Yay! I am so glad that my classes are going again. I know winter break is not a very long break from school but I really love what I am learning. I love it because it is a small part of my life. School does not take over everything that I do. It is more like my hobby that I work on for 2-3 hours 5 times a week. This semester I am taking 6 credits instead of 3 so hopefully I didn't overdo myself and I will still enjoy my classes.
I am taking Intro to Graduate Studies. Where I will design a research project, learn how to write grant proposals and other things like that. The research project I design can be the one that I complete to fulfill my research requirements. For my first assignment I had to come up with three testable hypothesis statements. Here is what I came up with:
1. If urban areas are occupied by people with greater socioeconomic status then native plant biodiversity increases.
2. If residential vegetation in urban areas is made of native plant species then the biodiversity of native plant, bird and butterfly populations increases.
3. If songbirds living in areas of high anthropogenic noise have the ability to alter their song frequency then they will have high fecundity compared to bird species which do not have the ability to alter their song frequency.
I am really interested in the impact of native species (animal, plant, fungi) in urban environments. There is a theory that the more urban an environment is, the biodiversity of native species decreases.
It would be totally interesting to test the first hypothesis in determining causality of native plant species success. The second hypothesis looks at practical restoration techniques to increase overall diversity and possibly help some threatened species. The third hypothesis is interesting but I already know the answer to that one.
I am really excited about the possibility of doing research. I love outdoor, field research! I would do it everyday if being a mom allowed me that freedom. Hopefully, I will get to do it more in the future. There is also a possibility that the Denver Botanic Gardens is going to aid my research by providing me with mentors and support. They will in turn get man hours from me. Yay! for school!
5 comments:
hey Cara, Dave told me about how you are working on your masters and get to stay home. I think that is so great! Miss you all, it's still sad you aren't in our ward anymore. to only just get to say hi here and there! =0)
Debbie Davis
Really interesting stuff! I would love to know what you find out about the relationship between native plant biodiversity and socioeconomics. Happy researching!
Cara! These are really interesting research ideas! I wouldn't have thought that the plant diversity would increase with increasing socioeconomic status. But it definately an interesting question. You are very creative. Good luck with the research; that is great that the botanical gardens are going to mentor you!
Yay for Denver Botanic Gardens! And yay for your research! You're awesome!
Good work, Cara! I love any sort of plant-based projects :) Let me know if you ever have any questions, want random papers chucked at you, etc. Congrats on baby #2-to-be, too :)
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