Third+Visit+Journal

We visited the stream for the third time on Sunday, November 23, at 12:00 pm


 * Free Journal Entry:** Continue your focused observations and compare them to previous observations. Make inferences (relevant to your assigned role) and propose hypotheses. Finally, create 3 __//**testable**//__ hypotheses from these inferences. You should use the "If… Then… " format. As usual, this section should be 400-600 words.

When I first got to the stream, there was a dead tree that had blown over. It was very windy the day before, and it must've been strong enough to blow down this stream. I think that it was able to blow this tree down because since the tree was dead, it probably didn't have enough nutrients to maintain the strength of its roots in the ground. Therefore, the wind could've blown this tree over because the tree wasn't strong enough to hold itself in the ground.

When we visited the stream this time, it was the day after the flash flood. When we got to the stream, I expected the water to be brown, and really, overflowing, but it wasn't. The water was somewhat clear, and it was just a little bit high. When I was at the eco-place, I saw a mongoose quickly scamper through the little plants. It was very quick so I couldn't catch a picture of it. Yesterday was the flash flood, so when we got there, you could tell that the water had risen very high. You could tell that the water came high because all of the plants along the bank of the stream looked as if they were washed over. Also, there was a lot of debris that had been caught on rocks and branches and things. The dirt was also very loose since it was covered in water the day before. The water had come up at least 4 feet higher than it was when we got there. All the plants on our side and across on the other bank were all washed over. They're all facing the same direction because the water was flowing heavily, so the speed of the water caused the plants to be pushed down.

The water was fairly rough, but more near the areas with lots of rocks. In places where the rocks were still covered by water, it was very still. Since the water was rougher than usual I think that the fish weren't used to it, so they migrated to a calmer place. So the fish weren't in their usual spots. Another thing that I noticed was that since the water rose so high, it took away some of the dirt that was holding the tree roots in place on the banks. Because of erosion, all of these big tree roots are visible. Most of the erosion happens when things like overflowing occurs. With the water rushing at high speeds it takes away the dirt holding those roots in place. If it takes away enough dirt then the tree could possible break free from the dirt and fall, blocking up the water of the stream.

Hypotheses: If we put 3 boxes, one normal, one with colored cellophane, and one with no bottom, then the box with no bottom would have more animals in it after a couple days. If we look into the rougher parts of the stream and then the calmer parts of the stream, then we will find animal life in the calmer waters.


 * Assigned Journal Entry:** This is a food web of some of the organisms in our eco-place. It includes, ducks, mongoose, plants, fish, ants, cockroaches, earthworms, algae, and decomposing organisms.