Moisture vs Species Abundance

Data was collected twice over two weeks to determine if moisture levels in the woodlots and grassland effected species abundance. Group members included Taylor, Amena, Antoni and Keerthana. Data collection began on Monday October 19, 2015 between 2:50 pm - 5:00 pm the weather was 14 degrees Celsius, partly cloudy with winds of 26km/hour southeast and the humidity at 49%. Data collection continued on Monday October 26, 2015 between 2:50 pm - 5:00 pm the weather was 9 degrees Celsius, scattered clouds with winds of 14 km/hour southeast and humidity was 57%. Dambi Woods located on York Campus was the location of the data collection as there was both grassland (limited canopy) and woodlot (denser canopy). The grassland area had high grass with scattered tree cover and the woodlot area was a forest with more tree cover. Starting point was a specific tree located at the entrance of the grasslands and a tree located at the entrance of the woodlots. Using a random number generator, the number of steps between each quadrant was determined. 60 quadrants ( 1 m x 1 m) were laid out in the grassland area and 60 quadrants were laid out in the woodlot area. Each quadrant was observed for 5 minutes for insect (species) activity. Some insects that were spotted were red ants, flies, spiders, beetles, and grasshoppers. An overall species count was noted and then a breakdown of the species observed was noted.

本数据集于两周内开展两次采样工作，以探究林地与草地的湿度水平是否会对物种丰度（species abundance）产生影响。本次研究团队成员包括Taylor、Amena、Antoni与Keerthana。首次数据采集于2015年10月19日周一的14:50至17:00进行，当日气温14摄氏度，天气为多云间晴，东南风风速26公里/小时，相对湿度49%。第二次数据采集于2015年10月26日周一的14:50至17:00进行，当日气温9摄氏度，天气为晴间多云，东南风风速14公里/小时，相对湿度57%。本次数据采集的地点为约克校区（York Campus）的丹比森林（Dambi Woods），该区域兼具草地（冠层覆盖率有限）与林地（冠层更茂密）两种生境：草地区域以高草为主，伴零星树木覆盖；林地则为树木覆盖率更高的森林区域。采样起始点分别为草地入口处的特定树木与林地入口处的树木。研究人员通过随机数生成器确定各采样样方（quadrant）之间的步距，在草地与林地区域各布设60个1米×1米的样方。每个样方需开展5分钟的昆虫（物种）活动观测。本次观测到的昆虫类群包括红蚁、蝇类、蜘蛛、甲虫与蚱蜢。研究人员会先记录总体物种数量，再对观测到的各物种进行分类统计。