Discussion

Discussion

A correlation between the temperature of the counting days in Celsius and the amount of fiddler crabs counted on both sides of Spermaceti Cove exposed a direct relationship between these two variables; as temperature increases, there should be an increased amount of fiddler crabs spotted (see Figure 1).



Figure 1: Above is a table of the date the crabs were counted, with the amount of crabs counted and the temperature in Celsius. It is shown that a higher temperature also yields a higher amount of fiddler crabs counted the majority of the time.

The results of this longitudinal study were not as predicted. The t-test provided evidence that the null hypothesis of this experiment cannot be disproven. This voids the hypothesis stating that the fiddler crab population at Spermaceti Cove would increase as the years go on. The population of Uca minax fiddler crabs at Spermaceti Cove on Sandy Hook, New Jersey shows no significant change over the years. The data collected in this study and the statistical analysis conducted on it backs this statement.
 

Further work is necessary to determine exactly why there is no significant change in population as years progress. One possible explanation is that the population of Uca minax fiddler crabs at Spermaceti Cove has already reached its carrying capacity, and no more fiddler crabs can thrive in the habitat due to the amount of resources, such as food and water, in it.

Longitudinal studies become more accurate as more years of data is collected. With more counting sessions each year, there will be more data points to statistically compare, making the conclusions more reputable. As the study continues, the conclusions conducted will become more accurate, as more years will be statically compared to each other.
 

Although the method for collecting data for this study remains the same from year to year, each year different people work on the study. This means that there could be slight variations in the way that data is collected, whether it be the counters being more negligible and careless when counting the crabs or not accurately recording descriptive data, like wind speed and direction and air temperature.