Quadrat'n Keji
Today we set out on an hour or so drive inland to Kejimkujik National Park.We continued our work setting up quadrats at "Keji" looking for deer droppings. After investigating for deer presence at our coastal location in week one we found very little evidence of a strong deer population - just one dropping in 10 quadrats! Remember that a quadrat is a 10m x 10m area in which we line up and look for droppings - to understand how crazy that can be consider the fact that in only three quadrats last week we found 4,811 hare droppings! What is the average amount of hare droppings we found last week? When we change locations this week to Cook's Lake (farther inland from the ocean like Keji) do you think that number will stay the same or change? Why do you think so?
So, our work continued today at Keji where in past years the deer have been much stronger in number as compared to the population of the coastal deer. The 10 quadrats we investigated today proved that to be the case. In just about every quadrat we discovered deer droppings. Further proof that Keji has deer was actually seeing them! Here are a couple deer that we saw as we were driving up to the trail head of our 7 mile hike to the Old Growth Hemlocks found at the park:
Check out the link to Keji that I provided above and share something with me that you thought was interesting. Can you make any connections between this park and one that you've been to?Saturday was a rest and relaxation day. We drove to the capital city of Halifax and spent some time wa
lking the streets ducking into interesting places and just experienc
ing the city. I took a couple fun photos that reminded me of our tour through the Northeast Region and our research of Americana. Would you consider these to be good examples of that? Why or Why not? Same reward as Friday's Blog Challenge applies to all those answering my question successfully and completely! Explain how you came up with your answer in your comment!
posted by Mr. Gasteazoro @ 5:31 PM
15 Comments:
The pictures and information about Keji National Park remind me of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in norther Minnesota - here's why: the picture of the granite outcropping looks a lot like the rocks I've seen in the Boundary Waters, the list of animals and birds are almost the same of what I've seen and know about the Boundary Waters, and the fact that it has lakes connected that you portage between is just like the Boundary Waters. The thing I'm wondering about is the information about the dark waters. I had always thought the waters in certain lakes were dark from the chemicals in the pine trees that leached into the water. I'll be interested in seeing what I can find about the water in the Boundary Waters and see if they have similar pH.
I went to the Keji page and read about the brown bullhead. I think it is cool that in the summer you might see them guarding the young fishes close to shore. Do you think you can see their eggs?
Yes we think that the guy carved out of wood is a good example of Americana because we haven't seen that here in Minnesota.Yes Theodore the Tugboat is Americana because he's just in Canada.Also we were wondering is he in a popular TV show for kids?
I went to the Keji page and read about American Martens. They said they were wiped out by habitat change and trapping. Did the habitat change because of global warming? Do you think you will see any of the new ones they brought to the park?
We saw something interesting.
there is endangered flora called the water-pennywort they are endangered because the lake shores flood every year and eliminate them.
are question is:
Why does the theodor tugboat has to open on may first?
The estimated average of the Hare poo/scat in every 100x100 quadrant is 1,603r2.the tug boat is a great example of Americana because Mrs. Styx pulled up a website about Theodore Too (the Tugboat) the website said it is a world famous tourist attraction. Is that the only tourist attraction in NS?
We think that the number of deer droppings changed from the cost to the inland because the cost has a lot more tourist that may scare the deer away. We were wondering if you found any black bear droppings while looking for deer droppings. We were wondering this because on the link for Keji National Park we noticed that one of the headings stated "You are in Black Bear Country." This led us to believe there would be black bears there. The park you were at looked a lot like some of the state parks that might be found on the North Shore.
I went to the Keji page and read about the rare plant called pennywort. You might find it beside a beach where there is lots of accumulated mud. It looked lime green with dark green edges. The edges were scalloped. Could you look for them when you are at the lake? They looked to me like lily pads I've seen.
We found a connection! Kejimkujik national park and parks (and wildlife) here have a lot of the same mammals that are in Nova Scotia! Some examples are:
*White-tailed Deer
*Porcupine
*Beaver
and *Coyote
We find that very interesting.
We think those pictures are Americana and that we've seen something similar in the NE tour. An example is Miles The Monster.
The average of how many pieces of poo per quadrat is 1,603 R2 (4,811 divided by 3 equals 1,603). We are kind of sure that that number will change because of Global Warming. And we got that answer by thinking about the purpose of your trip to Nova Scotia: the effect of global warming on mammals of Nova Scotia.
Deer can be seen feeding beside park roadways or along the shores of lakes and rivers. Fawns, born in late May or early June, can be seen in summer feeding on lush roadside grasses. Bucks tend to be very wary, and are usually seen only during the month long breeding season beginning in late October.
We wonder why you were ducking into interesting places? We found it interesting you only found one dear dropping in 10 quadrants and 4,811 hair droppings in 3 quadrants. I wonder how many dear droppings you found at the 2nd place you looked for dear droppings?
Me and my partners comment is not about the blog you have up it is about getting the vole and the mice in the plastic bag. We thought that the testing of the intelligence in the maze with the mice or the vole was cool because instead of just letting them run around in a circle you took the time to put them in a maze. But what we didn't know was why did you have to test the level of the intelligence? And why in a maze? We have done our research and haven't found an answer so maybe you can give us some more information about why you conducted the experiment. Why do you put the voles and the mice in the plastic bag to trap them? Can they still breath? To me and my partner it seems like they wouldn't be able to breath.
Americana? I'm not sure...check out the definition we agreed on for Americana and decide whether or not it really is. While you're doing that let me tell you who that wood-carved guy is - he is Pierre Trudeau the former Prime Minister of Canada.
Another comment asked about the American Marten, another mammal that lives her in Nova Scotia. It is a very secretive animal and very seldom seen. In fact, Drs. Buesching and Newman have never seen one! One of the interesting hunting characteristics of a marten is that it hunts, primarily, the procupine. It climbs up trees where the "porky" sleeps, knocks it to the ground (usually breaking its neck) and then pounces on it and rips it open from the belly. The belly isn't covered by quills so it can get right to the guts! Here's how climate change has affected these guys. The climate has changed so that the porcupine (it's primary food source) is active longer with a shorter winter. The "porky" becomes a bit of a pest to most folks and is usually killed with a higher frequency that is normal in nature. Because of this lower porcupine population the marten, an already scarce animal, is finding it harder and harder to find food to survive.
Somebody else asked about black bears and this is something I really wish I had a good story. Bear are very scarce here as well...they are very docile and wish they didn't have to cross paths with humans and seldom do. Instead, they avoid human contact whenever they can...but, sometimes they do cross paths like when Drs. Buesching and Newman went to Keji. They were so excited when they came across some bear poo that they followed the trail. As they followed the trail they never stopped to realize they were getting close to the real thing when suddenly there he was! Needless to say they sneaked away stealthily and got away!
Thanks for all your great inquiries, look to my new blog and keep going strong! I'm proud of you all!
Keji looks similar to the boundary waters because on there home page it shows a guy canoeing and at the boundary waters you canoe.And it just looks really peaceful and the sunset looks similar to the boundary waters. Also it is misty and it is sometimes misty in the boundary waters. Finally have you ever been to the Boundary Waters.
I think that these definitely are examples of Americana because, you can't find them anyplace else in the world and they are one-of-a kind things.Also they're just fun, funky and unique things that you would only find in Halifax NS.
Post a Comment
<< Home