11.3

Question 1

What is a pooter?

Answer 1

pooter used to catch small insects, by sucking on a mouthpiece, insects are drawn into the holding chamber via the inlet tube. A filter before the mouthpiece prevents them from being sucked into the mouth

• some species may be missed if sample size is too small
• takes a long time to take sample

Question 2

What are sweep nets?

Answer 2

used to catch insects in areas of long grass
Swing net back and forth with the same motion
Specific instructions must be given to the person to ensure consistent recording
It’s useful since it can collect relatively dispersed species but disadvantageous since it cannot be used in long grass

Question 3

What are pitfall traps?

Answer 3

Pitfall traps are used to catch to small crawling invertebrates-like beetles, spiders and slugs. A hole deep enough (we can use a yogurt pot) so the insect cannot crawl out and also a roof like structure to prevent rainwater collecting. The traps are normally left overnight to allow nocturnal species are also sampled.
We can add bait to lure in the creatures and antifreeze as a form of preservation
However, it at result in predator and prey in the same hole and it is time consuming to separate organisms from debris

Question 4

What is tree beating?

Answer 4

Tree beating is used to take samples of invertebrates of invertebrates living in a tree or bush. A large cloth is stretched under the tree, and the tree is shaken to dislodge any invertebrates where they are then taken to be collected and studied

Question 5

What is kick sampling?

Answer 5

Kick sampling is used to study the organisms living in a river. The river is kicked for a period of time to disturb the riverbed, a net is held downstream for a set period of time to capture any organisms released into the flowing water.
Specific instructions must be given to person kicking and they must extend leg by the same amount

Question 6

What are the types of quadrats?

Answer 6

• point quadrat- consists of a frame containing a horizontal bar, at set intervals along the bar, long pins can be pushed through the bar to reach the ground. Each species that touches the pin is recorded
• frame quadrant- consists of a square frame divided into grid of equal sections. The type and number of species within each section of the quadrant is recorded. Then we can measure the density of species and the frequency

Question 7

Why are sensors good to measure abiotic factors?

Answer 7

• high degree of precision can be achieved
• Human intervention is reduced
• rapid changes can be detected
• data can be stored and tracked on a computer