User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
Date/Time: 2021-04-26 at 17:30 hours
Weather: 16oC, partly cloudy
Seasonality: Mid-spring season.
Location: Dufferin Park Wetlands – 1840 Hillside Drive, Kamloops, BC
Designation: City Park
General Description:
Dufferin Park Wetlands is a flat area that is approximately 1900m2. The area was converted into a wetland and designated as a city park in late 2017, and has seen a great deal of development since its creation.
Topography: Dufferin Park Wetlands is located at the base of several hiking trails in the Kenna Cartwright provincial park. Essentially speaking, it is a flat area that is nestled in at the base of a mountain slope. The wetland also bordered by an elementary school, a paved city street, and a set of tennis courts with an attached parking lot.
Vegetation:
The vegetation in this area is primarily comprised of riparian and aquatic wetland type vegetation that transitions into upland vegetation. There are many species of both riparian and aquatic vegetation, which I anticipate to explore in the future.
Observation Questions:
- Is there a relationship between temperature and species richness/prevalence in this wetland?
- There are many non-aquatic bird species present in the area that appear to be actively competing for territory. What does this type of vegetation offer for these bird species?
- This park is nestled in between a school, tennis courts, a city street, and some provincial park hiking trails. In what ways might these anthropological factors affect this wetland area?
I like your study site, minor point that Kenna is a city park and not a provincial park. Your questions are a good start though questions 2 and 3 are quite broad and you will need to get more specific and think about things you can actually measure as you move onto blog post 3. For question 1, would you focus on all species or one taxonomic group specifically?
For question 1, I believe that focusing on a specific taxonomic group would make for a more measurable and feasible experiment.
remember to include your field journal