As you cruise through the paper datasheet and online data entry pages for the first, second, or tenth time, you may have some questions about how to collect a certain type of data or why certain information is important. The tips listed below - organized by datasheet tab - may help answer your questions. If you don't find an answer here, please contact us.
The combination of your study site photograph and geographic coordinates gives us the information we need to find your study site again long after you have left. Using a map or GPS we can find the general location of your site, and then can hone in on your spot using the photo.
The combination of a site photo and habitat type gives us important information about what species are living in and around your study site. This information may also help Vital Signs species experts confirm your species identifications.
If you found the native or invasive species you were looking for, we may want to revisit your study site to double-check your species identification, to see how a species changes over time, or to manage a population of invasive species.
If you did not find the species you were looking for, we may want to revisit your study site to confirm that the species is not there, or monitor the site regularly to keep it free of invasive species.
Chances are that you took more than one photo of your study site. As you browse through your photos, use this list to help you choose your best study site photo:
-In focus
-No faces, just the scene
-Shows your study site and the surrounding area
-Study site is in the center of the frame
-Shows important habitat features
-Shows important land use features
-Includes a useful landmark like a building or funny-shaped rock or distinct tree or road sign near your site that would help someone else find your study site
Latitude lines are imaginary parallel lines that circle the Earth horizontally from east to west. Think of a lateral pass in football that follows a horizontal path.
Latitude helps you communicate where you are on Earth when there are no street signs or house numbers to refer to. The intersection of a latitude line and a longitude line marks your precise location on the planet.
Locations in Maine have a latitude between N 44.8 and N 47.4. The N and the positive number indicate that Maine is north of the equator in the Northern Hemisphere.
You can find the latitude of the place you are studying using a map, nautical chart, or GPS. GPS stands for Global Positioning System. Twenty-four GPS satellites orbit the Earth about 20,000 kilometers above us. Your GPS receiver accesses the signal from 3 or more of these satellites at once to determine an accurate location. The GPS receiver reports your location in latitude and longitude coordinates.
Longitude lines are imaginary parallel lines that circle the Earth vertically from north to south. Think of a long line that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole.
Longitude helps you communicate where you are on Earth when there are no street signs or house numbers to refer to. The intersection of a longitude line and a latitude line marks your precise location on the planet.
Locations in Maine have a longitude between W -66.9 and W -71.0. The W and the negative number indicate that Maine is west of the Prime Meridian that runs through Greenwich England.
You can find the longitude of the place you are studying using a map, nautical chart, or GPS. GPS stands for Global Positioning System. Twenty-four GPS satellites orbit the Earth about 20,000 kilometers above us. Your GPS receiver accesses the signal from 3 or more of these satellites at once to determine an accurate location. The GPS receiver reports your location in latitude and longitude coordinates.
The Vital Signs system requires that your latitude and longitude be reported in decimal degrees in order for it to show up in the right place on the map.
If you used a map to find your location, or if your GPS was set to degrees-minutes-seconds, you must convert to decimal degrees before entering your latitude and longitude in Vital Signs. Here’s how:
For the math nerds among us, use this simple formula:
Degrees + Minutes/60 + Seconds/3600 = decimal degrees
Example:
Convert 46° 53' 23" N to decimal degrees to make Vital Signs really happy
46 + (53/60) + (23/3600) = N 46.889722
For the rest of us, use this online conversion tool from the Federal Communications Commission:
TRICK: You can set your GPS to display in decimal degrees to avoid having to make a unit conversion. Consult your user manual, or nose around for things like “setup" and “units."
It can be tricky to figure out which habitat your study site is in, especially if you are on an edge between two habitats. It helps to focus on the place where the animals and plants you are looking for are living.
Here are some scenarios that might help. Remember, you are the scientist. It’s your job to make the best decision you can about the habitat. Make sure to back up your decision with solid reasons and evidence.
-You are using a weed weasel to collect submersed plants from the bottom of a pond. You are standing “by the water’s edge," but the plants are living “in the pond." You choose “in a pond or lake" as the habitat because that is where the plants are living. Same goes for sampling with a trap or net. The place where you put the trap or net should correspond with the habitat you choose.
-You are looking for three upland species in a small forest at the edge of a busy parking lot. You choose “in a developed area" rather than “in a forest" because you think that the type of animals and plants that you are looking for are heavily influenced by being close to the developed area. You don’t want data users to think that you were collecting data in the middle of a forest. In your Field Notes you sketch your site to show the parking lot and forest with an X in between that indicates your study site.
