FIRST+VISIT

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The area where I studied in Manoa Stream was along the bridge in Woodlawn Drive. The stream bordered some houses and buildings. I think Manoa Stream will be a very good place to observe for the Ecosystem Project. There are a great variety of organisms and species to observe and take notes on and people rarely visit there. Manoa Stream fits all the requirements for an Eco-place and is very convenient for me as well as my group members because we live fairly close to that part of the stream. We noticed and observed many plant and animal life in different habitats. Animals such as ducks, small fish, and other little creatures lived in the waters. Birds, such as pigeons and other bird species, and insects, such as the annoying mosquitoes, bees, and flies flew above the water. There were many trees and plants with different shaped leaves in the area as well.

I have been assigned the role of observing the abiotic factors in the area. Some observations I made were there were many different sized rocks that have been eroded due to the current of the water. When I went there in the afternoon (it was rainy when I first arrived, but good thing it started to stop later on), the temperature along the stream was mildly cool and breezy because of the windy trade winds and there was barely any sunlight. The water was a sickly green color and the small fish were camouflaged by the aquatic plants and murky water. There was a lot of pollution and debris on the soil as well. The temperature, the rocks and dirt along the stream, and the current of the water could have an effect on the habitats of the animals living there. For example, the ducks that live along the stream hunt for food and nutrients along the dirt and rocks, and they follow the direction of the water current to get to places. I think it will be very interesting to observe and conduct experiments in the stream because of the many abiotic factors. It would be interesting to find how the abiotic factors affect the habitats of the animals living in the stream.


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The ducks are a big part of the ecosystem project in Manoa Stream. I happened to spot a parent duck with two smaller ducks, which were probably baby ducks. They mostly stayed in the water and sometimes they tend to sit on the ground or walk around for food. They eat food and nutrients from plants or other organisms around the swampy rocks. They also eat small animals from the water, such as the small fishes and probably insects. The relationship between the ducks and the fish or insects is described as a predator-prey relationship. The predator is the ducks and they feed on the prey, which are the small fish and insects, to survive. The predator seeks out his prey by dipping its beak into the water and swiftly catching the prey with its mouth. Sometimes the prey might be able to escape. For example, the fish could swim away from the ducks and some insects could escape by flying away. Most times, I think the small fish and insects would avoid the ducks and isolate themselves from them. Human activity could have an affect on the ducks’ niches. Sometimes, people feed the ducks with bread and other foods that could be hazardous to the ducks’ health, and the pollution and debris caused by people could also be hazardous to the ducks (There were many dumped cigarettes and food wrappers on the ground). Human activity could cause the ducks to live in a harmful environment.

Another predator-prey relationship in the waters of the stream is the relationship between the small fish versus the algae plants. The fish are the predators and the preys are the algae plants. Basically, the fish feed on the algae plants for nutrients. The difference between this predator-prey relationship and the relationship between the ducks and the fish are that algae plants have no escape. They purely exist so that fish could feed on them and absorb nutrients.