Senior Thesis
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The Fraser fir, Abies fraseri. |
As part of the Maryville College experience, all students are requited to complete some sort of thesis. As a biology major, I was required to do a project involving some sort of fieldwork or laboratory work related to my major, but was given the freedom to work on just about any project I wanted... Well, within reason- there have been some unique examples in the past, such as the history major who analyzed the influence of '80's cartoons on youth. Usually, though, the thesis somehow leads in to graduate work after getting a degree, as will hopefully be the case with me.
A brief history of the area:
Early 20th century: the slopes of Clingman's Dome are logged in places, and fir and spruce are allowed to grow back after harvest. Today, the area is still riddled with the remains of logging operations, including the remains of a train wreck at Forney Creek several miles below the summit. Many current trails follow old railroad beds.
1940: The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is dedicated, putting an end to logging operations within it's boundaries and allowing the fir to return to it's natural state.
1950's-60's: The Balsam Wooly Adelgid, a destructive insect that was introduced to New England and slowly migrated southward along the chain of the Appalachians, makes it's way into the Smokies and begins to devastate the Fraser fir population. The insect's traditional food sources, such as the Balsam fir, are more resistant to the insect than the Fraser. Within 20-30 years, 90% of the fir population within the park had been destroyed.
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| Former stand of Fraser fir along the Clingman's Dome Trail. |
1960's-2000: Despite efforts to control the insect, such as spraying and the release of beetle species that should feed on the adelgid, the forests at Clingman's Dome are devastated. Fir grow back in dense, even-sized stands that are attacked by the adelgid after reaching a certain age, and the opening of the canopy allows intense competition between a number of less shade-tolerant species.
How I got involved:
December 2003: As part of my Chemistry minor, I take a Biochem class, in which one of the last labs involves ergosterol and other compounds as indicators of the presence of fungus. I've always been fascinated by the symbiotic relationships formed between fungi and other organisms, specifically lichen, which is a relationship between fungus and photosynthetic algae, and mycorrhizae, which is a symbiotic relationship with plant roots. I didn't have any idea what I wanted to do yet for my thesis, but at least I had a good starting point.
January 2004: I begin looking into current research taking place in the region related to mycorrhyzal relationships, and eventually settled on the Fraser fir due to the troubles this species has been having within the park. I eventually team up with several people from Mississippi State, who are working on a similar project. I begin the preliminary research into the topic, and over the next few months will spend countless hours doing research online and in the library.
April 2004: I complete Chapter 1. I now have much of the background work complete, and have hammered out most of the methodology for the study. Our proposal is approved by the Park Service, and we are ready to begin the core part of the study. I plan to complete most of the actual fieldwork over the summer.
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| Data collection in one of the plots. After Threadgill swore all spring semester long that he wouldn't spend a day climbing all over the mountain... |
May 2004: We complete setting up plots on site, which will be used for both my study and for another one conducted by a grad student at the same time. Over the next few months, I will walk the paved trail to the Clingman's Dome tower countless times, and answer many questions for curious tourists along the way.
June 2004: We get a good chunk of the fieldwork out of the way. This month is marked by several long days on the mountain and in the lab, during which I collect most of my data on root fungi.
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| Analysis of samples. |
August 2004: During a number of trips to the mountain, I collect data on associated species within plots. Because the high elevation forests in the Smokies generally have a lower diversity of plant species than the rest of the park, this work goes increasingly faster as I get familiar with most of the species on the mountain. While at the sites, I also collect data on a number of site factors such as elevation.
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| A common occurrence on a number of the plots. Thankfully, this is 'thornless' blackberry! |
September 2004: The most difficult, tedious part of the entire project. I begin working on the Materials and Methods and the Results sections. I spend many hours pouring over the results looking for relationships among the data.
October 2004: I make my last trip to the mountain to wrap things up. By this time, I have begun working on the final chapter, the Discussion section. The document as a whole is beginning to come together.
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| Collecting data in one of the plots. Where fir had died back, underbrush was often very thick. |
November 2004: I turn in the draft, including every page that will be in the final document, to the editor the week before Thanksgiving. While she looks it over, I can finally take it easy for a week. I take a much needed break, rent a car, and go out of state to visit a friend for several days. There's something therapeutic about physically separating yourself from your work by leaving it at home and driving 1600 miles in one weekend. When I return, it's finally time to put the final draft together.
December 7, 2004: Finally, I get the edited copy and begin making corrections. I get the "official" overpriced thesis binder, print the document on cotton paper, and turn it in to my advisor on the 13th.
December 14, 2004: Finally Done! I get the signed copy back from my advisor, and proudly walk it over to the editor's office. The final document is 40 pages of text, figures, and references, all of which I have become very familiar with during the seemingly endless editing process. At 12:15 on a very cold December day, I finally put a close to one of the most challenging experiences of my life.
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| Another day of data collection. Many of the plots were covered by extremely dense stands of young fir much like this one. |