Grassland, Dataset #3 - Surveying the Insect Abundance and Different RTU

The data was collected at the grassland of York University Campus on Wednesday, September 30, 2015 at 3:30 pm to 4:45 pm contributed by J.Quach, I. Darman and Amin A. As a group, sections of the grassland must be decided on and received a group consensus with careful consideration of the selections being made prior to starting the experiment. Once that is completed, a transect measuring tape will be used to determine a distance of 10 metres and serves the purpose of setting limits and precise measurement for each replicate. For every metre on the transect measuring tape, an attempt is performed and can be totaled up to 10 attempts (or 1 replicate for a total of 100 metres covered in 10 replicates). One group member was in charged of recording the data, another member needed for using the sweep net to capture the data and one more member or two to count the insect abundance and total number of RTUs within the sweep net by visual observation. Each group member swapped roles to get an opportunity of using the sweep net and to see a definite deviation in data. More replicates were required to see a variation in species and to get an accurate reading of certain areas of the grassland. The sweep net method is generally used to determine whether pesticides are necessary in case of an pest infestation on crops, but for this experiment, it is useful for locating certain RTU's, and whether most of the essential insect groups are present in the grasslands.

本数据集由J.Quach、I.Darman与Amin A.共同贡献，采集于2015年9月30日周三下午3:30至4:45，地点为约克大学校园内的草地。实验启动前，研究小组需先选定草地样区，经充分考量采样方案并达成集体共识后，方可启动实验。完成准备工作后，使用样带卷尺划定10米范围，以此为每个重复样地设定边界并实现精准测量。沿样带卷尺每间隔1米开展1次采样，10次采样构成1个重复样地，10个重复样地总计覆盖100米样带。每组设置1名成员负责记录数据，1名成员使用扫网采集样本，另外1至2名成员通过目视观察统计扫网内的昆虫个体丰度以及相对分类单元（Relative Taxonomic Unit，RTU）的总数量。所有小组成员需轮换岗位，以获得使用扫网的实践机会，同时减少因个体操作差异导致的数据系统性偏差。为观测物种分布差异并精准获取草地特定区域的采样结果，需增设更多重复样地。扫网法通常用于评估作物虫害发生情况，以确定是否需要施用农药，但在本实验中，该方法用于定位特定RTU，以及验证草地中是否存在多数核心昆虫类群。