This week, my group and I formulated a plan for accomplishing the tasks required to complete the project. We decided that over the weekend, we would go to Central Park to observe the invertebrate life we find there. We would photograph insects we find, as well as record videos of any invertebrates we find. This task might be tedious, considering the elusive behavior of insects along with their size.
During future weekends, I would personally visit Marine Park and collect data on invertebrates. In addition, we agreed that we should freely record any invertebrate findings we might make outside of our visits to these parks.
Prior to going, however, we need to research what kind of life the taxonomic group, “invertebrate,” refers to. I know that insects are part of this group, but considering the fact that invertebrates encompass a whole host of organisms besides insects (mollusks, crustaceans, arachnids, and worms), it would be wise to have an understanding of the taxonomy of invertebrates prior to going to Central Park.
This serves as a prime example of how things we do in our everyday lives contribute to everyday science learning. Even prior to embarking on data collection, I am already have a compulsion to gain a higher understanding of my subject.
After we collect data and record our observations, we will post our findings to iNaturalist and I’ll save the photos and videos for our documentary.