habitats in terms of biotic conditions (e.g., what types of organisms are rare or common)
the basics of nutrient cycling (CWD, grazers and collectors)
zones of riparian habitats
river continuum concept
indicator taxa (EPT)

IN THE FIELD, we were hosted by King's College's Dr. Garrett Barr and explored the aquatic organisms of SGL 013. Our stream was a 2nd order stream that fed into Bowman's Creek.

The day's formal activities consisted of (1) fish-shocking, (2) larval salamander searching, and (3) invertebrate sampling through kick nets (the nets aren't kicked but the substrate is in front of the net to loosen invertebrates into the net waiting for them. Informal activities involved the class searching under rocks and in the leaf litter for salamander and other herps (amphibians and reptiles).