The Relationship Between Vegetative Barriers, Number of Geese, and Amount of Geese Feces at Vilas Park Recreational Area
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References
Geese in Vilas Park are
becoming a nuisance to visitors as they wish to enjoy and relax without worries.
Zones 1 and 2 of the park are used for recreation and until recently had a large
goose population inhabiting the area and leaving feces behind. The Friends of
Lake Wingra fought to put in a vegetative barrier along zone 2 to help control
where the geese went. I analyzed goose count data and took samples of goose
feces from the four zones around the vegetative barrier to see if the population
of geese and goose feces has changed among the zones after the vegetative
barrier was installed. My hypothesis is that the vegetative barrier is working
and the goose population and amount of goose feces in zones 1 and 2 have
declined. I have compared my data to past research to look at the change in
population. To get a rough estimate of how many geese were in an area, I looked
at geese counts that occurred when the feces samples were taken. As predicted,
the amount of geese feces in zones 1 and 2 has also decreased and will not be as
much of a problem to visitors of Vilas Park. Through this experiment, I
found that the number of geese at Vilas Park are decreasing overall because they
are relocating to other areas like Lake Wingra, which is away from humans and
barriers, but the geese still have the water that they need and enjoy.
While at Vilas Park the only risk feces presents
is an aesthetic problem, but studies have shown that feces cause high E. Coli
levels when they populate the water. Moving the geese to Lake Wingra could solve
our problem at Vilas Park, but will it cause other problems for Madison
residents? A recommendation for the future would be to make a vegetative barrier
on the shoreline of Lake Wingra to try to keep the geese in zones 3- 7 and away
from zones 1, 2, and 8 which are the recreational areas and the shoreline of
Lake Wingra.
The main problem with having a
high geese population is the amount of goose feces produced. If the park
has a lot of feces, it will cause a problem for people stepping in them and
children picking them up out of curiosity. Recently, a
vegetation barrier has been installed around the water to keep the geese located
in a general area, specifically away from the recreational area, to increase the
enjoyment and decrease the problems people have visiting Vilas Park.
Geese prefer open areas with low vegetation, simple landscapes, and open water (MacGowan,
2001). After a goose chooses a site to breed on, they will come back to that site
because they know it and are comfortable with it. To control the
population of geese in a given area similar to the preferred environment, it is
suggested to build barriers with plants and trees so the geese can not see the
clearing and the water at the same time because geese like to always be able to
see accessible water.
Vilas park is split into eight different zones
(Appendix 1). Recently, the Friends of Lake Wingra established a
vegetation buffer along the edges of the water in zones 1 and 2 to deter the
geese from visiting these areas so visitors could enjoy their recreation. Has
the vegetation barrier built at Vilas Park to keep the Urban Geese out of zone
2, decreased the number of geese in that zone? My objective is to assess how the
distribution of geese and geese feces among the zones has changed since the
vegetative barrier was installed using past studies like Selle et al, Hemling et
al, and Drew et al. Specifically, has the vegetation barrier worked in
restricting the geese and their feces to specific areas to create a more
enjoyable environment for visitors of the park? My hypothesis is that the
population has declined in zones 1 and 2 due to the vegetation barrier, and as a
result goose feces have decreased in those zones. This study is important
because human health and safety maybe at-risk when goose populations are too
large.
To measure the amount and
change of feces in the zones of Vilas Park, I chose four terrestrial zones,
zones 1, 2, 3, and 6, which are closest to the recreational area and vegetation
barrier and are able to be measured (Appendix 1).
To measure the amount of fecal matter, I randomly places quadrats and collected
all the feces within each quadrat.
After removing all excess I weighed the feces. For all zones I averaged
eight samples’ weights. If one of the squares didn’t have any feces to collect,
I entered that sample as a zero. This tells me how many grams of fecal matter
there were per square meter.
After getting an idea of how
many geese were in the zones for my samples, I looked at past data on geese
feces' studies from previous classes and information collected by Jim Lorman on
geese distribution at Vilas Park and compared how the populations have changed
since before the vegetative barrier.
There has been a significant decline of geese feces in zones 1 and 2, where the vegetation buffer is, since the vegetation barrier was built.
Figure 1- This is a pie chart
comparing the average grams per meter squared of feces in each zone. The dry
weight of the feces is in grams
Figure 2- This graph shows the
actual amount of fecal mass in each zone.
Figure 3- This chart is showing how the geese population has changed in each zone from 2001- 2006.
My hypothesis for this project
was that the population of geese has declined in zones one and two due to the
vegetation barrier and as a result goose feces have decreased in those zones.
When looking at my results with Figure 2, I can conclude that the lower the
geese count is in a zone, the less feces that are being produced. By
studying figure 3 along with examining data collected from the past I can see
that the number of geese in zones 1 and 2 have decreased and appear to have
relocated for the most part to zone 6, which supports my hypothesis.
After looking over past research, I can conclude that the population of geese
has decreased overall at Vilas Park. By collecting and weighing the feces I was
able to tell by the moisture level that it was relatively fresh. By my samples I
was able to conclude in zone 2 that there is not much movement around the zone
because there were many squares that did not have any samples. There is a
possibility that the samples that I was able to obtain in zone 2 were from geese
moving between zones and that there really isn’t any actual number that stay in
zone 2. This would provide evidence that the vegetation barrier is working. The
geese are staying away from the recreational area. The zones around 1 and 2,
especially zone 6, showed an increase in geese and geese feces to accommodate
the geese leaving the area that contains the barrier. The data provided by Jim
Lorman shows that the geese have moved towards Lake Wingra into zones 6, 7, and
8. By moving into these zones they are still near the water but do not have a
barrier to deal with.
With the geese moving out of the recreational area, the risk for visitors
decreases. While I was not able to find any serious health risks to humans, the
Humane Society of the United States says the presence of feces presents an
aesthetic problem. By this I mean it causes a problem to people based on the
appearance, preference and discomfort. By the feces being present, it opens the
opportunity for people to step in them which leads to them being spread around
and children becoming curious at touching and/or eating them.
Even though there is no risk to humans when the feces are on land, Hemling et al
says that “the Lake Wingra beaches have been closed to the public due to high E.
coli levels, which presents a serious health problem to the residents of the
area” (2006). This leads me to think that blocking the geese from areas on the
land and pushing them towards the water isn’t as great of an idea. Maybe a
future change would be to make a vegetative barrier on the shoreline of Lake
Wingra also and try to keep the geese in zone 3- 7 and away from 1, 2 and 8
which are the recreational areas and shoreline of Lake Wingra. This change would
allow all areas to benefit and the geese to still populate Vilas Park without
concerns.
Problems throughout this study were the changes of geese from day to day and not
being able to have an exact count. A lot of the study was comparing my samples
to past research, so I was very dependent that others had done their research
properly.
The geese of Vilas Park have been an enjoyment to some and a nuisance to others
for quite some time now. Since the building of the vegetative barrier, the
opportunity for enjoyment has increased, as the number of geese and amount of
feces has declined. There are still problems that need to be addressed, but as
those problems are addressed and fixed, the geese will be able to inhabit with
no concerns in Vilas Park while visitors relax and enjoy their visit.