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.
