Methods / Materials:
The humidity was read by sensors buried at each of the four areas. Three were buried along each fence, two were buried along “wood road,” and two were buried along “metal road.” The sensors were read throughout the month of July using a Watermark Soil Moisture Meter.
The Watermark Soil Moisture Meter
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Results:
The humidity meters were read at each of the days listed below. The voltmeter read the humidity of the soil in centibars/kPa. This means that the lower numbers indicate a higher humidity. Three readings were taken from each fence and a total of four from the roadside. Twice during the study a humidity sensor read “199 ERROR.” This is an indication of a malfunction. However, all the other readings are thought to be correct. Also note that the humidity readers are not horizontally consistent, meaning the sensor that read 10.0 on July 5th, 2006 is not necessarily the same reader that read 13.0 on July 6th, 2006.
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7/5/2006 |
7/6/2006 |
7/11/2006 |
7/12/2006 |
7/13/2006 |
7/14/2006 |
7/21/2006 |
7/24/2006 |
7/25/2006 |
7/26/2006 |
7/27/2006 |
7/28/2006 |
Precipitation (cm) |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
4.6 |
0.0 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
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Wood Fence (Centibars/kPa) |
10.0 |
13.0 |
10.0 |
10.0 |
10.0 |
7.0 |
9.0 |
15.0 |
4.0 |
6.0 |
6.0 |
7.5 |
14.0 |
199 ERROR |
199 ERROR |
19.0 |
18.0 |
18.0 |
27.0 |
32.0 |
33.0 |
30.0 |
30.0 |
33.0 |
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13.0 |
11.0 |
13.0 |
13.5 |
14.0 |
12.5 |
14.0 |
8.0 |
12.0 |
10.0 |
11.0 |
12.0 |
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Average: |
12.3 |
12.0 |
11.5 |
14.2 |
14.0 |
12.5 |
16.7 |
18.3 |
16.3 |
15.3 |
15.7 |
17.5 |
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Wood Road (Centibars/kPa) |
19.0 |
24.0 |
34.0 |
14.5 |
8.0 |
13.0 |
38.5 |
38.0 |
3.0 |
4.0 |
13.0 |
18.0 |
19.0 |
24.0 |
33.0 |
13.0 |
2.5 |
10.0 |
60.5 |
64.5 |
4.5 |
2.0 |
15.0 |
17.0 |
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Average: |
19.0 |
24.0 |
33.5 |
13.8 |
5.3 |
11.5 |
49.5 |
51.3 |
3.8 |
3.0 |
14.0 |
17.5 |
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Metal Fence (Centibars/kPa) |
19.0 |
21.0 |
25.0 |
24.0 |
27.0 |
26.0 |
35.0 |
40.0 |
11.0 |
116.0 |
21.0 |
26.5 |
27.0 |
28.0 |
33.0 |
24.0 |
44.5 |
33.5 |
86.0 |
111.0 |
113.0 |
17.0 |
116.0 |
114.0 |
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16.0 |
17.0 |
22.0 |
26.5 |
24.0 |
24.0 |
27.0 |
29.0 |
27.5 |
26.0 |
27.0 |
27.0 |
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Average: |
20.7 |
22.0 |
26.7 |
24.8 |
31.8 |
27.8 |
49.3 |
60.0 |
19.3 |
53.0 |
54.7 |
55.8 |
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Metal Road (Centibars/kPa) |
18.0 |
21.0 |
30.0 |
12.0 |
12.0 |
11.0 |
47.0 |
59.5 |
1.0 |
11.0 |
15.0 |
16.0 |
16.0 |
18.0 |
25.0 |
14.5 |
4.5 |
14.0 |
41.5 |
47.5 |
0.0 |
6.0 |
15.0 |
16.0 |
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Average: |
17.0 |
19.5 |
27.5 |
13.3 |
8.3 |
12.5 |
44.3 |
53.5 |
0.5 |
8.5 |
15.0 |
16.0 |
Figure 5
Discussion / Conclusion:
Figure 5 shows that there is correlation between the amount of precipitation and humidity. The road has the highest 
amount of fluctuation. On dry days, such as July 11th, 2006 the humidity of the soil along the road is low. On days with more precipitation, however, they soil because humid. For example, on July 25th, 2006 there was 4.6 centimeters of rain. During this time the humidity dropped dramatically. The reason for this is because the pavement cannot absorb any precipitation and the water runs off to the surrounding soil. On dry days, the pavement heats the soil and drives off any moisture causing the soil to become desiccate. The metal fence also fluctuates depending on the amount of precipitation. On wet, rainy days, such as July 25th, 2006, the humidity in the soil rises. However, because there is no excess water from runoff, the soil does not get as humid as it does near the road. On days with no precipitation, the soil around the metal fences loses some moisture, although, it tends to stay slightly more humid that the soil around the road. The wooden fence does fluctuate because of precipitation but the change in humidity is minor. The humidity around the wooden fence stays relatively stable because the wood retains water and helps maintain a constant environment. This means that the metal fence and the road produce drier microclimates then the wooden fence. Hatchlings from nests around the wooden fence may incubate longer, be larger, and have a higher survival rate.