Sweep Net Transects In York University Grasslands

Data for this experiment was collected around 3:30 pm on Tuesday September 27, 2015 at the edge of a grassland on York University's Keele campus. It was a cool and rainy day with steady winds. The experiment was performed on a random section of the mowed part of the grassland. A transect measuring tape was extended 30 m and laid down. It was slowly walked along while sweeping in a steady full-range-sweep motion until the end of the transect. The sweep net was emptied carefully and the number of insects were counted and visually grouped into recognizable taxonomic units (RTUs). The total number of RTUs were then also counted and recorded. The transect was then moved five steps to the right of, and parallel to the original transect placement. It was walked along in the same manner as before, and the same variables were counted as well. This process was repeated for a total of five transects.

本实验所用数据采集于2015年9月27日周二下午3时30分左右，采集地点为约克大学（York University）基尔校区（Keele campus）的一片草原边缘。当日天气阴冷多雨，风力稳定。实验选取修剪过的草原随机区域开展：首先布设一条30米长的样带卷尺，随后沿样带缓慢行进，同时以稳定的全幅扫动方式挥动扫网，直至到达样带末端。随后小心清空扫网，对采集到的昆虫进行计数，并通过目视将其归类为可识别分类单元（recognizable taxonomic units, RTUs），之后统计并记录总可识别分类单元数量。接着将样带沿原布设位置右侧平移五步，且保持与原样带平行，再以相同方式沿新样带行进并统计相同变量。上述流程共计重复五次。