User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
I have selected an area of Esquimalt Lagoon located in Victoria on Vancouver Island, B.C. The area of interest is beside the ocean and in a little nook with a wetlands area some rocky shoreline and a grassy patch that is close to the road. There is fresh water run off from a drain that leads to the ocean shore. There is abundance of plant species including Oregon Grape and lots of tall grasses. The location was visited at noon on a sunny spring day in May and is approximately 50 ft by 40 ft. The spot I am interested in is full of birds of various species which makes sense since the lagoon is considered a bird sanctuary and I believe the birds would be great potential subjects. Three questions that could be formed are; What are the different bird species found to be eating and why?, Which is the proportion of strictly migrant birds vs strictly native ones in the area and suppose why?, Which birds more frequently stay in the area at different times of the day and suppose why?
Sounds like a nice study area. When doing your assignments and paper please use metric measurements (e.g. meters). Your study area is quite small which could make it challenging to include replication in space though you could incorporate replication in time.
Birds make sense if it is a bird sanctuary for your study. Though vegetation, insects or other species are likely options as well. Your first question on diet could be hard to study in this course. In general, as you move onto you next blog posts you will have to start thinking about the patterns in place a little more and get more specific in your questions as well as thinking about how you would sample to get at the patterns you observe.