-You are collecting data on ocean animals at the local town landing. You are on a dock that is built over a rocky intertidal area. Your habitat choice is “on a dock" because you are using the Dock Protocol and are only looking at the species that are attached to the dock pilings. In your Field Notes you write: “There is a rocky intertidal area underneath the dock. I didn’t look there this time, but might next time for periwinkles and crabs."
Scientists write notes while they are collecting, organizing, and analyzing data. Writing notes while you are in the field gives you the chance to capture important things that happen while you are collecting data. These things may ultimately influence or impact your findings and conclusions, or may prompt you to ask another research question.
Here are some questions scientists ask themselves while they collect data. Jot your answers down in your Field Notes:
-What do I see, hear, smell, and feel?
-Have I seen something today that I’ve never seen before?
-Am I looking carefully enough for the species I am trying to find?
-Are my teammates taking accurate measurements?
-Did something go wrong?
-Did some really good things happen?
-Am I unsure about any of the data I collected? Why?
In addition to taking notes, scientists often make sketches to help them remember what they observed. Consider sketching:
-A map of your study site and what is around it
-Your study site and what lives in it
-Plants or animals and where you find them
Chances are that you took more than one photo of your sampling method. As you browse through your photos, use this list to help you choose the best photo of your sampling method:
-In focus
-No faces, just the sampling method
-Sampling equipment (quadrat, transect, trap, etc.) is in the center of the frame
If you don’t see the species you looked for in the list:
-Look again for the scientific name instead of the common name. We may not have all of the common names listed.
If you still don’t see the species in the list:
-Please contact us with the scientific name and/or common name of the species. We will add the species to the list, and alert you when the list has been updated so you may enter your observation.
The good news is that you don’t need to be absolutely sure. A Vital Signs species expert will review your written and photo evidence online. Based on the evidence you provide (through writing and photos), she will let you know if you have made a correct identification.
These 4 steps will help you look closely and gather the evidence that you need to make the best decision you can, and that the online Vital Signs expert will need to confirm your decision:
1. Look at the photos and read the identification tips on your VS Species Card
2. Carefully compare each species in your study area to your VS Species Card
3. Decide whether or not the species you are looking for is in your study area or not. If a species in your study area has ALL the same characteristics described on the VS Species Card, it is probably the same species.
Remember, it is just as important to know where you find something as it is to know where you didn’t find something!
Tap another brain. If you are working as a team, talk over the identification with your teammates before you make a final decision
4. Support your claim with great written and photo evidence. Use the VS Species Card to help you decide what evidence to report.
Scientists must support the claims they make with evidence in order to try to convince other scientists that their claims are correct.
Support your “I found it" claim with up to three pieces of evidence. For each written evidence statement, take a photo that helps someone else “see what you mean." Use the identification tips and photos on your VS Species Card to help you come up with evidence.
Here’s an example of how you might prove you found Lythrum salicaria, Purple Loosestrife:
Written evidence 1: I think Purple Loosestrife is at my study site because the plant I found has opposite leaves with heart-shaped base. Each leaf is about 7 cm long.
Photo evidence 1: Zoom in on a heart-shaped leaf base. Include a ruler to show how long the leaves are.
Written evidence 2: I think Purple Loosestrife is at my study site because the plant I found has a square stem that feels a little fuzzy.
Photo evidence 2: Zoom in on the square, fuzzy stem.
Written evidence 3: I think Purple Loosestrife is at my study site because the plant I found has tall flower spikes.
Photo evidence 3: Wide shot of lots of flower spikes with a rule to show exactly how tall they are.
It is just as important to provide evidence that you didn’t find something as it is to provide evidence that you did find something!
Scientists must support the claims they make with evidence in order to try to convince other scientists that their claims are correct.
Support your “I think I did not find it" claim with up to three pieces of evidence. For each written evidence statement, take a photo that helps someone else “see what you mean." Use the identification tips and photos on your VS Species Card to help you come up with evidence.
Here’s an example of how you might prove you looked for and did not find Lythrum salicaria, Purple Loosestrife:
Written evidence 1: I think Purple Loosestrife is not at my study site because none of the plants I found have 6-10cm long opposite leaves with heart-shaped bases like Purple Loosestrife does.
Photo evidence 1: Put a few plants from your study area side-by-side. Take a shot that shows they all have alternate or whorled leaves with round leaf bases. Include a ruler to show how long the leaves are.
Written evidence 2: I think Purple Loosestrife is not at my study site because all of the plants here have round stems. Purple Loosestrife has a square stem.
Photo evidence 2: Zoom in on plants in your study area that have round stems.
Written evidence 3: I think Purple Loosestrife is not at my study site because only one of the plants has a flower spike like Purple Loosestrife does, but its flowers are white, not purple.
Photo evidence 3: Zoom in on the flower spike with white flowers.
To write a strong evidence statement, try using one of these formats:
I think I found it
-I think I found [SPECIES NAME] because….
-I think [SPECIES NAME] is at my study site because….
I think I did not find it
-I think I did not find [SPECIES NAME] because….
-I think [SPECIES NAME] is not at my study site because….
NOTE: Use the identification tips on your VS Species Cards to help you decide what evidence to report.
Chances are that you took a lot of evidence photos. As you browse through your photos, use this list to help you choose the best photos to support your written evidence:
-In focus (use the "macro" function when taking close-ups)
-No faces, just the plant or animal
-Plant or animal is in the center of the frame
-Shows important identification features (look at your VS Species Card for hints about the features that are important)
-Supports your written evidence
It can be tricky to tell whether plants are alive or dead, especially in the late fall, winter, and early spring when many go dormant to survive cold temperatures and little sunlight.
Also tricky is telling whether an animal is alive or dead, especially those that don’t move. Some will play dead when you pick them up as a means for defense. Others never move, or don’t move when they are exposed by the tides.
Here are some tips that will help you pronounce a plant or animal dead or alive. Of course there are always exceptions, so ultimately you may need to visit this plant or animal in multiple seasons to know for sure.
Deciduous plants
Upland plants that lose their leaves in the fall tend to look dead in late fall, winter, and early spring before they sprout new growth. Signs of life during this dormant phase include:
-Leaves on the ground beneath the plant
-Twigs that bend but do not easily break
Grasses
The above-ground stems and leaves of grasses like Phragmites and Japanese Knotweed die in the late fall. The roots stay alive. Signs of life during this dormant phase include:
-Tall stands of dead stems in late fall and winter
-Small green shoots at the base of the dead stems in early spring
Freshwater plants
The stems and leaves of most submersed freshwater plants die in the late fall. The roots stay alive. Signs of life during this dormant phase include:
-Stems that are rooted to the bottom
Maine algae/ seaweeds
Seaweeds growing in tidal areas have the neat ability to dry out without dying when baking in the hot sun or when exposed to high winds in between the tides. Even if seaweed looks dry and wilted, it may still be alive. The most reliable indicator of life is:
-Firmly attached to rocks (or other substrate)
Periwinkles
Periwinkles and other shelled mollusks leave empty shells behind. For periwinkles that are alive, look for:
-Shells “stuck" to rocks
-Shells with a closed aperture
-Hum a sweet song to the shell to coax the periwinkle out!
Crabs
Some crabs like the Green Crab may “play dead" when you pick them up. When you let go of a living crab, it will quickly scurry away to find shelter.
Make sure that you only count what is in the study area you defined. If a plant or animal is halfway in and halfway out of your study area, or crawls out of your study area while you are counting, it’s your job as the scientist to decide whether or not to count it.
Here are some useful counting notes for some of the trickier species:
Upland plants & algae
Count main stems, not branches. Find a main stem by following a branch from its tip all the way to the ground.
Periwinkles
A rocky area that is covered with periwinkles may be just 1 species of periwinkle or may be many different species. Look closely for the very slight differences in their shells before you count them. This takes some serious patience.
Crabs & crayfish
Crabs and crayfish move quickly out of sight, so it’s a good idea to collect all of the crabs or crayfish into a tray or bucket before counting them. This helps make sure that you do not count a crab or crayfish more than once. Make sure to return the crabs and crayfish safely to the same habitat you found them in.
Are there are too many individuals in your study area to make an accurate count?
Do you not have enough time to count all of them?
Try estimating coverage instead of counting. Here’s how:
Imagine your study area divided into four equal parts. Imagine moving all of the individuals to one part of your study area. How much of your study area would they cover if they were altogether in one place?
Imagine your study area divided into four equal parts. Imagine moving all of the individuals of one species to one part of your study area. How much of your study area would they cover if they were altogether in one place?
Crabs
Measure the widest part of the crab’s carapace.
Crayfish
Measure how long the crayfish is from its eye area (rostrum) to the tip of its tail (telson).
Macroinvertebrates
Measure how long the macroinverts are from the head end to the tail end.
