ENVS2009/Guidelines for Data SummaryReportonWilliams RiverFieldExcursion Data

DueDate:5pmMonday,October 12.
You must submit both aHardCopyANDanelectroniccopyviaTurnitin. Hard copies are to be submitted to the regular assignment boxes:Callaghan – outside the lab (Level1oftheScienceBuilding); Ourimbah – acrossfromtheScienceOffices.Latesubmissionswill be penalized at a rate of 10% per day.

Pleasenote:
• Noconsultationonanyaspectofthereportwill be entered into, either in person or electronically, after 5pmon Wednesday October 7.All datapresentation/analysesshould be attempted prior to this date to allow you to identify any issues with which you may require help.

• Thewrittenreportsaretobecompletedindividually-thisincludesanydataanalyses/presentationandinterpretation.AnyindicationsofcollaborationindevelopingthereportswillbetreatedasanAcademicIntegrityViolationandwillresultinafinalmarkof0forthereport.PlagiarismisalsoanAcademicIntegrityViolation.Ifyouareunsurehowtocitematerialfromexternalreferences,pleaseaskoneoftheinstructorsforassistance.

BasicFormattingGuidelines:
• MaximumLength:9pagesnotincludingfiguresandtables
• 1.5linespacingmax-nodoublelinesbetweensectionheadings.
• 2.5cmmarginsonallsides.
• 11pointfontsize-Arial,Calibri,TimesNewRomanFontsonly.
• Referencing:Harvard/Author-DateFormat(SeeGuidelinesonBlackboardSite).

ObjectiveinWritingtheReport:
Theobjectiveinwritingthisreportistousethedatacollectedduringthefieldexcursionstoaddressaresearchquestion/hypothesisrelatedtopredicteddifferencesbetweenthefieldsites.Anunderstandingofthekeydifferencesbetweenthefieldsiteswillbeimportantforyoutodeveloptheresearchquestion.Asareview,thesitessampledwereasfollows:

WilliamsRiveratTillegraBridge:ThissitewasupstreamoftheconfluencewiththeChichesterRiver.TherearenoimpoundmentsontheWilliamsRiverabovethispoint.

Chichester River at Chichester Dam: This site is on the Chichester River downstream of confluence of Chichester and Wangat Rivers and Chichester Dam

WilliamsRiveratBandonGrove: ThissiteontheWilliamsRiverisdownstreamoftheconfluencewiththeChichesterRiver.

WilliamsRiveratAlisonRoadCrossing:Thissitewasthemostdownstreamofthesiteswesampled.TheWilliamsRiveratthispointhaspassedthroughthetownofDungog.

Youshouldalsoreviewthephysicalhabitatassessmentdatathatwerecollectedduringthefieldexcursionsasthesemayhelpidentifyhabitatdifferencesbetweenthesitesthatcouldleadtodifferencesinwaterqualityandmacroinvertebratecommunitystructure.Additionally,youshouldconsultanelectronicresourcesuchasGoogleEarthand/orhardcopytopographicmapstodeterminewhatthelandusecharacteristicswereupstreamandadjacenttothefieldsitesthatweresampled.Thinkaboutwhatmajorfactorsmaybe differentbetweenthesamplingsitesandhowthosefactorsmayinfluencewaterqualityandmacroinvertebrateassemblages.BackgroundinformationontheWilliamsandChichesterRivercatchmentsisavailableintheHunterWaterCatchmentManagementPlanthathasbeenpostedonBlackboard.Youmayalsoconsultadditionalexternalreferencestogatherinformationaboutlanduseinthesecatchments.

