Planet Earth Research Project

Purpose

Students will design and complete a field study in which the relationship between the physical environment and the biodiversity of the Austin area is analyzed.

Description

Students will select a natural area in which to perform their field study. Such areas include City of Austin nature preserves, greenbelts and parks; state parks and preserves or private land that has been left relatively undisturbed. Data from these studies will be made available to the various agencies that monitor these areas. Students must be sure to secure permission to enter such areas and follow all regulations governing the use of these areas. The area chosen for study should ideally be located near the student’s home.

In class and in the Walnut Creek Greenbelt near LBJ, students will be taught field techniques for the following:

  1. surveying woody plant populations
  2. surveying songbird populations
  3. surveying arthropod populations
  4. surveying soil organisms
Students will be required to apply at least one of these techniques in their selected field areas. It is strongly encouraged that students work with a partner on the project, ideally from the same Planet Earth class in order to use project class time most effectively. Having a partner will be safer and more time and effort efficient on many parts of the project. Having a partner will also double the amount of data collected, thereby increasing the statistical accuracy of the surveys. Students may also work alone or in groups of up to four and even with students from other class periods but each of these situations tend to have problems. When working alone, students have no one with which to brainstorm when problems arise in the field or to share the transportation (to the field area) burden. With larger groups, coordinating time in the field may be frustrating and result in missed deadlines. Students are encouraged to compare their results with other teams (working on the same or different organisms and in the same or different field areas) in order to obtain a more thorough understanding of the biodiversity of the Austin area.

Directions and requirements for each type of analysis will be provided to students when each technique is presented in class. After students become familiar with each technique, they may choose the one that they will apply at their chosen study site. Each student will receive both individual and group grades.

If after the field techniques are introduced in class, a student is not interested in pursuing such a field study, the student should be ready to discuss with the teacher possible alternatives for their research project. Any alternative should involve the same level of complexity and effort as in the project types described in class.