Data Collection
During my recent field visits to three urban parks, I used stratified sampling to assess butterfly populations and their preferred habitats. Here are the details of my activities:
Site 1: Stanley Park
· Size: 405 ha
· Observations: Sampled ten quadrats in the flower gardens and noticed minimal human activity and a high abundance of butterflies, particularly Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) and Painted Ladies (Vanessa Cardui).
· Challenges: Due to dense vegetation, some areas needed to be easier to access.
Site 2: The park of the Queen Elizabeth
· Size: 52 ha
· Observations: Sampled ten quadrats along the riverbank. We observed moderate human activity with some off-leash dogs. Butterflies, including Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta) and Viceroys (Limenitis archippus), were less abundant than in Green Meadow Park.
· Challenges: Frequent disturbances by dogs and joggers.
Site 3: VanDusen Botanical Garden
· Size: 22 ha
• Observations: Ten quadrats were collected in the area without vegetation and close to the playground. Intense human traffic through many children and frequenting animals, particularly dogs. They spotted significantly smaller amounts of butterflies, mostly belonging to the skippers Hesperiidae spp and painted ladies.
• Challenges: From the visitors, high-intensity levels of physical activity.
These data collection activities gathered details regarding the effects of human activity levels and habitat diversities on butterflies’ population.