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- Nov. 5, 2017
- Weather: Partly Clear Skies, 14C, 1:28pm
- I’m planning to study Canadian geese (Branta canadensis) and how different gradient sites affect their habitat
- I’ve taken a few pictures of the different gradient sites around the lost lagoon in Stanley park. The 3 sites that I have observed are west, south, and east side of the lagoon. I’ve noticed that there is an abundance of birds on the south side of the lagoon where it’s closest to the city and residential neighbourhood. The east side of the lagoon that is near a major road has not many abundances of animals. The west side of the lagoon which is more “inside” the park, has a more diverse species abundance in comparison to the west side.
- I believe there is an impact of human interactions with certain bird species such as the Canadian geese, crows, and seagulls as there were abundance of them flocking the south side of the lagoon. It’s a possibility that the birds are conditioned to flock near humans in finding food as there maybe people feeding them while sitting on the bench.
- After observing all 3 different sites, my hypothesis is that a large number of bird species are drawn to the south side of the lagoon where the residential areas are located because of abundance of food from humans.
- Response Variable: Presence of humans, Explanatory Variable: Abundance of bird Species
I find they would be categorical variables because it takes on values that are numerical such that an “population of birds” depends on “population of humans” in a given area.
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Hi there! I like where you are going with your study. I was wondering whether your response variable is actually the abundance of birds, whereas the predictor/explanatory variable is the presence of humans? I suppose the human presence may “explain” why their is the abundance of birds, or the response to human presence.
I think you have a very interesting research topic. You definitely have the “pieces” and the “patterns”. The “pieces” being the population of geese and the “patterns” being the varying populations depending on location. However, keep in mind that predictions are derived from hypotheses. So maybe your hypothesis can be: geese abundance in Stanley Park may be influenced by humans and your prediction can be: the area of Stanley Park with greater human feeding will support the a greater number of geese? Therefore, the south side of the lagoon will support a greater number of geese because it’s located near the residential areas where a lot of bird feeding by humans occurs. Your prediction is clear and falsifiable. I agree with epennock regarding the predictor and response variables. I think your field research topic is great and it’ll be interesting to see what your results are.
this is great feedback!
Hi,
I find your study to be very interesting, as I am studying the effects of Canadian Geese in a residential area. I am wondering if you will also be considering the behaviour of the humans present at all. Do the humans need to be engaging in a feeding behaviour in order to attract more birds? Or have the geese been conditioned to gather there regardless of being fed or not? I’d also be curious to know why the species abundance is less diverse in comparison to the west side of the lagoon. All in all, I think that your experiment is set up for success with a quantifiable hypothesis and good predictor and response variables.
Best of luck