Abiotic factors influencing the abundance and distribution of marsh marigolds along Carp Creek.

Abstract

Ecology is the study of distribution and abundance of living organisms resulting from abiotic and biotic interactions in nature. Plant growth is determined by abiotic factors that construct its fundamental niche, defined as the range of conditions and resources within which individuals of a species can persist. If a plant species exhibits patchy distribution and plot size behavior, this may illustrate global or local variations in distribution of abiotic factors within the habitat. This study focuses on the local Northern Michigan macrophyte, Caltha palustris, which illustrates patchy distribution behavior along the reach of Carp Creek. We investigated this phenomenon by testing affects of specific abiotic factors upon distribution and density of C. palustris. These abiotic factors included the following: soil and water pH, soil moisture, dissolved oxygen, redox potential, and phosphate and nitrate concentration in the soil. Our findings suggest that soil pH and soil nitrate concentrations may determine distribution of C. palustris, but the other tested abiotic factors did not significantly influence marsh marigold distribution. Our findings also imply that dissolved oxygen may determine density of C. palustris plots; however, the other abiotic factors did not show such correlation.