Category: Post 3: Ongoing Field Observations

Post 3: Ongoing Field Observations

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The species that I plan to study is Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera) and its distribution across elevation, aspect, and slope changes in the study area.

Site 1 – Lowest site in study area, located at toe of slope.  Elevation is 570m above sea level.  Slope is 0-5%.  This site is the only site in the study area that I have observed large cottonwood trees.  The forest composition is roughly 50% poplar, 30% birch, and 20% coniferous.  There are a few willows.

Site 2 – Mid slope in study area.  Elevation is 600m above sea level. Slope is 25-30%.  The forest composition is roughly 65% poplar, 30% birch, 5% coniferous.  There are more willows and low shrubs on this site than the other two sites.

Site 3 – Upper extents of study area.  Elevation is 640m above sea level.  Slope is 20-25%.  The forest composition is roughly 60% poplar, 20% Birch, 20% coniferous.  The forest is more widely spaced than the other two sites.  There are shrubs/willows in the openings.

All forest compositions are quick, visual estimates of the immediate surrounding forest.

There is snow on the ground in all locations, varying from 30 to 60cm in depth.

Observation sites in study area

My hypothesis is that birch tree populations will vary with changes in elevation, slope, and aspect.  My prediction is that the most populated sites will be the lowest in elevation, most northerly aspects, and low to moderately sloped hillsides.

The response variable is the density of paper birch.  This is a continuous variable.

The predictor variables are the slope, elevation, and aspect and are also continuous variables.  These are likely linked to water availability for the birch.  I am not able to measure the soil moisture content directly so I will rely on slope, elevation, and aspect as proxies to infer the soil moisture content of the soils.  I will also record the other types of vegetation that are growing in the sample sites to infer moisture conditions.  This is a categorical variable.

Field notes

Post 3: Ongoing Field Observations

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After doing some initial observations at General Brock Park, I have decided to study the dandelions (Taraxacum) growing there. I noticed that the dandelions tended to grow more abundantly and in greater density towards the perimeter of the field, especially towards the north and east sides. Although the dandelions can be observed to be growing throughout the field, it is sparser towards the centre of the field as well as on the south and west sides where a playground, benches, and street hockey court can be found nearby. I also noticed that the dandelions in this field were shorter compared to ones found on the lawns of nearby residents.

Dandelion growth on northwest perimeter of General Brock Park

 

From these observations, a hypothesis I have come up with is:
The abundance of dandelions found at General Brock Park is influenced by the proximity to areas of the park frequented by humans.

One response variable is the abundance of dandelions while one explanatory (predictor) variable is the frequency of human presence in certain areas of the park. The response variable is continuous while the explanatory (predictor) variable is categorical.

Post 3: Ongoing Field Observations

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I’ve decided to study Typha latifolia or Broad Leaf Cattail. The cattails are seen along the river’s edge and only seem to be found in marsh areas or in lower areas of the landscape. I will observe the cattail where the lake enters the river, along the river (further downstream) and off shore away from the river and lake.

Hypothesis: Broad Leaf Cattail will only be found in marsh areas (river or lake side) and lowers areas in the landscape because they require moisture to survive.

Prediction: the lower the landscape and the closer to water, the greater abundance of Broad Leaf Cattail.

Response Variable: cattail abundance (categorical).

Explanatory Variable: lower landscape and water (continuous).

Post 3: Ongoing Field Observations

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I’ve decided to examine the abundance and distribution of English Ivy in Colliery Dam Park. The ivy is seen throughout the park on a variety of trees, ferns, and shrubbery. Community groups have conducted pulls to remove the invasive species. Some trees are still covered in the dead ivy and you can see where they have been clipping from the roots at the base of the trees. The paths and trails fragment the parkland.

Hypothesis: That paths and trails have a negative impact on English Ivy dispersal because of fragmentation of habitat.

A potential response variable is the presence or absence of English Ivy on trees. This response variable would be categorical. A predictor variable is that fragmentation between the strata has effects on the dispersal of ivy.

English Ivy on tree.
Partial map of Colliery Dam Park showing fragmentation from the trails.

Blog Post 3: Ongoing Field Observations

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The organism I plan to study for the field research project are birds. On March 8, 2019 I observed bird species along Jack Pine Trail, a forested trail located in the Ottawa Greenbelt. I chose three locations along this trail based on the distance from the Moodie Drive.

I started my observations at Location 1 at 1000 hrs. The ambient temperature at the time was -11°C, it was sunny with no overcast. Initially, I was to identify species of bird both by visual observations as well as auditory. However, I was unable to identify species based on their calls, thus I decided against identifying species on auditory observations.

