Urban Ecosystem Biodiversity Assignment(1)
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Roosevelt University *
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112
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Geography
Date
Feb 20, 2024
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docx
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Urban Ecosystem Biodiversity Investigation
Introduction: The iNaturalist app provides the opportunity to analyze a dataset that is novel in its scope and design. For this assignment you will use iNaturalist to investigate a question about biodiversity in urban ecosystems. It is up to you to select an independent and dependent variable for this investigation. You will need to:
-
select a research question
-
use an additional data source to back up your selection of data
-
collect a large enough sample size to do a statistical analysis
-
complete a write up of your investigation using a scientific manuscript format
Methods
1. Select an independent variable. What two sets of data will you compare?
2. Use additional online tools to find locations that meet your criteria for both groups. Some examples:
●
USGS Land Cover Viewer = https://gis1.usgs.gov/csas/gap/viewer/land_cover/Map.aspx
●
US Census Dot Map = https://demographics.virginia.edu/DotMap/
●
Economics and Education Map = http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/local/2013/11/09/washington-a-world-apart/
3. Set up a spreadsheet to record your data.
4. Find and record the latitude and longitude for each location using this tool:
●
https://www.latlong.net/
5. Select a dependent variable. It might require some time on inaturalist looking at what data is available. 6. From your independent and dependent variable craft your research question and hypothesis.
6. Create a quadrat box on iNaturalist to collect your data.
The iNaturalist URL below includes latitude and longitude data for two corners, a northeast corner and southwest corner
. When you go to this URL it will have a box and data about the observations in the box.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?nelat=
42.772219
&nelng=
-
80.970189
&place_id=any&swlat=
42.872219
&swlng=
-81.790189
7. Use the latitude and longitude you found for your locations to calculate a latitude and longitude for the other corner of the box. It is best if you select an amount you want each to be (add +.005 or something)
8. Edit the URL to create the box you are looking for. Change the numbers in Red and Pink.
9. Record your data from iNaturalist
10. Analyze your data.
11. Create appropriate visual representations to represent your data.
Experiment Write up Must Include:
An Introduction to your investigation: -
What you chose to research
-
Question and Hypothesis
-
Why this was chosen
-
How you feel it fits into the bigger picture -
Urban Ecology
Methods -
What did you do?
-
How would someone replicate it?
-
How did you ensure your data collection was robust and rigorous?
Results
-
What summarized data did you collect?
Conlusion
-
What is the answer to the question you investigated?
-
What challenges might have compromised your results?
-
What further investigation could be done?
Example Research Question Using iNaturalist Observations
https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/bcosentino/squirrelmapper/about/research
The question ...
So-called "gray squirrels" and "black squirrels" are two color morphs of the same species:
Sciurus carolinensis
. Until 150 years ago, the black morph
was much more abundant
. Yet now the black morph is rare, except in cities. Why has the black morph declined? Why does it linger in cities? Will it return again to the countryside? The landscape is changing rapidly. Will the gray squirrel, and other mammals like it, be able to adapt quickly enough?
Genetics
Only a tiny genetic difference separates black versus gray morphs. All individuals contain a gene, MC1R, that controls how much dark pigment is added as a squirrel's hairs grow. When a tiny piece of DNA is missing from this gene, it boosts production of
dark pigment and makes the fur darker. When a squirrel has a single copy of the gene with the small piece of DNA deleted, or two copies of that altered gene, its fur is mostly black. Technically, the black morph is
melanic
. The gray morph has two copies of the complete gene. A tiny genetic difference, but being black or gray could have many consequences if you are a squirrel!
Contemporary evolution
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Squirrels that don't blend in well with their backgrounds don;t survive as well.
What kills squirrels?
Predators
...mainly hawks, foxes, and dogs. Humans also kill many squirrels: squirrel hunting is "big" in rural areas. But you can't hunt in cities, so maybe that's why black morphs more frequent in urban areas.
Image by Andy Reago& Chrissy McClarren at Flickr (License:
CC-BY-2.0
)
There could be other forces at work.
Our forests have changed
. Originally forests of
eastern North America were mostly
old growth
with pockets of darkness associated with enormous tree trunks, many vertical layers that generated shade, and more conifer trees with dark foliage. In these darker conditions perhaps the black morph could remain better hidden. Now virtually all old growth forests have disappeared.
The forests that have re-grown are
secondary forest
with spindly trunks of mostly deciduous trees whose trunks and branches are much lighter-hued. In such forests might the gray morph be better hidden than the black morph from predators and hunters?
It gets even more interesting...
urban areas have expanded
. Urban areas may not just be refuges from hunting. In urban areas most squirrels are
killed by cars
. Most drivers try to avoid hitting animals even if they don't always succeed. The sooner a driver sees a squirrel, the easier it is to avoid running it over. The gray morph has a remarkable similarity in hue to pavement, so may be harder for drivers to see. Does the black morph stand out better against a road surface and be more avoidable by car drivers, that is, survive better?
Image by ncowey at iNaturalist (License:
CC-BY-NC
)
How can you use SquirrelMapper to answer these questions?
By mapping where black and gray morphs occur in our cities, towns, farms and forests
you can contribute to an important scientific discovery about
evolution in action in our own backyards
. The SquirrelMapper project has two components:
1.
Contribute observations of squirrels to the
SquirrelMapper project on iNaturalist
.
Over 30,000 photographs of squirrels have been submitted so far. When you submit an observation, the community of citizen scientists at iNaturalist confirm its identification. Once an observation is confirmed to be an eastern gray squirrel (a
research grade
observation), we import the photo to Zooniverse for you to classify by its coat color.
2.
Classify the coat color of squirrels as gray or black here at Zooniverse.
The coat color of each squirrel is confirmed through classifications by many Zooinverse volunteers like you. Once you classify it, we map it, identify
its habitat, and determine which morph occurs more often where. This lets us understand how quickly squirrels, and mammals like them, can adapt to changes in their habitats. See
Results
for some preliminary outcomes. Click the
classify
link to get started!
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Here's the project workflow: