Summer Week 2

The week of June 1-4 was spent processing the samples I collected from 40 acres of land just outside Show Low Jordan calls Tarantula Gardens.

I went to a few different sites on the land, chose a stand of juniper trees and marked off an area 35 feet around the trees using stakes. I collected samples from various plants inside the area and took notes and photos of the plants for later reference. I had intended to do three sites and collect some of the same species of plants at all the sites to see if there was a difference in endophytic colonization in the different areas. However, after building a fence all day I was so tired it didn't really work out that way. I collected ample samples from site number three and took a few samples of different species found at site two but then I was too bushed to continue and called it a day. I figured 24 samples was plenty to work with for awhile.

I made three major mistakes when I was collecting samples in Tarantula Gardens: 1. I didn't put each sample in its own individual bag but instead placed all samples of a certain size in one bag and all samples that were smaller in another bag. Despite noting in my lab book which bag I put each sample by the time I got back to the lab I couldn't tell any of the samples apart. This was especially true with the grass samples.
2. I didn't put a damp paper towel in the bags with the samples so by the time I was able to look at many of the plants they were dried out and brittle.
3. The photos I took of the plants were blurry, out of focus and did not include enough detail to identify any of the species. I need to be using a better camera meaning not my cell phone camera.


Tarantula Gardens Site #3:


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