Introduction

Biodiversity can be defined (by www.sciencedeclared.com/as-bi/biodiversity.html) as: the wide

range of organismsplants and animalsthat exist within any given geographical region.
Being a dominant species in any given geographical region, humans tend to overlook the smaller
parts of our environment that heavily contribute to our growth. The wider we are able to make
our focus, the more we begin to see that biodiversity is something that contributes to our
everyday life. Although we are often caught up in the industrial side of things, it hard to ignore
the outliners to this revolution; trees, bodies of water, even down to our domestic companions-
all of it encompasses what our everyday lives make up to be. There should be a type of conscious
awareness of our developing species, as we are considered one of the major threats to this
delicate system. According to the studies of Havard T.H Chan School of Public Health, just some
of the threats to biodiversity comes in forms of persistent organic pollutants that can concentrate
in food webs (and in our own tissues) and adversely affect hormonal and reproductive function;
pharmaceuticals used by people and in livestock production that are toxic to wildlife; acid rain;
heavy metals; herbicides and pesticides; and plastics. Becoming educated in the concept of
biodiversity may be able to change the generalized view of our world and how we contribute to
both its incline and decline in health and wellbeing.

Objectives
1. Observe the inhabitants of wildlife in a given plot
2. Distinguish the variety of species in a given plot
3. Better understand the intricacy and involvement of several factors involved in
biodiversity.

Hypothesis
Based on the weather conditions and environment, the observer may or may not view a wide
range of biodiversity in a given 10 x 10 meter plot.

Results

Graph 1
Diversity Found in Semi Open Field Located in Ames Nowell Park (Abington, Ma)

The following information was created after observation for trees and shrubs in the first 10 x 10
meter plot in a State Park.
 Plot 1 Species 1 Species 2
# of
individual 3 (trees) 1 (moss)
s
Pi 3/4 = .75 1/4 = .25
Pi 2 0.5625 0.0625
DS = 1 - 1 - 0.625 =
(Pi2 ) 0.375

Graph 2
Diversity Found in Semi Open Field Located in Ames Nowell Park (Abington, Ma)
The following information was created after observation for invertebrates within the first 10 x 10
meter plot in a State Park.
Plot 1 Species 3
# of
5 (tiny
individual
flies)
s
Pi 5/5 = 1
Pi 2 1
DS = 1 -
1-1=0
(Pi2 )

Graph 3
Diversity Found in Densely Wooded Field in Ames Nowell Park (Abington, Ma)
The following information was created after observation for invertebrates within the second 10 x
10 meter plot in a State Park.
Plot 2 Species 1 Species 2 Species 3
# of
individual
s 4 (trees) 1 (moss) 1 (shrubs)
Pi 4/6 = 0.67 1/6 = 0.17 1/6 = 0.17
Pi 2 0.4489 0.0289 0.0289
DS = 1 - 1 - 0.5067 =
(Pi2 ) 0.4933

Note: There had been no invertebrates observed in the second 10 x 10 meter plot, therefore
Graph 4 cannot be provided.
Discussion
1. I feel as though, in comparison for Plot 1 and Plot 2, weather conditions definitely
affected the observations for diversity in both Plot 1 and Plot 2. All of this information
had been collected the day after 8 inches of snow had fallen, and although the sun shining
the following day got rid of most of the snow, the temperature did not reach higher than
45 degrees. I had chosen Plot 1 to be near a river, hoping that this would give more
opportunity for diversity to be seen. This had not been the case, even though the area was
well lit by sunlight, there were still small snow piles present, and the sharp gusts of cold
wind and temperatures being significantly lower near water made it less likely for high
diversity to be observed in Plot 1. I observed small flies here and there near the river, and
the obvious likeliness of moss growing due to the moist conditions provided by the
flowing river were also present, and very much thriving. Other than these small
observations, the expectation in finding variety had not been met. In Plot 2, I had chosen
a densely wooded area located a little deeper into Ames Nowell State Park. Plot 2 had
less exposure to sun and little to no gusts of wind due to the fact that it was heavily
surrounded by trees. The species found in Plot 2 was a bit more diverse, as I was able to
observe different kinds of trees (mostly dead, some starting to bud) and shrubs (mostly
green, alive and thriving). In Plot 2, I was hoping to at the very least observe worms
because there was a good amount of mud puddles present or even spiders amongst the
bare branches of the budding branches, but again, due to the rather colder than normal for
Spring season temperatures, its understandable that these kinds of invertebrates are
keeping warm and away from the cold conditions. I was surprised that there had not been
any flies present in Plot 2 like there had been in Plot 1, and I did wonder whether it was
because I was no longer near a body of water. The invertebrates section of Plot 1 had no
diversity whatsoever, and this could be due to the fact that I only observe the same
species of flies more than once in this given area. Its a bit unfortunate that I did not have
enough invertebrates to observe to fill out a fourth chart, but this was completely
expected due to the weather we had encountered the previous day. The trees and plants,
when comparing Plot 1 and Plot 2, it would seem that since there is a higher variety in
species found in Plot 2, that it would end up with a higher diversity index. Im not sure if
this is due to the plants being away from water, which can bring colder temperatures or
that the overall inconsistencies of our weather has had a delay in the rejuvenating process
of plants throughout the park.

2. I believe the index given to us to be used in this assignment can be helpful in finding
roughly how much diversity can be found in any given area of environment. Yes, you
could just count the species, but I believe that this does not justify the other possibilities
found in biodiversity, such as: the rate of evolution, how a particular species will evolve
or mutate, how often species will differentiate in a given area, how natural selection may
take in affect and how likely that could be in the given area. It is obvious that the higher
the diversity, the higher the likelihood that these potential factors can take place. It can
even give some insight to how evenly distributed species are throughout the environment,
and alongside that, we are able to observe how one or more species interact or co-inside
 with each other. I believe this kind of index is also helpful with long term studies of
biodiversity. Of course, it is somewhat unlikely that one particular species is to stay in a
given area (unless the conditions are absolutely ideal for this particular species to thrive).
With that being said, new observations and new diversity index numbers will be created
within a given timespan (example: once a year, or once every five years, an area will be
observed for its diversity). With new information, this will provide results amongst new
observations and even new insight on how biodiversity changes overtime. This is a huge
contribution to discovering how other species are able to evolve and go about the process
of natural selection and evolvement, and this may give a range on how we were able to
evolve into the species that we are today. After all, in ways, we are a result of natural
selection- as every species will pick and choose the attributes found in another species
that would benefit its survival and expansion.

Resources
"Biodiversity." - Humans, Examples, Body, Water, Earth, Life, Plants, Animals. N.p., n.d. Web. 22
Mar. 2016. <http://www.scienceclarified.com/As-Bi/Biodiversity.html>.
"Threats to Biodiversity and Ecosystems." Threats to Biodiversity and Ecosystems. N.p., n.d. Web. 22
Mar. 2016. <http://www.chgeharvard.org/topic/threats-biodiversity-and-ecosystems>.