Category: Post 1: Observations

The site that I have selected to conduct my field study is a forested area near my home north of Squamish, BC. I first visited the site on August 28 just before 7:00 pm. The day was hot (~30°C) and sunny and there had been no precipitation since June so the vegetation was very dry.

The site is located mid-slope on a terraced/undulating hillside with a westerly aspect. The undulations in the slope are formed by almost regularly spaced rock outcrops. Less than 50 m downslope of the site is a hydro power transmission line and cut block. The site is located on public forest land that has been previously harvested. I chose an area of approximately 20 m by 20 m to be my study site.

The forest is mature and the canopy cover is approximately 35%. The dominant species is Douglas-fir while western redcedar and lodgepole pine are also present. The shrub cover is dense at approximately 85% and is largely dominated by salal. Other shrub species include red and black huckleberry, Saskatoon, and red elderberry, as well as seedlings of western redcedar. I noted bracken fern in the depressions between rock outcrops but no other herbaceous species. The outcrops were covered in mosses (total cover of approximately 40%), which I identified as step moss, big red stem, and broom moss.

While I was at the site, a family of Ruffed Grouse moved through the area. The mother stood guard on top of one of the rock outcrops while the 3 young moved around in the undergrowth. I sat quite still and a couple of them came within a couple of metres from me.

Some questions of interest about this site are:
1) whether the species composition and cover of mosses vary with the position (crest, slope, depression) and aspect on the rock outcrops;
2) whether there is a difference in stand composition with distance from the cut line downslope; and
3) an investigation into why western redcedar seemed to be the dominant regenerating species (i.e. the most seedlings) while Douglas-fir is the dominant tree species.

I am planning on using the Guerin Creek area of the Thompson Rivers University campus in Kamloops, BC (see figure 1). I explored this region and found that it varies drastically in access to water sources, and I thought I could examine how the vegetation and pollinators differ as the proximity to the creek varies. Kamloops is a desert climate and it is currently the end of summer/beginning of fall. As I explored my area of interest I noticed all of these brilliant yellow flowers blooming. Rabbitbrush is a late flowering plant that supports a lot of pollinators through the fall season. They bloom from September-October, so I thought they could be the perfect topic for my field experiment. There are also wild yellow sunflowers blooming, and from my research so far it seems like they actually might be from the same genus as the rabbitbrush.

The vegetation includes sagebrush, wildflowers, and drought resistant grasses. It is a creek, so there is a fairly steep elevation grade difference as the proximity to the creek changes (see figure 2). I am thinking I could compare both vegetation at higher elevations and lower elevations both near water sources and farther from water sources. In the map, you can see the blue region near the creek, and the pink area further from the creek. I will look at blooming vegetation and pollinators in both areas.

I will keep my observations during the day, between 10-2 and ensure that it isn’t too windy for the pollinators to collect and fly. I will also only observe on days where it isn’t overcast or raining.

A few questions about this area:

1. How do the number and type of rabbitbrush pollinators vary closer to and farther from water sources?
2. How do the pollinator types vary between the wild sunflowers and the rabbitbrush?
3. How does elevation affect the pollinators of rabbitbrush?

The area that I have selected to observe is a portion of a community park in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, called Milliken District Park. The total area of this park is approximately 32 hectares. It is located northeast of Scarborough at coordinates 43.8292° N, 79.2708° W. The park has many paved trails, a large pond, and numerous trees. There is a forest found near the pond. Most of the trees found in this park are mature.

Majority of the area is flat, but there are some hills. There is a rather large pond that which houses many birds, swans and fishes. Looking into the pond I could see an accumulation of litter, and the water quality seems poor.

The park contains landscaped gardens, gazeboes and different water features. There are also three playgrounds, a splash pad, and a large field where people usually play sports. I often visit this area weekly on walks, as there is a nice paved path around and inside the park, providing individuals with an area to bike, rollerblade, and walk. My initial observations and data collection of the park was made on 26 April 2017 from 6:07pm to 8:34pm. It was a sunny but windy day, with the temperature being around 12^oC. During the collection period, there were many children playing in the playground. There were some birds and black squirrels that I saw in the forest, and throughout the park.

The area is mostly covered in green grass and trees. There are mixtures of deciduous and coniferous trees present throughout the park. Around the pond and the forest I noticed more wild type vegetation growth (sedges, weeds, etc). As this is a community park, roads and houses surround the park, but there is a clear distinction through the use of fences and gates.

Based on my observations, three questions that are interesting and could form the subject of my research project are:

1. How does the pond have an impact on the vegetation and plant distribution surrounding it?
2. How do humans impact the land, especially with regards to plant distribution?
3. Not everything present in this park is natural, much of it is manmade, and thus, how does this impact plant distribution and the adaptation of the animal species that reside in the area?

I have selected to observe Paul Lake in Kamloops, British Columbia. This is a Provincial Park in which the public is welcome to use the campground or the beach for recreational use. Paul Lake is lined with small mountains which are covered with conifers. The recreational site has a vast amount of grassy areas which slowly turns into a sandy beach as it connects to the water. I visited this site at 12pm on a Thursday (June 22, 2017) afternoon. It was apporximately 20 degrees celsius with  clouds covering the blue sky. At the Provincial Park I became curious about the water levels at Paul Lake and how they are affected in the differing seasons with the temperature changes and climate changes. I also began to wonder how wildlife, such as geese or bugs, are affected by the water level changes. More explicitly I came up with these three questions, (1) what are the causes of water level changes? (2) Has the water levels at Paul Lake shown the same general trends over the years? And (3) how do these causes affect wildlife inhabiting nearby areas?