Ongoing Field Observations: Burnaby Lake Regional Park

1. Identify the organism or biological attribute that you plan to study.

The Coots Bird, Fulica americana, and I hope to study the colour of their feet and how they are affected by their environment. Another name for this bird is the Mud Hen.

2. Use your field journal to document observations of your organism or biological attribute along an environmental gradient. Choose at least three locations along the gradient and observe and record any changes in the distribution, abundance, or character of your object of study.

Out of 100’s of birds in this study area, I only counted ~15 Coots

They were very happy to move around on their own and don’t look to move as mated pairs (but this could have been due to the density of birds that they didn’t seem to need a “species buddy”)

Adults have darker plumage, and their feet are not webbed, but rather scaly (like a chicken) and paddled. Females are smaller and males have a wider “shield” on their foreheads.

There were a lot of people at the park this day since it was the weekend, and the weather was nice. After about an hour’s observation of the various birds in the study area, it seemed like a high-stress environment. People were always throwing birdseed on the ground, so birds were in feeding mode every few minutes. The public’s interaction with the birds seems more “toy-like” than helpful or positive. Some photographers were good at giving the birds their space, but most seemed to view them as ornamental or non-sentient.

On Average, people were pretty poor at teaching their children how to act around the birds. Most tried to touch them, throw food at them, or run after them.

Gravel Pathway

• These birds are comfortable around people (especially those that doll-out bird seed) but they still scurry or fly away if people get too close.
• There are benches for people to sit and view the birds on the gravel path and waterway that opens onto
• The Coots are very well camouflaged when they sit in the bushed that boarder the pathway. Their grey bodies and blackheads are hardly noticeable when they sit down in the shade of the brush
• They seem to enjoy sunbathing on the warm rocks of the gravel pathway
• Their feet seem adaptable to different types of terrain (rocks, sandy soil, cement) * I saw one standing on some very point rocks and kept its balance remarkably well
• Their toes seem ridiculously long for how small and plump their bodies/heads are
• The lobes of the feet fold back as the Coot walks on land seems like an “all-purpose foot”
• Their feet could be used as a weapon
• Most of the Coots observed today were land foragers with very few in the water (none perched in the trees above)
• They seem to stand on one leg, like a flamingo, when resting. The flat feet with long toes seem to balance them nicely

Waterway/River

• They run across the water to take flight or get away from another bird
• The few observed in the water would swim back and forth with the current of the river every time there was food being thrown
• The Coots bottom feed in water (bottoms up) like geese
• They don’t seem to dive very far but they do use their feet to paddle and balance themselves when they bob for food (**correction, I did see one dive but they don’t seem to swim along the bottom like a mallard, they seem too buoyant to swim long distances under water)
• The Coots seem to be social I. That they don’t seem to pick fights with other ducks
• They seem very willing to find food by foraging on land when possible
• They move incredibly fast when running across the water’s surface to either get out of another bird’s way or take flight

Trees Along River:

• There was lots of space to roost among the trees that bordered the waterway but among all of the birds that did find some quiet time above (mallards, crows, pigeons), not one Coot was observed in a tree
• I wondered if this had something to do with either their centre of gravity (plump and top-heavy) or their foot shape (not really made for grasping, but rather for walking or swimming).

3. Think about underlying processes that may cause any patterns that you have observed. Postulate one hypothesis and make one formal prediction based on that hypothesis. Your hypothesis may include the environmental gradient; however, if you come up with a hypothesis that you want to pursue within one part of the gradient or one site, that is acceptable as well.

I think I would be working with two hypotheses: 

Hyp 1: The environment that the Coots inhabit will affect the number of Coots observed

Null: Environment has no effect on the number of Coots observed

Hyp 2: Older Coots will defend their territory during mating season by using tarsal colour as a determining characteristic of the age

Null: Age has no effect on territorial disputes between Coots

4. Based on your hypothesis and prediction, list one potential response variable and one potential explanatory variable and whether they would be categorical or continuous. Use the experimental design tutorial to help you with this.

Response Variable: The American Coots (fulica americana)

Explanatory Variables: Age (according to foot colour), and chosen environment the Coots defend during mating season

I believe this experimental design would be categorical as there is more than one unique category (foot colour and environment for nesting/breeding/defending). This requires a Tabular design with a data set.