Todays testing.

Today i tested the phosphate using the phosphate strips this took around 10 minutes.
Sample 1: Sample 2: Sample 3: Sample 4:
10 10 25 25


I then did testing for salts in my soil samples.
sample 1:
Was the most reactive to the silver nitrate therefore has more salt. It only took 1 drop from cloudiness to occur.
Sample 2:
It took 1 drop started to get cloudy but 2 drop had the most reactive to it.
Sample 3:
was the same as sample 2, cloudiness more dominant in the second drop of silver nitrate.
Sample 4:
Was also the same a sample 2 and 3. This can be because they use the same fertilizers. But where sample 1 was located was near a water stream that gave of rotten egg gas and therefore not as many people would be in this area or any development in terms of keeping care of it. There would be a lot of animals living there in the grands like worms and ants.

Geology

Sydney Harbour is made up of mostly sandstone and shale formed during the Triassic period (about 220 million years ago). These formations were later raised to their present heights by earth movements, starting in the Jurassic period, (200 million years ago). During this time great cracks formed and molten lava rose up through the rocks to form volcanic vents, these then cooled and hardened to form dykes of basalt. Remains of basalt dykes can still be found around Bradleys Head, North Head and Nielsen Park.

The eastern part of the harbour is predominantly Hawkesbury sandstone. Sandstone is a very hard rock that tends to break away in large blocks leaving the boulders and vertical cliffs that characterises the Sydney coastline.

To the west the harbour is predominantly made up of Ashfield Shale. Shale is not as hard as sandstone and tends to weather and erode without forming boulders or cliffs. As a consquence the western shoreline of Sydney Harbour tends to be much flatter and devoid of rocky outcrops.

Along some parts of the harbour there are some low lying areas of sand that has been deposited by water (alluvium) running between hills of sandstone. Particularly high areas such as North Head and South Head which were once islands are now joined to the mainland by sand spits such as the Corso area of Manly and the low sandy area between Bondi and Rose Bay. Smaller amounts of sandy material have been deposited by streams where they enter bays on the southern side of the harbour, such as Rushcutters Bay, Darling Harbour and Homebush Bay

Interesting article

Today i was searching through information about wildlife on the Botanical Gardens website when i came across an article that i believed would be beneficial for my blogger.
The url for this article is http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/welcome_to_bgt/royal_botanic_gardens/garden_features/wildlife/history_of_bird_observations. There is more articles about other things on this site as well but only on the topic about animals.

History of bird observations

Birds and gardens form a dynamic partnership, with many plants relying on the avian population for pollination and birds obtaining food, habitat, nesting site and shelter, all necessary for their life cycle.

The three gardens belonging to the Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust have different locations, geography, rainfall and elevation - thus they each support a different suite of birds.

In the 1913 Annual Report of the Botanic Gardens, the Director reported that;
‘bearing in mind the interesting records in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, of the fauna of all groups to be found in that Garden, I asked my good friend, Mr. Robert Etheridge, curator of the Australian Museum, if he would co-operate in preparing such lists for the Gardens here.’ A.J. North, the then ornithologist at the Australian Museum, provided details on the 66 species that were commonly seen in the Botanic Gardens - a large number of which have long disappeared.

Earlier the Botanic Gardens maintained aviary species. The 1861 Annual Report of the Acclimatisation Society of NSW stated that
‘The kindness of the Director of the Botanic Gardens in taking charge of various animals in the interest of the Society has also been highly appreciated by the Council. Mr. Moore has further expressed his readiness to continue to give (until other places are appropriated for their reception) suitable accommodation and food to any animals which the Society may receive, provided they are not of such a nature to disturb or interfere with the existing arrangements of the Gardens; and those who have examined the excellent provision made for waterfowl, &c., in the recent additions to the public aviary, must have perfect confidence that animals placed there have every prospect of enjoying a high degree of health and comfort.’
The Aviary remained in active use until its removal in 1940.

The ponds within the Royal Botanic Gardens were stocked with many exotic waterbirds in the past, including over the years White Swans and Paradise Shellducks. In recent years all of the birds using the ponds are free flying and include a number of visitors from Taronga Zoo. One Pacific Black Duck banded in the Royal Botanic Gardens in 1991 was recovered dead at Violet Town, Victoria in 1994 - a distance of 583 km away to the south-west.

