The organism that I plan to study is the Vancouver Island tree frog, that are extremely prominent in the pond on my family’s property. I visited this site on September 27th, October 12, November 12, and December 01. The leaves began to change, and the water got colder, where the frog population seemed to decrease, and so did my ability to hear them. The population of Vancouver Island tree frogs was still my interest in studying. I began to search to see if there were any other species in sight. It was then that I noticed what I believe to be a bullfrog (October 12th, 2022). After a quick search, I found that they are commonly found near water, and they are predators of tree frogs. This is where I have shifted my focus to bullfrogs being the problematic factor in the decreasing abundance rather than focusing strictly on development progression.
I have marked 3 sections on my study site. In the grass alongside the water, in the forest/on trees near the pond, and finally, a patch of shrub (on leaves) near the pond. I noticed a greater abundance of frogs in the grass when compared to the forest and leaves. And a greater abundance of frogs on the leaves when compared to trees. The forest area is further point from the busy road. I have identified the shrub area as salal (Gaulthoria shallon), approximately 5 meters from the main road. And closest to the traveling road is the tall grass area less than a meter.
The hypothesis I have formulated for this study is that the abundance of tree frogs declines as development around the pond progresses. Secondary hypothesis: Vancouver Island tree frog population decrease due to the bullfrog’s introduction. I would like to go further into this hypothesis by predicting that the development of this natural site brought the bullfrog to this location.
The response variable in this study is the abundance of the Vancouver Island tree frog present at each location. The explanatory variable is the level of development present in the pond (current habitat of the frog), bullfrogs and temperature (C). temperature is a continuous variable; Vancouver Island abundance is a discrete variable and so is bullfrogs
Forests, M. of. (2022, January 12). Invasive species. Province of British Columbia. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/plants-animals-ecosystems/invasive-species
Hello,
Thank you for sharing your project this is a great idea and I’m curious what the results you find will be. I wonder if including the impacts of bullfrogs is necessary, or if it will add confusion and difficulties to your research. It seems that you are wondering about a lot of different aspects that may be affecting the abundance of Vancouver island tree frogs. Perhaps focusing on just one aspect that may be impacting them would be sufficient. Having three explanatory variables seems overwhelming and I wonder if it will be possible to differentiate which explanatory variable is truly impacting the response variable. Choosing just one explanatory variable seems that would be a lot easier to manage while still receiving useful and interesting results. I recommend deciding on one hypothesis after putting some more thought into your interests and abilities.