Lab 3- Insects Abundance In Woodlots and Grasslands

Metadata:

Quadrant Number: The amount of trials which are represented on
what number quadrant is being observed so far. 10 trials were used and observed
or each site. Quadrants were randomly placed along the site (grassland or
woodlot).

Site: Area of which the quadrant was placed and observed.
This was either the Danby Grassland or the Danby Woodlots of York University
Keele campus.

Abundance: The total number on insects that were still in
the quadrant after the 1 minute of observation was done. If an insect went into
the quadrant and flew away, they were not counted. An insect was counted as
anything that was smaller than a baseball and had more than 4 legs and had a
pair of antennas.

Number of RTUs: Recognizable Taxonomic units. The number of
RTU was determined visually by the observer. 1 RTU was counted if the insect
was morphologically different from another insect. Morphologically different meant different size, colour, number of appendages, type of appendages and method of
travelling. If any insects differed in any one of these criteria, they were
counted as 1 RTU. If the insects share the same features for all the criteria,
they were all counted as 1 RTU.

Site Description:

Data was collected at the Danby Grassland and Danby Woodlot
at the York University Keele campus. It was cloudy with bits of sun peaking
through, had gentle breezes and was approximately 20 degrees Celsius. Information
recorded was taken from 2:30 to 4:30 pm on Wednesday September the 28th,2016.

The Danby Grassland had a lot of vegetation, that were no
higher than a meter tall. Vegetation included: grass, variations of flowers,
clovers, small shrubs.

The Danby Woodlot mostly consisted of trees approximately 25
meters tall. There were also smaller tree saplings. Woodlot floors had open
soil covered in fallen leaves and branches.

Methods:

A 1 meter by 1 meter quadrant was placed in a random area in
either the Danby Grassland or the Danby Woodlot. Each quadrant was observed visually
for a total of 2 minutes. During the observation, the total number of insects
inside the quadrant and the number of recognizable taxonomic units (RTUs) were
determined visually. After visual determination, the number of insects and RTUs
in the quadrant were counted and recorded. This method was repeated a total of 10
times in the Danby grassland and a total 10 times in the Danby Woodlot. For
each repeat, a new random area in that region was picked before placing the 1
meter by 1 meter quadrant down.

Hypothesis:

The site, Danby (Woodlot or Danby Grassland) affects the
abundance and the number of RTUs there are in a quadrant and area in general. There
is a higher abundance of insect and number of RTUs if the site is in the
grassland. This is because the grasslands have higher amount of vegetation and
different types of vegetation compared to the woodlots, which increases the diversity
of the region. This increase in diversity allows for higher number of insects
and different types of insects to live and survive since they have a variety of
resources they can use.

Prediction:

The Danby grassland site will have a higher abundance of
insects.

The Danby grassland site will have a higher number of
RTUs.

元数据：
样方编号：指当前观测的样方对应的重复采样序号。本次研究每个样地均开展10次重复观测，样方在样地（草原或林块）内随机布设。

样地：指布设并观测样方的区域，本次研究的样地为约克大学基尔校区的丹比草原与丹比林块。

个体丰度：指1分钟观测结束后，仍留存于样方内的昆虫总数量。若昆虫飞入样方后又飞出，则不计入统计。本次研究中，昆虫的判定标准为：体型小于棒球、拥有4条以上足及1对触角的生物。

可识别分类单元（Recognizable Taxonomic Units，RTU）数量：指由观测者通过视觉判定的可识别分类单元数量。若某昆虫在形态上与其他昆虫存在差异，则计为1个RTU。形态差异包括体型、体色、附肢数量、附肢类型及移动方式的不同。若昆虫在上述任一标准上存在差异，则划分为独立的RTU；若所有标准均一致，则归为同一个RTU。

样地概况：
本研究的数据采集于约克大学基尔校区的丹比草原与丹比林块。当日天气为多云间晴，伴有微风，气温约20摄氏度。数据采集时间为2016年9月28日周三的14:30至16:30。

丹比草原植被茂密，植株高度均不超过1米，植被类型涵盖草本植物、各类花卉、三叶草及小型灌木。

丹比林块以高度约25米的乔木为主要植被，同时分布有少量树苗。林块地表为裸露土壤，覆盖有落叶与枯枝。

研究方法：
将1米×1米的样方随机布设于丹比草原或丹比林块的任意区域。对每个样方开展总计2分钟的视觉观测，观测过程中通过视觉统计样方内的昆虫总数量与可识别分类单元（RTU）数量，随后完成计数与记录。本方法在丹比草原与丹比林块各重复10次，每次重复前均在对应区域内选取新的随机点位布设样方。

研究假设：
样地类型（丹比林块或丹比草原）会影响样方及区域内的昆虫个体丰度与可识别分类单元数量。相较于林块，草原样地的昆虫个体丰度与可识别分类单元数量更高。原因在于草原相较于林块拥有更丰富且多样的植被，能够提升区域物种多样性，进而为昆虫提供更多样的生存资源，支撑更多昆虫个体与类群存活繁衍。

研究预测：
丹比草原样地的昆虫个体丰度更高。
丹比草原样地的可识别分类单元数量更高。