Date – 05th July-2022
Time of visit – 1130-1630
Location: Witty’s lagoon Regional park is located near metchosin area – west of Victoria. 48°23’22.3″N 123°31’32.5″W . The lagoon regional park spreads up to 58.21 hectares. The trail at the park leads to a muddy and uneven sandy ground leading to lagoon where the fresh water merges with the salt water.
Weather at visit time : It was partly cloudy and warm , with light breezes at various interval. The temperature expected throughout the day ranged in between 16-17 degrees.
Site observation: The lagoon is shallow and warm and have calm nutrient rich water which proves to be beneficiary for various of animal nurseries. The Witty’s lagoon is said to be a bird’s paradise where a variety of bird species can be seen throughout the day ranging from kingfisher to warblers. Until mid-day – the lagoon seems to have low to the moderate visitor. The lagoon shores seem to have muddy sediments with rocks, shells and few of the microscopic sea animals thriving.
As per my observation while going through the lagoon, I saw multiple boards added by the government in regards to an endangered species –contorted-pod evening primrose .it scientific name is Camissonia Contorta. This specie seems to be still present around the area of the lagoon and upon observing it came to me that the evening primrose at witty lagoon is a specie which is very small and delicate, its destruction is very easy and even by slight human activities the specie seems to get affected .
The question I would like to pursue my thesis study on are:
- How does the height of evening primrose is affected by the distance from water? Such as being closer to the seabed to the muddy mid area at shore vs the drier end of the lagoon.
- How does evening primrose growth is affected when comparing it around the large bushes and tree areas vs being open in the field as more primroses were to be found in open areas in comparison to the primroses being found near the large bushes or trees?
Apart from these questions above, I would also like to see how the human day-to-day activities at the lagoon affect the evening primrose population found at the lagoon.