ON, NEAR, AND AWAY FROM THE FENCERyan Michalec, Sebastian Gentry and

Graham WellensA2

June 14, 2011

Problem

In many situations, there are barriers between natural areas affected by humans and those free to wild growth

One of the most common of these barriers is a Fence

We wanted to see how the away from the fence (how close to humanity the area is) will affect the growth of the weed Curly Dock

Hypothesis

If the number of Curly Dock weeds is measured at locations on both sides of the fence, then the human inhabited area will have more Curly Dock weeds, because the weak weeds will be able to get the nutrients they need without having to compete with other larger, stronger plants like trees and flowers that are in the wilderness but not the area with human interference.

Experimental Design Independent Variable:

Distance away from the fence (distance closer to or farther away from the Humanity and Wildlife separation) in Meters- Increments (+#s are towards wilderness, -# are towards humanity).

Dependent Variable: The number of Curly Dock specimens per square 20cm

Constants: The distance from the fence to the wilderness and human inhabitance, the size of the square being used to measure, and the climate are all constants in this experiment.

Test Procedure: Measure out increments of one meter and 3 meters on two sides of the fence. Then, on each of these points, create a 20cm by 20cm square. Count and record how many Curly Dock weeds are in the square. Finally, measure out another 20cm by 20cm square parallel to the fence. Repeat on every distance to get five results.

Diagram of the Experiment

Data

1 2 3 4 5Trial #

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Population Density of Curly Dock in Relation to the Fence

3

1

0

-1

-3

Num

ber

of

Curl

y D

ock

per

20 S

quare

cm

Distance From Fence (meters)

Population Density of Curly Dock in Relation to the Fence

Conclusion According to the data, the farther away from the fence towards the

wilderness, the less Curly Dock (Average of 1.8 plants at 3m), and the closer to humanity, the more Curly Dock (Average of 6 plants at -3m).

The findings seem to resemble the patterns in nature. There are usually less Curly Dock in the wild, and more near humanity, where there is less competition, and the dock, with it’s quick lifespan, can thrive.

• If this experiment was repeated, the thing that would best be changed would be to measure at more distances away from the fence. The results would have been more accurate at distances like 2 meters and 10 meters had been measured.

Evaluation