Determining the Diversity of Grassland Insects using the Sweep net Method

The data was collected to determine the diversity of insects in the Danby Grassland at York University near Keele Street. A 15 m transect tape was randomly placed in the taller grass area (about 50 cm tall). The insects were caught using a sweep net with a violent and fast figure-8 movement, while walking along the 15 m transect tape for 30 seconds. The total amount of insects and the number of recognizable taxonomic units (RTUs) were visually determined, physically counted, and then recorded. A total of 10 trials were performed in a different area of the grassland each time. Data was collected during a sunny day with slight cloud covers on September 30, 2015, from 4:00 pm to 4:30 pm. The temperature was about 13 degree Celsius and a gentle breeze can be felt. Data was collected by Mandy Huynh, Dylan Stoll, Mariam Nnanna, and Jordan Deosamy. Everyone had a chance to capture insects using the sweep net. Jordan used the sweep net for most of the trials. Dylan, Mariam and I were in charge of counting the number of insects and RTUs. I was also in charged of recording the data.