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 before starting the investigation. 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及Amin A.于2015年9月30日（周三）下午3:30至4:45，在约克大学校园草地（York University Campus）内采集完成。开展调查前，需经全体组员充分研讨并达成一致共识，方可确定草地采样区域。确定采样区域后，使用样带卷尺量取10米距离，以此划定采样边界并为每组重复采样提供精准测量依据。在样带卷尺的每一米位置开展一次采样操作，单组重复采样可累计完成10次采样（即10组重复采样共计覆盖100米样带）。每组安排一名组员负责记录采样数据，一名组员使用扫网采集昆虫样本，另有一至两名组员通过目视观察计数扫网内的昆虫个体丰度以及相对分类单元（Relative Taxonomic Unit，RTU）总数。各组员轮换岗位，既能获得使用扫网的操作机会，也能有效识别采样数据中的显著偏差。需增加更多重复采样次数，以观测物种组成差异，并精准获取该草地特定区域的采样结果。扫网法通常用于评估农田虫害发生情况，以确定是否需要施用农药；但在本实验中，该方法主要用于定位特定相对分类单元，以及验证该草地中是否存在多数主要昆虫类群。