Location 1 yielded three species. Namely the Black-Capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus), the Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus), and the Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens). This location was at the entrance to the trail and as such was a heavily trafficked area and was nearest to the adjacent highway (i.e., Moodie Drive); I observed significant noise pollution at this location. I left this location at 1015 hrs.

My observations at Location 2 began at 1017 hrs and ended at 1032 hrs. Location 2 only yielded one species. Namely the Black-Capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus). I observed some bird seed on the trail itself which may have attracted the species to this location.

My observations at Location 3 began at 1033 hrs and ended at 1048 hrs. Location 3 yielded the most species with a total of four observed. Namely the Black-Capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus), the Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens), the Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), and the Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). The Black-Capped Chickadee was the most abundant with approximately eight individuals observed over a 15-minute period. Location 3 was the most diver location due to the bird feeder that was installed by a local not-for-profit organization.

As warming temperatures are on the horizon in this area it would be interesting to observe whether temperature fluctuations have an impact on bird diversity at Location 3. Although Location 3 is influenced by the bird feeder, I believe that results would be best observed at this location as there is a mechanism of attraction to observe as man bird species as possible.

As such, my hypothesis would be: Temperature influences the diversity of bird species on Jack Pine Trail. Thus the null hypothesis would be: Bird species diversity is not influenced by temperature.

Based on this hypothesis, my response variable would be the number of bird species observed while the explanatory variable would be ambient temperature. The number of bird species would be a discrete variable while temperature would be continuous.

Post 3: Ongoing Field Observations

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I plan to study the Spruce Beetle, Dendroctonus rufipennis, and their impacts on the spruce tree community in Kluane, Yukon.

Site 1 is right off a road with lots of dead trees and bush in the area, 840m elevation

Site 2 is similar to Site 1 with low tree density and same elevation

Site 3 has more open space than other sites but has less human interference than Site 1 and 2, same elevation

Site 4 is on the edge of a ridge that is just east of other sites. High tree density with forest floor covered in moss and has elevation of 860m.

Hypothesis and prediction:

If the tree density increases, then there will be a greater density of dead spruce trees meaning a denser population of spruce beetles.

Based on the 4 areas chosen, with Site 1 having the smallest tree density and Site 4 having higher tree density, I predict that Site 4 will have a greater amount of dead trees compared to the other sites chosen.

The response variable is the percent of dead trees within the plot area which are continuous because it is an infinite amount since the impact of the spruce beetle could increase or decrease the amount between seasons and/or years. The predictor variable is the total number of spruce trees in the plot and it categorical because there is a finite number of trees within the plot area.

Blog Post 3 – On-going Observations

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Site Visit #2 

Date: February 24, 2019 

Weather: -16 degrees Celsius, partly cloudy 

Time: 14:45 

Initial thoughts/Observations: 

Over the last number of weeks since my first visit to Gold Bar Park, I have been doing some review of the literature on methods for point count surveys to determine presence/abundance of individual birds based on habitat cover. During my review and discussion with Nancy, I decided to change my study area to a larger park that would allow my point count locations to be further separate and allow me to have more replicate sites.  

I was finally able to visit my new study area today to review the topography and vegetation types to determine the two habitat areas. The new study area I chose is an urban park within Edmonton, called Terwillegar Park. It is a large city park along a large meander of the North Saskatchewan River with a large forested riparian area and an open area with a few man-made water bodies and scattered trees. When I was walking through the park, I saw the same activity of birds within the forested area compared to the open area.  

During my site visit today I had a chance to review the locations of my four-point count locations sites within both the forested riparian area and the open area.

 

Forest Point Count 4Organism/Biological Attribute of Choice 

I have decided to study the relationship between percent cover and abundance/density of overwintering bird species. 

Hypothesis:  

The abundance and density of overwintering birds is determined by the amount of cover. 

Prediction:  

The greater cover will have greater abundance/density of overwintering bird species. 

Response Variable:  

Bird density/abundance 

Predictor Variable:  

Forest cover 

Data Sheet:

Datasheet

Blog Post 3

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  1. I am examining the health of ash trees along the Rideau Trail of Marshlands Conservation Area in Kingston, Ontario. I want to explore if the density of ash trees in a plot has a correlation with the incidence of emerald ash borer infection.
  2. I chose 5 random locations along the trail and assessed the health of ash trees in plots that are 25 feet by 25 feet. I took an inventory of how many healthy trees there are in a plot compared to ones that show evidence of emerald ash borer infection. Specifically, I examined to see if there are serpentine galleries/trails or cankering in the bark as indicators of infected trees.
    1. For plot A there were 25 ash trees. 3 of these were infected. 12% infection rate
    2. For plot B there were 29 trees. 6 of these were infected. 20.69% infection rate
    3. For plot C there were 20 ash trees. 3 of these were infected. 15% infection rate
    4. For plot D there were 38 trees. 4 of these were infected. 10.53% infection rate
    5. For plot E there were 23 trees. 4 of these were infected. 17.39% infection rate
  3. Based on the preliminary findings it does not seem that there is a clear relationship between the density of ash trees in a plot and the rate of infection. As ash density in a plot increases (greater number of trees), I expect that the number of infected trees would increase because there are more resources available for the emerald ash borer to feed on and lay their eggs. Additionally, closer proximity/abundance of trees would facilitate movement of emerald ash borer from one tree to another.
  4. The predictor variable for this study is the total number of ash trees in a plot (density; continuous variable) and the response variable is the rate of infection of all the trees (measured by observing indicators of infection which are categorical variables then converted into a numerical continuous variable of infected trees).

