the lab note

Today, our class will be divided into three classes to conduct the Fiddler Field Survey. But we went to the Jacksonville Timucuan Trail Waterway to try it. The aim of this lab is to use field ecological techniques to decide how the amount of fiddler crab (Ucaspp) burrows varies along the intertidal marsh region. But we’ll need to use some supplies to complete this lab.

Materials:

100m transect tape

Quadrat squares large

Small rulers

Penetrometers

PH pens

The first step, we used 100m transect tape measure 100m and separate 3 sections. ( 0 meter, 50 meters, 100 meters) then used quadrat squares large from the beginning which 0 meters for testing. The second section is 50 meters, Third Section. Every section we need to count 10 crab burrows and used small rule to measure how many inches for each burrow. After using penetrometers and a PH pen to get data from the marsh. All the data recorded below.

First section:

0.5cm 2.) 1 cm 3.) 1.25 4.) 1cm 5.) 1.25cm 6.) 1cm 7.) 0.75cm 8.) 0.5cm 9.) 0.5cm 10.) 0.25cm

PH: 6.6 (PH PEN) TEMP: 64.9〫C (PH PEN) COMPUTION: 150 (Penetrometers) HOLES: 85 (Penetrometers)

Second section:

0.5cm 2.) 1cm 3.) 1cm 4.) 0.5cm 5.) 0.5cm 6.) 0.25cm 7.) 0.5cm 8.) 0.5cm 9.) 1cm 10.) 1cm

PH: 6.91 (PH PEN) TEMP: 65.5〫C (PH PEN) COMPUTION: 100 (Penetrometers) HOLES: 25(Penetrometers)

Third section:

1cm 2.) 0.5cm 3.) 2cm 4.) 1cm 5.) 0.25cm 6.) 2cm 7.) 2cm 8.) 2.5cm 9.) 1cm 10.) 0.5cm

PH: 6.91 (PH PEN) TEMP: 69.1〫C(PH PEN) COMPUTION: 100 (Penetrometers) HOLES: 20 (Penetrometers)

After finishing the measure, we went back to school, and separated Fiddler crabs and following the instruction to define the kind of the Fiddler Crabs.

Following are the notes on what I learned from this lab and includes,

Due to very high temperatures, the number of holes decreases hence crabs tend to build less burrow. These do happen in the first quadrant, but as we go further, the number of burrows increases due existence of more conducive environments.

Why we need to do this Lab activity,

We need to do these Lab activities in order to identify the major environmental factors which affects the distribution of burrows. The factors include sediment temperatures, compaction, pH and tidal forces.

Adding the picture to the note

Conclusion

using the experiment I can summarize that several environmental factors do affect the distribution of burrows these factors includes sediment compaction, sediment temperature, pH and tidal forces. Other factors such as cloud cover and wind direction have least to no impact in burrows density upslope because burrows are dug into the surface