Factors that Influence the Abundance of Plant Species in BioBlitz 2020 Data

Plants were one of the most widely observed specimens in the Bioblitz 2020 dataset. The purpose of our research is to study the factors that influence the high abundance of Ageratina altissima, Hibiscus syriacus, and Impatiens capensis found in the 2020 BioBlitz data. We hypothesized that a major factor explaining these species’ abundance would be fragmentation, namely that plants would be more abundant in less fragmented locations. However, our results were varied; A. altissima was more common in residential areas, H. syriacus was found equally in residential and park areas, and I. capensis was solely found in parks. We found this variance to be due to specific features in each of the plant species that helped them flourish in their respective locations.

Project Contributors: Abigail Ovitsh, Zuha Ahmed, Sabrina Long

Description:
Based on our background research, we hypothesized that factors that influence plant abundance in the different observed locations of the Bioblitz 2020 data include fragmentation and traits specific to each plant species. We studied the three most observed plant species in the 2020 Bioblitz data, which were: Ageratina altissima (white snakeroot), Hibiscus syriacus (common hibiscus), and Impatiens capensis (common jewelweed). We used the coordinates of each plant observation to divide its observed location into residential/urban or park areas. Based on background research, we believed that the abundance of these three plant species would be higher in less fragmented areas, such as urban parks, rather than more highly fragmented residential neighborhoods. Results were actually varied and proved that specific traits of plants are associated with their relative abundance in urban vs. park areas, while fragmentation can only explain the location for Impatiens capensis.

PDF of Poster can be viewed here.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply