Lab Report Meta-Data

The experiment was conducted at York University on October 24th, 2014 in the grasslands adjacent to the Danby Woods lot. Trial 1 was conducted between 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm, while Trial 2 was conducted between 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm. The temperature during Trial 1 was 16°C, and dropped to 14°C during Trial 2. The Bauford Scale was at 3 for the duration of the entire experiment. While the sun was out for the majority of the experiment, it should be noted that the sun was lower in the sky and not as strong during the second experiment. The purpose of this experiment was to determine if plant species, distance from the plant species, and colour have an effect on the diversity and total number of arthropods collected. Fifteen pan traps (bowls), 5 each of different colours (blue, yellow, and white), were placed at varying distances (0ft, 1ft, 2ft, 3ft, 4ft.), from each plant species, for a total of 60 bowls. Plant species A was a Pollinator Plant, near the Danby woodlot, located in shady area. Plant species B was a tall grass, near the Danby woodlot,in shady location. Plant species C was a purple flowering pollinator, located in the sun. Plant species D was a red leaved shrub, located in the sun. The bowls were filled halfway with soapy water and left undisturbed for 60 minutes. After, the bowls were inspected. The number of arthropods was counted, as well as the number of recognizable taxonomic units. General classifications of the insects were also recorded. This data was collected in collaboration with other researchers Elron, and Laiba.