Abundance of Insects In Danby Woods Grasslands

This experiment took place on September 28th 2015 at approximately 2:30pm. The location of this experiment was at York University Keele Campus at its Danby woods grasslands. The conditions were very cloudy with a temperature of approximately 15-18 degrees Celsius. The area was very damp due to rain that occured before the experiment took place. The purpose of this experiment was to use the sweet net sampling technique to estimate population density and insect populations. Transects that were 15 meters long were place along the grassland facing south to north. A sweepnet was used to collect any insects along the transect for 40 seconds. The sweepnet did not touch the ground and was used to sweep only along the grass and plants. After the 40 seconds, the insects inside the net would be noted for the number of insects, the different recognizeable taxonomic units (RTUs) and the number of RTU's. When the insects are all accounted for, the net would then be flipped inside out to prevent any insects from remaining inside the net. This process was replicated 9 more times. Everytime the transect was moved for the next replicate, the transect would be moved 10 meters east running south to north. The group members that contributed to this experiment were Richer Lai, Felicia O, Dylan C, and Brandon B.本实验于2015年9月28日下午约2:30开展，实验地点为约克大学（York University）基尔校区（Keele Campus）的丹比伍德草原。当日天气多云，气温介于15至18摄氏度之间，实验前曾有降雨，导致区域地面较为潮湿。本实验旨在采用扫网采样法估算昆虫种群密度与种群总量：设置15米长的样带沿草原南北向布设，使用扫网沿样带挥动40秒以采集昆虫，扫网全程不接触地面，仅在草本植物与植被间作业。40秒后，记录网内昆虫的总数量、可识别分类单元（recognizable taxonomic units, RTUs）的种类数及各类RTUs的个体数量。完成计数后，将扫网外翻以避免残留昆虫。该流程被重复9次，每次更换样带开展重复实验时，均将原样带向东平移10米，仍保持南北向布设。参与本次实验的人员包括Richer Lai、Felicia O、Dylan C与Brandon B。