My short study on L. g. californiae

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Nature Nate
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My short study on L. g. californiae

Post by Nature Nate »

Here is a paper I wrote on some preliminary research I did on the kingsnake patterns in San Diego:

An Observational Study of the Dorsal Morphology of Lampropeltis getula californiae in the Northern San Diego County Region with Relation to Wetland Habitats
by N. W. Smith
California State University San Marcos

Abstract:

In this observational study 319 records of California Kingsnakes in San Diego County were observed in an attempt to establish a definitive boundary east of which would contain a significantly lower proportion of striped-to-banded individuals. Data provided by four citizen scientists who had amassed their records over the past decade was analyzed. Each record included a photographical voucher of each animal which would be labeled as either a striped kingsnake with a longitudinal stripe or a banded snake with a cross-sectional ringed pattern. These records were used to create ratios of striped to banded snakes in two zones: the western coastal zone and the eastern inland zone. From these ratios it was then discerned which region had a higher proportion of striped Kingsnakes and what relation that proportion had to the amount of wetland habitat each region possessed. In the end it was concluded that there was no significant difference in the ratio of striped-to-banded kingsnakes in the western zone compared to the eastern zone. This result did not confirm previous studies which could possibly be due to either experimental error, a change in demogrfaphics since the previous published work, or a sampling bias.

If you would like to view this paper in its entirety please follow this link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwRyBO ... sp=sharing
hellihooks
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Re: My short study on L. g. californiae

Post by hellihooks »

Nice paper Nate. Question.... did Klauber and Zweifel use data from south of the 52? If so...that could have skewed your result. When attempting to replicate previous findings... you must replicate their methods exactly. Not trying to lecture... just not sure how experienced you are at writing research papers, so forgive me if I'm off base... :beer: jim
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Nature Nate
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Re: My short study on L. g. californiae

Post by Nature Nate »

Thanks for the Reply Jim,
I might not have made it clear enough why I did not use the data south of the 52. Yes, previous research did use data from the whole county but back then it was still possible to gather data from the area west of my hypothetical boundary and south of the 52. These days roughly 90%+ of that habitat in that area is San Diego City proper with no more accessible viable habitat. If I had taken data any further south I would have only had additions to my eastern region and I wanted to have an even spread of data across my western and eastern zones.
Thanks for the question.
hellihooks
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Re: My short study on L. g. californiae

Post by hellihooks »

That's good then... the failure of your work to agree with previous work is most likely due to demographical changes, rather than sampling bias, or experimental design error. In a word... NOT your bad... :lol: Hope your professor realizes that, and you get a good grade... you should... it was a well-written paper... :thumb: jim
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Nature Nate
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Re: My short study on L. g. californiae

Post by Nature Nate »

Of course the results won't reflect on my grade. What's graded is the experimental design, execution, and interpretation of the study and results.
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Re: My short study on L. g. californiae

Post by hellihooks »

perhaps then..(if not turned in yet) a comment on how urbanization not only effect extant herp populations, but our ability to even study said herps. i would point out that the inability to accurately replicate previous studies is the most likely cause of differing results. your design was good, and well-executed... but a more certain conclusion wouldn't hurt. hell... i wouldn't even mention the possibility of sampling bias, or a design confound. :thumb:
qualified conclusions are a 'weak sauce'... go for the bold... :lol: :lol: :lol: jim
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Brian Hubbs
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Re: My short study on L. g. californiae

Post by Brian Hubbs »

I would say that a big problem was not having your line farther east into the hills, and that the snakes do not follow straight lines for morph patterns. In addition, 319 subjects from donated data is not a sufficient sample. I realize you probably had limited time to do this study, but to really see the results you would need to sample at least 50 areas for several years. This is not a subject that can be proven in one season from a few donated samples and a few of your own observations. Otherwise, good job... 8-) I'm currently on the road, so if you comment to me be prepared for a long wait to get a response. OK, gotta go...
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regalringneck
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Re: My short study on L. g. californiae

Post by regalringneck »

An excellent effort there Nate, lots of good things, especially your using existing data.
What jumped out at me though, is that rather than do an analysis of kings from wetland & arid sites (your primary ?) You instead delineated large areas, each containing various microhabitats w/in them, so wetland snakes from the east were compared to wet & arid sites in the west sector.
Lastly, you might want to state early that your analysis was intended to demonstrate only a correlative relationship if any existed, and that you understand, much more research/experimentation would be required to assert causation.
hellihooks
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Re: My short study on L. g. californiae

Post by hellihooks »

As Nate said... this was an exercise in research paper writing, so no really significant results are/were expected nor required. At CSUSB, in psychology... this class was called Psych 311... and one of the toughest classes offered... they actually sold tee-shirts at the bookstore with "I survived 311" on them. :crazyeyes: :lol: :lol:
Wish I could have done papers on herps... :? :lol: :lol: jim
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Fundad
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Re: My short study on L. g. californiae

Post by Fundad »

Nice work Nate.

:thumb:

Fundad
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Ross Padilla
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Re: My short study on L. g. californiae

Post by Ross Padilla »

That is interesting. Good job, Nate! :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
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