The Royal Botanic Gardens still provides habitat for a number of migratory species including the Golden Whistler, Rufous Fantail, Common Koel and Channel-billed Cuckoo. Superb-fairy Wrens, of glowing colour, and a female, in its pale-brown plumage, were recorded on the lawns of Government House by George Bennett in 1860, and this species has maintained a viable breeding population within the Royal Botanic Gardens through to today. However, from the examination of early records it is clear that the vegetation has changed greatly over the years, thus effecting the viability of many species such as the Red-browed Finch and various species of Thornbills.

Land Animals

Even though animals do not play a dominant part in Botanical Gardens they still exist in some way or another. There is a wide range of animals living both in the Marine environment were i have taken my water samples from. And there is a wide range of animals on land where i took my soil samples from. As i could not name all of this ones i just got a few species and thought that i could go into more depth about each animal instead of naming all the animals in the Botanical gardens.
The animals that are dominant on land are the following:

Flying foxes:
Flying-foxes are large bats, weighing up to 1 kg, with a wing span which may exceed one meter. They sleep during the day and feed on pollen, nectar and fruit at night. In the wild they are important pollinators and seed dispersers of native trees. Seeds are discarded in the feces or fall where the fruit is being eaten. These seeds germinate when conditions are suitable and ensure that dispersal occurs in a wide area.


Flying-foxes, otherwise known as fruit bats, are mammals, and are members of the Pteropodidae family. They have the largest body size of all bats. The Grey-headed Flying-fox is the largest member of the family. Most flying-foxes at the Royal Botanic Gardens are Grey-headed Flying-foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus), which are listed as vulnerable under both NSW and Commonwealth legislation. There is also a small number of Black Flying-foxes (Pteropus alecto), typically a more tropical species, which began roosting in the Royal Botanic Gardens around 2006.




Powerful owls:
The Powerful Owl is the largest owl in Australasia. It is a typical hawk-owl, with staring yellow eyes and no facial-disc. Adults reach 60 cm in length, have a wingspan of up to 140 cm and weigh up to 1.45 kilograms. Males are larger than females. The upper parts of the Powerful Owl are dark, greyish-brown with indistinct off-white bars. The underparts are whitish with dark greyish-brown V-shaped markings. Juvenile Powerful Owls have a white crown and underparts that contrasts with its small, dark streaks and dark eye patches. The call of this species may be heard at any time of the year, but it is more vocal during the winter breeding season. It has a slow, deep and resonant double hoot, with the female's being higher pitched and expressing an upward inflection on the second note.



Buff banded rail:

The Buff-banded Rail is a medium-sized stout rail with short legs. It has a distinctive grey eyebrow and an orange-brown band on its streaked breast. The lores, cheek and hindneck are rich chestnut. The chin and throat are grey, the upper parts streaked brown and the underparts barred black and white. The eye is red. Young birds are much paler to white underneath, with indistinct bars and only a faint orange-brown tint on the breast. Downy chicks are fluffy black. This rail walks slowly, with tail raised and flicking constantly.


These animals are the most dominant in Botanical Gardens so therefore they are more in depth.
But the other land animals that are not as dominant are rats, cockroaches, frogs, worms, butterfly, mossies, cranes, ibis, seagulls, pelicans, cockatoos, ants, magpies,

Birds

Since 1991 about 100 species of birds have been observed in the Royal Botanic Gardens. Click here to find out about the history of bird observations at the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Mammals:

Mammals include Grey-headed Flying-foxes, possums (Ringtail and Brush-tailed), rats and the occasional feral cat. You will encounter flying foxes rootsting during the day, but most other mammals can only be seen at night.

Whilst we are fond of our resident populations of possums, unfortunately many are possums that have been caught in other parts of the city and ‘dumped’ here. Our land covers only a limited area and cannot support an over-population of possums, so these animals - already disoriented from being removed from their ‘home’ territories - become even more stressed.

Frogs, lizards, snakes and spiders

You may encounter some of these animals in the Royal Botanic Gardens and in the Domain. Please be aware that all reptiles are protected by law. Many of our native reptiles have poisonous bites. Do not attempt to handle them. If you think you have been bitten, seek help immediately - contact a Ranger (0419 270 279) or go to the Gardens Shop for first aid.

Insects

The sole colony of Pearl White Butterflies (Elodina angulipennis) in the Sydney Basin is living in our Rare & Threatened Garden. The butterflies are living on two Native Pomegranate trees (Capparis arborea). Pearl White Butterflies are found from the Torres Strait Islands and Cape York Peninsula, south as far as Sydney, but they are most common in the northernmost part of their range.

