Category: BioBlitz Research Question

Group Members: Demir Mcrae and Weihang Ke

1. What is the final version of the question you are interested in asking?
   • How do the rising temperatures from climate change impact the species found in NYC parks?
2. List some keywords to use when searching for related scientific literature. Be specific!
   • The temperature of past summers, Species in Inwood Hill Park, Effects of climate change, Species affected by temperature
3. Where will your data come from? Do you need to collect new data? Please describe.
   • Our data would mostly come from different parks in NYC, specifically Inwood Hill Park. Also, our data would come from the internet and database through Baruch. We will need to collect some new data because we haven’t really paid attention to the species in NYC parks before. Therefore, we need to know how many different species are in the park, and the number of each species. Additionally, we will also take notes of the approximate location the species are in. We will also need to know the temperature that time so that comparison can be made.
4. What will you be measuring or comparing? What are the dependent and independent variables?
   • We will be measuring the types of species that we see in the park and the change temperatures throughout the year. Depending on how the temperature changes, we will see what the cross-section of species is in the park. The independent variable is the temperature. The dependent variables are the species.
5. Please make a list of your methods. If you are using existing BioBlitz data, you do not need to describe those data collection methods on this worksheet, but you do need to describe how you are extracting the relevant data from the entire BioBlitz data set.
   • As we are comparing the temperature over time, we will need to research the average temperature and how it has changed over time for both NYC itself as well as the average temperature recorded in specific parks (if available).  Then, we will compare our research to research found on the animals in the park. This will include the number of species, the count of animals of that species, etc. to determine the overall well being of species found in these city parks.  By comparing the average temperature changes to the possible changes in the overall well being of the species of the parks, we will be able to conclude how a rising temperature from climate change has impacted the species found in NYC parks.
6. Why is this question interesting to you? Why should others care about this topic?
   • Our group members have always been concerned about climate change because global warming has been such a serious issue that needs everyone’s attention and action. We assume that no one is unfamiliar with global warming and the devastating consequences it can bring to our lives and to “Mother Earth”, including rising sea levels and causing severe droughts. New York, a city with different opportunities in different industries, inevitably contributes to the phenomenon of global warming. Since it is already so rare to see different organisms in NYC, we wonder in what ways rising temperature would harm the species in NYC parks. Rather than being interested in this question, we would say that it is our responsibility to learn about it and do whatever to minimize the negative impacts so that nature would continue being prolific with species. In terms of why others should care, we are all parts of Earth, and it would be so beautiful to stop to see the nature in such an overwhelming city.

1. What is the final version of the question you are interested in asking?
   1. How does the water quality of bodies of water differ from park to park in NYC?
2. List some keywords to use when searching for related scientific literature. Be specific!
   1. New York bodies of water
   2. Water quality
   3. Turbidity
   4. coliform/fecal
3. Where will your data come from? Do you need to collect new data? Please describe.
   1. Old bioblitz data from nyc open data
      1. https://data.cityofnewyork.us/Health/DOHMH-Beach-Water-Quality-Data/2xir-kwzz
      2. https://data.cityofnewyork.us/Environment/Watershed-Water-Quality-Data/y43c-5n92
   2. We do not need to collect new data since the most recent data was from September of this year for the watershed water quality
4. What will you be measuring or comparing? What are the dependent and independent variables?
   1. We will be comparing the water quality of bodies of water in NYC parks.
   2. Independent variable: water quality
   3. Dependent variable: location (park)
5. Please make a list of your methods. If you are using existing BioBlitz data, you do not need to describe those data collection methods on this worksheet, but you do need to describe how you are extracting the relevant data from the entire BioBlitz data set.
   1. Since we are using old BioBlitz data, we will be combining different sets of data: one being the water quality of NYC beaches and then the data from the watershed water quality. Using these two, we will observe and record how water quality varies across different NYC parks and locations.
6. Why is this question interesting to you? Why should others care about this topic?
   1. Water quality is an important factor in sustaining New York City’s natural wildlife and ecosystems.  Understanding differences in water quality between parks can help us to understand the health of different ecosystems across NYC.

