Shrewsbury
Biology Fieldwork brings learning to life for Upper Sixth Form pupils
Upper Sixth Biologists recently completed extensive experiments on a three-day fieldwork component of their A-Level studies.
Biologists Carlton W (Ch) and Ethan W (SH) have reflected on the field trip.
On Thursday we ventured into Whixall Moss, a peat bog covering over 2000 acres filled with numerous insects and plants. There we took samples across a transect of 10 x 1 m.
Our plant of choice to sample was heather. By using three different types of quadrats (grid, open meter, point), we tested the difference in the counts from those three quadrats. Since it rained the day before, the pathway was soaked, and we even got to see dragonflies, bees and just how acidic the water in the bog is. After that we had a tour of Prees Heath Common from the first Warden of the Butterfly Conservation Trust site, Stephen Lewis, the place we would later do our investigation in.
On Friday, it was an early start to the day and a two hour drive to Ynyslas Dunes. It was windy but thankfully it wasn't raining and we even saw a double rainbow. The day’s focus was on succession; starting from the shoreline and working our way into the dune, by counting the recording the number of each species with our point quadrat every 25 metres, we got to indirectly travel back in time and witness succession first hand.
We also stopped by Ynys Hir to learn other how to apply other sampling methods in different ecosystems, count insects and aquatic invertebrates using sweep netting while also doing some birdwatching.
On Saturday we went back to Prees Heath Common to carry out the experiments we planned out on Thursday. Our group focused on how soil pH will affect the biodiversity of plants in three different parts of the heathland: The mown heathland, unmown heathland, and the field with no heather.
During the experiments we found just how diverse heathland really is, we saw many different organisms like weaver spiders, different mosses, fungi and heather. We then went back to the lab and made our posters with the results of the day and had a big presentation in the Science Lecture Theatre.
On Sunday, we went to the Rea Brook to learn about kick sampling. It was a short 20 minute drive away and the weather was great! We then went to a part of the river with our nets and did a bit of kick sampling. The results were very wide ranging, with most groups getting close to no organisms (our group did 3 samples and only got 2 shrimp), but in some cases, some groups were very successful, with some even catching small fish!
Overall, the field course was an excellent opportunity for us biology students to get out there and do some hands-on ecology, we got so much exposure to different landscapes like sand dunes and peat bogs, and this experience turned things that we would normally associate with mark schemes and 6-markers and brought it to life.
View more photos from the trip in the gallery below