ReportStructure

Allreportsshouldincludethefollowingsections:

1. TitleofReport,AuthorNameandStudentNumber(Doesnothavetobeaseparatepage).

2. Introduction,SiteOverviewandResearchQuestion:Thissectionshouldinclude:
• Abriefbackgroundonthesites(withreferencingasnecessary).
• Asummaryofthephysicalcharacteristicsofthesitesbasedonthephysicalhabitatassessment-(Seenotebelow).
• Asummaryoftheupstreamandsurroundingcatchmentforeachsitebasedonyourconsultation of otherdigital resources (e.g.Google Earth) andtopographic maps.Youshouldindicatewhatsourcesyouusedforthispart.
• Aclearstatementoftheresearchquestionorhypothesisregardinghowwaterqualityandmacroinvertebrateassemblageswilldifferbetweenthesamplingsites.Youwillneedtochoosethree(3)waterqualityvariablestofocusonindevelopingthisquestionandinyoursubsequentanalyses.

PhysicalHabitatAssessments:ThesedatahavebeensummarisedonanExcelspreadsheetavailableontheBlackboardsite.Thespreadsheetincludesallofthehabitatattributesthatwerelistedonthefielddatasheetswith“Xs”usedtoindicateeachtimeaparticularattributewasselectedbyoneofthegroups.Assuch,thespreadsheetsrepresentfrequencydiagramsthatidentifythemostcommonlyselectedattributetypes.Insummarisingthedataforthissectionofthereport,youmaysimplychoosetohavenarrativetextthatexplainsthekeyhabitatcharacteristicsforeachofthefieldsites,includingcommentonanydifferencesthatexistbetweenthesites.Youmayalsochoosetouseagraphicalortabularpresentationofthesedata,butdonotsimplyregurgitateeverythingfromtheExcelspreadsheetontoagraphortable-anydatapresentationyouusemust“say”somethingandberelevanttoestablishingtheresearchquestion.

PagelimitfortheIntroduction,SiteOverviewandResearchQuestionsection:3pages(excludinggraphsortables).

AssessmentcriteriafortheIntroductionsection:
• Adherencetopagelimits.
• Clarityofwriting,includingappropriategrammar,usage,sentencestructure,andreferencingformat.
• Clarity/developmentoftheresearchquestion.

3. Results:Thissectionisthemostimportantpartofthereport.Asfurtherexplainedineachofthesub-sectionsbelow,youhavebeenprovidedwithsummariesofalloftherawdatafromthefieldexcursionsanditisyourjobtodeveloptheseintoacohesivepresentation.Somepointstoconsider:

Replicatedata:Eachofthegroupsworkingatthefieldsitescollecteddatathatnowformreplicatemeasurements.Youmustdeterminehowbesttodealwiththesereplicateswhendisplayingthedata.Anobviousapproachwouldbetotaketheaveragevalueofeachparameterbasedonthegroupmeasurementsfromeachfieldsite.Youshouldalsoincludeameasureofvariabilityofthedata-forexample;reporttheaveragevalueandthestandarddeviation.Thedataforthewaterchemistryandmacroinvertebratesarealsoprovidedforeachfieldtripseparately.Youneedtodecideifitisworthkeepingtheseseparateorcombiningthem-youmaywanttoconsider if there were any significant weather variations across the two days or dosomeexploratoryanalysestoseeifanyrealdifferencesexistintheresultsfromthetwodays.

Tables,graphs,figures:Anytables,graphsorfiguresmustbe:

• Sequentiallynumbered(e.g.Table1,2,3,etc.)soyoucanreferencetheminthetextsectionoftheresults.
• Includeashortdescriptiveheadinginthecaseoftablesorcaptioninthecaseoffigures.Note:Researchpapersfromtheliteratureprovidegoodexamplesofhowtoformattableheadingsandfigurecaptions.Additionalinformationontheuseoftablesandfigureswillbeprovidedinthepracticalsessionthatdiscussesdevelopingthisreport.

Thekeytowritingaresultssectionistouseanappropriateformatforpresentingthedata(table,figure),butalsoincludetexttoexplaintothereaderwhatthemajorresultsare.Youshouldnotassumethereaderwillsimplyreviewyourtablesandfiguresandcomeawaywiththemajorresultsyouaretryingtoconvey.

