Widener University Journal of
Undergraduate
Ecological Research

    The research inquiry journal for the course
         Biology 301, Introduction to Ecology.

         Volume 6, Number 1, Summer 1998

         Dr. Bruce W. Grant, "Editor"
         Department of Biology,
         Widener University , Chester, PA, 19013.
         office Kirk. 200, 610-499-4017.
         grant@pop1.science.widener.edu


Please Read This Comment.

           The abstracts at this site were written by junior or senior undergraduates and are the culmination of semester long ecological research inquiries that are a core component of my ecology course at Widener University. These students are biology, environmental science, or science education majors and minors for whom my course is required.

           These abstracts (and the manuscripts to which they refer) have been peer reviewed by other students in the class according to specific guidelines I have generated for format, clarity, and the student reviewers' assessment of the scientific merit of their peer's manuscript.

           It is important for interested visitors of this site to understand that the results of the research inquiries reported in this journal are the results of course projects designed, conducted, and reviewed by undergraduate students in an ecology course.

           You are welcome to download some or all of the material I have posted at this site for your use in your ecology course. This does not include commercial uses for profit. If you do use any lengthy exerpts (more than 2 lines) of the material above, I request that you formally acknowledge this site and/or sites I have acknowledged as the source(s). I also request that you reciprocate and send me a copy of your ecology materials so that I may see what you have put together.

    Please send comments to me: grant@pop1.science.widener.edu.

    Copyright: Bruce W. Grant, 1998.



Volume 6, Number 1, Biology 301, Summer 1998.
  • 1. Spatial Variation of Litter Micro-Arthropods in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Christina Peklak.

  • 2. Comparison of Arthropod Diversity and Abundance Between Burned and Unburned Areas in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Chika Ando and Hitomi Nakamura.

  • 3. The Effects of Urbanization on the Toxicity of Lake Bottom Sediments. Melanie Reed.

  • 4. The Effects of Urban Effluence on Benthic Life in the Delaware River. Geralyn Fontaine.

  • 5. The Effects of Urbanization on Bacterial Diversity in Ridley Creek in Southeastern PA. Lisa Ward.

  • 6. Chemical and Biological Indicators of Wetlands Restoration in Southern New Jersey Ponds. Guy Prasalowicz.

    • Spatial Variation of Litter Micro-Arthropods in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Christina Peklak.

    ABSTRACT:
           Micro-arthropods are an important part of our ecosystem. Not only are they food for many other organisms but they feed on decaying plant material. Micro-arthropods are an integral piece of food chains everywhere. My hypothesis states that there is spatial variation of litter micro-arthropods in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. I predicted that areas containing downed trees and logs would have a greater diversity and abundance of micro-arthropods. I made this hypothesis based on the idea that micro-arthropods could possibly feed on the decaying wood or use the logs as protection from their environment. I tested my hypothesis by collecting leaf litter samples at four sites in the Pine Barrens and ran them through Berlaise traps. A Berlaise trap is a device that uses a light bulb, coffee can, screen and funnel, to distill micro-arthropods from leaf litter. The micro-arthropods were separated out, and slides were made up for all the samples. The micro-arthropods were then counted and identified. I was able to accept half of my hypothesis. The average abundance of micro-arthropods was higher in the log samples than in the open area samples. The diversity of the micro-arthropods however is not significantly different. I believe this occurred because only certain types of species of micro-arthropods are strong enough to sustain the testing. The few micro-arthropods that could do this were the ones identified but I believe many other species died in the litter sample. I also believe the type of ecosystems that make up the Pine Barrens could also have contributed to my results. I am however confident that there is indeed spatial variation of micro-arthropods in the New Jersey Pine Barrens.



    Comparison of Arthropod Diversity and Abundance Between Burned and Unburned Areas in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Chika Ando and Hitomi Nakamura.

    ABSTRACT:
           Plants absorb nutrients from soil. Many insects eat these plants. These insects are eaten by spiders. We think that the ecological system is decided from food connection. For example, insect A likes to eat plant A. Spider A likes to eat insect A. So the longitudinal relationship is decided by plant A. Therefore, food material is the most important for animals. In The NJ Pine Barrens, there are two kinds of places. One was burned a few years ago and another is unburned. We thought that the natures of soil in each place was different means species of plants are different in each burned and unburned place. Thus, the arthlopods that gather to plant are different diversities in each places. To know the ecosystem of this area, we collected insect samples and we analyzed the diversity of bugs (orders and species). Additionally, we examined the characteristics of both soils. Our hypothesis is that the unburned area insect diversity would be higher than the burned area. Also, the soil nutrients would be different between the burned and the unburned. Our result showed, it is undoubted that the insect diversity of unburned area is higher than burned area. However, we could not find much differences in the soil characteristics. Therefore, our first hypothesis which is about insect diversity is accepted, but the second hypothesis about soil nutrient is rejected. Plants absorb nutrients from soil. Many insects eat these plants. These insects are eaten by spiders. We think that the ecological system is decided from food connection. For example, insect A likes to eat plant A. Spider A likes to eat insect A. So the longitudinal relationship is decided by plant A. Therefore, food material is the most important for animals. In The NJ Pine Barrens, there are two kinds of places. One was burned a few years ago and another is unburned. We thought that the natures of soil in each place was different means species of plants are different in each burned and unburned place. Thus, the arthlopods that gather to plant are different diversities in each places. To know the ecosystem of this area, we collected insect samples and we analyzed the diversity of bugs (orders and species). Additionally, we examined the characteristics of both soils. Our hypothesis is that the unburned area insect diversity would be higher than the burned area. Also, the soil nutrients would be different between the burned and the unburned. Our result showed, it is undoubted that the insect diversity of unburned area is higher than burned area. However, we could not find much differences in the soil characteristics. Therefore, our first hypothesis which is about insect diversity is accepted, but the second hypothesis about soil nutrient is rejected.



