Ecology Lab report (Diversity) !

Introduction

Non-native, alien, species often have a devastating impact on native species. This is especially true when the non-natives become invasive and overwhelm the native species through increased competition or predation. In this lab, we investigate the effect of non-native plant cover on native species diversity in coastal sage scrub. Coastal sage scrub (CSS) is a community characterized by a diverse assemblage of plants many of which are endemic to southern California. Some species are shallow rooted and survive the summer by dropping their leaves and going dormant. Other species are deeply rooted and survive the summer drought by accessing ground water deep in the soil, and by conserving water by closing their stomata, pores in the leaves that allow for the diffusion of CO2 in, but also allow H2O to diffuse out. We have lost most of our CSS habitat to development, and in the remaining patches, invasive non-native grasses and annuals often outcompete the native species after disturbance, which results in the conversion of shrublands to non-native grasslands.

Restoration attempts reverse the conversion of CSS by removing non-native species and introducing native species through planting or seeding. In one sense, you can think of restoration as instant succession. However, restoration is tricky, and projects often fail, or require constant maintenance to remove non-natives.

The purpose of this lab is to investigate the relationship between invasive species cover, and native species diversity in restored and un-restored CSS habitat. We will compare the following:

· Invasive vs. native cover in restored and un-restored areas of CSS.

· Invasive cover vs. species diversity in restored and un-restored CSS.

· Native species diversity in restored and unrestored areas CSS.

Species ID

1. bare ground

2. all non-native species including all grasses

3. bush sunflower: yellow conspicuous flowers; inflorescent head

4. buckwheat: characteristic amble inflorescence (three branches); flowers not yellow as in bush sunflower

5. black sage: poodles-like inflorescence; square stem; opposite leaves

6. laurel sumac: leaves like taco shell with big red veins in middle of leaf

7. California sage: 3 parted threadlike leaves; smells good

8. mulefat: conspicuous big shrub; easily recognizable; serrated leaves

9. solanum: white flowers, anthers with a yellow crown

10. Verbinacea: with little purple flows

11. Opuntia: unmistakable cactus

12. coyote bush: large bush with really dark green fine leaves

13. goldenbush: no live flowers, yellow if present; toothed leaves hairy seeds

14. white sage: whitish looking bush

15. Marah: a climber with medieval looking fruits; AKA manroot or wild cucumber

16. monkey flower: opposite leaves, creamy flowers; looks like sage but has no inflorescence, has orange flowers

17. elderberry: a tree with opposite compound leaves, blueberry-like fruits

18. everlasting flower: a herb with flowers in all individuals

19. blue fiestaflower: herb with purple flowers

20. toyon: large shrub with red berries (Hollywood); unlike taco plant, leaves are serrated

21. POISON OAK-OAK LIKE LEAVES, DO NOT TOUCH

22. gooseberry: small shrub with dangling purple flowers

23. lemonadeberry: like oak but has berry like fruits rather than acorns

24. oak: large tree with acorns

Materials

· 30-m line transect

· data sheet

· native plant guide

· clipboard

· writing utensil

Methods

1. Working in groups, you will establish a 30-meter line transect with a measuring tape (about 100 feet). You will record:

a. The cover of non-native species along the transect.

b. The identity of each native species and its cover along the transect. So, your transect will look something like this:

1. Complete at least three (3) transects per site (restored and un-restored CSS habitat). Your data sheet should look like this (illustrative purposes only, see provided data form):

Transect	Species	Start (m)	Finish (m)	Cover = finish - start
1	4 - buckwheat	0	3	3
1	20 - toyon	5	6	1
1	4 - buckwheat	10	15	5
1	23 - lemonade berry	20	25	5
1	16 - monkey flower	28	30	2

2. Enter your data into Excel, exactly as it is entered on the data sheet and upload to Moodle.

Data Calculations

4. Download the Class Diversity Data from Moodle.

5. Process the data so that you can determine the following attributes for each transect:

a. Count the number of individuals of each native species.

b. Add up the total native cover.

c. Add up the total non-native cover.

d. Calculate the species richness, S.

e. Calculate the Shannon diversity index, H’.

6. Construct rank abundance curves to compare species richness between restored and unrestored sites. The rank abundance curve is a very useful tool because it makes information on species richness, evenness, and diversity accessible at a glance.

a. Calculate the abundance (number of individuals) of each species in restored and unrestored sites.

b. Rank the most abundant species as 1, the second most abundant as 2 and so forth. Plot the rank of each species on the x-axis and abundance on the y-axis.

7. Use a scatter plot (linear regression) to test the effect of non-native cover on species diversity, i.e. graph the diversity index for each transect against the non-native cover.

Statistical Analyses

8. Conduct the following statistical tests:

a. Determine if there is greater diversity of natives in restored or un-restored areas.

b. Determine if there is a difference in native cover and non-native cover within restored areas.

c. Determine if there is a difference in native cover and non-native cover within unrestored areas.

d. Determine if there is a difference in native cover between unrestored and restored areas.

e. Determine if there is a difference in non-native cover between restored and unrestored areas.

Specific requirements for the final paper

Results: Below is a list of specific figures that need to be included in the final paper.

· A rank abundance curve of the restored site.

· A rank abundance curve of the unrestored site.

· A scatter plot of the diversity indices with respect to non-native cover.

Data Sheet

Transect	Species	Start (m)	Finish (m)	Cover = finish - start