Statisticalanalyses:Sincethewaterchemistryandmacroinvertebratedataarereplicated,theylendthemselvestobasicstatisticalanalysestodetermineifsignificantdifferencesexistbetweensites.Withthetypeofdataavailable,themostappropriateanalyseswouldbeaOne-WayAnalysisofVariance(ANOVA)withapost-hoctesttodeterminewhichsitesdifferfromeachother.Ifyoufeelcomfortablestatisticallyanalysingdata,youmaydosoaspartoftheresultssection.However,Iamawarethatnotallstudentshavecompletedastatisticscourseandthosethathave,maynotbesufficientlyfamiliarwiththe application of statisticalmethodssuchasANOVA.Assuch,statisticalanalysesofthedataarenotarequirementforthisreport.Youmaysimplysummarisethedatausingtablesandgraphsandthenuseavisualassessmenttodetermineifapparentdifferencesexistbetweensites.However,itisexpectedthatyouwillatleastbeabletocalculatemeansandmeasuresofvariabilityofthedata.
Thefollowingdatamustbeincludedintheresultssection:

WaterChemistryData:ThesedatahavebeensummarisedonasingleExcelspreadsheetavailableontheBlackboardsite.Thedatacollectedonthetwodaysofthetriparepresentedseparately.Asmentionedabove,theweatherandstreamconditionwas different onthetwodays.Assuch,youmaywanttoconductaninitialcomparisonofwaterchemistrybetween the two daysto see ifthereareany major differences andthensimplycombine themifthereisnoobviousdifference.

Summarisingthewaterchemistrydata:Thewaterchemistrydataarepresentedinrawform so,youmustdecidehowtobestsummarisethesereplicatedata.Theformatusedtopresentthesummariseddataisyourchoice-table,graph?NOTE(READTHISITISIMPORTANT)-INDEVELOPINGYOURRESEARCHQUESTIONANDDATAPRESENTATIONYOUONLYNEEDTOPRESENTTHREE(3)WATERQUALITYVARIABLESOFYOURCHOICE.Inchoosingwhichvariablestopresent,youshouldconsiderwhichthreetellthebest“story”aboutdifferencesbetweenthesitesandhowtheymayinfluencethemacroinvertebratesataparticularsite.

Aspartoftheresultssection,youshouldincludeabriefstatementexplainingwhyyouselectedthethreewaterchemistryvariablesyouchosetoaddress.Howmightthesevariablesbeinfluencedbylanduse?Howcantheybeused togetherto characterisewater qualityatthesite?etc.

MacroinvertebrateData:ThesedataarealsosummarisedinanExcelspreadsheetavailableonBlackboard.Somebasicdataanalyseshavealreadybeendoneforyou.Theseinclude:
• RelativeAbundance:Relativeabundanceisdeterminedbydividingthenumberofindividualsofaparticulartaxonomicgroupbythetotalnumberofindividualsinthesample.Thiscanbehelpfulifyouwishtoknowiftheinvertebrateassemblageatasiteisdominatedbyoneparticulargroupoforganisms.
• Totaltaxa/Taxarichness:Thisissimplyacountofthenumberofdifferenttypesofinvertebratesthatwereidentifiedinasample.Taxarichnessisusuallyloweratdegradedsitesascomparedtomorepristinesites.SeethereferencematerialonBlackboardforfurtherdescriptionofmacroinvertebratesummarydatasuchastotalabundance,taxarichness,etc.

Calculationofthe“StreamPollutionIndex(SPI)”fromtheSIGNAL2SensitivityRatingsInadditiontothedescriptivemetricsthathavebeencalculatedforyou,youwillneedtousethemacroinvertebratedatatocalculatetheSPIwhichispartoftheSIGNAL2riverassessmentmethod.

