Staci's+Journal

__**First Visit**__ On my first visit to Manoa stream I went to the part under the bridge by the manoa gardens and baseball fields. One side border several homes and the other side boarded the baseball fields. As I was there, I detected many plant, bugs and animal species. Many of the plants there were a diverse selection of weeds; there was also a couple of Kokua trees, a couple of coconut trees and several Hala trees. There was also a variety of different animal species. For example there were about 28 ducks and only one was white, there were also a few fish of the same type that were camouflaged with the dirt and there might have possibly been some tadpoles and crayfish but I couldn’t see them well so I wasn’t certain. It was surprising too see that when you get near the ducks they don’t even care, considering that we had a dog with us too, and I think it was because so many humans and dogs go down there all the time that they got used to it. There were two banks along the river; one had a concrete sidewalk in the beginning and then plants on the end, while the bank on the other side was full with plants the whole length. Along the bank of the stream we were on, there were many different bugs that were flying everywhere and we predicted that many of the fish and ducks preyed on them. The stream overall was very dirty and had a lot of dibre from the surrounding plants, but it was interesting that I hardly saw any pollution from humans which I found to be quite shocking. Manoa stream also had a countless amount of rocks that were different shapes and sizes and I observed what effect it had on the water. I as well noticed that the depth of the water had an effect on the how the water flowed. Further up stream the water was deeper and it made the water flow easier, however as it came down stream it got shallower and while passing through the small rocks the water had a type of ripple effect. Overall, I think manoa stream is an ideal place to observe for my science project because it’s convenient for all the members of the group and it has a variety of species in the environment that will be interesting to study.

__**Assigned Journal #1**__ There are many different things to study at Manoa stream but I will be mainly focusing on the stream. Today, I noticed that the stream has different depths to it, which affected how the water flowed. Further up stream the water was about five inches deep and the water flowed very smoothly, but as it came down stream it become so shallow that you could see the rocks and it was very possible that a person could walk over it and barely touch the rippling water. There were many rocks of different shapes and sizes. The big isolated rocks were pretty unstable but were in some sort of line, which means that there is a possibility that they could’ve got there by humans. On the other hand the small rocks were complied together and stable, this was probably because they were there for a long time or in other words, not brought by humans. The water was a brown-green color and it was fairly clear so that you could see the rocks. The first organisms I could spot were groups of several tiny guppies. They varied in size from half an inch to almost two inches. The guppies had a fat, oval shape upper body and a long thin tail; they were also a brow-grey color that well camouflaged them to any predators like for example the ducks up above. These guppies would be often be swimming in the calm sections of the stream and would be heading in the direction up stream. This prevented them from going anywhere because of the down stream current. Every once in a while they would dart their way to a near by rock to peck at and rip off small pieces of algae at a time. Besides fish I also saw one crayfish that was rather small compared to the ones I have seen before and the whole body was a dark brown-red. It was about three inches long and had two medium size pinchers, which I figured they used to catch passing, fish. As the crayfish moved, bubbles would come to the surface. But as soon as it saw me it quickly bundled up and glided somewhere jet fast to where I couldn’t see it. When I poked at the bottom of the stream with a stick I could spot a couple of black tadpoles that rose above the dirt. The tadpoles moved very slowly and after coming to the surface for a while they would go back and lie on the ground. On my next visit to the stream it will be interesting to see if anything has changed from my first visit.

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This week at the Manoa stream it was rather the same. I think before we came is was raining for a little while because the dirt path to the stream was rather compact and wet which made it easier to get down compared to the last time when the dirt was dry and slippery. The first thing we saw when we got down on the bank was the amount of ducks. They were all over the place, some where on both banks of the stream, some where under this concrete bridge, and some where in the water. The total number of ducks that we counted was about 33, which is 2 more ducks than the last time. Out of all the ducks only one was white and the rest were brown. From what we learned in science class our group thought that it must be because of natural selection, and hopefully as the weeks go on we will see if the population of white ducks increases, or decreases. It was interesting to see that this time while we were taking pictures the ducks would sit on the bank we were on, and they were about six feet away, which was quite close! This week, I couldn’t really spot many tiny guppies because the water was too murky but I could see a few. They were pretty close to the edge because they were feeding on the rocks near the bank. This could’ve attracted the ducks but I’m not sure. Another reason why I may not have seen so many fish is because the ducks are eating all of them therefore causing them to disappear. The water this week was rather higher than the last time. The little shallow rocks, and the island of small rocks and plants were completely covered by the water and you could only see the tips of the larger rocks. The plants were the same but some were just a bit damp from the rain and there weren’t many different bugs this time, only a lot of mosquitoes. However, I think the mosquitoes were attracted to the dampness of everything because of the rain, and so that’s why there were so many of them. The next time we go back to the stream, I’m looking forward to the fact that there will be some new things to observe just like today, and hopefully next time there will be more than just one white duck.
 * __Second Visit__**

