User:Meredith Gleason/Notebook/Lab 1: Transect Observation/Hay Infusion Culture (7/1/14)/Entry Base
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Date: 7/1/14 Objective:This project focuses on a transect of land near the campus of American University in Washington, DC. While most would consider the campus to be an "urban environment", there is in fact quite a bit of green space available to analyze the ecosystems that exist on campus. Methods/Observations: I traveled to the site of transect, Site #2, and made preliminary observations about the site. Site #2 is located on the grounds of the Wesley Theological Seminary, located just outside the northwestern boundaries of American University's campus. The transect of land, approximately 20x20 feet in size, is a wooded area with 6 pine trees with a dense area of ground cover below. Of the 6 trees, 3 are coniferous and 3 are deciduous. This transect is surrounded on all sides by grass but within the confines of the ~20x20 area of the trees, the ground is not covered with grass, but is instead covered with pine needles that have fallen and various short ground plants, like ivies and common weeds. An aerial view of the area is seen here:
At the site, an 11.6 g sample was taken, including soil found ~10 feet between two coniferous trees, along with pine needles and small leaves of ground ferns and ivies growing in the soil. Upon return to the lab, a Hay Infusion Culture was made with the entire soil sample, 0.1 g of dried milk, and 500 mL of filtered, Deerpark water in a large jar. The sample was vigorously mixed and left - with the lid open - on a lab bench to slowly separate. Results & Conclusions: The result was, primarily, to make observations and set up a Hay Infusion Culture to be able to identify protists at a future date. Conclusions at this point are not appropriate as the infusion culture has not been studied. |
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