1

            Ecology characterizes  the patterns in nature, studying the complex interactions among organisms and their environments. This also includes understanding the mechanisms involved in biodiversity (Smith, 2001). Ecological research ranges from the adaptations of individual organisms to the dynamics of the biosphere (Campbell, 2002). Research may be performed in many areas of ecology, commonly, focusing on individual ecosystems. An ecosystem consists of all abiotic factors in addition to the entire community of species that exist in a certain area (Campbell, 2002). There are many ways for research to be performed including; field studies, applied variants and controls, and sampling and surveying the area.

For this report, emphasis is placed on the sampling and surveying techniques that may be performed on local ecosystems. Sampling techniques allow information to be obtained concerning the area under study. Results provide knowledge of the area, which is helpful when further inquisitions arise. Studies are performed to gather data, which can be compared with previous results from that ecosystem, allowing one to hypothesize explanations for change.

Sampling techniques, such as water and soil analysis, are useful in determining the quality as well as what chemicals are present and at what certain levels. Knowing chemical levels is important because high or low levels may be toxic to organisms. Researchers can use this information to treat the toxic area so it no longer disrupts the ecosystem. Surveying techniques, such as flora and fauna surveys, are useful in determining what organisms are present in the particular area, as well as at what quantity. This knowledge is useful to researchers doing field experiments where they need a quantitative analysis prior to the experimenting in order to know the effect of their variance.

This research was done to determine the various aspects of several local ecosystems at Clermont College. Our data documents the conditions present here on campus. These data were compared with previous data on these ecosystems. Several sets of data are important because one can predict future results from the successive data entries. Long-term research is important because it provides a basis for reference and predictive knowledge of what is to come. Series of observations must be collected for any trend or pattern to emerge (Smith, 2001).