The study I have chosen to observe is a pond in Sooke hanger that seems to be home to many Vancouver Island tree frogs (pacific treefrog). This property can be found on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. This site is on my family’s property, which was a natural forest site last fall in 2021. It wasn’t until 2022 that this property began to be developed. Below I have attached a photo of the study site. This site in 2021 was a densely forested area with no houses in sight. This site is not on flat lands rather, it is on a mountain in Sooke.
I have chosen to observe this study site across two seasons; fall and winter. The first time I visited this site for the purpose of this study was September 27th, 2022, in the morning at 9am. It was a sunny day with little to no clouds present.
The potential subjects I want to study for my research project are the Vancouver Island tree frog’s habitat at the pond. I chose to study this because I noticed lots of what I believe to be Vancouver Island tree frogs. Not only do I see an abundance of frogs, but I hear them constantly. This year there are three houses being built around this pond. I want to observe this site as construction progresses to see if or how it is affecting this species and their habitat.
The three questions that are of interest:
- Does the continued development of this property affect the habit of the Vancouver Island tree frogs?
- Due to development, what environmental changes may have affected the tree frog?
- Are there any other animals or plant species that moved in due to the development, or were there from the start?