Charleson Park, July 16th & 30th

Report by Janet Snell & Marjo Vierros

The second phase of the False Creek Oyster survey has begun with the intention of providing more detailed information about the oyster beds in False Creek that we had previously surveyed using iNaturalist. Two separate quadrat surveys were held at Charleson Park with the help of many able volunteers. 

From one of our Quadrat Survey team leaders, Marjo Vierros, a marine biologist, here is an excerpt from our survey protocol:

“The purpose of the quadrat surveys is to answer questions relating to:

• The abundance, size and species of oysters present in False Creek. 

• The habitat/substrate preference of oysters, such as what type of substrate (sand/mud or cobbles or boulders) do they grow on, at what depth/incline, and what species are they generally associated with.
• Changes over time in oyster populations in False Creek. These surveys could be the first step in setting up a monitoring program for oysters in False Creek.

Importantly, these surveys can be used to guide future restoration, management and planning efforts, including pollution mitigation and adaptation to ocean warming and sea-level rise.

The surveys will use methods with a combination of transect line(s) and quadrat(s). There are two different methods deployed, the first of which is designed to answer questions specific to oyster abundance, size, species and habitat. The second method is an intertidal profile designed to better understand the physical and ecological characteristics of the intertidal area, including habitat zonation.”

We started the day with a demonstration in the park of the set-up of the transect line and quadrats and how to measure the beach slope using a clinometer. This is a great opportunity for volunteers with an interest in marine biology field techniques to learn the ropes.

Once we were down on the beach, our survey team quickly set up two separate transect lines, one paralleling the edge of the water at the lowest tide line and the other, running perpendicularly up the beach through all the different zones of marine life. The group divided into teams that documented each 1m x 1m quadrat. 

(L) Setting up the transect lines and quadrats; (R) Intertidal profile set-up © Janet Snell

As the team members worked hard in the hot sun, several different marine animals paused their activities to observe us. Again, we were reminded that False Creek is very much alive.

The survey work could have continued all afternoon, but the progress of the tide soon swamped our quadrats. It was time to pack up and plan our next survey.

A huge thank-you to the many volunteers who have been coming out, sometimes multiple times, to help us with this survey. This really is a project that wouldn’t exist without many hands onboard. Our next quadrat survey session will be on the weekend of August 12/13^th at Habitat Island near Olympic Village. Please contact volunteer coordinator, Greg Leach at greg@naturevancouver.ca if you would like to join us.