Key words: Coastal wetland, Invasive species, exclusion zone
My ecological study is focusing on invasive species. Even though Canada Geese are native to Vancouver Island, they too were introduced to the island in the early part of the 20th century and began to flourish in anthropogenically influenced ecosystems. To the point now that they are a nuisance animal. I’ve been curious about how these birds influence the food chain and this study presented just such an opportunity. I hypothesize that Branta Canadensis negatively impacts species richness in coastal wetlands. The ecological processes that my study explores are how population imbalance can influence food chains, the effectiveness of ecological restoration efforts and how sensitive estuarine ecosystems are.