Category: Nancy Elliot

Blog Post 3 – Ongoing Field Observations

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For the research project I will be looking at which species of birds are most common on the Thompson Rivers University campus.

When observing the different birds on campus I have noticed that there are quite a large number of larger scavenger type birds (ex magpies). These birds are not just seen in the central part of campus which I had discussed in previous forum posts but all over campus (from House 9 all the way to the Ken Leppin Building).

Since the TRU campus is not a natural environment (like marsh land or forest) there is a greater amount of human traffic. My hypothesis therefore is that, due to the increase in human presence, there will be more scavenger type birds, such as magpies, crows, pigeons, etc.

Blog Post 2 – Sources of Scientific Information

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The ecological source is an Academic Article from the Thompson Rivers University Online Library (https://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=1&sid=689d59b7-b546-4192-b075-17f64281cdfe%40pdc-v-sessmgr02&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edsjsr.10.1525.cond.2010.090045&db=edsjsr ).

The paper is written by experts in the field. Giancarlo Sadoti is an animal ecologist and physical geographer, Thomas J. Rodhouse is also an ecologist, and Kerri T. Vierling is a professor of wildlife recourses. The paper also has in-text citations and a full bibliography which means the paper is academic material.

The paper is published in the American Ornithological Societies Condor journal (http://www.americanornithology.org/content/auk-ornithological-advances ) which has an extensive peer review process before any paper is published, therefore suggesting this paper is academic peer reviewed material.

Finally, because the paper includes detailed methods, sampling and analysis sections the paper is considered academic, peer reviewed, research material.

Blog Post 1 – Observations

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The location that I have chosen to observe is the center of the Thompson Rivers University Campus. There are a number of ornamental plants, large trees and grasses. Depending on time of day the campus can go from little to no human traffic to lots of human traffic. The area that I am observing is approximately 400 to 500 m in circumference and is an oval/circular area with walkways and buildings on the perimeter and grass and a few trees in the center. I will be visiting this location in the afternoons during March and early April to make my observations. From my initial observations of this location the three questions that could possibly be turned into a research project are…

  • What time of day are there the largest number of birds present?
  • Does human traffic affect the number of birds on campus?
  • What species of birds are most common on campus?

The following image is a drawing of the location which I chose to observe. Please note this drawing was done from the fourth floor of the House of Learning.

Blog Post 9 – Field Research Reflections

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My time spent on this research project gave me a greater understanding of how to conduct and implement a research study. It also allowed me to see why ecology is such a diverse field to study.

During my field research study I did encounter a couple of issues. A few of the issues I observed were prior to initiation of the field study and I was able to make the alteration to the designs. The one issue I ran into in the field study on site was as the morning went on the number of people that were at the park increased which increased the amount of disturbance occurring while I was trying to observe all the birds present. After the first day of sampling I decided to decrease the amount of time I spent at each survey location to decrease the chance of being interrupted by a third party.

Engaging in the practice of ecology has given me a greater appreciation of those who put the effort into all these studies on ecology. Before I came into this class I never conducted my own field experiment. I had only ever completed assessments on projects following standardized procedures for permitting purposes.

 

Post 2: Sources of Scientific Information

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Genetic diversity of seagrass seeds influences seedling morphology and biomass, in the journal, Ecology, is a research article. Anne Randall Hughes and Torrance C. Hanley specialize in marine and environmental sciences. Forest Schenck specializes in marine biology. Also, Cynthia G. Hays, specializes in biology. All of the authors have expertise in this field, in-text citations were included, and there was a bibliography, which means the article is an academic source. The source was reviewed by two referees before publication, indicating it is peer-reviewed material. Finally, it contains a “Methods” and “Results” sections, which means it is a research article. Therefore, this article is academic, peer-reviewed, research material.

https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.tru.ca/stable/44082215?seq=7#metadata_info_tab_contents

Post 1: Observations

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The study area is in Mount Currie, approximately 8 km north of Pemberton, on Nelson Bar Ranch. The area is approximately 7 hectares in size. 1/3 of the perimeter of the area is touching the Birkenhead River. A major portion (80%) of the area is an open grass field which contains 10 horses. There are forested areas, which have conifers such as cedar, and deciduous such as birch and cottonwood. Vegetation also include shrubs, and mosses.

Nelson Bar Ranch

The site was visited 09-04-2019, in the spring, from 1500 – 1704. It was sunny with some clouds, but it was mainly clear. It was 14 degrees centigrade with a slight breeze blowing west.

I observed the east and west edges of the field near the river. The west edge of the river mainly contained deciduous trees, with one cedar sapling found in the study area. There was leaf debris from the edge of the field to the edge of the river. All the shrubs were shorter than 5 feet 6 inches (shorter than me). The area is a ranch, so horses and humans occupy the area daily. Moss was present on the west side and was mixed in with the grass. There was little to no moss on the living trees and debris. I heard 4 different bird calls in this study area.