ReviewtheSIGNAL2.ivUsersGuideavailableontheBlackboardsite.Asdiscussedinlecture,thismethodaimstodeterminestreamhealthbasedonhowsensitivetheinvertebratescollectedfromthesystemaretopollutionorhabitatdegradation.Themoresensitiveaninvertebrategroupistopollutionorhabitatdegradation,thehighertheSIGNALsensitivityscore.Afinal“StreamPollutionIndex(SPI)”iscalculatedforthestreambasedonthecombinedsensitivitiesoftheinvertebrates.(Page13oftheSIGNAL2.ivUsersGuideincludesanexampleofhowtocalculateanSPIbasedonidentificationofinvertebratestoPhylum/Class/Order.Anexampleusingdatacollectedduringthefieldtripsisalsoincludedbelow).

SPIcalculation:
1. Basedonthenumberofindividualsofeachmacroinvertebrategroupidentifiedinthesample,determinetheappropriate“WeightFactor”touseforthatgroupinthecalculation.ThisweightfactoradjuststheSPIbasedontherelativeabundanceofmacroinvertebratesin thesample. Table 1 belowliststhe WeightFactors-these are alsolistedintheSIGNAL2.ivUsersGuide.

2. Refertotheexampletablebelow-Multiplythesensitivityrating(ColumnA)bytheWeightfactor(ColumnC)andentertheanswerinColumnD.

3. AddupColumnsCandDandrecordthetotalsinthe“Total”lineundereachcolumn.

4. Countthenumberofdifferentgroupsidentifiedinthesample.Thiswillserveasthetaxarichnessnumberthatwillbeusedinyourassessmentbelow.

5. CalculatetheStreamPollutionIndex(SPI)=TotalColumnD/TotalColumnC.

6. ReviewthesitedescriptionslistedinTable2below(orintheSIGNAL2.ivUsersGuide)andchoosetheonethatbestdescribesthesiteswesampled.Classifythetaxarichnessandstreampollutionindex(SPI)ashighorlowbasedonthesitedescriptionandlevelsindicatedinTable2.

7. UseTable3todeterminetheSIGNAL2conditionassessmentforthesite.

Table1.Weighttable.Usethenumbersbelowtodeterminetheweightfactorforeachoftheinvertebrategroupsidentified.RecordtheappropriateweightfactorincolumnCofTable1.Noticethatthemoreindividualsinagroup,thehighertheweighting.
No.ofindividualsineachinvertebrategroupfound
(ColumnB in Table 1)
WeightFactor(ColumnC in Table1)
1-2 1
3-5 2
6-10 3
11-20 4
>20 5

Table2.SPIandtaxarichnessratingtable.
SPI Taxarichness
Sitedescription Low High Low High
Wetlands 0-3.1 >3.1 0-14 >14
WesternNSWriversorstreams
<300metresasl 0-3.1 >3.1 0-11 >11
Otherriversandcreeks 0-3.5 >3.5 0-15 >15
Table3.SIGNAL2sitescoringtable.

SPI
Taxarichness Siteconditionsbasedonthemacroinvertebratesample
High High Goodwaterqualityandadiversityofhabitats.Itmaybeawell-managedsite,naturalbushland,oranationalpark.
Low High Waterqualitymaybeslightlyaffectedbyhumanactivityornaturalfactors.Theremaybehigherlevelsofsalinityand/ornutrientlevelsatthissite.
High Low Waterqualityisaffectedbyapollutionsourceupstreamortherearefewhabitatsduetoharshphysicalconditions.
Low Low Waterqualityisaffectedbyhumanusesuchasurban,industrial,oragriculturalpollution,orbythedownstreameffectsofdamns.

ExampleSPIcalculation.
A B C D

TaxonomicGroup SensitivityRating Numberofindividuals WeightFactor SensitivityxWeightFactor
Ephemeroptera(Mayflies)
9
127
5
45
Coleoptera(Beetles) 5 5 2 10
Diptera(Flies) 1 3 2 2
Odonata(Dragonflies
&Damselflies)
4
2
1
4
Oligochaeta(Freshwaterworms)
2
5 2 4
TOTAL 12 65

StreamPollutionIndex(SPI)=TotalColumnD/TotalColumnC=65/12=5.4(High-basedonTable2)

TotalTaxa=5(Low-basedonTable2)

SIGNAL2SiteScore(BasedonTable3):Waterqualityisaffectedbyapollutionsourceupstreamortherearefewhabitatsduetoharshphysicalconditions.

