THIS EVENT IS CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19
Students from the Lethbridge College Ecosystem Management class will be presenting on the following topics:
Brooke Morrice, “Analysis of Golden and Bald Eagle migration population trends and fall urban activity in southern Alberta.” The main goal of this study is to examine spring and fall migration population trends of Golden and Bald Eagles by using count data from 2010-2019. Previous years data was collected from the Rocky Mountain Eagle Research Foundation, and I was able to get my own data for 2019 with the help of one of their members, Peter Sherrington. I want to know if the eagle population migrating through southern Alberta, in observation sites including Beaver Mines and Mount Lorette, are decreasing through the years and if there are changes in their arrival times at these sites. The next portion of the project is to examine Bald Eagle numbers in Lethbridge, Alberta. There is not much information on Bald Eagles wintering in southern Alberta, so my objective is to document and analyze Bald Eagles in Lethbridge, to gain current information on locations sighted, number of individuals seen, and man-made features that could pose a threat to this species in the areas sighted. The results of the project will hopefully provide current information on Golden and Bald Eagle migration population trends and educate citizens on both Eagle species, their habitat requirements, threats they face, and protection efforts that can be implemented if needed.
Brad Yee, “Optimizing Manual Analysis of Acoustic Bird Recordings.” Historically songbirds were surveyed by conducting point counts – where an observer stands in one spot for a fixed time period and records all the birds they see or hear. But there is a new technology allowing biologists to monitor and identify birds without being in the field. Acoustic recording units (ARUs) are small weatherproof audio recorders that can be deployed in the field for weeks at a time. They are becoming increasingly popular for surveying birds, but their ability to collect large amounts of data creates analysis challenges, as listening to audio can be very time consuming. The objective of this project is to optimize the audio-listening process and examine the relationships between sampling effort and species detection when using a random one minute audio sampling methodology. That is how much audio must be listened to from a three hour dawn recording session to achieve accurate species richness estimates?
Megan McGlynn, “The relationship of structure and rangeland health on bird species diversity at Antelope Creek Ranch.” This project explored the relationship between vegetation height, rangeland health, and bird diversity at Antelope Creek Ranch. Data for the project was collected by performing rangeland health assessments, bird point count surveys, and Robel Pole (a measurement tool that tells researchers vegetation height) measurements. The resulting linkages could be beneficial because a strong relationship between vegetation height measurements and the remaining rangeland health measurement catagories (ecological integrity, soil erosion, weeds, structure, and litter) creates the possibility of measuring vegetation height, using Robel Pole measurements as indicators of bird diversity. This could be a valuable field asset, as Robel Pole measurements are fast and easy to perform, and can be done by staff with minimal training. Results of this study could help land and wildlife managers better understand the relationship between vegetation height, rangeland health, and bird diversity at Antelope Creek Ranch.
Each student presentation will be 15-20 minutes followed by question and answer. This is an excellent opportunity to connect with emerging research, methodologies, and interesting findings.