WSN!
This weekend I was able to present my research project in the poster session at WSN in Sacramento, CA. I had an awesome time meeting other students and professors from all over the place.
Here are a few pictures from the weekend.
Posts
SRI Torrey Pine Data Collection Update!
On Saturday, October 24, 2015, my partner Brandon and I collected a lot of data at the SRI Torrey pine demography plots and we hope to collect even more data this coming weekend, on November 7-9. Feeling excited!!!
This photo was taken during our lunch break.
Back on the Island
Well I am back on the island to continue my research and something amazing happened, I found the GPS unit i lost on my last trip with all my data! This eliminated the hours of recounting the same trees over again and helped get me back on track to have all my data collected by the end of January so I can get down to some serious data analysis. Here is a snapshot of a GIS map of the data myself and my two partners, Brice and Dulce, have collected so far, with much more to come.
Capstone Project Update 10/21/2015
I will be going to SRI this weekend to collect more data on the Torrey pine demography plots!
Weekend #2
It was another great weekend out on the island, unfortunately most of my data from the weekend was lost but it was a beautiful weekend with an unusually low amount of wind. It made for quite a hot weekend but the views were still magnificent. By the end of my next trip I should be mostly done counting trees on the hillside I am currently working on and be moving down into the canyon.
Santa Rosa Island Research Station
This last weekend I was able to go out to the Island with Dr. Clare Steele and the Conservation Biology class. I was able to enjoy the plethora of knowledge and experience it has to offer. Santa Rosa Island is beautiful but in a period of restoration and recovery from its long history of human inhabitants.
I was able to help Michaela Miller with her capstone of Marine Debris collection along some of the remote beaches of the island including Arlington Canyon, Sandy Point, Cluster Point and Skunk point. I also visited Bechers Bay and Water canyon to collect sand samples and test for micro plastics. All in all it was an excellent weekend! Overall every sand sample I collected had microfibers and microplastics in it.
About Author
Research student at California University Channel Islands majoring in Environmental Science and Resource management (ESRM). Conducting research on the Santa Rosa Island Torrey Pine population.
Demography Plots and GIS Analysis of the Island Torrey Pine Outline
Demography Plots and GIS Analysis of the Island Torrey Pine (Pinus torreyana ssp. Insularis)
I will be conducting my capstone on the Torrey Pine, Pinus torreyana. This tree is a rare remnant of the Pleistocene Era. Santa Rosa Island (SRI) is the last remaining location in which this subspecies, Insularis, is located. Through monitoring SRI Torrey Pine demography plots already in place, I will collect data and add any additional data found while analyzing four groves on SRI ( created by : Travis Hall). The groves: Cogan Grove, Main Grove, North Grove, and Box Canyon. The Torrey Pines in the groves are ID tagged. I will collect information in order to determine in what temporal space these trees are growing and how have they changed. I will collect diameter at breast height (DBH) for trees with a height greater than 160cm, height of the pine with a classification stages (Adult: height greater than 160cm with cones; Sub-adult: height greater than 160cm without cones, saplings; Saplings: height between 30-160cm; Seedlings: height less than 30cm) Additionally, if there are any missing tags or new trees I will add a tag and update the data sheet. Using the data that I collect and the previously collected data (Travis Hall) will allow me to determine if the population in each of the four groves is increasing, decreasing, or stable. It should be noted that the habitat on SRI has been dramatically impacted in the past by human induced grazing animals. Since the removal of these animals, 2013, Torrey Pine populations have been expected to increase.
After the Demography plots are analyzed I will take aerial photographs that have been purchased by CSUCI and analyze them. I am still unsure the exact dates that the images will be traced back to, however it will most likely contain images from 1929, 1959, and a recent photograph. These photographs have also geo-referenced to the same extent. I will use GIS to overlay the images. I will mark individual trees within GIS, and use programs such as Moran I Test- a cluster and outlier test, as well as the multi distance spatial analysis tool to summarize spatial dependence over a range of clusters. I will use this to further explore and show visually the changes within the four groves over time and the overall health of the individual groves.
