1. Clermont College Ecology Michelle Beebe Ashley Callahan Kati O'Rourke Professor Janet Stein-Carter

2. Table of Contents SlideTitle 1Title Page 2Table of Contents 3List of Tables 4Abstract 5Introduction 6Literature Review 7Methods 8Materials 9-16Data 17-22Discussion 23Conclusion 24References

3. List of Tables SlideTitle 9 Figure 1: High Light 10 Figure 2: Total Soil Temperature 11 Figure 3: Relative Humidity 12 Figure 4: Wind Speed 13 Figure 5: Total Number of Plant Species Seen 14 Figure 6: Plant Species Seen Per Hour 15 Figure 7: Total Number of Animal Species Seen 16 Figure 8: Animals Seen Per Hour

4. Abstract The ecology of four areas of the campus were examined to determine how environmental factors effects species distribution, and how species distribution effects environmental factors.

5. Introduction Over the course of this quarter various studies were conducted to analyze the ecology of the Clermont College campus. The purpose of this study is to try to relate the abiotic factors of light, soil temperature, humidity and wind, to the biotic factors of species of plants and animals in differing areas.

6. Literature Review The main source used for this project was the ecology website which contains all of the class notes and laboratory protocols. These were very helpful in the process of performing the experiments and analyzing the data collected.

7. Methods The data collected over the years for environmental factors and species distribution was organized into graphs and analyzed to look for correlations between environmental factors and species distribution. Data collection and organization was done according to the Ecology Laboratory Protocols.

8. Materials Materials needed were laid out in the Ecology Laboratory Protocols. These materials were obtained through the Clermont Campus Biology Laboratory.

9. Data

17. Discussion As seen in Figure 1, light intensity is greatly dependent on tree cover in the area. The amount of trees is inversely related to the amount of light able to reach the floor. This is an example of how a biotic factor (trees) can influence an abiotic factor (light).

18. Discussion As seen in Figures 1 & 2, soil temperature is dependent on the amount of light that reaches the floor; and the amount of light that reaches the floor is dependent upon tree cover. The more light that is able to reach the ground, the higher the soil temperature.

19. Discussion As seen in Figure 3, relative % humidity is also greatly effected by tree cover. The wooded areas had a higher relative % humidity because the moisture and heat present can easily get trapped under the canopy of the trees. It is also evident here how biotic and abiotic factors are intimately connected.

20. Discussion As seen in Figure 4, wind velocity is also tied to the amount of tree cover in an area. The more wooded areas have trees which break up and block some or most of the wind.

21. Discussion It appears that the more light that was present provided for a higher number of actual plants present. However in areas with less light, there appeared to be a greater amount of species diversity. This was determined by examining Figures 1, 5, & 6.

22. Discussion Number of animals and animal species present seemed to directly relate to the amount of plants present in a specific area. More plants provide more food for herbivores, which provide more food for predators, thereby increasing the total amount of animals present in a specific area. This was determined by examining Figures 5, 6, 7, & 8.

23. Conclusion It is obvious that the overall ecology on Clermont Campus is tied together in many different ways. Tree cover seemed to affect the environmental factors and species distributions in each of the areas studied. The data shows that biotic and abiotic factors are intertwined and depend on each other to make up an environment.

24. References Stein-Carter, Jan. 1998. Ecology Home Page http://biology.clc.uc.edu/course s/bio303/index.htm