Tyler Emery - Canada Goose

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Riparian Riparian Zone Retreat Zone Retreat and population studies and population studies Tyler Emery, Tyler Emery, Biology II, Biology II, Period 1. Period 1.

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Transcript of Tyler Emery - Canada Goose

Page 1: Tyler Emery - Canada Goose

RiparianRiparian Zone Retreat Zone Retreatand population studiesand population studies

Tyler Emery,Tyler Emery,

Biology II,Biology II,

Period 1.Period 1.

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Niche of Canada GooseBranta Canadensis

• Canada Geese live near waterways in open, grassy habitats such as marshes, lakes, rivers and ponds.

• Canada Geese are herbivores. They rely on producers such as grasses, cattails, sedges, rushes, pondweeds, arrowheads, clovers, water lilies, duckweed, corn and alfalfa. The producers somewhat rely on these geese because they disperse the seeds of the plants they eat. These are large birds, so many predators try to stay away. Raccoons, red foxes, snapping turtles and Virginia opossums usually try to avoid the adult geese and go for the young.

• When on land, Canada Geese eat grasses, barley, wheat, rice, corn, and beans. When in water, they slide their bills across the bottom silt. When a predator is near, a goose will honk, warning the others. The females will lay down over the nest and stretch out their necks to camouflage the nest.

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Factors which Affect Birth Rate of Canada Geese

• Canada Geese find mates in the winter and can stay with the same mate for a year or even for life. They mate on the water in the spring.

• Breed once every year in the spring.

• Gestation Period: 28-30 Days

• 2-9 eggs are laid each year. The average is 5.

• After the eggs hatch, both the male and female guard and feed their offspring. They all leave the nest as a group to find shelter and food.

• Canada Geese mate in the spring and produce one clutch of eggs each year.

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Factors Which Affect the Death Rate of Canada Geese

• The Canada Goose is hunted by gulls, ravens, crows, skunks, and snapping turtles. They are also hunted by humans.

• The average life span of Canada Geese is 10-25 years. There have been reports of extreme cases where geese have lived up to 42 years.

• Overpopulation of Canada Geese can result in the loss of crops of farmers.

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Food Chain of Assigned Organism

Producer

Autotroph

Primary Consumer

Herbivore

Secondary Consumer

Carnivore

Tertiary Consumer

Carnivore

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Food web of Assigned Organism

Producer

Producer

Herbivore

CarnivoreCarnivore

Omnivore

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Population Sampling Techniques

• One population sampling technique is to capture the animals and mark them. Then, at a different time, capture the animals again and count the number of marked ones compared to the unmarked animals.

• To find the population of Canada Geese, the baited cannon-net sampling technique is used.

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Stream Quality Data & AnalysisStream Quality Data & Analysis• The data on this graph is proof of a

healthy stream. The multitude of Class I organisms indicates that the water has very little pollution.

• If there is a majority of Class I organisms, that means the stream is healthy. If the majority of organisms are Class II, the stream is somewhat polluted, but not very badly. If there is a majority of Class III organisms, the water is very polluted.

• The stream conditions show healthy stream quality. This means not too many or too few nitrates and phosphates, so the plants would be healthy and abundant for the Canada Goose.

• If the stream was unhealthy (mostly class III organisms) the geese wouldn’t be affected very much. They would just move somewhere else.

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Water Testing Data & AnalysisWater Testing Data & Analysis• Dissolved Oxygen is important for the

animals in the water to breath. The higher the amount, the better the stream quality for the animals. Phosphates and Nitrates are needed for plants to grow, but if there are too many nitrates and phosphates, they will runoff into the water, which is bad. pH can tell whether the water is acidic or alkaline. If the temperature it too high or too low, organisms would have a difficult time surviving. Also, turbidity should be low. High turbidity affects predator/prey relationships. Also, the debris causing the high turbidity can get stuck in gills, clogging them, and causing the organisms to die.

• Ideal ranges for the factors are:Nitrates/Phosphates = 0Dissolved Oxygen = 10 or greaterpH = 6.5-7.5

• The Canada Goose would survive well by the stream. The plant life is healthy. (not too many or too few nitrates/phosphates)

020406080100120140160

Nitrate

Oxygen

pH Phosphates

StreamMarshMine

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Soil Testing & AnalysisSoil Testing & Analysis

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pH Potash

Phosphorus

Nitrogen

Riparian

School Site

• pH controls how well plants utilize nutrients. Potash helps make sugars that are used in photosynthesis. Phosphorus

• Ideal ranges of the factors are:pH = 4-7.5 or 8Potash = Medium LevelNitrogen = Medium LevelPhosphorus = Medium Level

• If any of these levels are out of the ideal range, plants could have a difficult time growing, or nearby bodies of water may become polluted.

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Positive and Negative Factors• The current stream and marsh conditions would have a positive affect on Canada Geese. Areas around the stream would provide good plants for the geese to eat. The mine water is polluted, so when the geese would eat silt from the bottom of the water, it would be drinking polluted water.

•The soil conditions at the riparian zone are good for Canada Geese. Trace levels of nitrogen and phosphorus help the plants that the geese eat grow.

•AMD and agricultural runoff negatively affect the riparian zone. Soil that only has trace levels of nitrogen and phosphorus is good because plants will grow but none will runoff into water. Planting trees can help preserve the ecosystem. Also, putting limestone in areas prone to acid mine drainage can help preserve the ecosystem.

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Conclusion

• I learned interesting ways to determine populations of species such as mark and recapture.

• I found how the types of creatures in a stream can determine how healthy the stream is.

• I may want to investigate AMD further.

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Works Cited

•http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/organism_menu.htm•http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/index.html•http://www.canadageesenewjersey.com/Canada%20Geese%20Facts.htm