It’s useful to know how many females and males are in a population of animals, especially if you’re trying to figure out how healthy a population is or if it might expand the area it lives in.
Crabs
-Turn an adult crab over.
-Look for the triangle shaped flap at the base of its abdomen.
-An adult male crab has a triangular flap that is skinny with concave sides.
-An adult female crab has a triangular flap that is wider with convex sides. A female crabs holds her fertilized eggs between this flap and her body. That is why this area is much bigger on a female.
Crayfish
It is extremely difficult to tell male and female crayfish apart using just their external structures, but it’s always fun to try. Use a magnifying glass if you have one handy.
-Turn a mature adult crayfish over.
-Look at the area between its walking legs.
-An adult male crayfish has a very small opening for reproduction called a gonopore at the base of the 5th pair of walking legs.
-An adult female crayfish has a gonopore at the base of the 3rd pair of walking legs.
Use the “Seasonal Change" box on your VS Species Card to help you find evidence that the species is reproducing.
For plant pollinators, you may have scared them away. Be still and quiet for a few minutes to see if a bee, fly, mosquito, or bird returns to a flower.
Habitats are areas that provide animals and plants all of the resources they need to survive and thrive. The basic resource needs of most animals include food, water, oxygen, shelter, and space. The basic resource needs of most plants include nutrients, water, sunlight, and space.
Paying attention to the type and amount of resources a habitat provides can tell us a lot about what species we can expect to find (or not find) in an area.
Scientists who study the interactions among species pay close attention to habitat. The introduction of a new species to a habitat can quickly upset relationships among species as they compete for food, shelter, and space. Invasive species often out-compete native species for these essential resources. A native species must then move to another area to find the resources it needs, or it will not survive.
The quality of the water determines what types of animals and plants can live there. Each species has a certain range of water quality it needs to survive. Water quality can be assessed using probes, indicator species, or a combination of the two. Chemical measurements can be done with probes like temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and salinity. Bioassessments can be done using indicator species that give us an idea of how polluted a water body is. Different macroinvertebrate species have different pollution tolerances. In a polluted freshwater system, you will find a very different community of macroinvertebrate species than you will in a healthy system free of pollution.
Water quality data help us:
-Understand what animal and plant species we expect to find (or not find) in a water body
-See seasonal and annual patterns of constancy or change in ecosystems
-Identify and respond quickly to a health problem within a watershed
Temperature is important to plants and animals living in the water. Each plant and each animal has a certain range of temperature it can survive in.
Temperature also determines the amount of oxygen that can dissolve in the water for aquatic animals to use. Some species, like salmon, are most healthy when the water temperature is in the cold range (12-15 C) and dissolved oxygen concentrations are very high.
25-30 C Too hot – most fish die
20-25 C Warm – some fish die
15-20 C Cool – most fish thrive
5-15 C Cold – some fish thrive
< 5 C Too cold – most fish die
Convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius
Scientists across the globe use the metric system to make it easy to communicate with one another. Please convert a temperature measurement you made in Fahrenheit to Celsius before you submit it to Vital Signs. Here’s how:
Fahrenheit > Celsius
C = (F – 32) x 5/9
In case you ever want to go back to Fahrenheit, here’s how:
Celsius > Fahrenheit
F = (C x 9/5) + 32
NOTE: There are tons of online converters that will do the calculation for you. Just Google “Fahrenheit to Celsius."
pH is a unit-less measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions in a substance. pH is important to aquatic life because it affects nutrient and pollution levels in the water.
Some organisms can survive in only a narrow range of pH, while others are more tolerant. Animals and plants will be healthiest when the pH stays within their tolerance range.
Compare your pH measurements to this pH scale:
0 Battery acid
1 Sulfuric acid
2 Lemon juice, Coca Cola
3 Orange juice
4 Acid rain
5 Clean rain, bananas
6 Healthy lake, milk
7 Pure distilled water
8 Sea water, chicken eggs
9 Baking soda
10 Milk of magnesia
11 Ammonium
12 Soapy water
13 Bleach
14 Drain cleaner
Most fish thrive 5-8
Some fish die 4-5 & 8-10
All fish die 0-3 & 11-14
One of the gases dissolved in water is oxygen. This oxygen (O2) is different from the oxygen atoms in water molecules (H2O). It is oxygen that is available for plants and animals to use.
All animals (and plants too!) need oxygen to live on land or in the water. Some aquatic animals need more dissolved oxygen than others. The colder the water is, the more oxygen it can hold.