group members: kiara and robert

1. What is the final version of the question you are interested in asking? How does the water quality in Inwood Hill Park affect the biodiversity of the fish in the area?
2. List some keywords to use when searching for related scientific literature. Be specific! When searching for related scientific literature we will use key terms such as water quality, fish species, and ph levels and see where and how they all overlap.
3. Where will your data come from? Do you need to collect new data? Please describe. Some of our data will come from existing research documented online in the databases. This will be mostly background information that will allow us to see what has generally been found in regards to this topic. We will however need to collect new data and test the water samples in different areas ourselves since there is not much data available that is specific to our question.
4. What will you be measuring or comparing? What are the dependent and independent variables? We will be measuring the water quality at the locations of Inwood Hill Park and the biodiversity of the fish. The independent variable in the research will be the water quality and the dependent variable is the number of fish in the area.
5. Please make a list of your methods. If you are using existing BioBlitz data, you do not need to describe those data collection methods on this worksheet, but you do need to describe how you are extracting the relevant data from the entire BioBlitz data set. For our scientific research project, we are going to use the BioBlitz data collected from Inwood Hill Park. In particular, we will be extracting information from the sections on fish observations and water quality testings. Using excel, we are going to narrow down which species were found, where they were found, and in what quantities. Similarly, we will use the same excel functions to look at the different water properties tested, like dissolved oxygen percentages and pH levels. We will attempt to draw meaningful correlations and note any patterns between the two sets of data.
6. Why is this question interesting to you? Why should others care about this topic? Being a city campus, we’d never expect to find such great biodiversity. Of course, we see pigeons and squirrels almost everywhere, but what we don’t see everyday is the marine life. We thought it’d be interesting to explore this realm of urban ecology and get a better understanding of what is living in our waters. People may think, how does water quality in parks affect humans? Why should we study fish diversity? Like we’ve been learning, humans are very much a part of the ecosystem, and everything is connected. Testing water quality can give insight into how we as humans are affecting life for fish. Litter and pollution are major problems in NYC, and it can show in the water of our parks. The ecosystem is fragile, and in order to maintain a homeostasis, we need to understand every aspect, including the fish. How are we affecting them, and how are they affecting us?

Group Members: Mark Kashani, Karishma Malhotra, AJ Johnson

1. What is the final version of the question you are interested in asking?

How does the variation of plant life in NYC Parks affect each respective environment?

2. List some keywords to use when searching for related scientific literature. Be specific!

Ecosystem, air quality, water quality (acidity), variation, germination, roots/taproots, chlorophyll, chloroplast

3. Where will your data come from? Do you need to collect new data? Please describe.

Our data will primarily come from the BioBlitz research that has been conducted over the past few years in the various NYC parks. The BioBlitz observations will enable us to understand what fauna and flora are found in the parks; however, we will be doing some outside research to figure out exactly how the specific plants found in these areas affect the surrounding environment.

4. What will you be measuring or comparing? What are the dependent and independent variables?

We will be measuring the characteristics of certain plants in different parks, then comparing those characteristics to see the effects on the surrounding environment. The independent variables will be the plants, and their characteristics, found throughout NYC Parks. Meanwhile, the dependent variables will be the surrounding air quality, water quality, animals, and insects with respect to plant life.

5. Please make a list of your methods. If you are using existing BioBlitz data, you do not need to describe those data collection methods on this worksheet, but you do need to describe how you are extracting the relevant data from the entire BioBlitz data set.

1. Begin by analyzing our own plant observations from BioBlitz (which we have a picture of), and cross-reference them with other plant observations to find the most abundant species
2. Then use previous BioBlitz data to collect information on plant life in other NYC Parks
3. Organize our data to portray the 5 most abundant plant species in each park
4. Then go back to the BioBlitz Data Base, including observations from this year, and write down observations about air quality, water quality, animal life, and insect life
5. Lastly, use outside research to connect how these specific plants found in the parks impact their surrounding environment and lead to the outcomes shown by the dependent variables

6. Why is this question interesting to you? Why should others care about this topic?

This research question is of interest to our group because after visiting Inwood Hill Park, we realized the variation of plant life in each park across NYC and the major impact it had on each environment it was placed in. Others should share this same concern because they may live in many similar environments and there may be plant life in our experiment that can improve the quality of their environment.

