Analysis of Data
From the Quadrat data I have seen that each species grow in a specific area and certain species only grow in certain parts of the conserve. There are two factors affecting the ecology of the organism and there are biotic and abiotic. Biotic factors are living reasons for the traits of an organism and abiotic are the non-living factors.
Biotic Factors
- Population: The amount of same specie organisms in a defined area.
There may be already the right amount of that specie to be supported by the ecosystem.
- Competition: Other organisms that want the limited resources.
There may only be a certain amount of the resources this means only the strongest will be able to get it. This could be between the same specie or inter species competition.
- Niche: The role of that organism.
The organism may be needed, for example as a buffer from the wind so it will grow bigger.
Abiotic Factors
- pH level: The acidity or alkali of the soil.
This needs to be at a controlled level as a plant can only tolerate a certain level of pH. Marram grass can grow were there is very low acidity.
- Wind speed: How fast the wind is blowing.
Close to the sea the wind can uproot plants with shorter roots, longer roots mean the plant is more anchored.
- Temperature: How hot or cold the atmosphere is around the organism.
Most species can only grow in climates they are used to, mangoes don’t grow in Britain.
- Sun light: The amount of sunlight is essential in a plants survival as it is needed for photosynthesis.
Link of Abiotic to Biotic
There is a huge link from abiotic to biotic as the graphs and charts show us. Some of the abiotic factors involved are temperature, pH of the soil, oxygen, light, amount of water and salt level. We see areas of high wind speed are in unprotected areas on hills higher than everything else. In this condition we see less of all biotic species, on increased wind speed areas we see a dip in sheep fescue and lichen population but some increase in Marram grass population.
In the beginning of the dunes we see much less in species of plants and less temperature. At a point when temperature reaches it’s optimal we see many species of plants emerge and as the temperature steadily drops we see most populations steadily drop. At the back where there is low temperature, low light intensity, and low wind speed we see the emergence of taller/bigger plants.
The dune formation shows that the height of the dunes and the distance from the beginning are positively aligned just as biotic features and the distance from the beginning are also positively correlated. In addition the sudden peaks on the dune formation are scarce of many species. But dips have many types of plants habited with high populations.
Affect of Abiotic on biotic
There are many affects of abiotic on biotic such as high levels of salt are very difficult for plants to live in as it absorbs the water in the system, this will mean most plants cannot live in that area. Only specialized species can such as the Marram grass, which will have no competition due to this affect. The Marram grass is perfectly adapted with its waxy leaf that retains water and long roots that sop the wind blowing it away.
Wind speed also has a huge affect as well as plants with short roots will be uprooted by it this why we see near the end of the sand dune succession we see much more short rooted plants away from the sea breeze. At the end of the sand dune succession we see that because of most of the plants being tall trees a forest has been created and at the forest floor there is very little sunlight. Hear only specialized plants requiring almost no sunlight can grow as well as fungi.
There temperature plays a huge part in the ecosystem otherwise there could be mango trees in Winterton. The climate of Winterton is very good for the plants that grow there; it has a high rainfall rate, which means the plants get enough water. Also it never gets so warm that water is scarce.
10 food chains
The relations created by feeding habits of organisms are crucial for an ecosystem to survive. If one link in the chain of feeding relationships is disrupted it will effect the whole ecosystem. This is because the organism higher in the chain will have to adapt to the change and this takes a long time.
This is a list of some plants that were identified in the investigation:
- Marram Grass
- Sand couch
- Sea holly
- Sea Spurge
- Sea Bindweed
- Sea Rocket
- Sea sandwort
- Yellow hornet
- Sea Knotgrass
- Prickly Saltwort
- Sheeps Fescue
- Lyme grass
- Lichen
- Common Centaury
- Heather
Transfer of Energy
Food Web
Feeding Relationships
Quantitative data on feeding relationships only shows the population of a species at each tropic level.
As we move up each level on the pyramid of numbers we usually see the number decreasing as one level feeds on the other. But as you can see hear the number does not decrease as one sheep can provide for many humans. For a more accurate way of sorting data we use the qualitative method.
Dry Weight
(g/m )
11
37
809
This pyramid of biomass shows us the weight of each level when all the water has been evaporated. But the problem with this pyramid is that biomass is not constant and at certain times differs due to growth or other reasons. For example animals just awoken from hibernation may only be half the weight of when they are about to go into hibernation.
The pyramid of energy is shows us the amount of energy being transferred up each level. This will never be inverted as energy is always being lost as it travels up each tropic level.
Justification and limitation of Sampling Techniques
Transverse
This is a very proficient method as the data is unbiased sampled across many different habitats. This gives a much higher probability of seeing the natural succession that occurs by studying all significant changes in gradient amongst the dune formation. But this method of not having a fixed unit to measure in may save a lot of time but also can be inaccurate as there is no other data to compare to.
Quadrat
This is a quick and easy to use method and does not need much training, as it is very light to carry and the manual does most of the job all the user has to do is identify things. Transect allows us to see the changing habitat without strenuous measurements in an unbiased way. But the quadrat has many problems such as it may trample the habitat and we cannot see what is bellow the cross lines. Also it is hard to identify plants not in full bloom and we can only see slow moving insects.
