Week 4 Distance-Based data set

BIOL2050 Lab 03. This experiment was conducted in the Danby Woodlot and Danby Grasslands at York University on 29th September 2015 between 2:40-5:00 pm with team members: Bryson Chandrarajan, Stanley Igiebor and Sharan Saravanabavan. The Danby Woodlot and Grasslands are both located between human interrupted areas (roads, building and industry). The temperature was 18°C, dark cloudy skies with a cold breeze and lots of precipitation. Due to the canopy coverage the rain in the Woodlot was a lot heavier than the rain in the Grasslands. In the Grassland the ground was muddy and moist and the grass and plant species were covered in rain water. In the Woodland, due to the lack of grass and plant species the ground was very muddy.

5 random areas were chosen in both the Woodlot and the Grasslands. Transects measuring 20 meters using a measuring tape were placed in random areas. Bird species were observed for the next 5 minutes, either 5 meters to the left or right of the 20 meter line transect and these observations were recorded. The bird species were identified with regard to physical appearance. During the 5 minutes, the wind speeds were recorded using the Beaufort scale. The values for wind speed were first recorded under Beaufort number and then changed to miles per hour. The reason for collecting this data was to estimate the bird population and identify the different bird species in the Danby Woodlot and the Danby Grasslands. Transect line method was used because transect line covers a large area, it is great for mobile organisms and it is a quick method to estimate population of a species in an area.