February 6, 2013
Week 3
Week 3
Work Hrs: 6 Total Hrs: 21
Week 3
I worked this week with Mickie Tang, an Evolution and Ecology undergrad at UCSC. She is currently working on her senior thesis project along with another student TJ Adams. They've utilized the lagoons coastal prairie habitat for their research on the (Adams 2012) effectiveness of applied nucleation and dense planting to restore California Coastal grasslands. The research is based on the ideas of ecological succession and assisting nature in regenerating a native bio diverse habitat. The techniques tested were 'full planting and planting in patches or islands and their effectiveness at re-vegetating
degraded grasslands with and without mulch.' Vegetation was completely removed and three native grass species were strategically planted in various research plots containing the two techniques being tested and control group. They then observed over time which area produced the highest population size of native grasses under varied conditions.
My job with Mickie consisted of combing over each test area looking for and counting each of the native plant species being tested. It was not an easy task. We were on our hands and knees all morning searching for the tiniest of seedlings gathering a generalized consensus of the population size of each species in the test area. We were looking for and mainly found a lot of Clarkia davyi and Achillea millefolium. We were collecting data using categories for population size range in the form of 0-10, 10-100, and 100-1000 species. As the morning progressed and the heat settled in nicely, a great conversation developed as Mickie described the her research and we got to know each other. we slipped into a nice rhythm collecting data and it become a joy to spot the native species and record their numbers. (Sounds silly I'm sure, but when you love what your doing...).
Word Count: 293
My job with Mickie consisted of combing over each test area looking for and counting each of the native plant species being tested. It was not an easy task. We were on our hands and knees all morning searching for the tiniest of seedlings gathering a generalized consensus of the population size of each species in the test area. We were looking for and mainly found a lot of Clarkia davyi and Achillea millefolium. We were collecting data using categories for population size range in the form of 0-10, 10-100, and 100-1000 species. As the morning progressed and the heat settled in nicely, a great conversation developed as Mickie described the her research and we got to know each other. we slipped into a nice rhythm collecting data and it become a joy to spot the native species and record their numbers. (Sounds silly I'm sure, but when you love what your doing...).
Word Count: 293
Happy Mickie Tang.
Mickie setting up to collect data.
Adams, Tianjiao. 2012. Effectiveness of Applied Nucleation and Dense Planting to Restore California Coastal Grasslands. UCSC. (Abstract)
I'm looking forward to hearing about the last week and what's happening today. The Reserve is beautiful - and I'm learning a lot as I'm reading. Thanks, Benz
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