Category: Post 1: Observations

The area I have selected for my project is in the middle of the prairies in Brandon, Manitoba. The area’s location I have chosen has a few natural trails, a creek, and two distinct terrains with an immediate ecotone between the two. The first terrain is a forestry area with a gentl, slow flowing creek running down the middle, immediately adjacent to it is the second terrain a not-very steep hilly open grass field. Both these terrains are within an area classified as Hanbury Hill Park and are classified as a recreational-protected area. The Park is about 200 meters from a residential road.

My first visit to this location for observational purposes in regards to designing a study question:

• Date: July 10^th, 2020
• Time: 5:30pm – 7:30pm
• Altitude:
• Temperature: 25C
• Weather: Sunny, Clear skies, few clouds, slightly windy.
• Seasonality: Summer

The size of area of interest:

•             Hilly Grass Area: 20 yards
•             Forest & Creek: 5 yards
• Total area that will be studied: 25 yards

Observations:

Topography- Hilly Grass Area:

In terms of vegetation, the hill area has long grass species (~82 cm in height) with little variation, and is cut by the city once every month. There are a few trees very far apart from each other. The slope of the hill is not very steep ~20-degree angle at most on certain elevations. At the bottom of the hill is an outdoor Olympic sized track with few people running on it.

Species Observed:

• Very few species of grasses
• Gophers (& gopher holes)
• Birds: crows and little sparrows
• Deer
• Grasshoppers
• Ants
• Occasional human walking or running past

There are a few biking trails pass through this area into the forest & creek terrain.

Topography – Forest & Creek Area:

This area is covered in numerous trees densely grown. Heavily shaded undergrowth due to the lush canopy of leaves provided from the trees. Trees and grass/shrubs in undergrowth are fully green and in bloom. The little creek has clear water slowly, and trickles down the creek that has rocks as its base.

Species Observed:

• Very few species of trees
• Deer
• Some type of birds
• Frogs
• Humans (if you count myself and my lab assistant)

Main Questions:

1. What kind of species of gophers reside in the hilly area, and why are they not found in the Forest & Creek area?
2. Is there more Deer activity in the hilly open grass area than the dense forest?
3. Have the trails created by bikes influences how the animals and terrain interact with each other?

I have chosen a much larger area for my research project; The Bow Valley Area in Alberta, Canada. The area of focus will be, Peter Lougheed Provincial Park.  The area of study will encompass 304 square kilometres; totaling all three provincial parks .  As covid has encouraged more people to get outside and utilize our wild areas, this has caused an influx in human activity in and around our provincial parks.

I first visited the sites to gain initial observations on  August 20th, 2020 at 08:30hrs. The weather was favorable, 10° with winds  averaging 8km /hr to the sw with no precipitation.

The park is home to an abundance of terrestrial wildlife and rich in native flora and hosts an abundance of Buffaloberry (Sheperdia canadensis)  which is a major food source for the Alberta grizzly bear (Ursus arctos ) population as they enter a state of  hyperphagia. The geography of the study area consist of rolling hills and mountains, with (2) rivers flowing though it, Kananaskis and the Bow River. There are recreational day use areas that surround large water bodies; numerous lakes are found in the park boundary. (Figure 1).  (Figure 1.)  Peter Lougheed Provincial Park

Listed as a threatened species under Alberta Wildlife Act, this time of year is crucial for foraging for food consumption for the bears.

Of all sites visited within the study area, it was observed that buffaloberry is abundant as a natural attractant alongside active hiking trails and roads withing the study area.  August is a prime time for foraging as the berries are ripe and in abundance.

The general observations in all the park was :

• An abundance of buffaloberry bushes (Figure 2)
• At least (1) bear was observed foraging within 5km of a Day Use Area (Figure 3)
• Most Day Use Areas and trails were packed with people who recreated ,in particular groups of 3 or more people

The questions I asked and sought answers to are:

1. During foraging season, does the increase of human activity in the park have a direct correlation with how the bears feed?
2. Does this increase negative human/ bear  interactions?
3. Does this deter sows with cubs from accessing abundant food sources near road ways and popular Day Use Areas and trails?

