My Plot Thoughts

     The plot study project was an interesting way to actually "get our hands wet" with biology. I thought it was a lot of fun, and it was a project that combined nature and technology; there was something for all types of people. I really liked visiting my plot every week and actually seeing the changes occur.
      The plot study project also taught me a lot about ecosystems. One thing I learned was that bacteria are actually really important! When animals die, decomposers break them down for nutrients. I never knew that bacteria was actually helpful. A second thing I learned was that having algae in the pond at my plot is a good thing, when you have the right amount. I always thought algae was just a gross, annoying substance that smelled bad, but now I know that it is actually helpful for dissolving oxygen. A third thing I learned was that my plot is actually a habitat fragmentation. I knew my plot was a habitat, but I learned that since it is a patch of forest surrounded by a school, church, and homes, the ecosystem was fragmented. I never thought of it that way, I guess I had thought that buildings had been built around the ecosystem, when they have actually been built on them, splitting them up. A fourth thing I learned was that although the sun is the main energy source for life on Earth, including most of the living things on my plot, only .1% of the energy that actually reaches Earth is used. I find that kind of strange, because it seems like the sun is so big but we gather such a small amount of energy from it. A final thing I learned while this plot study was taking place is the importance of keeping other areas of untouched nature like my plot protected. I always knew that it was important to have forests, but it never clicked into my head until this study. We are running out of nature, and it scares me. Walking through my plot on a glorious fall day, with the leaves changing color and the sun shining, I realized that my children might never get to see the sight that I have just seen, and that scares me. They might never get to see nature the way God intended it. Beautiful and free.
      This plot study has taught me a lot about nature and ecology. With this new information I will strive to do whatever I can to help stop the dissolving of plots such as mine. I will try to get more people aware of the dire situation, and I will definitely keep visiting my plot and picking up trash around it! Maybe I will even get a lot of my friends and family to join me, and we can enjoy nature together. Because I believe that that is the purpose of nature-to enjoy.

As the plot changes. . .

My plot has not changed dramatically since the beginning of this blog, but it has changed. The trees have gone from a dark shade of green to a light green, but I am still waiting for them to change color!!!

Tree Week One






Tree Week Three (same tree as above)

Middle of my plot week Two

Middle of my plot week Four

Middle of my plot week Five

A month of my Maple Tree

Week One

                                                Week Two

                                                Week Three    
    

                                                Week Four
          

                                               Week Five
My Tree Now . . .

The Bark of my tree. . .

My Food Web Is at the very bottom of this blog. . .

Biodiversity-Identifying Fungi

This type of fungus is a Giant Puffball mushroom.

This type of fungus is a Chanterelle mushroom.

This type of fungus is a Shiitake mushroom.

This type of fungus is an Oyster mushroom.

This type of fungus is a Button mushroom.

Plot Community

The interactions that occur on my plot are competition, predation, mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.
Here are two examples of each interaction.

1.) Competition: Robins fighting for food and territory; ducks fighting over who gets to live in the pond.

2.) Predation: A cardinal eating a worm; an owl eating a mouse.

3.) Mutualism: A bird and a deer; bees and flowers.

4.) Commensalism: Spanish moss growing on an oak tree; squirrel and maple tree.

5.) Parasitism: Bush ticks and deer; Oak-Tree-Hoppers and oak tree leaves.

Producers & Consumers

Producers (produce their own food) on my plot:
ivy, oak trees, weeds, moss, 

Consumers (cannot produce their own food) on my plot:

Herbivores: rabbits, deer, bees, grasshoppers, some types of squirrels, chipmunks, beavers, termites,


Carnivores: cats, frogs, spiders, hawks, fox, owls, coyotes, 


Omnivores: me, raccoons, skunks, crows, rats, mice,


Decomposers: fungi, bacteria,


Detritivores: slugs, millipedes, worms,

My Plot is an Ecosystem

The levels of organization are atoms, molecules, cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, organisms, population, communities, ecosystems, and biospheres.

Here are some examples of organisms that can be found in the various categories on my plot.
1. Organisms-squirrels, bugs, me, deer

2. Population-the number of ducks on my plot, the total number of ivy on my plot, all of the oak trees on my plot.

3. Communities-the different species of birds living on my plot, the different squirrel species, and the different types of insects on my plot that all live together.