With all these animals Botanical gardens must a policy in order to protect them. A policy is shown below.

Wildlife The Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain provide valuable ‘greenspace’ in the centre of the city. Visitors enjoy observing our birds and many come just to see our colony of flying-foxes. You can also expect outdoor evening events to be accompanied by the occasional sounds of possums jumping through the trees. If you care for our wildlife, please don’t feed them Many of us love feeding ducks, other birds, and possums, but there are some good reasons why you shouldn’t. It upsets the delicate balance of nature and jeopardises the animals’ welfare.

Handfeeding makes them aggressive and a nuisance. Feeding makes them lazy. Animals start to depend on being fed by humans. They become scavengers instead of unique wildlife that we can be proud of. Human food can kill animals. Our snack food often contains too much salt and sugar, and can be fatal to birds. Poor nutrition can lead to bone deformities, reduced ability to cope with cold weather and susceptibility to disease.

PH of water

The day before yesterday i did a test testing the PH of the water.Each time i went to take a new reading i wrote down the probe to see if i contaminated it and also for curiosity to see if my results rose from the results from the probe.
PM: Stands for the probe reading.
PH: Stands for the PH reading.
Sample 1.
PM: 4.12
PH:6.46
Sample 2:
PM:4.14
PH:6.43
Sample3:
PM:4.15
PH:6.27
Sample 4:
PM:4.16
PH:6.25

I then wanted to test the second time, the results were:
Sample 1:
PM:4.15
PH:6.46
Sample 2:
PM:4.16
PH:6.44
Sample 3:
PM:4.21
PH:6.31
Sample 4:
PM:4.21
PH:6.32
I then noticed that i had enough time to test the PH for the third time.
Sample 1:
PM:4.21
PH:6.44
Sample 2:
PM:4.22
PH:6.41
Sample 3:
PM:4.24
PH:6.29
Sample 4:
PM:4.28
PH:6.56

Human activity

Botanical Gardens is world known therefore there is a lot of human activity in this area. The Botanical Gardens has man made infrastrcuters like the train that goes around the gardens taking people on tours, ferrys and boats that contribute to the high pollution by emitting petrol and passengers throwing there rubbish off. Also new structures such as changing the wharf and putting restaurants and houses on them this then limits the area for wildlife. Human activity has impacted this Botanical Gardens dramitically by limiting the space for wildlife making some species endangered. Pollutants from boats nearby affect the quality of water and in turn the health of birds and fish. Soil degration as a result of compaction from people walking.

Human activity is not necessary negative, it can be positive for example humans designed footpaths to stop us walking in the reserved where animals are. Botanical gardens also makes a positive influence for the environment by checking the soil regularly and sustain the nurtients that are suppose to be in them. The goverment has also put in place laws and regulations to protect life in the park for example not littering or not being able to take anything from the environment if these laws and regulations have been abused a heavy fine would apply. Another positive infrastucture that humans have put in placed in order to help the environment is the implementation of gutters to protect sea life.

E-mail

About a week ago i sent an e-mail to Benson Doug who worked at the botanical gardens and gave me some information into the plants that most common in the Botanical gardens and a bit of information into them. Benson Doug wrote an reply via e-mail and gave me a website in which i could find all this information. He was very helpful and the last post has all the information he gave me to help me fill out the plant life in the Botanical Gardens. Overall the information was very helpful.

My e-mail:
To,Mr Benson.
My name is Lucy Testa, i am currently attending St. Vincents College in Potts Point. I found your e-mail on the Botanical Gardens website and wondering if you would be able to give me some information about the Plant and animal life in the Botanical Gardens area as i am currently studying Earth and Environmental science and was recently given are very complicated assignment about the plant and animal life in the Botanica Gardens amoung with many other topics. I would be very grateful with any information about the topic if you cannot help i understand you must be busy, but thank-you for your time.
Kinds Regards,Lucy Testa

About 5 days later i checked my hotmail account and found an e-mail from him.
Hi Lucy
Have a look at our education webpages

http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/education/Resources

Doug Benson
Senior Plant Ecologist & Scientific Editor

Botanic Gardens Trust
Royal Botanic Gardens
Mrs Macquaries Rd, Sydney NSW 2000 Australia
phone: 02 9231 8148 fax 61 2 9251 4403
email doug.benson@rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au

I checked the website that Mr Beson gave me and it was very helpful.