(Figure 1) Buffaloberry , 2020

(Figure 3) Grizzly Bear 159 feeding on buffaloberry in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, 2020

Evidently, should the data show negative responses to the questions above it can be assumed that this will play a role in the success of hibernation for the bears as well, they can develop a high tolerance to human presence. This may impact, negatively the success of the population if the female does not attain sufficient body fat or weight during the summer and fall as the embryos will not attach to the uterine wall. Ultimately I will focus on the negative human/bear encounters to determine if the more people that access the park causes an increase in these types of encounters during foraging season.

I visited my site on August 13, 2016

Time: 13:33-13:55

Weather condition: Sunny with clouds and slight breeze.

Location: Campbell Valley Regional Park, South Entrance, located in South Langley British Columbia. The location of Campbell Valley Park was clear cut in the early 20th century and the temperate rainforest has regrown. My study location is the Old Orchard area that is an open field surrounded by forest. There are many different tree species: Maples Acer psedoplantanus, Aspens Populus tremuloides, Cypress Cupressaceae, Birches Genus Betula to name a few. There are also vine maples Acer circinatum, invasive Himalayan Blackberry.

Questions:

1. What is the abundance of tree species around the field.
2. What is the abundance of plant species in the north section of the forest.
3. Why is there a pure stand of Aspens on the west side of the field vs a mixed stand north and east?

Facing West

Site description:

The observation site (The Site) is located at King Street East and Bond Street on the Harmony Creek trail in Oshawa, Ontario. The site is located in an urbanized park with an engineered flood plain and built habitat. The site extends approximately 40 – 50 metres from the harmony creek (which runs north south along the west boundary of the site) on the west to the guard rail of Bond Street on the east. The site follows the creek for approximately 80 metres from a tunnel where Harmony creek passes below King Street in the south to a park bench at the north boundary.

The east creek bank is vegetated with trees, flowering plants and small shrubs. These plants, trees, and shrubs extend from the creek bank, approximately 5 metres to the Harmony Creek Trail – which is paved with asphalt. On the opposite side of the trail (east side), the flood plain is vegetated with manicured grass for approximately 15 – 20 metres. To the east of this grass is a slope that forms the upper boundary of the flood plain. This slope is vegetated with tall grasses, flowering plants and several mature trees.

Time: 4:15 pm. August 9, 2020. Mid-late summer.

Weather:

Partially cloudy. Winds 20 km SSW. 27 degrees Celsius.

Observations:

• A construction site is set up to the south of the observation area. The path under King street is closed with fencing.
• Crickets audible in the vegetation near the creek at the south end.
• Grass is dry and brown to the east of the path.
• House sparrow observed on the path. It is flying back and forth between from shrubs and the asphalt. Shrubs have grape vines in them.
• Creek is running calm and clear. No fish observed. No odours or sheens observed. The construction team has installed some netting in the creek.
• Grassy area on the slope to the east has Dog Strangling Vine growing on it. Vine looks de hydrated. Leaves are shriveled.
• Monarch butterfly observed flying through the area. No milkweed observed during inspection.

Questions:

1. What avian species frequent the area?
2. Is the dog strangling vine spreading? The vines looked to be stressed. Are they producing seeds?
3. The creek runs through an urbanized area with significant human impact, are any fish species present? Are there any species that run upstream to spawn in the fall at this location?

photos aug 9

The area I have chosen to study is in Dawson Creek, BC. I am studying the forest and creek alongside the Dawson Creek walking trail. The creek winds through the walking trail and goes through the city park. My area of study starts near the Dawson Creek Public Library and continues through Kin Park. The Dawson Creek trail follows the creek for about 4.5 kilometres.

My first trip out was on 14/07/2020 at 9:50. It was about 20°C out and sunny. There was a little bit of wind. 

