Ecology Research Project
Description
Develop a plan on how to sample variation in a single trait of the plant species of your choice. Consider traits that may influence how well the species functions. Examples might include height, leaf length or number, flower length, fish length, invertebrate weight, etc. Your sample size should contain a minimum of 80 individuals.
Keep track of all your data on the datasheet that you create for your project. Make sure you review all of the required calculations to make sure you have enough or the right kind of data for the species of interest.
Calculate the following metrics:
Sample Size (n)
Sample Mean (x)
Sample Variance (s2 )
Standard Deviation (s)
Standard Error (S.E.)
95% Confidence Interval for Mean
Create a frequency histogram of your population
What do the variance, S.E., or standard deviation estimates tell you about your population that the mean does not? Why is it important to report some measure of variation, along with the sample size, whenever you report a calculated mean?
Creating a Histogram in Excel. Compare your histogram to the description of a normal distribution, did you get a fairly good fit to the bell-shaped curve, or did you notice a different pattern? Describe these differences: was it bimodal? Skewed? Flat? Do you think you made enough measurements to make a judgment on this trait, or do you think more data is needed?
One citation required in CSE format.
