User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
I have chose to compare two different sites on McArthur Island. The first site is the 9-hole golf course that is approximately 20acres. It closed last year because its lease was up with the city and since then the course has since been unmaintained, meaning the grass is dead, weeds are thriving, and wildlife is everywhere. There are 3 small ponds throughout the rolling hills of the course. The most rural pond had a beaver lodge along the edge, but in all 3 ponds there was a lot of debris from trees and some garbage, so it was murky and dirty. Trees are scattered, but are most dense along the edges of the main pond, and there are many different kinds of trees; spruce, willow, maple, birch, pine, chestnut and cottonwood trees. An unidentified weed thrives along the edge of the pond, but most of the grasses and shrubs along it are dead. Surrounding about 75% of the golf course is a slew, and the other quarter is edged by the Thompson River. Because of this and the swampy ponds there is multitudes of mosquitoes. There is a variety of small and large animals on the course such as the Western painted turtle (Chrysemys picta), Canadian geese and their young (Branta canadersis), marmots (Sciuridae), Red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris), beavers (Castor), White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), Mallard ducks and very tiny ducklings (Anas platyrhynchos), and finally Bald eagles (Haliaeeitus leucocephalus). My first visit was on an overcast evening from 7-8pm and the temperature was about 20 degrees. Around 7:45 the wind really picked up and some thunder and lightning started off in the distance.
My second location is the slew/moat that surrounds McArthur Island where the water comes from the rising South Thompson River when its rises. My first visit was June 24th from 4:40-5:25pm , and it was very hot and humid. The temperature was 32 degrees and it was partly cloudy with some sunshine. The water definitely seems cleaner than the ponds, and it doesn’t smell at all, though there seems to be some garbage floating around. The slew is also seasonal because it comes and goes with the rise and decline of the river depth, but the water is still seasonably high. There is a bridge across the slew and on the north side of the bridge the bank along the residential side is mostly rocks with some shrubs and trees, while the island bank is tall grasses, as well as trees and large shrubs that overhang into the water. On the south side of the bridge both banks of the slew are larger shrubs and trees with some dead underbrush floating in the water. Some of the known bushes were blueberry and reship bushes along with some thorn bushes. There is a walkway about 15 feet away from the slew on the island and along it are some various small flowers. White-tailed deer are often seen hanging out and grazing along the edges of the slew on both sides. There was an abundance of mallard ducks hanging out under a large willow tree by the edge of the slew under the bridge, but there were also quite a few in the water. I also some a type of small fish jumping out of the water and in the shallows. Some crows and seagulls were also among the ducks, all hanging out in the same area.
- Why is there such a difference in plant life? Taking into account freshness/cleanliness of water, shade vs sun, alkalinity of the pond versus the slew.
- Why do the mallard ducks seem to prefer the slew rather than the ponds? Is it because of water cleanliness, openness of water, shade or sun exposure, temperature of water, food sources?
Here is a map of McArthur Island:
Below are images of McArther Island golf course:
Below are a few pictures of the slew/moat:
