Ecology experimental design

We conducted the experimental study at York university Stong pond grassland at two different timings one at 8:00 pm (morning) and the second at 8:00 am (night). The study was conducted for 7 days, but not on the days that had rain because there were be fewer insects on those days. During the study we used 15 pitfall traps for each time of day (total of 210 treatments), which can be assemble by digging a small hole in the ground and placing Styrofoam cup inside it with soapy water, then cover the cup with foam bowl making sure there is some space for the insects to get inside and placing nail on either side of the bowl to secure it in place. The 15 pitfall traps were placed in three random location (5 pitfall for each location) in the grassland every 5 meters from each other for a total of 25 meters by using a transect. When placing the pitfall traps, we observed the plant density at those area by using a scale from 1 to 4, (1= no plant density, 2=low plant density, 3=some plant density and 4=high plant density). After assembling the pitfall trap and recording the plant density for each of them, we took our first recording of abundance and diversity of insects after 12 hours at 8:00 am for the morning result. Each person from the group went out to the site of the pitfall at time they are schedule for and recorded the number of insects in each cup at that time. They also recorded the highest temperature of the day for both morning and night treatments by using the website weathernetwork.com, and the different recognizable taxonomic units of insects they could identify in the cup by observation.