Monitoring 6 Flashcards
What is pedogenic development? Is this the most critical element of soils to understand for ER? If not, what is?
The most critical element is suitability of the soil for native plants. Relative to plant species being restored, determine adequacy of and possible ways to improve nitrogen metabolism, mineral nutrient cycling, root penetration, moisture retention, and organic matter accumulation.
What is ecological succession, and how does it affect our selection of appropriate reference sites?
Process of change in an ecological community over time
Select multiple reference sites at different developmental stages. This will provide a broad perspective of the different structures/compositions that can occur for a ‘healthy’ site.
What are pocket plantings and safe sites? What problem for ER is addressed by better understanding how these work?
Pocket Plantings: planting of plants in a pocket with hopes it will disperse around the area naturally
Safe Sites: local areas that are favorable to catching seeds, water and nutrients (eg. small depression)
This helps deal with resource limitations that restrict how much planting can be done. Need to understand dispersal distances to appropriately space pocket plantings. Need to understand what conditions favor establishment of desirable species (while inhibiting weeds) to construct safe sites.
What is remotely sensed data and how might it be valuable to restoration efforts?
Develop a rapid method of periodically tracking mitigation programs by remote sensing. Satellite imagery and GIS technology could be effective for measuring parameters such as soil moisture, vegetation density, vegetation cover, and general ecosystem health within a bioregion. This work should include ground truthing in order to calibrate photographic images with features and conditions on-site. Such inventory would lack refinement. However, results could give a valuable overview that could identify sites that justify more intensive study.
When is it appropriate to show all individual data points?
1) When it’s appropriate to show all data points relative to a threshold or standard level.
2) Sample size is small
3) One variable is being related to another (ie using a scatter plot)
Be able to interpret sample means and error bars. How does one assess precision and accuracy of estimates?
What does a CI indicate?
What affects precision?
What affects accuracy?
Wider error bars mean less precision and less confidence in the estimation of the mean. Two factors that affect error bars are:
1) Variability in data
2) Sample size
Error bars imply that if we sampled the population many times, 95% of the CI’s for each sample would contain the pop mean.
Figures do not indicate accuracy. This is assessed through sampling methodology. Unbiased and adequate coverage.
What information should always accompany ANOVA figures?
1) Means with measures of variation - data summary
2) Sample sizes (degrees of freedom) - shows effort
3) F statistic - result of statistical test
4) P value - shows likelihood of a significant difference. When P<0.05 the means are likely different.
Report each thing only once, either in the figure, legend or results section.
Understand the two main statistical tests we used. When is it appropriate to use each, what should you report for each, and how do you interpret the results for each?
One way ANOVA - Way to test if the means of two different populations are statistically different.
P value - shows likelihood of a significant difference. When P<0.05 the population means are likely different.
Regression - used to show how one variable changes (dependent variable) in response to changes in another related variable (independent variable). when P<0.05 the IV and DV are significantly related to one another.
What information should always accompany regression figures?
Sample size
Slope coefficient
R Square value - how tightly data points fit together. Ranges from 0-1 (no fit- perfect fit)
F statistic
P value - when P<0.05 the IV and DV are significantly related.
Compare and contrast biological significance with statistical significance.
Biological significance: Is subjective but hopefully has rationale based on previous research or experts
statistical significance: based on conventional thresholds (like alpha).
What is a Metapopulation?
What problem for ER is addressed by better understanding how this works?
Population of populations.
Helps understand where to focus restoration within very large areas. For instance, understanding metapopulation dynamics can help focus on restoring sites that are (1) source populations, and (2) close enough to one another that species can move among them.
What is autecology and synecology? What problem for ER is addressed by better understanding autecology of native and nuisance species
Autecology: the ecological study of an individual organism, or sometimes a particular species.
Synecology: the ecological study of whole plant or animal communities.
Autecology can help better understand how to restore individual species. Specifically, we can study seed collection methods, seed handling, seed storage, germination conditions, seedbed preparation, and seedling culture. We can also study nuisance species to better understand how to deal with them.
What is the difference between genotype and phenotype? What is a common garden experiment?What problem for ER is addressed by these experiments?
Phenotype_ set of observable traits given the interaction between the genotype and the environment.
Common Garden Experiment: experiment to test the effect of environment by moving 2 species or populations within a species from their native environments into a common environment.
This helps demonstrate whether populations of a species located in different sites entail different genotypes. This helps us understand whether we need to re-plant with local stock.
What is a keystone species? How is understanding a keystone species’ influence on its ecosystem helpful to ER?
A species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would drastically change (its biomass is disproportionate to its effect on community structure)
Keystone species have such a large influence on their resident ecosystem, that if we understand this influence it will provide a great deal of information about pre-impact baseline conditions.
