Biodiversity of Leaf Litter Collaborators McKenna Keetch, Cody Robinson.

Luke Abstract The problem was how biodiverse is leaf litter compared to the soil? The hypothesis is if leaf litter is collected, then the leaf litter samples will be very diverse compared to the soil sample. The control group was the soil sample. The experimental groups are the leaf litter samples. The independent variable is how much, and how deep the leaf litter samples were taken. The dependent variable is how much and how many insect species are collected from the leaf litter samples. Leaf litter samples were taken, put into a funnel, and placed under a light source over some alcohol for a few days to see how many, and which types of organisms would fall into the alcohol. This showed the different types of organisms present in that sample. The leaf litter sample proved to be more diverse than the soil samples. The leaf litter samples had more organisms than the soil sample did, and the Sampsons Index was lower than one, and Sampsons Index of Diversity and Sampsons Reciprocal Index were higher than one. The leaf litter samples were dense in biodiversity, which supports the hypothesis. However; due to human activities, like deforestation, there is a lot of biodiversity loss, which will have bad consequences for the environment if it continues. Problem How biodiverse is leaf litter compared to the soil? Hypothesis If leaf litter is collected, then the leaf litter samples will be very diverse compared to the soil sample. Parts of the Experiment The control group was the soil sample. The experimental groups are the leaf litter samples. The independent variable is how much, and how deep the leaf litter samples were taken. The dependent variable is how much and how many insect species are collected from the leaf litter samples. Materials Compound Microscope Berless Funnel Leaf Litter Alcohol Source of Light Soil

Methods 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Collect a sample of leaf litter. Examine the layer and classify what the layer is composed of. Place sample into the Berlese funnel under the light source. Place a small beaker of alcohol under the funnel. After a few days, collect the beaker and examine the organisms collected in the alcohol under the microscope. 6. Calculate and identify the number of species in the alcohol. 7. Use the information to calculate the diversity indices for the sample. Data Group Protura Mite Centipede Paura Spider Poda Soil 1 1 0 0 0 Litter 0 6 0 0 0 1 Litter 0 2 0 0 0 2 Litter 0 15 0 0 2 3 Litter 5 6 0 0 1 4 Litter 0 66 0 0 2 5 Litter 0 65 1 3 1 6 Litter 3 76 0 0 2 7 Thrip Sprimgtale Nemotoda 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Snail 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

Data Analysis The soil group, and leaf litter groups 1, and 2 found two different types of insects in the samples. Leaf litter group 4, 5, and 7 found three different types of insects in the samples. Leaf litter group 6 found four different types of insects in the sample. And, Leaf litter group 3 found five different types of insects in the sample. Leaf litter groups 1 and two were the only groups that had the same amount of insects in the leaf litter as in the soil sample. The other groups had one to three more insect types than the soil sample. Every group had mites, like the soil sample, but only groups 4 and 7 had Protura like the soil sample. All of the other insects in the leaf litter samples were not found in the soil sample.

Conclusion Sampsons Index = .001 Sampsons Index of Diversity = .998 Sampsons Reciprocal Index = 979.028 The leaf litter samples were much more biodiverse than the soil sample. This is due to Sampsons Index being lower than one, and Sampsons Index of Diversity and Sampsons Reciprocal Index being higher than one. This supports the hypothesis because the leaf litter samples proved to be more diverse than the soil sample with more insect types in most of the leaf litter samples as compared to the soil sample. Biodiversity is essential to maintaining a healthy environment because different species complete different jobs in the environment. But, humans are impacting biodiversity in negative ways. One way is through deforestation. Due to humans, 12-15 million hectares of forest are lost each year, the equivalent of 36 football fields per minute. This destroys many species that are known and unknown to humans. And, if it continues, it can have bad consequences for the environment like disrupted water cycles, increased soil erosion, and disrupted livelihoods for people who make a living off of the once diverse species. 1. One reason the organisms moved away from the light down the funnel is because the light dries out the leaves, and so the organisms tried to move deeper to get to moisture. This could indicate that the organisms need a wet environment to live in. Another reason the organism moved away from the light down the funnel is because the light makes the leaves hot and so the organisms move deeper to get to a colder environment. This could indicate that the organisms need a cool environment to survive. 2. The biodiversity of this leaf litter is high density because there are many different types of organisms found in each sample. And, Sampsons Index is lower than one, and Sampsons Index of Diversity and Sampsons Reciprocal Index is higher than one which all indicates a biodiversity of high density. 3. An environmental scientist would need to make more than one measurement when calculating biodiversity to make sure that all of the data taken is reliable. That the scientist did not only measure an area that had an abnormally high or low number of organisms, and use only data from this section because it is not an accurate show of the organisms in the entire area. To take samples of a large forest, it would be helpful to divide the forest into a certain number of sections, and take samples every few feet to try and get samples from all over the forest as opposed to just in one abnormal section.

Works Cited "Deforestation." WWF. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2014.