BIOL 2050 - Dataset #1: Abundance and Diversity

This dataset was collected by Eman, Azeb, Bava and Saraswatie. Different insect organisms were measured within the confinements of a 1 meter by 1 meter quadrat. Twenty different replicates were observed and recorded. Recordings 1-10 occurred in the grasslands, 11-20 occurred in the woodlots. Any insects that were in the confinements of the quadrat were recorded. Recordings took place within 1 minute intervals. The number of individual species and the number of the species family (Recognizable Taxonomic Unit) were recorded. Abundance represents the total number of individual species within the confinements of the quadrat. RTU represents the actual number of a species group within the quadrat. A timer was used to make sure we did not stray from the 1 minute intervals. Any insects (excluding dead) regardless of their size and colour, were recorded. Any insects such as bees that flew within our quadrat confinements were also recorded. Data collection occurred in the Danby grasslands and woodlots at York University – Keele Campus on October 1, 2015 at approximately 3:00 pm to 3:30 pm. The weather was approximately 15 degrees with the sun clearly visible and small amounts of cloud activity. The grassland and woodlots were completely dry as no rain had fell earlier. The vegetation of the grasslands would increase in size the further you walked in. Primarily, ants and bees would frequent our areas of observation. The dataset was collected in a group of 4, 2 members would record observations in the grassland while the other 2 recorded observations in the woodlot. This was done to save time and to be more efficient. The purpose of this lab was to further attain knowledgeable skills in field work experience by collecting, recording and publishing data.