{"id":26961,"date":"2025-10-03T04:46:35","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T04:46:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vividscience.org\/?page_id=26961"},"modified":"2025-10-03T22:38:33","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T22:38:33","slug":"field-notes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/vividscience.org\/index.php\/online-envirobio\/data\/evidence\/field-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"3a3 Field Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n \n Field Notes <\/span>\n\n \n \n Collecting data <\/span>\n <\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Field Notes Objectives<\/strong><\/h3> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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  • List the contents of field notes and explain why these contents may be important.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Describe the tropical savanna, including climate and seasonal impacts on organisms.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • Provide an example of a temperate savanna, and explain why it is not a forest.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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    Field notes are writings and sketches taken on location.\u00a0 They are similar in format to good class notes: a combination of text, images, and icons.<\/h5>\n
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    Field notes take time, and require focus on an organism and\/or a location.\u00a0 They were critical prior to photography, but remain important and a distinct way to capture data.<\/h5> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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    Field notes made centuries ago are still used to this day.<\/h3> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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    An example of field notes in action are the field notes published by F. Hamilton in 1822.\u00a0 Hamilton traveled through India, collected, and made field notes of a variety of fish species.\u00a0 These notes became the standard used to identify and name dozens of fish species.<\/h5> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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    An example of one of our course favorite fish that Hamilton identified is Badis badis<\/em>, also called the “chameleon fish” because it can rapidly change colors (more on that in the camouflage section).<\/h5>\n
    Hamilton noted the identifying features of Badis<\/em>, and also added information on the behaviors he could observe.\u00a0 Which were not many, since they are small (less than two inches) and well camouflaged.\u00a0<\/h5> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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    In the time that followed Hamilton’s work, other naturalists wrote about Badis badis<\/em>, noting they were “sluggish,” “lethargic,” and “dull.”<\/h5>\n
    Specimens of Badis<\/em> did not make their way into museum collections or the pet trade until recently, so the published notes were a primary source of information until 2002 when researchers updated descriptions.\u00a0 Some of the original physical descriptions were accurate, but the highly anthropomorphic behavioral observations were inadequate.<\/h5> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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    Below are Badis five minutes after they are added to a quarantine tank.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/h5>\n
    What do you observe and infer about their behavior?<\/h5> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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