Team Members: 

Felix Malamud

Daniel Khaldarov

1) What is the final version of the question you are interested in asking?

How does the population of toxic plants in Inwood Hill Park compare with that in other major parks (with a certain minimum square footage) in NYC?

2) List some keywords to use when searching for related scientific literature. Be specific!

Key words: Toxic plants population, NYC parks 

3) Where will your data come from? Do you need to collect new data? Please describe.

Data will primarily come from the Bioblitz INaturalist database. The Bioblitz database can provide information about where poison ivy has been spotted in the major parks of NYC in addition to Inwood Hill Park.

3) What will you be measuring or comparing? What are the dependent and independent variables?

We will be comparing the population of toxic plants in Inwood Hill Park to that of other major parks in NYC. The independent variable is the location of the toxic plants, and the dependent variable is the population of the toxic plants. 

4) Please make a list of your methods. If you are using existing BioBlitz data, you do not need to describe those data collection methods on this worksheet, but you do need to describe how you are extracting the relevant data from the entire BioBlitz data set.

With existing Bioblitz data collected through INaturalist, we will first identify what toxic plants inhabit Inwood Hill Park by looking through the data collected under the “Plants>Species” section of the database and researching the species to determine their toxicity. Then we will identify the population of these toxic plants identified in Inwood Hill Park and other major parks in NYC.

5) Why is this question interesting to you? Why should others care about this topic?

Knowing if Inwood Hill Park or other parks in NYC have an abnormally high or low population of toxic plants can indicate whether or not there is a need to regulate the growth of such toxic plants in certain areas to maintain a healthy environment.

Group Members: Harmeet Kaur, Ayelet Segal, Pabvitraa Ramcharan

1. What is the final version of the question you are interested in asking? 
   1. How does altitude affect the abundance and diversity of microorganisms found in soil?
2. List some keywords to use when searching for related scientific literature. Be specific!
   1. Microbial soil
   2. Effects of microorganisms on the environment
   3. Effect of altitude on microorganisms
   4. Importance of microorganisms
   5. Physicochemical properties of soil
3. Where will your data come from? Do you need to collect new data? Please describe.
   1. Our data will come from previous BioBlitz data, as well as the data collected from this year’s BioBlitz. This year’s BioBlitz data for microbial soil will be available by the first week in November.
4. What will you be measuring or comparing? What are the dependent and independent variables?
   1. We will be measuring the amount/diversity of microorganisms present within soil found at different altitudes.
   2. We will compare the abundance and diversity of microorganisms found on higher altitudes to those found on lower altitudes.
   3. The dependent variable is the amount of microorganisms, while the independent variable is the altitude those microorganisms are found on.
5. Please make a list of your methods. If you are using existing BioBlitz data, you do not need to describe those data collection methods on this worksheet, but you do need to describe how you are extracting the relevant data from the entire BioBlitz data set.
   1. Soil sampling: collecting soil found at different altitudes and having the lab analyze them (lab work is taken care of by those in charge of BioBlitz)
   2. Researching the topic of how altitude affects the diversity and abundance of microorganisms found in soil.
   3. Applying previous years BioBlitz data to our data, by looking at all the microorganisms (and quantity of each) was found on different altitudes.
6. Why is this question interesting to you? Why should others care about this topic?
   1. We don’t learn much about microorganisms in school. This may be due to the common phrase, “out of sight, out of mind” since the microorganisms are literally out of our minds as we cannot see them. So, this project helps us learn more about microorganisms and where we would be able to find more of them in soil. Others should care about this topic because microorganisms are important to our ecosystems. They break down substances, like dead plants, into simpler substances which release gases that are necessary for other organisms to survive.