W ritten Assignment 2: Biology and Technology in the Real World  Background :   This assignment will give you the opportunity to participate in ongoing scientific research.  For the past several years, I have been involved in ecological research in old-growth forests in Wisconsin.  In many areas the forest floor is dominated by a grasslike species, Pennsylvania sedge ( Carex pensylvanica ).  The sedge may exclude other ground species by interspecific competition, which may decrease the number of species in an area, which is a main component of biodiversity.  The Penn sedge "lawns" are probably caused by selective herbivory by an abundance of white-tailed deer. The deer do not like the sedge but consume most other ground plants.       Another problem in the forests is that dominant trees, such as white pine and sugar maple, do not show successful reproduction to replace the old pines and maples that die, which leads to the question - does Pennsylvania sedge decrease the establishment of tree seedlings?  With support from a UMUC Faculty Research Grant to create this assignment, I collected data last summer that you can use to test three hypotheses- Hypotheses A.  Pennsylvania sedge inhibits regeneration of white pine B.  Pennsylvania sedge inhibits regeneration of sugar maple C.  Pennsylvania sedge decreases biodiversity Choice of Study Site - Practice with Google Earth:  Most, if not all, students are familiar with the use of GPS (Global Positioning System) to navigate.  I assume that many of you are also familiar with Google Earth, an interactive aerial map of the globe.  It is a very useful tool.  When we lived in Okinawa, we chose a home to rent before our 2011 move to Rhode Island by investigating the property and its environs on Google Earth, and are very happy with our choice.  Google Earth can be downloaded free at earth.google.com       I also make use of Google Earth in choosing study sites for my research, especially when I was searching for remaining old-growth white pine forests in Upper Michigan. For practice with this relatively-new technology, I have included an exercise involving Google Earth with this assignment (under "Report" below). Methods of Data Collection   Data were collected during 2-4 August 2013 in a study plot within a forest dominated by trees of sugar maple, red oak, and red maple at Trout Lake Cathedral Point, Vilas County, Wisconsin (Figure 1).  All ground species were identified in 2- x 2-meter quadrats that were positioned as a strip of adjacent quadrats in transects of adjacent across the plot.  In ecology, a quadrat is defined as a sample area and a transect is a sample line.  Figures 2 and 3 illustrate the method of transects of continuous quadrats.  Within each of the sample quadrats, the percent cover of Penn sedge was estimated and all established tree seedlings (defined as > 20 cm in height and < 1 cm in diameter at breast height) were counted.  This site was chosen to test the hypotheses because .

1. W
ritten Assignment 2: Biology and Technology in the Real World
Background
:
This assignment will give you the opportunity to participate in
ongoing scientific research. For the past several years, I have
been involved in ecological research in old-growth forests in
Wisconsin. In many areas the forest floor is dominated by a
grasslike species, Pennsylvania sedge (
Carex pensylvanica
). The sedge may exclude other ground species by interspecific
competition, which may decrease the number of species in an
area, which is a main component of biodiversity. The Penn
sedge "lawns" are probably caused by selective herbivory by an
abundance of white-tailed deer. The deer do not like the sedge
but consume most other ground plants.
Another problem in the forests is that dominant trees, such as
white pine and sugar maple, do not show successful
reproduction to replace the old pines and maples that die, which
leads to the question - does Pennsylvania sedge decrease the
establishment of tree seedlings? With support from a UMUC
Faculty Research Grant to create this assignment, I collected
data last summer that you can use to test three hypotheses-
Hypotheses
A. Pennsylvania sedge inhibits regeneration of white pine
B. Pennsylvania sedge inhibits regeneration of sugar maple
C. Pennsylvania sedge decreases biodiversity
Choice of Study Site - Practice with Google Earth:
Most, if not all, students are familiar with the use of GPS
(Global Positioning System) to navigate. I assume that many of

2. you are also familiar with Google Earth, an interactive aerial
map of the globe. It is a very useful tool. When we lived in
Okinawa, we chose a home to rent before our 2011 move to
Rhode Island by investigating the property and its environs on
Google Earth, and are very happy with our choice. Google
Earth can be downloaded free at earth.google.com
I also make use of Google Earth in choosing study sites for
my research, especially when I was searching for remaining old-
growth white pine forests in Upper Michigan. For practice with
this relatively-new technology, I have included an exercise
involving Google Earth with this assignment (under "Report"
below).
Methods of Data Collection
Data were collected during 2-4 August 2013 in a study plot
within a forest dominated by trees of sugar maple, red oak, and
red maple at Trout Lake Cathedral Point, Vilas County,
Wisconsin (Figure 1). All ground species were identified in 2-
x 2-meter quadrats that were positioned as a strip of adjacent
quadrats in transects of adjacent across the plot. In ecology, a
quadrat is defined as a sample area and a transect is a sample
line. Figures 2 and 3 illustrate the method of transects of
continuous quadrats. Within each of the sample quadrats, the
percent cover of Penn sedge was estimated and all established
tree seedlings (defined as > 20 cm in height and < 1 cm in
diameter at breast height) were counted. This site was chosen
to test the hypotheses because patches of Penn sedge covered
portions of the plots but was absent in other parts.
A total of 189 quadrats were sampled. Seedlings of white
pine were most abundant, with a total of 124 plants in the
quadrats, even though trees of white pine were rare. White
pine, common in a stand adjacent to the study plot, has shown a
recent burst of reproduction in the forest. There were 95 sugar
maple seedlings in the quadrats. Other tree seedlings were few,
so we will confine our analyses to white pine and sugar maple.
[Identification notes- Species on the forest floor can be
identified from field guides, or more officially, from large