Wind Speed Indicator
This is fast and easy method, which needs no training but can be very imprecise as the reading is in analogue and constantly changes. If we had used a digital annometer it would have been more precise. Also we had no way of knowing the exact wind direction as we had no equipment for this thus making our findings less accurate.
Thermometer
Quick and easy to use method with one problem, which can be performed by the user. If the user does not read the thermometer from the correct angle then the reading will come out wrong.
pH Soil Testing Kit
This is a very accurate method, which is digitally displayed and cannot be read wrongly. This method also has great precision as the reading is in two decimal places and can show the user even tiny differences in the soil. But there are problems such as it is very time consuming to constantly clean the device or the reading will come out wrong.
Human damage and evaluation of conservation method
Overgrazing
This was introduced to reduce competition from certain plants such as sheep fescue and create more diversity amongst the ecosystem. But over the years farmers have brought in more and more grazing cattle and sheep meaning that after a period of time certain plants have been at to a point where they were almost extinct.
Conservation
To stop these plant species dying out all farmers were told that they could not graze there livestock in the Winterton site any longer and fences were set up to keep them out. So there was not again a crisis of to much competition from certain plants rabbits were introduced.
Evaluation
From what I have seen the conservation measure was a success as there was a huge diversity amongst the plants in Winterton. Also I did not see a single sheep or cow in the site due to a wooden fence, which is also environmentally friendly. Also introducing the rabbits was a brilliant idea because they are to small to overgraze and keep certain plants at bay reducing competition but they are creating a problem in the form of blowouts.
Blowouts
This occurs when a human or an animal creates a dent in the sand dune, rabbit’s usually collapse their burrows and teenagers ride their quad bikes. The dent made by these activities is increased immensely by the wind, which blows into the hole until very soon leaves only bare sand. This is inhabitable by all but Marram grass reducing the diversity of the ecosystem.
Conservation
Although stopping blowouts to never happen is wrong as it keeps the ecosystem growing steps have been taken to stop massive blowouts. The main problem is from quad bikes, which can ruin a whole area to prevent this there are fences in place and there is a patrolman. Most significantly members of the communities surrounding the Winterton site have been educated about the importance of this ecosystem.
Evaluation
Overall this was a success most quad bike riders never go near the site and stick to specific quad biking areas. Also the people who visit the site are very helpful in deterring that activity and alerting the patrolman. But at night when the patrolman is off duty sometimes there quad bikers who come in through the visitors entrance but this is very rare.
Main ridge
This was installed decades ago after a flooding of the area from the sea but as there is no longer this threat the main ridge has become more of a nuisance. Being so much higher then the rest of the ecosystem it does not let any light behind it. This will mean that no plants will grow there killing a part of the ecosystem and damaging the rest.
Conservation
The slow removal of the main ridge along the entire coastline.
Evaluation
The conservation methods taking place I think are the right ones as trying to remove the whole of the main ridge at once will cause a huge amount of damage as heavy machinery will be needed to be brought in. Also there will be huge pieces of bare sand running across the coastline, totally damaging the ecosystem. Slowly removing
the ridge gives the ecosystem time to repair at every step in the process of removal.
Ecological and Physiological Changes
From the Footpath profile we can see that the middle of the footpath is much lower than the edges this is due to the flow of people and their dogs over the path in a long period of time. Ecologically this has meant that there is a decrease in competition as on plants that can survive the trampling can grow there. Only certain grasses with high strength and durability, these plants can also grow upside very fast dune when they are dug out by dogs or kicked out by humans. Physiologically we see that the plants growing on the footpath are no the same as the rest of the species. They are still strong and durable but they are also much shorter. This adaptation has been made to keep them from being dug out and to keep strong as the longer they get the more floppy they become.
Other Physiological changes have happened amongst the living organisms in the area such as in foxes. In the past when the woodland area was being cut many foxes in the area were driven away, so they found themselves in the urban areas surrounding the site. The foxes had to live on mainly leftovers from the street rubbish bins as scavengers. This meant they were not being nourished enough so when their pups were born they did not get enough food and over time this has meant a decrease in their actual physical size. Also their role in the ecosystem has changed from hunters to scavengers and this lack of exercise and no need for strength has left them weaker and with much less muscle size as their forest counterparts. Furthermore a lifetime living with street lamps has dulled their sight, so if they were put into the forest again they would definitely not be able see as well.
Evaluation of the Techniques
The techniques used were overall not reliable as the site of Winterton is so vast and we only covered a tiny fraction of it. Therefore other parts of the Winterton site could have been completely different in terms of plant species but this unlikely. The sand dune profile is reliable as we could see the same sort of charts being produced by many other groups.
The techniques were definitely not precise as most of the equipment were not of the highest standard. The wind measuring instrument was very poor and almost impossible to get a proper reading as the little ball which indicates wind speed is constantly moving. We should have used an annometer, which gives a digital reading. As with all the other equipment, they should have been digital and read into more exact figures not just one decimal place as some did.
Our results were not very accurate as the transverse method only looked at significant changes but as we were not experts we may have missed or missed placed some of these changes in altitude. With quadrat and the tests also twenty meters may not have been the right length as on the ground level we could see changes happening at maybe every five meters. But the fact that we were not experts and we had a limited amount of time needs also to be put into perspective.
