leafConclusion

Conclusion In conclusion our project was a success! We were able to answer our initial questions about leaf galls, and now we know what they are and what is inside them. We also know that they are not very common in Flat Rock Brook from our walking tests. Through our dissections we now conclude that each type of tree inhabits a different species of leaf galls. The Red Oak Tree, Cherry Tree, Birch Tree and White Ash Tree all contained unique leaf galls that differred in size, shape, color and larva.

As well as the difference in species, there was also a difference in the number of organisms inside each leaf gall. Both the red oak and the cherry tree had very few organisms inside their leaf galls, while the white ash and birch tree had a much larger amount. Additionally, It seems that the number of galls per leaf was affected by the area in which they grow in. Interestingly, both of the galls found on the white loop trail had only one gall on their leaf, and the other galls that were found on the orange loop trail had at least 5 galls on each leaf. As seen by the circle graphs on the results page, the number of trees with leaf galls on the orange loop trail is slightly larger than the number of leaf galls on the white loop trail. Besides these two differences in the galls from the orange and white trails, there seemed to be no other obvious pattern in the galls from a certain area. From this, we can conclude that the area which they live in does not affect the galls in a significant way.

While we found that galls do not cause any harm to the trees, suprisingly, galls are actually beneficial to humans.The Cynips gallae-tinctoriae gall can be used as a source of ink. These galls contain 50 to 65 percent tannic acid and are very useful as ink or in dyes for wool. The Greeks used the Cynips theophrastea gall for lamp fuel. Honeydew producing galls are used to attract bees and flies in the agricultural industry. Some galls have even been known to be used for food and medicine.

With our results and data we are now able to compare and contrast the four trees and their leaf galls.

We finally conclude that leaf galls are in fact formed by living organisms such as larva. Here are some results that helped us form this conclusion:

Before dissecting the galls on the birch tree, we saw a caterpillar coming out of one of the galls. But then when we opened up a different one of the galls we found the white larva that was described in the chart on the results page. We were confused since none of our research had ever said anything about different types of insects living in the galls on the same leaf, so we thought it would be best to open another gall and see what was inside. In the last gall we found the same white larva that was seen in the previous one. From that we concluded that the caterpillar seen coming out of the first gall must have been an abnormality.

The inside of the white ash and birch tree galls looked very similar. Both of the galls had alot of small white larva, the only differences were that the larva inside the white ash tree had red eyes and also there was a small insect which looked almost like a fly. We think that the fly-like insect was the one who produced the gall.

The one failure of this project is its' small sample size. When comparing the galls from the two different trails, we only had two galls from each trail to look at; no completely accurate conclusion can be made from looking at only those four galls. Also, the walking test's accuracy is questionable. We only walked 1500 feet on each of the trails. In order to get a better estimate of the frequency of trees with leaf galls on each trail, we would have needed to walk around the whole trail.


 * If anyone was inspired by our work, we encourage you to continue researching leaf galls. Learning about leaf galls was a new experience for both of us, and we really enjoyed learning about them, especially during the dissections. We were amazed to discover and see the variety of microscopic organisms which grow in leaf galls. We would recommend finding new species of leaf galls and dissecting them to see which organisms are actually inside them. Also, you can research the impact of each trail and how it affects the presence of leaf galls. Although we did conclude a few things about the differences between the white and orange loop trails, we did not go very indepth with it since it was not really the focus of our project. Also, if you wanted to get a better estimate on the frequency of leaf galls in Flat Rock Brook as a whole, you could look at all the trails instead of just two of them. We hope our project has triggered your mind, and to whoever is willing to research more leaf galls, we wish you the best of luck, make us proud! :)

Main Page Methods & Materials Results Location Past Studies Bibliography