introduction FP

The Methods Project for Writing in Biology is a tool to show how important it is for the scientific community to conduct research with procedures that allow for an experiment to be replicated and achieve the same results. For the methods project, I had to make a figure showing an interaction between two species around the University of Massachusetts campus.

I choose to use Durfree Conservatory as a space to find one. Inside, there is a pond there with koi fish and plants surrounding it. I noticed that the fish sometimes nibble on the plants that either grow in the pond or those that happen to fall in.

Seeing as the building was an enclosed, temperature controlled environment where the plants and the pond are maintains without much outside influence, I thought it would be a perfect area. The subjects of the study were not affected by the outside winter temperature and snow. Also, both the fish and plants are stuck in one easily accessible area. As the conservatory has a glass ceiling, the time of day matters in order to get a photo with sufficient light and the conservatory is only open from 10 am to 4 pm on weekdays. By going late morning, the sun is overhead and gives enough light for the photos to be taken.