The Effect Highways Have on Invertebrates: Does Distance Matter?

1. The Effect Highways Have on Invertebrates: Does Distance Matter? By: Rachel French

2. QUESTION • What effect did distance from a highway have on roadside soil communities?

3. BACKGROUND INFORMATION • Forms of highway pollution • Noise • Car exhaust • De-icing programs • Effects of highway pollution on children • Most invertebrates are found in the top five centimeters of soil

4. HYPOTHESIS • Species density and diversity would increase with increasing distance from a highway.

5. PROCEDURE • Created funnels • Collected and massed soil samples • Put soil samples in funnels • Returned fallen particles to funnels • Filled jars with alcohol and wrapped with foil • Centered lights over funnels • Observed samples over the next five days • Removed collection jars and analyzed

6. APPARATUS http://medlibrary.org/medwiki/Tullgren_funnel

7. VARIABLES • Independent variable: distance from highway • Dependent variable: number of invertebrates found • Control: none (comparative among distances) • Constants: amount of alcohol, type of alcohol, type of jars, amount of each soil sample collected, where the soil samples were taken from, the type of bottles, the amount of light the bottles got, the amount of time the soil samples had to dry out

8. NUMBER OF INVERTEBRATES FOUND

9. AVERAGENUMBER OF INVERTEBRATES FOUND

10. Simpson’s Diversity Index and Equitability • Simpson’s Diversity Index • For this experiment, ranges from one to three • Higher the number, the greater the diversity • Equitability • Closer to one means more consistent throughout data sets

11. Simpson’s Diversity Index and Equitability

12. CONCLUSION • Hypothesis supported • Sources of error • Weather • Pedestrian/animal traffic • Human disturbances during experimentation • Limited number or organisms found • Further research • Various roadways • Research organisms

13. Thanks • Thank you for listening to my presentation • Questions • Sources are to follow

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