Determining the Diversity of Grassland Insects using the Sweep net Method

The data was collected to determine the diversity of insects in the Danby Grassland at York University near Keele Street. A 15 m transect tape was randomly placed in the taller grass area (about 50 cm tall). The insects were caught using a sweep net with a violent and fast figure-8 movement, while walking along the 15 m transect tape for 30 seconds. The total amount of insects and the number of recognizable taxonomic units (RTUs) were visually determined, physically counted, and then recorded. A total of 10 trials were performed in a different area of the grassland each time. Data was collected during a sunny day with slight cloud covers on September 30, 2015, from 4:00 pm to 4:30 pm. The temperature was about 13 degree Celsius and a gentle breeze can be felt. Data was collected by Mandy Huynh, Dylan Stoll, Mariam Nnanna, and Jordan Deosamy. Everyone had a chance to capture insects using the sweep net. Jordan used the sweep net for most of the trials. Dylan, Mariam and I were in charge of counting the number of insects and RTUs. I was also in charged of recording the data.

本数据集的采集旨在测定约克大学（York University）基尔街（Keele Street）附近的丹比草原（Danby Grassland）内昆虫的物种多样性。研究人员随机在高度约50厘米的高草区域布设了一条15米样带卷尺。沿该15米样带行走的过程中，以快速剧烈的8字形挥网动作使用扫网采集昆虫，单次采集时长为30秒。研究人员通过目视鉴定、人工计数的方式统计昆虫总数量与可识别分类单元（recognizable taxonomic units, RTUs）数量，并完成记录。本次实验共开展10次采样，每次采样均选取草原内的不同区域。数据采集于2015年9月30日下午4:00至4:30，当日天气晴朗且伴有少量薄云，气温约13摄氏度，存在轻柔微风。本次数据采集由Mandy Huynh、Dylan Stoll、Mariam Nnanna与Jordan Deosamy共同完成。所有成员均有机会使用扫网开展昆虫采集工作，其中Jordan负责完成大部分采样轮次；Dylan、Mariam与笔者负责统计昆虫总数量及可识别分类单元数量，同时笔者还承担了数据记录任务。