Kyle's+Journal



__//**VISIT 1**//__


 * Free Journaling**

__Area Description__

Makiki stream is a skinny, winding, low tide stream. It is very humid. Trees, vines, rocks, and dirt surround the stream. It is situated between 2 roads and a coupe of homes. You have to climb down to the stream because it is at a lower level than the roads and homes. There are some man-made things that can be found at the stream, including a ladder and some ropes, which aids you in climbing down to the stream. Most of the plants are thriving. There are small fish in the stream. An innumerable amount of mosquitoes buzz around the stream, waiting for unexpecting visitors to come their way. There are mongoose running around in the vines. Makiki stream is a very humid place and that may be the reason for the high mosquito population. Makiki Stream would be a good area to study for the rest of the semester because it’s close to school and there are a variety of organisms in the eco-zone.

__Niches of Various Organisms__

I observed a couple of different fish species (one was a dark gray, while the other was transparent). Both fish coexisted in the same niche that had the same biotic and abiotic factors.

Biotic: There were no signs of predators in the stream. Maybe bigger fish eat the smaller ones. The fish appear to be bottom-feeders, eating whatever they can find on the streambed. The fish are possibly in competition for space and food with each other.

Abiotic: The water level needs to be high enough for the fish to survive. The food source is definitely an abiotic factor for the fish. The size of the stream will affect the size of the fish and the fish need the water in the stream to be fresh (fresh water fish cannot live in salt water).

I also observed these vine-like plants that crawled along the eroded ground.

Biotic: The fish in the stream lived in the roots of the vines, while mongoose live/hide in the leaves of the vines. The vines not only covered the ground, some of them climbed up trees.

Abiotic: The vines need a sufficient amount of water to live. They also need enough sunlight to do photosynthesis. The fish supply the vines with fertilizer, through feces.

The first organisms that I noticed when I got to Makiki stream were the mosquitoes. Those things were biting me like crazy.

Biotic: Humans and other animals supply the mosquitoes with the blood that they need to feed on in order to live. Birds may prey on the mosquitoes.

Abiotic: The water and plants in the stream are necessary for the mosquitoes to lay eggs. The mosquitoes also need a humid climate in order to lay eggs.

I got a quick glimpse at a couple of mongoose that scurried through the vines.

Biotic: I didn’t notice any biotic factors for the mongoose. Maybe birds prey on them, but I didn’t see any evidence of that.

Abiotic: The mongoose need water and food to survive.

While I was at Makiki stream, I noticed an interesting example of symbiosis. I observed that these vines that were living on the dirt embankments of the stream, which prevented erosion, had an ingenious root system. The roots wood burrow into the ground and enter the water. That way, the vines would always have a sufficient amount of water. What I also observed was that the small fish in the stream would live in the vine roots, which really looked like a type of seaweed. The fish would defecate (poop), while in the vines roots. I would classify this symbiotic relationship as mutualism. The fish benefit from the close interaction with the vines because it gives them a home and the vines benefit because when the fish defecate, they provide the vines with fertilizer.


 * __VISIT 2__**

__Free Journal__

I chose to observe the plant life at Makiki stream. VInes, bushes, and trees are very plentiful at Makiki stream and all pf them appear to be prospering in the area in which they live. There are many trees, rocks, and vines upstream. The vines are crawling all over the rocks and trees. There is not a great presence of dirt; it appears to have all eroded, leaving rocks. Downstream, there are mainly bushes. There is a greater collection of water downstream (water appears to flow downstream, into these large pools of water, in which there is no current). Upstream Downstream Questions:

I noticed that the further I walked, down the stream, the more abundant and green the plants were. Why is the plant life more prosperous further down the stream versus up the stream?

I also noticed that the upstream area consisted of more vine-like plants and the downstream area consisted of more bush-like plants. Why is that? I noticed that the upstream area was more eroded and had a lot of rocks, while downstream, there was more soil and less rocks. Could this be the reason for the variation of plants in different areas?

Makiki stream is situated between 2 roads and some homes. So, this area is getting more carbon dioxide than most forests and other wildlife areas that are far away from human contact. Plants need carbon dioxide to live. So, will the plants in this ecosystem thrive more so than plants in a forest? The water level at Makiki stream is very low. If there were a time in which no rain fell for about a month, the stream would probably dry up. Would the plants survive? Is the stream their only source of water?

There are many bugs on the under sides of the leaves of different plants. Are the 2 species in a symbiotic relationship? Is the relationship mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasitic?

