In our project, we surveyed different areas of Chicago in search of dragonflies and recorded the dragonfly biodiversity presence at each area in relation to the present environmental conditions. We wanted to answer the question: “How does the environment influence the biodiversity of dragonflies in the area?” We were interested in which environments dragonflies thrived in.
In our dragonfly project, we focused on the relationship between environment and dragonflies and their ecosystem. In an attempt to answer the question: "How does the environment influence the biodiversity of dragonflies in the area?” we focused on several different variables. The first, and arguably most important, variable we studied was the presence of dragonflies. At each area we surveyed, we took note of the amount of dragonflies there, along with their sex and what species it was. Additionally, we captured several dragonflies to study them more closely. Next, we took into account the location; the setting, temperature, time of day and humidity all could potentially affect the amount of dragonflies present. In order to unveil any correlation between dragonflies and their environment, we made sure to capture the biodiversity of the dragonflies in relation to environmental factors.
Dragonflies are an interesting and important species. Emerging at their peak in the Summer, most people often overlook dragonflies, they are a key insect apex predator. It is essential to study the environments in which dragonflies thrive, even for the few months of the year. For that reason, we focused our project on environmental impact on dragonflies. However, you don't need several weeks of research to study dragonflies. If you ever see a dragonfly in the wild, try capturing a picture of it and uploading it to an online tracking site, such as iNaturalist, to contribute to others research. Everyone can contribute to the studies of nature.