The Great Yardening

 

  Hey Everyone! This time I want to focus on cataloguing some species within the yard to get a comprehensive list going so that when the yard is plotted, we can allocate species to each location. In order to determine which application to use for identification, I have three control species, those being 2 native and 1 non-native. Those species being Firebush (Hamelia patens), Sunshine Mimosa (Mimosa strigillosa), and Confederate Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides).  Plant ID 54.9% identified for Sunshine Mimosa 2nd highest was Mimosa pudica at 26.5% 81.2% identified for Firebush 2nd highest was Celosia argentea var. plumosa at 10.1% 21.9% identified for Confederate Jasmine 2nd highest was Trachelospermum Asiaticum, another species of Asiatic Jasmine Honestly quite pleased with how that turned out, more accurate than I was expecting considering my questionable camera quality for the Confederate Jasmine. For a good app alternative I've decided to give Seek a try...

Hey all! I started attempting to plot various coordinates within the yard using an app called QField, but had some issues. The app honestly is pretty decent, allowing for geospatial tagging with notes, pictures, and color coordination, however my phone's geospatial capabilities are lacking. The variance under partial and full tree cover was going from 30-50ft when it would update, and it would stay in the same spot otherwise!  I have tried other apps, to be met with similar issues, along with worse UI implementation. Another unique problem to Florida, and other heated areas, is that of phone heating. When phones overheat, they get slower as the processor is not able to operate as efficiently, which then leads to slower data input, and sometimes even worse geospatial matching.  I have decided to do one of two routes for mapping the yard and the life within it. I will first attempt to use QField on a more advanced phone (Mine is a 13mini Iphone) in the hopes that the improvement...

  Hey Everyone! Biodiversity is a heck of a thing, and in fact it is in an indicator of the ecological health of a given area! In the fossil record, biodiversity typically peaks in the millions of years directly post cataclysmic extinctions as there are a huge variety of niches that have directly opened up.  Naturally going extinct isn't on our bucket list, and since we are so intertwined with the natural world it is important to acknowledge and promote the health of our living world. While fossil fuels are not technically dinosaurs, they are still remnants of ancient microbial life, namely those that photosynthesized and decayed millions upon millions of years ago. It is within these early times we can come to realize the importance of Biodiversity. The Great Oxidation Event is something that really should be talked about more. There was a time where oxygen was a scarce resource, that oh-so-special substance that is now necessary for the majority of macroscopic life to exist....

 Hello Everyone! This blog exists to chronical my journey of discovering the biodiversity within my settled area. Specifically mapping and plotting both animals and plants that exist within the boundaries of my property.  As more and more of Florida is paved over by industry and expanding housing and infrastructure, the amount of wildlife patches and causeways continues to decrease. By more closely examining pockets of life and green among the gray, we can ascertain which parts of the property give life the most leverage to succeed and thrive. Here is an excerpt from my original study area submission.  Throughout the past 27 years, the variety of wildlife using both the yard section and the wetlands section have been remarkable with deer still passing through regularly. The primary predators of this location are a pair of Red Shouldered hawks that have made roost in a local tree. Last semester, we had a Federally threatened Wood Stork use our ‘ditch’ as a fishing location...