__Journal__

Three species that are being driven by natural selection are the fish in the stream, the mosquitoes, and the vine-like plants. I observed two different types fish in the stream. There were dirty brownish-gray fish and white/transparent fish. The brown/gray fish blended in with the stream floor and were hard to spot, while the white/transparent fish were very noticeable against the dark streambed. The brown/gray fish were a lot faster than the white/transparent fish. This may be because the brown/gray fish had bigger tails than the white/transparent fish. The white/transparent fish had very big eyes, which gave them a clumsy, slow look, while the brown/gray fish were streamlined.

There were hardly any of those white/transparent fish, while the brown/gray fish were plentiful. This is probably because the brown/gray fish are more fit in this habitat, so they are the ones that theoretically, are supposed to survive and reproduce. However, the “less fit” fish haven’t been entirely wiped out yet because there are still enough resources to support a very small population of that fish. So technically, one could argue that this isn’t an example of natural selection, these are just signs that natural selection may have just begun and will become more present in the coming weeks. In a little while, the brown/gray fish, which are faster (allowing them to escape predators and more efficiently collect food) and blend in with their surroundings (also helping them to avoid predators) will become the superior species in that habitat, forcing the white/transparent fish to either evolve through natural selection or face extinction. If the white/transparent fish were to evolve, future generations would probably have larger tails, be slightly darker, and have smaller eyes.

Another species that I observed that may be going through natural selection is the mosquitoes. Those annoying mosquitoes wreak havoc upon human beings that enter their territory. I’ve collected my fair share of mosquito bites during my past 2 visits to Makiki Stream. It seems that the mosquitoes that are the fastest and have the best reaction time are the ones that survive and reproduce. I can infer this because the only sources of food for the mosquitoes are the animals’ blood that they bite. I don’t think that there are enough humans/other animals to supply all of the food that the mosquitoes need. So, there is a fight for survival amongst the entire mosquitoes population at Makiki stream. Only the mosquitoes that are fast enough to come up and bite me and other visitors to Makiki Stream will survive. In addition, only the mosquitoes with fast reaction times (the time it takes them to respond to something that happens, like dodging a hand that is about to squash them) will survive and reproduce. I was able to swat some of the slower mosquitoes, but some of them were to fast for me, those are the ones that will pass on their variations to the future generation.

The final species that I observed that is undergoing natural selection is the vines. I noticed that the vines source of both nutrients and water come from the stream. The vines roots grow to a pretty large size, and then they burrow themselves in the ground till they reach the stream. Once there, the vines are free to soak up as much water as their plant needs. However, only the vines with the larger roots are prospering at Makiki Stream. I noticed that all of the vines that had smaller roots were turning brown and were shriveling up, while the vines that had a large root system were very prosperous in this ecosystem. The thing that the vines are competing for is not water or sunlight, (because they all have an unlimited supply of that) it’s “fertilizer.” The providers of the “fertilizer” are the fish in the stream. The fish like to live in the roots of the vines and the “fertilizer” for the vines comes in the form of fish feces. So, the vines with bigger roots can shelter more fish, and the more fish that the vines have in their roots, the more prosperous they will be. The vines with bigger roots will be the ones that survive and make more vines, while the vines with smaller roots will eventually die off.


 * __Third Visit Journal__**


 * Free Journal**

During the time of my third visit there was a downpour of rain, so the water level was a lot higher than usual. The water levels used to range from 6 inches to 3 feet, and now they were 3-5 feet high. Some of the plants in the stream were swept away in the strong current, and the fish took shelter in calm areas, like behind rocks. Another thing that I noticed was that even with the big rain (which would have given all of the plants a sufficient amount of water, the plants further down the stream are more lush than those on the upper side of the stream (I originally thought that the reason why the plants downstream where more lush than the plants upstream was because they had more water).

From these observations, I can infer that: 1) there will be more fish in the stream because they’ll have been washed down from upstream due to the big rain and that these fish will prosper due to the increase in water level, allowing for a greater mount of space to live and a greater variety of niches. Maybe a new species of fish may arise in the future? Secondly, I can infer that the reason why the plants downstream are prosper far more greatly than the plants upstream is not because they have a greater supply of water, but because the land (soil) that they have set root in is more fertile than the eroded grounds of the upstream plants. I can also infer that, because there was a big rain, there will be more mosquitoes next time I go to Makiki stream because there will be a lot of places for the mosquitoes to lay their eggs.


 * Hypotheses**

1. If the water of the stream is deep, then there will be more fish compared to more shallow areas of the stream. I believe this to be true because if there is more water in the stream, there will be more space for the fishes to live. The more space you have, the more fish that that niche can support.

