I have bounced around with quite a few study ideas over the last few months. Winnipeg being known for a long harsh winter I felt pretty stuck on what to observe, however with spring upon us I have found an idea. I am looking to compare the species richness of birds between an area of rural Manitoba (my back yard as I had posted images of in previous posts) and compare it to urban Winnipeg area.
To keep things consistent among comparison I will be using the same study area size in both sections, both areas have a river running along the backside (rural area river is the Red River, Winnipeg section’s river is Assiniboine river), both have an abundance of trees and grass.
The major differences I found between the two study areas would be that the Urban area obviously has more cars and people passing through compared to my yard which the nearest road is 2km away and outside of my family there is minimal human disturbance. Although both areas have some of the same species of trees I did notice that the Winnipeg study area has conifers where my yard does not have any.
My hypothesis is that: Species richness of birds is different in Urban and Rural settings of Manitoba.
My prediction: I believe that the species richness of birds will be higher in rural areas of Manitoba. My reason for believing this is that based on my readings so far, birds rely heavily on communication especially at this time of year (breeding season). With elevated noise/disturbance from people and cars in the urban area, it hinders some species of birds from being able to communicate and be successful in these loud area; therefore restricting some species to quieter rural areas. I believe that few bird species have adapted to the loud life within the city which is why I will see a higher level of species richness in the rural area.
For my methods so far I have been attending each site early in the morning when birds are most active. I have been using the Merlin bird tracking app to record calls within the study area for approximately 30 minutes in the area. (I did do a few longer trials of an hour to see if it picked up on more birds however I did not find that the hour changed my findings).
Some factors I do take note of have been weather conditions; temperature and if it is raining or not.
I have been writing down each species that I heard upon each recording in each study area.
I am trying to keep note of species I find in both areas as well as comparing ones unique to rural or urban areas.