Summarisingthemacroinvertebratedata:Useaseriesoftablesorgraphstocomparerelativeabundance,taxarichnessandtheSPIforeachsite.YourresultsshouldincludeatablethatsummarisesthesiteconditionsbasedontheSPIassessment(Table3aboveandSIGNAL2.ivUsersGuide).Inwritingthedescriptivetextfortheresults,youshouldcommentonhowthesedifferentmetricscomparedwitheachotherindifferentiatingthesites.Forexample,didthesitesthattheSPIindicatedwereaffectedbypollutionalsohavethelowestSCI?

PagelimitfortheResultssection:Thetextoftheresultssectionshouldbenomorethan3pagesinlength.Figuresandtablesarenotcountedinthemaximumpagenumber.

AssessmentcriteriafortheResultssection:
• Adherencetopagelimits.
• Clarityofwriting,includingappropriategrammar,usage,andsentencestructure.
• Clarity/developmentofthefiguresandtablesusedtopresenttheresults,includingtheuseof tableheadings and figure captions, appropriatelabelling of figure axes, anduseofappropriateunitsinthecaseofthewaterchemistrydata.
• Clarity/developmentofthedescriptivetextthatyouusetopointoutthemajorresultsindicatedbythetablesandgraphsofthedata.

4. Conclusion:

Thissectionshoulddothefollowing:
• Explainifthedatacollectedsupportedtheresearchquestion.
• Iftheresearchquestionwasnotsupported,giveapossiblereason(s)why.
• Commentonhowthestudymayhavebeenimproved-forexample,howdoyouthinkonlyidentifyinginvertebratestothelevelofordermayhaveinfluencedtheresults?

PagelimitfortheDiscussionsection:TheDiscussionsectionshouldbenomorethan2pagesinlength.
AssessmentcriteriafortheDiscussionsection:

• Adherencetopagelimits.
• Degreetowhicheachofthethreeobjectivesindicatedabove,wereaddressed.
• Clarityofwriting,includingappropriategrammar,usage,andsentencestructure.

5. References:

Note:Thereisnotastrongemphasisonusingexternalreferencesforthisreportalthoughyoumaywanttoincludesomeintheinitialintroductorysection.

Appropriatereferencematerialforuseinthisreportincludes:
• Textbooks (e.g. Boulton and Brock, Australian Freshwater Ecology)
• Thefieldmanualandrelevantpracticalexerciseinstructions.
• Primaryresearchpapers(includinganyofthosepostedontheBlackboardsite).
• Reviewpapers
• Governmentreports(includinganyofthosepostedontheBlackboardsite)
• Reputable websites (e.g. those from government agencies or recognisedorganisations).

Note:Ifyouareunsureaboutwhatconstitutesaprimaryresearchpaperorareviewpaper,pleaseask.

Format:Harvard/AuthorDateReferencingFormat-SeeresourcematerialonBlackboardforfurtherguidanceonthisstyleofreferencingformat.

AssessmentcriteriafortheReferencessection:
• Adherencetoformatguidelines.

6. Appendices:

Youmayincludeanappendixsectiontoprovideoutputfromanystatisticalanalysesorothermaterialnotcriticaltothebodyofthereport.
Parameter Williams R.- Williams R.- Chichester R. Williams R.-
Bandon Grove Tillegra Alison Rd.
Temperature (°C) 13.13 13.41 14.83 13.60
Dissolved Oxygen 9.40 7.02 14.86?? 8.50
Concentration (mg/L)
pH 7.50 7.96 8.30 7.78
Electrical Conductivity 135.00 112.00 65.00 231.00
(µS/cm)
Turbidity (NTU) 1.80 0.00 2.30 1.20
Total dissolved solids 87.75 72.80 42.25 150.15
(mg/L, calculate)
Nitrate (mg/L)
Orthophosphate
(mg/L)