3. books such
Wisconsin Flora
or the 3-volume
Michigan Flora.
Specimens, plants that typify a species, are also deposited in
an herbarium, where plants can be submitted for identification.
Nowadays, sites such as Wisflora from the Wisconsin State
Herbarium (http://www.botany.wisc.edu/wisflora/) are available
online. Another new trick that I use is to enter the scientific
names of species into "Google Images" and compare it to digital
photos of the plant. In the 189 Point quadrats, 20 herb species
and 9 tree species as seedlings were identified. The most
common herb was mayflower (
Maianthemum canadense
) in 89% of the quadrats. Three species, including eastern
hemlock, were only in one quadrat. The hemlock seedling was
quite a surprise as there are no hemlock trees in the vicinity.]
Figure 1. Trout Lake study area with patch of Pennsylvania
sedge on the forest floor.
Fig1.JPG
Figure 2. Transect line entering "lawn" of Pennsylvania sedge,
with scattered white pine seedlings.
Fig2.JPG
Figure 3. Quadrat of 2 x 2 meters created by centering two 2-
meter sticks 2 meters apart on the transect tape. This quadrat on
a sedge boundary contains small sugar maple and white pine
seedlings.
Fig3.JPG
Testing the Hypotheses - Data Analysis
The field data for you to use to test the hypotheses are given
in an Excel spreadsheet with the file name
"UMUCRiegeSedge."
UMUCRiegeSedge.xls
Listed for each quadrat are the percent cover of Pennsylvania

4. sedge, the number of white pine seedlings, the number of sugar
maple seedlings, and the number of species.
So, you ask, where can I start to make sense of this big
spreadsheet full of numbers? I would suggest one good way to
begin is to tabulate the data by categories. For example, you
might classify the quadrats by percent Penn sedge, such as 0-
25%, 26-50%, 51-75%, 76-100%. Then you can average the
number of seedlings or number of species per quadrat for each
sedge category. [Hint- be sure to use average numbers per
quadrat and not total numbers within each category, as the Penn
sedge categories will have different numbers of quadrats.] If
you look at scientific papers, you will see lots of tables and
graphs, as these are excellent ways for the reader to understand
the results. When graphing data, the independent variable
(cause) is on the x-axis and dependent variable (effect) is on the
y-axis. Our hypotheses have Penn sedge as the cause, hence
percent sedge cover will be on the x-axis and the
seedling/biodiversity data on the y-axis. In your report, use
graphs and/or tables, as well as a written summary, to present
your analytical results. [Although the data are presented in an
Excel spreadsheet you are not required to use Excel for the
report. You can copy the spreadsheet into another program or
analyze it manually with a calculator if you wish.]
REPORT
Your report should be organized under the following bold
headings (or a similar format).
Background - Choice of Study Site
I use GPS readings of latitude and longitude for reports on my
study sites, so others may be able to locate them. The Trout
Lake Point study plot for this Penn sedge project was
approximately centered at 46
o
02' 45.00" N latitude and 89
o
40' 07.25" W longitude. It extended south to north about 43.0"

5. to 47.0" and east to west about 6.0" to 8.5".
Please use Google Earth to locate the study plot (coordinates
of latitude and longitude should be in the lower right corner of
the Google Earth screen). The current aerial photograph on
Google Earth was taken on May 9, 2013. Note the ice on Trout
Lake, as it was a late spring. Note that the deciduous trees
(maples, oaks, etc.) have yet to leaf, while the pines and other
conifers are green. Look over the study site and its
surroundings by navigating with the GPS coordinates given
above and describe (1) the forest of the peninsula in general
from what you can see from the aerial perspective and (2) why
you think the study plot was not extended farther south or
farther north.
Hypotheses
Simply restate the 3 hypotheses here.
[Normally a scientific report would next have a section on
methods, but you can skip this since I already stated the
methods in the assignment.]
Results
Here, report on your analysis of the data. Include tables and/or
graphs and text to explain them. [Graphing reminder - best to
put independent variable on x-axis and dependent variable on y-
axis.]
Conclusions & Discussion
Summarize your analyses by concluding whether the data
support or disprove Hypotheses A, B, and C. Then discuss how
your conclusions might relate to the many factors that influence
forest composition. For example, one factor not measured that
may affect our data is the amount of shade. Although the study
area had similar tree composition throughout, some areas
contained thicker shade, which might decrease both sedge cover
and species richness, thus obscuring any relationship between
the two. Ecology is very complex, that's why it is so much fun
(but it makes it very difficult to verify causes and effects).
Again, be creative in the discussion. Shade is just one example

6. of many factors that influence plant growth.
One experiment leads to another in the scientific method.
In your discussion, use your conclusions to
generate at least one new hypothesis
that could be tested to further add to our knowledge of the
effects of Pennsylvania sedge.
GRADING
The written report on the assignment is due Sunday 18 October
and worth 75 points (Google Earth description = 15 of the
points). The report should follow the instructions given above.
Full credit will be given for completing all parts of the
assignment, for application of the scientific method, and for
clarity of writing. There is no requirement for type of style or
number of pages (remember, though, that "brevity is the soul of
wit")