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Trout Lake
To collect my field data I returned the following day, on August 6, 2018 to collect the number of species and number of crayfish I found in each trap. I was discouraged again to find that I had caught no crayfish, although, there were some other species in the trap that I recorded for accuracy as well. The only pattern that seems to be evident is that the temperature of the water, somewhat warm, seems to mean as of right now that crayfish do not enjoy this environment, however, it is very possible that they just didn’t come out that night. In order to eliminate the unknown, it was important to sample this location on 2 different occasions. Unfortunately, the replicates resulted in relatively the same data.
Lake Nipissing
To collect my field data I returned the following day, August 7, 2018 to collect the number of species and number of crayfish I found in each trap. In traps 1-4, there were no other species in the trap, nor were there any crayfish. However, in Trap 5, one that I placed a little closer to the rocks and vegetation, I caught my first crayfish! I was very excited as it looked like the species I was aiming to catch, Orconectes propinquus, as it is supposed to be very common in Northern Ontario freshwater lakes. I measured this crayfish to compare its length to the crayfish found in Trout Lake,. In regards to replicates, I also sampled this location on two different occasions. Unfortunately, no crayfish or any other species were caught. This information made me reflect on my hypothesis, as I was so sure I would catch at least 3 or 4 crayfish in Lake Nipissing as it is known for its shallow, warmer waters where crayfish thrive. Perhaps it was the way I sampled and the locations that I chose that determined the results? Although these thoughts were going through my mind, fisherman Joe confirmed he has used those traps before in this specific area and have caught many crayfish over the past few months, therefore it really could have been the temperature of the water, time of day, temperature of the air, or any other environmental factor that influenced the results.
