Biology Field Study

Date: Nov 14, 2018 Time: 4:04 pm Climate Conditions: Very clear, sunny Temperature: 34 degrees Length of Day: 9:45:00 Organisms smelt, felt, heard or seen: I noticed that the leaves from the trees have mostly fallen, which is very normal at this time of year. There was also less activity than the past few times I've visited with animals such as squirrels and birds. I noticed that it was also very muddy and flooded, most likely due to the snow that came and melted this week. For my experiment, the water levels have risen slightly, and I am interested to see how the phosphorus levels are for this water sample. Along with that, the water is not very clear and everything looks more brown. 

Date: Oct 30, 2018 Time: 3:32 pm Climate Conditions: Cloudy, thunderstorms at night Temperature: 60 degrees Length of Day: 10:21:00 Organisms smelt, felt, heard or seen: As the leaves have continued to change, more are dropping as well. Most of the trees' leaves have turned yellow, which makes me think a lot of them are similar species. There were little sounds, only a few birds chirping, but overall pretty peaceful. I saw many squirrels running through the trees. The water level has seemed to fall slightly again, probably because of the amount of rain. However, the ground around the stream especially was very muddy still. For my experiment, I have been testing the phosphorus levels in the water, and I am curious to see the levels for this week.

Date: Oct 14, 2018 Time: 3:15 pm Climate Conditions: Mostly sunny, few clouds Temperature: 60 degrees Length of Day: 11:05:00 Organisms smelt, felt, heard or seen: Although it is well into October, there's still a multitude of mosquitos in my location. The leaves have finally started to change colors, as you can see in the pictures. It seems however that not every type has changed, so maybe it has to do with the type of tree. Along with that, there was a very fresh deer track in the mud along the stream, so there has been a lot of deer activity. The water levels seem to be back up in the stream as well. For my experimental design, I have been taking note of the phosphorus levels in the stream water. There seems to be a correlation with amount of rain and the level of phosphorus in the water so far.

Experimental Design Link: Phosphorus levels in water over time https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WvZBTNAN9dKwBcvwBrmKLajxof-2mT7YmmjtRSERnCk/edit?usp=sharing

Date: Sept 11, 2018 Time: 3:39 pm Climate Conditions: Mostly sunny, slight breeze (7mph) Temperature: 74 degrees Length of Day: 12:42:00 Organisms smelt, felt, heard or seen: Since my last visit, I have noticed that the water level has decreased and changed in color significantly, as pictured to the left. Along with that, I noticed that there was little to no change in leaf color, and they are still looking green. Shown in the last picture, there was a set of deer tracks in the dirt that must have occured recently. There was one particular bird chirping for the entirety of the time, however I was not able to see it. I also saw various squirrels running through the trees.

Date: Sept 3, 2018 Time: 1:52 pm Climate Conditions: Humid, wet, and slightly rainy outside. The sky was pretty overcast. Temperature: 74 degrees Length of Day: 13:02:00 Organisms smelt, felt, heard or seen: As pictured to the left, I saw several areas where there was fungi growing. I also heard birds in the trees, but I wasn't able to see or identify any. There was a buzzing of insects such as grasshoppers and crickets for entirety of the time. There was quite an arrangement of plants covering most of the ground including Virginia Creeper and ground ivy. The ground was muddy so I wasn't able to see any tracks of animals that may have been through there. However, I was able to see a snake hole in the ground near the creek.