User:Ryanmwolfe/sandbox

Week 6: Article Evaluation

Article chosen: tundra


 * Everything within the article is relevant to the topic of tundras and nothing stood out as distracting.
 * The article is mostly neutral but seems to have a strong leaning towards specifically talking about the tundra areas within Canada and Russia.
 * All viewpoints are represented well and equally except for maybe the subheading about the relationship with global warming. Here they only list the negative effects and don't mention any benefits that this may have on species in the area.
 * From the few links that I checked, the citation links work and the material is relatively well sourced. However, there are a few facts within the article which are stated that may need support through a citation. An example being: " The effect has been observed in Alaska.". This statement is very specific and has no support to identify where this information came from.
 * Information seems to be mostly up to date and the basics of the tundra are all covered within the article, as well as the different types of tundra.
 * On the talk page, individuals are mostly talking about minor edits that need to be done or were done. Other things discussed are potential errors found in one of the images and in information specifically about Iceland (whether or not it is a tundra or just deforested area).
 * This article is a part of 7 WikiProjects: Ecoregions, Environment, Arctic, Antarctica, Canada, Norway, and Russia/Physical Geography. It is rated B-Class.
 * Wikipedia talks about the tundra in a more factual manner where details about the ecoregions, the organisms present there, etc. whereas in class we discussed more information about how the tundra will change with climate change. This is mentioned and discussed in the article briefly but not like we talked about it in class.

Week 7: Add to an Article

The following was added to the page Climate change and agriculture under the Erosion and fertility subheading:

Increased erosion in agricultural landscapes from anthropogenic factors can occur with losses of up to 22% of soil carbon in 50 years.

with this citation:

Doetterl, Sebastian; Oost, Kristof Van; Six, Johan (2012-05-01). "Towards constraining the magnitude of global agricultural sediment and soil organic carbon fluxes". Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. 37 (6): 642–655. doi:10.1002/esp.3198. ISSN 1096-9837.

Week 8: Choose Your Topic

I will be contributing, with my group, to the article Rat snake. We will be adding information on how climate change will potentially be affecting rat snake life history, both positively and negatively, across their range (including all species) in North America. I specifically will be talking about the effects to certain speciies specifically as they occur from different regions and climates within North america. Our information is coming from peer reviewed articles on the matter.

Here is a list of some of the peer reviewed articles we have come up with:

Week 9: Improving an Existing Article

We are adding to the article Rat snake. This article talks only about the Rat Snake species in general, lists (some of) the species of rat snakes, and discusses their very general characteristics and talks mostly about them in the pet trade.

This article is immensely lacking in information about the life history of specific species, or or regions which rat snakes occupy. We are going to be adding how their life history will be (potentially) changing positively, and negatively with climate change for the species of rat snake in North America. We will also be reviewing how each species from specific regions will be effected differently.

Week 10: Peer Review and Edit

I edited and reviewed the Jellyfish article found here: User talk:Huatammy/sandbox

Week 11: Draft Your Article

I am creating an addition to the Rat Snake article with classmates Joner Kuo and Billy Olds.

Joner and Billy will be talking about the general benefits and negative impacts of climate change on Rat Snakes across North America.

In my portion of the article I will be writing about the life history alterations in Ontario Rat Snakes that will come with climate change. Main points covered will be:


 * thermoregulation
 * activity (day and night)
 * active season
 * growth rate and maturation rate
 * habitat selection

FINAL ARTICLE (MY SECTION)

This is my section of the article. It has been added to Joner Kuo's Sandbox for the completed final article containing all parts from all members. Found here User:Kuom4/sandbox.

It can also be found within the Wikipedia article Rat snake.

Life History Alterations in Ontario Gray Rat Snakes

As Rat Snakes are ectothermic species, they require sunlight and heat to maintain their body temperatures. Across their range in North America each species of Rat Snake has different ideal body temperatures. In Ontario, the average ideal body temperature of a Rat Snake is 28.1 degrees Celsius with free ranging gravid females tending to be a bit higher in order to meet thermoregulatory requirements for gestation. With ambient air temperatures over the course of their entire active season (from May to September) almost never reaching the required 28.1 degrees C, the Rat Snakes in Ontario resort to basking habitats where conditions allow temperatures to rise above normal and up to 43 degrees Celsius at the hottest times of day and year. These habitats include areas such as rock outcrops, bare ground, or edge habitat where they can bask on tree branches fully exposed to the sun. However, with climate change and an associated increase in ambient air temperature by 3 degrees C, the amount of required time spent by snakes in these habitats will decrease. This will result in alterations in the amount and time of activity of Rat Snakes. They will have the potential to be generally more active during both the day and night as it will be easier for them to maintain their ideal body temperature. Habitat choices may also shift with increased temperatures. More time could be spent in areas such as forests or barns where the temperatures are currently too low for the snakes to spend most of their time in. There will be less of a need to expose themselves in their open basking habitats causing increases in hunting opportunity, decreases in predator vulnerability, and increases in thermoregulatory ability. In addition, Rat Snakes in Ontario currently have a low growth rate and maturation rate due to the cooler climate and shorter active seasons compared to other species of Rat Snakes further South in North America. This means that Ontario’s Rat Snakes are more vulnerable to population declines. But, with an increase in temperature and an increase in the duration of the active season from climate change, it is possible that the growth rate and maturation rate of these snakes will increase.