4. Ecosystem-my plot itself is an ecosystem, the pond on my plot (when it is filled up with water),

5. Biosphere- the entire forest my plot is in, the earth is a biosphere

Human Activity Assessment

            Human activity is impacting my plot in many ways, both good and bad. One of the bad ways that human activity is impacting my plot is the obvious-litter. Seeing as my plot is a nature preserve at a school, lots of kids get the chance to visit it every week, but this also means a lot of trash. Another bad way human activity is impacting my plot is that since we made a trail through the middle of it, not all of the nature can grow to its full extent. Not a whole lot of animals can live there without being disrupted, although you do see the occasional dear. This also means that woodchips were brought in and so the nature preserve is not fully nature. A final way that human activity is impacting my plot negatively is that since my plot is near a church, a lot of teenagers go skating carelessly right near it. They actually go skating carelessly through it, tearing up the ground and killing lots of innocent plants.

            There are just as many good ways human activity impacts my plot as there are bad ways. One good way human activity impacts my plot is that humans are there to take care of it. Humans are there to pick up the dead animals and the fallen trees. Humans are there to leave birdseed out for the birds and to make sure that the caterpillars have plenty of milk-weed. Another way human activity positively impacts my plot is that my plot is noticed and enjoyed. It is such a beautiful piece of nature, that if it wasn’t a nature preserve I feel it would be ignored, or considered a nuisance. But humans are able to understand the beauty and see God everywhere in it. This doesn’t just positively impact my plot, this also impacts us as humans.  A third and final way human activity can be good for my plot is that we can protect the plot from the careless teenagers I talked about earlier, and people like them. With signs and warnings, we can easily scare them away from our plot. 

             There are many practical ways that I can easily protect my plot from the negative human impact. Like I said earlier, posting signs and warnings against those careless people scares them off. Also, posting signs about not littering, or maybe making a no-food rule on my plot. If we put a trashcan near my plot , then the people can just throw their garbage in the right place instead of in the woods. I can help protect my plot by visiting it and picking up the trash and cigarettes people have left behind. I can also get my friends to do this with me, and make it a fun activity for us to do.  But I feel that the biggest thing I can do to protect my plot is to understand how important nature is, and to try to get that understanding across to others. If we realize how wonderful nature is, and how rare it is to come across pure nature, then we will feel guilty about ruining it, trashing it, or forgetting about it. For forgetting about it would be the worst way to negatively impact my plot.

Biotic vs. Abiotic

Abiotic factors on my plot

• water
• air
• rocks
• liter
• no literring sign
• bench

Biotic factors on my plot

• acorns
• twigs
• birds
• bugs
• me!
• butterflies
• weeds
• frogs
• dear
• flowers
• fallen leaves
• mushrooms
• logs
• woodchuck

Meeting My Plot: a paragraph.

My plot is in the "backyard" of West Side Christian School, where I went to school through elementary and middle school. It is actually part of a Nature Preserve, but it is undeveloped. The Nature Preserve is a memorial to one of West Side's greatest teachers, Brian Dyk, who loved science but unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack one school morning when he was in his early thirties. I chose this plot because not only did my family know Mr. Dyk through West Side, my dad was also close to his family growing up. Our families were intertwined, and he was very special to the entire Bonnema side of my family. My family really pushed to get this Nature Preserve constructed, and we continue to help care for the trails, signs, and clearings, putting in a labor of love.

In my plot you can see the occasional deer, woodchuck, chipmunk or squirrel. There are many types of birds, but there is also poison ivy, so watch out! You can hear the wind tickling the trees, the birds chirping, and the lyrical sound of school children laughing if you come during the day. You can smell the earthiness of wet moss and see the softening of fallen logs.  You can almost taste the sweet beauty of this Preserve. There is a dried up pond that occasionally gets filled in the winter, and there are stunning wild flowers that bloom. This plot is a terrific memorial to a wonderful man that God created, but it is also a living testament to God's creation and a world we too often miss in the business of daily lives.