Field Research Project – Ongoing Field Observations
Date: 09-10-2022
Time: 9:00 – 10:15 AM
Location: Buttertubs Marsh Park, Nanaimo, BC
Weather: 21⁰ C and sunny
I plan to study the frequency and abundance of wild bird species present in my study area along a gradient from near to far from anthropogenic impacts on/near the marsh.
During my observations at different locations within the park, I noticed varied numbers of birds based on location. There were more Mallard ducks near the north end of the park, whereas the western side contained more variety of species and predominantly smaller finches and sparrows.
Hypothesis: I hypothesize that there will be a greater frequency and abundance of bird species in areas of the park distant from anthropogenic impacts.
Prediction: I predict that there will be a higher number of bird species and abundance of individuals in the western portion of the park where there are fewer anthropogenic impacts than the north, east and southern sections. I also predict that there will be an exception for ducks and similar birds, as people feed them along the northern side of the marsh, and this factor will be taken into account when conducting bird counts.
One potential response variable could be a point station bird count, and the number of species and individuals observed. One potential explanatory variable could be the distance between the observation location and human infrastructure surrounding the park (i.e. roads, pathways, residential buildings). These variables would be continuous, as they are measuring numerical factors (bird counts, distances).
