Lab 3- Insect Abundance

The objective of this experiment was to use random sampling through the method of quadrats to measure the abundance of various insects in the grassland and woodland. The samples were collected by Huda and Ratiba. To obtain the abundance, 1m2 quadrat was placed randomly and plot was observed for thirty seconds using the timer on the phone. The samples 1 to 10 were taken in the grassland, and sample 11 to 20 were taken in the woodland. To begin with, the vegetation in the plot was not touched, or moved to see the insects beneath it. Instead, the insects were observed from a bird’s eye view. During the thirty second interval all the insects flying into the plot or crawling were recorded. The insects were identified by random recognizable taxonomic units during the thirty second observation. The list of features used to identify the insects are: spider- (black, light beige) and eight legs, bees-pair of wings, black and yellow stripes and six legs, ants-six legs, crawling, and brown and the flies- one set of wings, absence of yellow and black stripes. The RTUs and a tally mark (abundance) was recorded by the observers. The tally marks were used to record abundance as it was uncertain as to how many insects of the same taxonomic group would enter the plot. Later, the tally marks for abundance were counted and recorded in the data sheet as numerical values as it would make data analysis easier.