Diversity of Life Within Meadow and Woodland Regions in Varying Disturbances

In this experimental study, the abundance of any insect organism and ant populations will be measured in highly-, semi- and minimally-disturbed areas within both woodland and meadow regions at the York University Keele campus. Quadrats have been used to measure the abundance of all insects and bait-traps, consisting of crackers and a small cup of sugar water placed on a piece of cardboard, have been used to measure the abundance of ants specifically. Areas with high human disturbance, such as a parking lot directly adjacent to the meadow and woodland studied, sampled ten times via quadrat and three bait traps set up and left for an hour before observing for organisms. The semi-disturbed area consists of a path within the woodland and meadow, and the minimally-disturbed area consists of a region within the meadow and woodland that are the most remote from humans. These areas will also be samples ten times by quadrat and three bait-traps will be set up.