__**Assigned Journal #2**__ On our second visit to the stream it was quite interesting. At the stream I noticed that the water was about 2-3 inches higher than the last time, and I figured that the rain must have caused that from earlier on that day. Since the water was relatively high it was right against the bank on our side and about 2 inches lower on the other bank with the concrete sidewalk. The small rocks and plants that we could see earlier the other week and nearly walk on were completely under water. We could only see the tips of the larger rocks. The water flowed rather fast and calm this time because there was nothing that got in it’s way since the water was over all the rocks. The stream was overall rather murky this week so it was hard to make a lot of observations of the things living inside it. Although I did notice that there weren’t as many fish as the last time. This week I only saw a couple of guppies near the edge of the banks picking off some algae from the rocks. The fish were quite small too; they were only about 1- 1-½ inches. They blended well into the water because the guppies were the same color as the water. But a reason why there might have not been as many fish is because all the ducks are feeding on them and that could be the reason why so many ducks were on the bank next to us. Our last visit to the stream there were 31 ducks, but this time there were 33. This could be affecting the fish population because the fish are all being hunted; therefore they are not getting the chance to reproduce. But then again, there could’ve been more guppies but it was just too hard to see them because they were so well camouflaged. Besides the fish, I tried looking for some tadpoles on the bottom of the stream with a stick but the water was too gloomy and by stirring the dirt on the bottom of the stream made it gloomier so it was hard to see anything. I also had no luck in finding some crayfish. On our groups next visit to the stream I’m hoping that there will be something different like this week, like how the water level was different, the amount of guppies and maybe next time I’ll get a chance to see more tadpoles and maybe even more crayfish.

__**Free Journal Assignment #3:**__ This week at Manoa Stream, it was muddy and wet from the rain the other day, and today. It drizzled off and on, which wasn’t that bad, but it was cold and windy. When I first got down to the stream from the muddy path, it shocked me to find a little mouse about the size of my fist, standing by the bushes nibbling on something that I couldn’t quite see, but as soon as it saw me it darted into the bushes. This time down at the stream there were only 22 ducks, which was 10 less than the time before. I could’ve counted them wrong since some of them were hiding in the bushes, but I’m pretty sure 22 ducks was correct. There was no white duck this time either, only all brown ones which was a little disappointing because I hoped that we would find more white ones to see make a hypothesis based on if the white ones survived better than the brown ones. The role that I took on from the first visit was to observe the river. This meant the changes in the water, and the different creatures in the water. This week from all the rain, the stream seemed to have been about 3 inches higher and flowed real easy, covering most of the rocks underneath. Further up stream the water was calm and held a steady current, but as it got further down stream it go rougher and current was stronger (as you can see in the picture below). The water was a bit murky too, but it was clear enough that you could spot several different groups of fish. The fish again were headed up stream and against the current causing them to stay in the same place, but they seemed to be more by the banks of the river rather in the center. I observed that they often fed on the nearest rocks with algae on them as the last time. I did not see any other species in the water this time and it could have something to do with the weather, but I’m not to sure. Also, unlike last time there weren’t many ducks in the water, they were all camouflaged in the patches of grass on the farthest side of the river, which I’m guessing was also caused by the weather. Three hypotheses that I came up with at Manoa Stream is that if the weather is bad then the amount of ducks in the water is minimal because the weather affects how hard the streams current is, my second hypothesis is that if the humidity is high then there will be less bugs because the bugs prefer a cooler climate. And my last hypothesis is that if the current is strong in the middle then the fish will linger by the banks because they can’t endure the strength currents and vise versa.



__**Assigned Journal #3 Food web:

Journal assignment #4**__ This week at my Eco place (Manoa Stream), I observed the stream again, but I also had to do an experiment on the hypothesis I made at visit #3. Today at the stream, it was muddy again because of the rainy weather. The atmosphere was windy and cold but it didn’t rain. The water at the stream today was just a little lower than the last visit by about an inch, but it was still the same color, a murky brown but it was harder to see the fish. Although I could spot some, the fish today were well camoflauged with the water and I spotted most of them along the banks of the stream, and going against the current as before while grabbing algae a long the way off the rocks. The current of the stream was strong but the top of the water was calm, and silky.

The hypothesis that I came up with at my third visit was that if the current is strong in the middle then the fish will linger by the banks because they can’t endure the strength currents and vise versa.

Procedures: 1. Look how the weather is (rainy or sunny) 2. Check were the current of the stream is the strongest 3. See were the most fish are (in the middle of the stream or by the banks) 4. Repeat steps each time for 4 days 5. Compare the data



From the data I collected I can say that the current affects were the fish chose to be, because the strongest place where the current is the fish do not like to be, but when the current is even the fish spread out through the overall width and length of the stream under the bridge.