Insect biodiversity in the York University grasslands

Organism diversity in the York University grasslands was studied on September 30th,2015. The study was conducted through the use of a 200 foot transact and a sweep net. The transact was set to 10 meters, and a sweep was done along the sides of the transacts, up to half a meter left and right, for 2 minutes. At the end of each run organisms caught in the net were classified according to their recognizable taxonomic units (RTUs) and set free. The 10 meter measurement on the transact was then moved to a random location on the grasslands and the study was repeated. This was done for a total of 10 replicates. Location was randomized by walking 10 steps right after each trial. The study was done in 15˚C weather during a light drizzle. The data indicates that there is a greater abundance of smaller species such as the mosquito, ant and fruit fly than of larger species such as the spider, beetle, cricket, moth or caterpillar. These results may have been affected by the weather, as it is common for species to seek shelter during rainfall and not be in an open field where puddles may form and drowning due to flooding is likely.2015年9月30日，本研究针对约克大学（York University）草原的生物多样性展开调查。本次调查采用200英尺样带（transect）与扫网开展：单条样带的有效长度设定为10米，调查人员沿样带两侧以左右各半米的范围进行扫网操作，单次扫网时长为2分钟。每轮扫网结束后，将扫网捕获的生物依据可识别分类单元（recognizable taxonomic units, RTUs）进行分类，随后将其放生。随后将10米长的样带区段随机移动至草原内的另一位置，重复上述调查流程，该流程总计重复10次。每次试验结束后，通过向右侧行走10步的方式实现样带位置的随机化选取。本次调查于气温15℃、伴随小雨的天气条件下开展。调查数据显示，蚊、蚁、果蝇等小型物种的丰度显著高于蜘蛛、甲虫、蟋蟀、蛾类或毛虫等大型物种。上述调查结果或受天气条件影响：降雨期间物种通常会寻找遮蔽处，而非处于易形成水坑、存在因积水溺水风险的开阔草地中。