Compare your dissolved oxygen measurements to this dissolved oxygen scale:
1-2 mg/L (ppm) Too low for fish
3-5 mg/L Very stressful for fish
6 mg/L Supports spawning/ reproduction
7-8 mg/L Supports growth and activity
9-10 mg/L Supports abundant fish populations
Salinity is a measure of the concentration of salts dissolved in a body of water. Common salts dissolved in water include chlorides, sulfates, sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, calcium carbonate, and magnesium carbonate. Compare your salinity measurements to these typical concentrations:
35 ppt Seawater in the open ocean
27-33 ppt Seawater along the coast
<5 ppt Freshwater
< 0.5 ppt Drinking water
Salinity helps us understand the health of a water body, and what animal and plant species we expect to find (or not find) there. Some animals tolerate changes in salinity well, and are found in both freshwater and salt water (eels, alewives, invasive Chinese Mitten Crabs). Others are healthy only when living within a certain range of salinity (oysters).
Coastal salinity levels can change due to tides and the amount of freshwater entering the system. Heavy rainfall, release of groundwater in the spring, and melting snow can make a water body less salty because there is more freshwater mixing in. Drought can make a water body more salty because it limits the amount of freshwater entering from streams, rivers, and rain.
Freshwater salinity levels should be less than 5 parts per thousand, but may increase due to road salt in the winter, or increased runoff from impervious surfaces.
Canopy cover tells us how much of an area is covered by the leaves of trees. When an area is covered by a thick tree canopy, very little sunlight and precipitation can penetrate all the way to the plants and animals living on the ground and in the understory.
Each plant species has a specific tolerance for shade or sunlight and moist or dry soil. Estimating canopy cover gives us a better idea of the plant species we can expect to find (and not find) in a forested area. Monitoring changes in the canopy cover over time can give us a sense of how the under story plant community may change over time. One cut or fallen tree can open up the canopy, and give a whole new plant community opportunity to grow.
Look up. Imagine that the area above your study site is divided into four equal parts. Imagine moving all of the leaves to one part of your study area with the rest open to the sky. How much of your study area would be covered by leaves if they were altogether in one place?
Soil moisture is a measure of how wet or dry the soil is. Each plant species needs a different range of soil moisture in order to absorb water and nutrients efficiently and stabilize the plant. Some need very wet roots while others need very dry roots with minimal moisture.
Estimating soil moisture gives us a better idea of the plant species we can expect to find (and not find) in a habitat.
To estimate soil moisture, stick your finger in the ground or pick up a small amount of soil and rub it between your thumb and index finger.
Dry Little to no water in the soil
Moist Moderate amount of water in the soil
Saturated Very wet – all pore spaces between soil particles are filled with water
Inundated Areas where there is standing water
When many different species live in an area, it provides a lot of natural services, resources, and cultural benefits.
Natural services provided by biodiversity:
-Protecting water resources and soil
-Storing and releasing nutrients
-Recycling, breaking down and absorbing pollution
-Stabilizing the climate
-Preventing and recovering from natural and human disturbance
Resources provided by biodiversity:
-Food
-Medicine
-Products
Cultural benefits provided by biodiversity:
-Research
-Education
-Recreation
-Tourism
-A source of values and tradition
The two biggest threats to biodiversity in Maine and worldwide are the loss of habitat and invasive species. In Maine plants and animals lose their habitat and the resources they need to survive mostly through urban development. Invasive species are a growing threat to biodiversity in Maine. Without predators to keep their populations in balance, invasive species are able to out-compete native species for food, shelter, and space. The introduction of an invasive species may increase biodiversity in an area in the short term, but biodiversity often rapidly declines once this new species establishes and expands its population.
It's easy to lose count of the different species you've seen.
-Try moving from one side of your study area to the other in a pattern. For example, move from Left to Right across your quadrat.
-Take a small (non-destructive, but identifiable) piece of each different plant you find and put it in a collection tray to count later
-Take a representative of each different animal you find and put it in a collection tray to count later
-Use simple tick marks to keep track on your datasheet
Species are moved around Maine and around the globe by humans at an alarming rate. Hundreds of thousands of non-native species are introduced to new habitats each year. Here are a few of the many ways that species are moved from place to place:
Human vectors
Your clothes & boots
Cars & trucks
Airplanes
Boats
Ballast water in ships
Gardening centers
Pet trade
Unwanted pets
Food industry
Tourism
Immigration
Research
Species also move to new places without the help of humans. Once an invasive species is introduced to a new place by humans, it is important to understand how it spreads naturally.
