Lab 3- Insects Abundance In Woodlots and Grasslands

<b>Metadata: </b> <b>Quadrant Number:</b> The amount of trials which are represented on what number quadrant is being observed so far. 10 trials were used and observed or each site. Quadrants were randomly placed along the site (grassland or woodlot). <b>Site:</b> Area of which the quadrant was placed and observed. This was either the Danby Grassland or the Danby Woodlots of York University Keele campus. <b>Abundance:</b> The total number on insects that were still in the quadrant after the 1 minute of observation was done. If an insect went into the quadrant and flew away, they were not counted. An insect was counted as anything that was smaller than a baseball and had more than 4 legs and had a pair of antennas. <b>Number of RTUs:</b> Recognizable Taxonomic units. The number of RTU was determined visually by the observer. 1 RTU was counted if the insect was morphologically different from another insect. Morphologically different meant different size, colour, number of appendages, type of appendages and method of travelling. If any insects differed in any one of these criteria, they were counted as 1 RTU. If the insects share the same features for all the criteria, they were all counted as 1 RTU. <b>Site Description: </b> Data was collected at the Danby Grassland and Danby Woodlot at the York University Keele campus. It was cloudy with bits of sun peaking through, had gentle breezes and was approximately 20 degrees Celsius. Information recorded was taken from 2:30 to 4:30 pm on Wednesday September the 28^th,2016. The Danby Grassland had a lot of vegetation, that were no higher than a meter tall. Vegetation included: grass, variations of flowers, clovers, small shrubs. The Danby Woodlot mostly consisted of trees approximately 25 meters tall. There were also smaller tree saplings. Woodlot floors had open soil covered in fallen leaves and branches. <b> </b> <b>Methods: </b> A 1 meter by 1 meter quadrant was placed in a random area in either the Danby Grassland or the Danby Woodlot. Each quadrant was observed visually for a total of 2 minutes. During the observation, the total number of insects inside the quadrant and the number of recognizable taxonomic units (RTUs) were determined visually. After visual determination, the number of insects and RTUs in the quadrant were counted and recorded. This method was repeated a total of 10 times in the Danby grassland and a total 10 times in the Danby Woodlot. For each repeat, a new random area in that region was picked before placing the 1 meter by 1 meter quadrant down. <b>Hypothesis: </b> The site, Danby Woodlot or Danby Grassland, affects the abundance and the number of RTUs there are in a quadrant and area in general. There is a higher abundance of insect and number of RTUs if the site is in the grassland. This is because the grasslands have higher amount of vegetation and different types of vegetation compared to the woodlots, which increases the diversity of the region. This increase in diversity allows for higher number of insects and different types of insects to live and survive since they have a variety of resources they can use. <b>Prediction</b>: The Danby grassland region will have a higher abundance of insects. The Danby grassland region will have a higher number of RTUs.

**元数据：**
**样方编号：** 指当前观测样方对应的试验重复次数，每个样地共开展10次观测与记录。样方随机布置于样地（草原或林地带）内。
**样地：** 指放置并开展观测的区域，本次研究的样地为约克大学基尔校区的丹比草原与丹比林地带。
**个体丰度：** 指1分钟观测结束后，仍留存于样方内的昆虫总数量。若昆虫进入样方后飞出，则不计入统计。本次统计的昆虫定义为：体型小于棒球、拥有4条以上足及1对触角的生物。
**可识别分类单元（Recognizable Taxonomic Units, RTUs）数量：** 可识别分类单元指观察者通过视觉区分的分类单元。若昆虫在形态上与其他个体存在差异，则计为1个可识别分类单元。形态差异包括体型、颜色、附肢数量、附肢类型及移动方式任意一项不同。若昆虫在上述所有标准上均一致，则归为同一个可识别分类单元。
**样地概况：** 数据采集于约克大学基尔校区的丹比草原与丹比林地带。当日天气为多云，偶有阳光穿透云层，伴有微风，气温约20摄氏度。数据采集时间为2016年9月28日周三下午14:30至16:30。丹比草原植被茂密，植株高度均不超过1米，植被类型包括草本植物、各类花卉、三叶草及小型灌木。丹比林地带以高度约25米的乔木为主，同时存在少量树苗。林地带地表为裸露土壤，覆盖有落叶与枯枝。
**实验方法：** 在丹比草原或丹比林地带的随机区域放置1米×1米的样方，对每个样方进行总计2分钟的视觉观测。观测过程中，通过视觉统计样方内的昆虫总数量及可识别分类单元（RTUs）数量，随后记录相关数据。该实验流程在丹比草原与丹比林地带各重复10次，每次重复前均在对应区域内选取新的随机区域放置样方。
**研究假设：** 样地类型（丹比林地带或丹比草原）会影响样方及区域内的昆虫个体丰度与可识别分类单元数量。相较于林地带，草原样地的昆虫个体丰度与可识别分类单元数量更高。原因在于草原拥有更多且种类更丰富的植被，提升了区域生境多样性，可为昆虫提供多样化的生存资源，进而支持更多昆虫个体及类群存活繁衍。
**研究预测：** 丹比草原区域的昆虫个体丰度更高；丹比草原区域的可识别分类单元（RTUs）数量更多。