The main area of the creek I focused on was behind the public library. This area is in walking distance of my home, making it a convenient place for me to study.

The creek was low, despite the extreme flooding there was last week. The steeper areas of the creek bank are free of vegetation. All of the plant life on top of the slope is in full bloom.

Observations:

I observed a couple of beaver dams, which led me to wonder what time of the day I was most likely to spot a beaver. I also wondered if they were more likely to chew down certain trees rather than others.  I saw a few tree stumps that had chew marks in them. I also saw a bunch of mud by the creek that had been walked over, but I couldn’t make out any obvious footprints.

Next, I observed some flowers with bumble bees on them, which lead to me wondering whether or not they were more likely to pollinate certain flowers rather than others. I also noticed that the blooming flowers were pointing toward the creek and  I wondered whether or not there was a reason for this. Some flowers/planst I observed were:

• Prickly Wild Rose (Rose acicularis)
• Western Aster (Symphyotrichum ascendens)
• Wild Lupin (Lupinus Perennis)
• Cows Parsnip (Heracleum maculatum)

I observed some Cows Parsnip by the creek. They became more abundant as I got closer to the creek. I have heard that the sap inside of these can cause burns. The plants I saw and measured were around 58 inches tall.

I could hear lots of birds, but saw very few. Three birds that I saw were the:

•  Black-billed magpie (Pica hudsonia)
• Small Brown Bird (Unsure of species)
• Crow (C. caurinus)

Due to my study area being near the public waking trail and park, there were many signs of human activity. There were plenty of human-made trails that went down to the creek.

Some potential study subjects for my project are:

• Beavers (Caster canadensis)
• Bumble bees (Bombus spp.)
• Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum)
• Black-billed magpie (Pica hudsonia)

Three questions that could possibly help to form the subject of my research project are:

1. Do beavers have a preferred tree species? How is tree selection changed by availability and human activity? What effect do beavers have on the surrounding environment due to their activity? How does flooding effect them?

2. Which wildflowers are bees most likely to pollinate? Is there a specific species or colour that they are more attracted to?

3. Why is there fewer signs of vegetation near the water? It gets slightly less green as you go further down the slope. The giant hogweed, however, becomes more abundant as we near the creak. What is it that makes this species better suited to survive than every other species in the area?

Scan of my field journal:

Scan

June 1st 2020

The chosen study area is a roughly 400-metre stretch of riparian zone along the western shore of Nita Lake in Whistler B.C. The shoreline varies between steep and gentle inclines from the waters edge up to the train tracks which run parallel approximately 20 metres from the shoreline. The shoreline topography varies between steep terrain with large semi exposed stone boulders that are patchily covered in thin (2-inch) layer of coarse fast drained topsoil, and lower lying areas with deep, spongy and moist soils covered by a thick layer of decaying detritus. The vegetation is a mix of red alder, western red cedars, western hemlocks, and the very occasional Sitka spruce. Red alder trees appear to be the most dominant species closest to the waters edge, and grasses and young red alders are the only vegetation found in the lowest lying areas.

Large trees, (over approximately 6 metres tall) appear only to on the higher ground, with the exception of some older red alders by the water’s edge. Over the other side of the railway there is extensive forest with western red cedars, western hemlocks and Douglas fir.

The lake became fully unfrozen in early April, and stream flow into the lake progressively increased, peaking in late May. The Lake water level rose approximately 40cm between early April and late may, and has since subsided by around 20 cm. At peak water level some areas of lower lying vegetation were submersed.
Weather: I visited the site at 4pm, and the weather was overcast, with a temperature of 12C.

Questions:
1. Are red alder the most dominant species in low lying, waterlogged and flood prone areas?
2. Are Western Red Cedars, Western hemlocks and Sitka spruce better suited to fast draining soils?
3. Young red alders (mostly less than 1 metre in height) appear to be abundant in the low lying areas. Are they a pioneer species after flood events?