To improve the initial study design it would be beneficial to examine other signs that are indicative of emerald ash borer infestation.

Field Journal:

Marshlands Conservation Area, Rideau Trail 1400-1700, 18-02-2019, 2 p.m. 5 p.m. -6°C, a few clouds, snow cover, just North of Lake Ontario; wedged between Little Cataraqui Creek to the West of the trail and Cataraqui Golf and Country Club to the East.

 

Rideau Trail

 

Serpentine Galleries

Trees marked with pink chalk to prevent double counting within plots

Measuring tape covering one of the 25-foot edges of the plot.

Post 3: Ongoing Field Observations at Cinnamon Ridge Burn Site

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After another visit, I decided that 3 or 4 attributes of the disturbed vs. original site might be interesting to measure and contrast.

  1. Different species of plants that might be found in the 2 different areas.
  2. Abundance of individuals of each of the different species, especially the dominant species.
  3. Amount of ground that is open and/or covered by some of the unique parts of the community such as the crust made up of lichens and mosses.

In the paper by Lee, they used three different techniques to sample, which I also used to record and sample for my field study:

  • “walkabout” – in order to assess plants species which occurred at low population densities
  • transects – that would allow them to systematically collect information about the abundance of species
  • quadrats within those transects – to provide a visual estimation of the amount of ground covered by different species using a Daubenmire frame sized at 50cm x 20cm

In addition, since the paper pointed out that physical characteristics were important, I decided to also sample:

  • temperature – using a digital probe
  • soil pH – by collecting a soil sample and using a digital pH meter
  • soil conductivity – by collecting a soil sample and using a chemistry lab at TRU.

Finally, I measured the slope of the area using clinometer, which was a grade of 10%.

This site represents an ecotone, where there is a rapid change in character between the two areas.  The clear difference is the presence of sagebrush in the old area and lack of sagebrush in the burned area.  There was the presence of bunchgrass in both areas but also the presence of particular species that are non-native “weedy”/invasive species in the burned area.

Hypothesis: The more recently assembled plant community in the burned area should have a greater species richness (number of species) than would a climax community in the unburned area.  This would be due to the absence of ground-shading sagebrush.

Prediction: If I collect quantitative data then I will be able to record the presence of more species in the burned area than the unburned area.

I would expect similar patterns with respect to the abundance and other measures of diversity.  On the basis of Hanna, there would be more annual grasses in the burned area than in the unburned area.

Categorial variable: burned vs. unburned

Response: measures of abundance, species richness, diversity index (indices)

 

 

Blog; 3

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Blog Post 3: Ongoing Field Observations

The organism I am going to study is the large Eastern Grey Squirrel in areas of the View Royal Park. The Eastern Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is an invasive species from Eastern Canada which out-competes our native squirrels. They are better suited to the city environment than our native red and brown squirrels according to the BC SPCA, so their invasive ecological impact is not as critical in urban settings. I’ve noticed the distribution of squirrels around the park is not equal and they tend to be found in different parts at different times of the day.

The environmental gradient I will use is three locations along the park. The first location in the middle of the off-leash park where no squirrels have yet to be observed at any time of day; the second location is the trees surrounding the off-leash park where squirrels have been observed at certain times of day, and finally the third gradient location which is outside the off-leash area near the childrens play area, where the most squirrels have been observed at most times of day. At busy times in the off-leash area of the dog park, no squirrels have been observed. Even if the park is unusually quiet at that time of day. these times include 0600-0800 and again at 1530-dusk. The area of the park where off-leash dogs are prohibited, squirrels are observed at constant numbers at all times of the day.

Hypothesis: The distribution of squirrels throughout the park is influenced by the occurrence of off-leash dogs. as squirrels are prey animals and dogs are predators. The squirrels avoid the off-leash area of the park at times of day when dogs are more likely to appear.

Response variable- The squirrel distribution behaviour Explanatory variable- The occurrence of off-leash predators (dogs)These variables are categorical as they have a finite category to fall into. Whether the squirrels are or are not there and whether the dogs are likely or unlikely to be there based on the time of day