Ecological Study techniques
Quadrats
These
are square metal or wood frame. They are used e.g. to find the number of a
particular kind of weed in a field. The quadrat is thrown at random to
different parts of the field. The number of weeds in the quadrat are recorded.
This is repeated ten (10) times and the avverage is taken. If the quadrat is 1m2
and the area of the field being studies is 30 m2 , then the average
number of weeds can be calculated by multiplying
the average by 30. The size of the quadrat used depends on the area of study. The
quadrat is also suitable for sampling plants, slow-moving
animals (such as millipedes and insects), and
some aquatic organisms.
Nets
Nets
are used for sampling small moving animals such as insects. They can also be
used to estimate the number of species in pond.
Jars/bottles
Bottles
can be used to set pitfall traps for small insects and other arthropods (e.g.
spider). Animals that enter a pitfall trap are unable to escape, and may either
be killed by the trap or remain unharmed. As with most methods a large
number of traps makes results more reliable and minimizes the
effects of unusual results.
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