2. If there are more plants in the stream, then there will be more variation among the different species of fish (versus an area with little or no plants in the stream). Having more plants in the water will provide a greater array of niches. If the different species of fish were ever driven into natural selection, newer, more fit species would pop up.

3. If the water current is greater, then there will be less fish (versus an area with little or no current). It would take a lot energy for the fish to fight the current, in order to stay in that area (otherwise the current would take it downstream), and that would be an unnecessary expense of energy, especially if food was hard to come by. So, they will just settle down in a calm flowing area of the stream.


 * Assigned Journal**

In this ecosystem there aren’t a great variety of organisms. However, because of that lack of organism variety, the organisms that do live in Makiki Stream depend on one another to survive. I focused on the plant life at Makiki Stream, so my observations of community interactions have to do mainly with the vines at Makiki Stream. One example of community interactions is the example of the fish and the vines.

If you have ever been to Makiki stream, you know that there are vines that cover most of the land surrounding the stream. These vines have a very ingenious root system. What happens is that because the soil at Makiki Stream isn’t very fertile, the vine’s roots burrow into the soil and go into the stream. So the roots of the vines actually look like aquatic plants. The stream provides the plants with its source of water. Here’s where the fish come in. Because there are no real aquatic plants at Makiki stream, the fish find shelter in the roots of the vines. You could say that the vines provide a makeshift home for the fish. In return for the favor, the fish defecate while in the vines roots, providing it with fertilizer. So both organisms benefit from this relationship. That’s why I would classify this symbiotic relationship as mutualism.

Another example of a symbiotic relationship is the example of the bugs and the vines. These two species are in a parasitic relationship. The bugs use the vines as a source of shade and protection (the vines don’t hurt because of this, so it would be communalistic), but mainly the bugs eat the vine leaves (the vines obviously do not benefit from this). That’s why I would classify this relationship as parasitism.

One final example of a symbiotic relationship at Makiki Stream is the example of the vines and the trees. I describe this as commensalism because the vines benefit from the relationship, while the trees neither benefit, nor are they hurt by the relationship. What some of the vines do at Makiki Stream is that they climb up the trees, meaning that they grow in a spiral motion around the tree trunk and climb their way up as they grow. I think that the vines benefit from this because clinging to the tree gets them higher up, and being higher up gives them more direct sunlight (the vines on the ground are shaded by the tree canopies and don’t get as much light as those on the trees). Having more sunlight probably allows them to do photosynthesis at a faster rate, which would benefit them in the long run. The tree remains neutral in this relationship.


 * __Fourth Visit__**


 * Free Journal**

The stream’s water level has gone down a little since my last visit, which took place a day after a big rain. However, the water level is still higher than the first two visits. There are more fish in the stream now, probably still around after that big rain, which I hypothesized to have brought more fish down from the mountains and into the stream. There was also this small frog that I noticed during my visit that I had never seen at that stream before. The plants in the water have started to grow back since the last visit, in which the heavy rain and the increased water current swept away and damaged some of the plants in the water. The water was also flowing faster than the first two visits, but not as fast as my third visit, in which it was gushing. I hypothesized that if there was greater water current, then there would be less fish in the water.

First, I went to an area of the stream where there was no current at all (the best place was behind a couple of big rocks that blocked the current). I imagined a blanket that measured one square meter. Now, I imagined that I had this blanket and I would put it over that area with no current. I counted the number of fish in that square meter area. Then, I went to an area, which had a moderately flowing current (the best place was this area that had no rocks and no severe drops, like a waterfall). I imagined that I had the same blanket and counted the number of fish in that one square meter area. Lastly, I went to the place with the most rapid current (the best place was the area right before the mini waterfall that they have at the stream). I imagined the same one square meter blanket and counted the number of fish that were in that one square meter area.
 * Procedure**

By the way, my reasoning for the blanket imagination was to make sure that the only variable being tested was the current. The imaginary one square meter blanket was my way of controlling the boundaries of the fish that I would count for the experiment. I had to have that control of the size of the area because if I counted the number of fish in an area that was three-square meters wide versus one that was one square meter, I would also be testing the size of the area and how it affected the amount of fish.

As you can see in the graph, my hypothesis was supported through this experiment because as the water current increased, the number of fish decreased. One interesting thing to note is that the greater water current not only produced less fish, but there were also little or no plants in that area. Where as, in the areas with no current, there were many aquatic plants. So, I guess you could say that the greater the water current, the less organisms there will be in that area, not just fish.


 * __This is a carbon cycle diagram of Makiki Stream (Assigned Journal Entry).__**