User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
Date: 14/05/2021
Time: 4:30 PM
Weather: 26 °C, Sunny, Humidity: 34%, Wind: 14km/h
Location: King’s Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Topography: beside the bank of the Red River Lake
Vegetation: Forest + grassland
Observations:
The site that I chose to conduct my research in is King’s Park Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is a park and residential subdivision located on the Western side of the Red River bank. The park includes walking trails, an off-leash dog park area and marshland and some ponds creating edge habitats. The space is about 592 x 270 m.
As I entered the park, the first tree species that caught my eye was White Spruce trees. Following the trail, I noticed the most abundant tree species to be Jack Pine trees. As I walked around the park, I noticed some ponds some of which were dried up next to the off-leash dog area. There are many different species of shrubs that can be seen near the forested area by the lake. Some of the shrubs that I identified are the Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), Common moonseed (Menispermum canadense), Poison Ivy, Garden Rhubarb, Common lilac, and Mercurialis perennis. Other species that can also be found at King’s Park are the Red-winged black bird, ground squirrels, and monarch butterflies. As I was walking through the forested area, I noticed a high abundance of different types of worms hanging from strings. Some of these worms were also seen on the ground since their strings might have been cut off due to human disturbances.
Questions:
- Which shrub species dominate the area and what are the reasons behind it?
- What are the anthropogenic effects on the lifecycle of worms?
- Do the tree species composition change from the entryway of the park towards the forested area near the river?
Good start on your project, remember your field journal entries. Could be helpful to understand how the different parts of the park relate and how big the natural areas are. Remember as your work through these questions towards developing a hypothesis that you need to think about your gradient and what might be influencing the those patterns.