User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
The areas that I selected for my research project are the Community Forest (CCF) and the Wildstone Golf Course (WGC) in Cranbrook, BC (Fig 1). Specifically, I would like to focus on studying the aquatic communities found in ponds at both locations.
Fig 1: Study area map
The study area is located within the Southern Interior Mountain Ecoprovince. The landscape is defined by rolling hills with vegetation dominated by dry coniferous forest and grassy understorey characteristic of the Interior Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zone. The CCF consists of 2000 ha of crown land under provincial protection. The area provides a variety of recreational use opportunities although historical land uses included extensive forest harvesting and waste disposal. The CCF includes a number of groundwater fed lakes and ponds hosting rich and diverse biotic communities. The WGC was built in 2010 approximately 3 km south of the CCF. It covers 105 ha and encompasses 3 artificial ponds fed by groundwater wells and used for irrigation (Fig 2, 3, 4). Two of the ponds have recently been stocked with Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).
Fig 2, 3, 4: WGC irrigation ponds
Due to their close proximity, the two areas experience very similar geoclimatic conditions. However, the CCF was formed naturally and receives limited anthropogenic pressure while the WGC is man-made and heavily managed (e.g., vegetation cutting, nutrient input, chemical application). This contrast provides an interesting experimental setup within which a number of biological hypothesis could be formulated and tested. For instance, I wonder how the macro-invertebrate communities compare between a natural well-established pond and a 10 years old artificial pond. Is the community composition affected by variations in water chemistry, riparian vegetation, presence/absence of fish?
Answering these questions could have interesting management implications. The golf course groundskeeper is facing costly maintenance issues due to aquatic invertebrates plugging the irrigation system. The application of toxic chemicals is effective in lowering the abundance of invertebrates but has negative environmental effects. Could the introduction of fish and riparian vegetation result in a shift in the invertebrate community and help address the maintenance issues?
Over the coming weeks, I will continue visiting each area to refine these questions and develop an appropriate experimental design to address them. I will also focus on identifying candidate ponds in the CCF comparable in size, bathymetry, and hydrology to the WGC ponds to control for differences in abiotic parameters that may confound the study. I will also complete a high level assessment of the invertebrate community at each site to select suitable sampling techniques and timing.
A sites visit at the CCF #6 pond conducted on April 18, 2020 found abundant bird activity. Of particular interest was the presence of Red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), Mountain bluebird (Siala currucoides), Common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), and an unidentified flycatcher species. These species are known to feed on larvae and adult aquatic invertebrates. The air temperature was 9 degree Celsius with a mix of sun and cloud. The water temperature was approximately 8 degrees. Chironomid pupaes were observed emerging from the water surface and small groups of adults were spotted flying above the water surface. Fish were rising at emerging insects. The riparian vegetation including cattail, bullrushes, and cottonwood was still dormant (Fig 4).
Fig 4: Field notes
