1.

In this lab, we experimented and tested the biodiversity of microcosmic

ecosystems through the use of proportional representation of an
environments species population under advanced scrutiny of the present
populations in order to further assess the biodiversity of the ecosystem. We
did this by sampling a population at random, or by direction of project
supervisor (teacher). The sample was collected by visual analysis of the
plants and species present in a hula hoop space on the ground. The first
tested area was a grassy hill and the second was a densely populated
shrubbery. Our results show far more consistent and varied populations in
the shrubbery, up to 12 species, while the grassy hill maintained
approximately 2 species.
2. The shrubbery was the most diverse, as it included various different plants,
mosses, berries, and other organisms. It resulted in a Shannon weiner index
of 1.457, which was satisfactory to our procedural data and scientific
evaluation of the subject.
3. The grassy hill area is mostly likely to have run into human development, as
it is regularly mowed and shows signs of weakening soil and moss growth all
over the region we analyzed. The other region is free growing, with varied
types of plant organisms present in a decent spread.
4.
Grass was very dominant in the first species analysis, there was more grass
than moss but some of the grass was dying. In the second area, there was no
clear dominant species in the community, but there was a more prevalent
presence of berry bushes in the area, most likely an indicator of a possible
dominant species. However, our data was inconclusive as it was only one
trial of the area.
5. Yes there were many opportunities for error in our procedure. First of all our
procedure was not randomly selected, did not contain itself to the areas that
could have had more or less biodiversity (the marsh vs the pavement), and
the procedure itself was rudimentary at finding the so called biodiversity of
an area. We should have mapped out a certain area and sampled with more
of an effort to scrutinize the ecosystem so as to create a more
representational frame of reference for our findings.
6. Yes biodiversity is important in ecosystems because it is the deciding factor
in the promulgation and preservation of long run systematic equilibrium in
the context of speciation. Without biodiversity, species would bottleneck and
go extinct or be too similar to each other to thrive, but with biodiversity
there is always the balance between different populations.