    The Effects of Urbanization on the Toxicity of Lake Bottom Sediments. Melanie Reed.

    ABSTRACT:
           Years of urbanization can affect the toxicity of a lake bottom. Toxins can enter lakes or streams as runoff after a storm, or they can enter a lake if it is positioned in a valley. My experiment was performed at the Ridley Lake, a man-made ecosystem, located in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania. The lake is a recreational area for people and a home for many animals. I hypothesized that years of urbanization would lower the diversity of benthic species living in that lake. Muck was collected from the lake and added to sixteen bottle ecosystems. One-third of the bottles were my control group, another third of the bottles contained the muck from the lake, and the last third of the bottles contained sterilized muck. These three treatments were made to identify which factors affect biodiversity. Bacteria was considered a possible factor. Therefore, eight bottle ecosystems contained muck sterilized in the autoclave. Slides that sat it the bottles for a week were read for a count of the microscopic organisms under a microscope. The species were counted, the Shannon Diversity Index was calculated for each bottle, and t-tests were performed to determine variation among the bottles. My hypothesis was rejected because of several factors. The t-tests showed me that the bottles containing the muck from the lake had the highest diversity and the highest amount of duckweed leaflets. They also showed that the sterilized bottles and the control groups did not vary in diversity or duckweed count. Because of this, I concluded that years of urbanization did not affect the species I censused in the lake, or that the species had adapted overtime to withstand the stresses of urbanization. Therefore, I rejected my hypothesis that years of urbanization would lower the diversity of species in a lake bottom.



    The Effects of Urban Effluence on Benthic Life in the Delaware River. Geralyn Fontaine.

    ABSTRACT:
           This study focuses on the effects of urbanization and industry on the Delaware Estuary ecosystem. The estuary is subject wastewater from industries and municipalities. I hypothesized that this urban effluence would decrease the abundance and diversity of benthic life. I chose benthic life as my bioindicators because they are important links in the food chain, and are found in sediments where contaminants may accumulate. Samples of sediment were collected from two sites on the Delaware River. The first site was chosen for its proximity to urban industry, the second, approximately one mile away, which was chosen for assumably being an area of less industrial impact. Diversity and abundance of species from each sample were recorded. The data were tabulated, and the Shannon Index was applied to determine the diversity. Variances and standard deviations were calculated for each data set, and indicated a high degree of confidence in my results. The results of the Shannon Indices do not support my hypothesis that urban effluence decreases the diversity of benthic life. The Shannon Diversity Index was calculated from the Site 2, NJ sample data in Table 2. The Shannon Index, H' was calculated to be 3.198, and exp(H') to be 24.495, with a variance of 0.006, and a standard deviation of 0.075. The same calculations were used in Table 3, the Site 1, PA1 sample data, and the Shannon Index, H' was calculated to be 2.559, and exp(H') to be 12.917 with a variance of 0.016, and a standard deviation of 0.127. Table 4 displays the data and calculations for the Site 2, PA2 sample. The Shannon Index, H' was calculated to be 3.161, and exp(H') to be 23.602, with a variance of 0.012, and a standard deviation of 0.111. This study may be repeated, or expanded to include other sites and other techniques. Other sites could be sampled, to increase the data base. The identification of species, and where they occur could provide further insights. Other techniques, such as screening the sediments could be used. Changes in the methods, such length of time that the slides are in the bottles, can be made. This study has opened the doors to new avenues of investigation.



    The Effects of Urbanization on Bacterial Diversity in Ridley Creek in Southeastern PA. Lisa Ward.

    ABSTRACT:
           The role of bacteria in an aquatic ecosystem is essential to its survival and should not be underestimated. Aquatic plants and zooplankton depend upon microbes for decomposition of organic matter and liberation of vital elements such as nitrogen, phosphorous, and sulfur, which are limiting factors to their growth. Bioremediation of polluted waters is another positive outcome of bacterial productivity. Hence, the importance of bacterial diversity in aquatic environments. I investigated the effects of urbanization on bacterial diversity by analyzing five locations along Ridley Creek beginning in Chester along the Industrial Highway, and ending at Sycamore Mills, a rural sector of the creek. I hypothesized that there would be less diversity along the urbanized sections of the creek as opposed to the rural sites. I collected two bottles from each of the five sites, then cultured them on nutrient agar for bacterial growth. My previous work experience as a clinical Microbiologist enabled me to perform colony counts, gram stain analyses, and differentiate the various species based upon morphological characteristics such as colony size, color, texture, and appearance. After determining the number of morphotypes per bottle, the Shannon Index was employed for statistical interpretation of bacterial diversity. The results I obtained from this study reject my initial hypothesis that less bacterial diversity would be present along urbanized sites of Ridley Creek. Instead, biodiversity indices were quite substantial. The range of species distribution across the five locations was somewhat consistent, with a few samples exhibiting some fluctuation. It may be surmised that pollution, especially industrial sewage, actually contributes to large bacterial populations in water. One of the conclusions that can be drawn from my research is the unpredictability of bacterial dispersal in aquatic environments. There are many biological and chemical factors that may alter microbial populations in water. Therefore, more comprehensive testing needs to be employed in effort to make valid assumptions regarding diversity.



    Chemical and Biological Indicators of Wetlands Restoration in Southern New Jersey Ponds. Guy Prasalowicz.

    ABSTRACT:
           (sorry not yet available...)



    Copyright: Bruce W. Grant, 1998.