The affect of soil quality and number of plant species on number of insects

This experiment looked at how soil conditions and number of plant species affect the number of insects found in a specific area. This took place in the Danby Grassland at York University on October 12 and 19 2015 at around 2:30-5:30pm. On October 12, the temperature was roughly 11 degrees Celsius and the weather was overcast. On October 19, the temperature was roughly 14 degrees Celsius and the weather was cloudy with some rain. Group members include Michael, Phenil, myself and Nicole. My group members and I split into 2 groups. I worked with Michael while Nicole and Phenil worked together. Each day, we collected 60 replicates for a total of 120 over the 2 days. The transect belt was placed in a random spot for each replication. To ensure a proper random sample, a random number generator was used, ranging from 1 to 5, representing the number of steps. Beginning at the edge of the grassland and working our way inwards, we took however many steps the random number generator indicated. We then extended the transect belt to 20 meters. We extended a measuring tape to 1 meter and placed it perpendicular to the transect on any side. This indicated the range in which we would sweep net along the transect. Then, we began to sweep net the 20 meter transect for 2 minutes within the 1 meter range. The soil quality, number of plant species, number of insects and number of insect RTUs (recognizable taxonomic units) were recorded. The soil quality was determined using a scale ranging from 0 (lacking moisture) to 4 (very moist). The insect RTUs observed include: lady bug, grasshopper, spider, fly, beetle, caterpillar, snail, cricket, ant and mosquito. On the second day, the weather was rainy altering the soil conditions observed making them less accurate compared to the first day. Also, this affected the amount of insects found. Proper statistical analysis will need to be done in order to determine the affect of soil conditions and number of plant species on the number of insects.