West, vegetation layers
West, leaf debris
West, cedar sapling

The east edge contained a mix of deciduous and coniferous trees. The ground was softer than the soil of the west edge. More trees were present on the east edge, which provided more canopy cover. Leaf debris covered the whole ground area. Grass didn’t seem present, even when moving some leaf debris. Moss was present on living trees as well as branch and log debris. In this area, the shrubs were taller than 5 foot 6 inches (taller than me). Fungi was only found on the east side. While on this edge of the field, I only heard one bird call.

East, cedar layer
East edge, riparian layer
East edge, cedar layer meeting riparian layer
East edge, fungi

My three questions are:

  1. Is moss more present in areas with less human disturbance or is it more related to the habitat? Moss was more present in the area farthest away from human contact, but also the ground was more moist and there was more canopy cover.
  2. Does the amount of canopy cover relate to whether fungi is present or absent? Or is it related to moisture level? The east side had more canopy cover, and the ground was softer and more moist.
  3. Is the west edge of the field a better habitat for birds? If so, what makes it better? A variety of bird calls were heard on the west edge, while only one was heard on the east edge.

Blog Post 6 – Data Collection

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So far, I’ve collected five replicates. The most significant issue that I’ve faced in collecting the data is human influence. I’m collecting the data on a fairly busy trail which sometimes hosts groups of children as such when I’m collecting data and there is a group of children, birds will typically stay away from my sampling location.

One pattern I’ve noticed thus far is that bird activity seems to increase when temperatures are lower. One hypothesis could be that they require more energy (i.e., food) and thus are more active to find food to stay warm.

Blog Post 5: Design Reflections

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While collecting the data, some difficulties faced were the number of people on the trail and attempting to identify the number of individuals for each species. On the first point, when making observations there were times when tour groups of children would approach the area to observe birds. Although they attempted to remain silent, the sheer number of people in one location made it that the birds were not nearing the area. Approximately five minutes after the groups would leave, the birds would return to this area. To address this issue, my sampling design will be modified such that if there are touring groups in the area, I would wait five minutes after the group has left before beginning the data collection.

On the second point of identifying the number of individuals for each species, unless the individuals are tagged it is challenging to determine the exact number of individuals there are for each species. To address this issue, I decided that species diversity would be assessed for this study rather than abundance.

The data collected was slightly surprising in that the abundance of individuals for each species was greater in colder weather. The diversity of species was similar in colder temperature as compared to warmer temperatures. Despite these observations, only five replicates have been collected thus far, it will interesting to see how/if things change.

Blog Post 2: Sources of Scientific Information

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The article titled ‘Birds in New York State Have Altered Their Migration Timing and Are Experiencing Different Thermal Regimes While Breeding or on Stopover from 2010 to 2015’ was published in the International Journal of Zoology on September 19, 2017. The authors, from the biology department of Colgate University, were Natalie Pudalov, Sydney Ziatek and Ana Gabriela Jimenez.

This article is an academic piece because it is written by experts in the field (they represent Colgate University), it includes in text citations and a bibliography.

The article states that it was received on May 5, revised on June 26, accepted on July 11 and published on September 19 of that year. This suggests that the article is peer-reviewed as it went through a revision process.

The article lists a materials and methods section and a results section detailing the research that was conducted. This article is therefore a research piece.

As a result, this article constitutes an academic, peer-reviewed research material.

Reference:

Pudalov, N, Ziatek, S and Jimenez, A. (2017). Birds in New York State Have Altered Their Migration Timing and Are Experiencing Different Thermal Regimes While Breeding or on Stopover from 2010 to 2015. International Journal of Zoology, vol. 2017, Article ID 2142075. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/2142075

Blog Post 1: Observations

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The backyard setting I observed is located on half an acre in the suburban community of Chatham, New Jersey. It is made up of a combination of manicured lawn, trees, shrubs and bushes, hundreds of natural trees, shrubs and bushes, mulch, and an unmanicured forested area with deadfall and decayed leaves. Many of the natural trees, consisting of what I believe are oak, birch, pine and dogwood, provide extensive ground cover and shade and are home to various squirrels, chipmunks and birds. I would like to learn more about these different species of trees.

Separating the manicured lawn and mulch area with the natural forested area is a stream with a small foot-bridge over top. At the time of this observation the stream was mostly dried up. It was muddy and wet in the bottom with a lot of dead leaves but was not freely flowing. A large oak tree sits in the middle of the manicured lawn area.

I first observed this setting on a spring afternoon, April 2nd at around 2:00 pm. It was partly cloudy but the sun was still shining in the backyard and the temperature was around 18 degrees celcius. I observed many branches and twigs on the ground that had fallen from the trees above in the previous days, likely from windy and rainy weather as well as just natural deadfall. I wonder about the health of the trees as there seems to be a lot of deadfall in this small area. Is this natural or are there potential issues?

In the forested area, some natural daisies and tulips had started to bloom but were not quite flowering yet. A magnolia tree on the manicured lawn was just starting to bud. The ground was slightly damp on the SW portion of the lawn although the rest was dry. Birds could be heard chirping in the trees above and a few squirrels could be seen running between the south fence and the large oak tree in the backyard. I observed a few different species of birds and am interested in identifying the types. Some may have been blue jays and others may have been cardinals. Small birds, potentially sparrows or robins, were pecking on the lawn although my movements startled them and they took off.filename-1 (13)