1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e: Field Techniques

Question 1

Aspects of fieldwork which could be a hazard:

Answer 1

• adverse weather conditions
• difficult terrain
• problems associated with isolation
• contact with harmful organisms

Question 2

Sampling should be carried out in a manner which…

Answer 2

Minimises impact on wild species and habitats

Question 3

When sampling wild organisms, considerations should be given to…

Answer 3

• rare/vulnerable species
• habitats which are protected by legislation

Question 4

What is the point count technique

Answer 4

• a point count involves the observer recording all individual seen from a fixed point count location
• this can be compared to other point count locations or with data from the same location gathered at other times.

Question 5

What sampling method is used for plants and other sessile or slow-moving organisms

Answer 5

Quadrants of a suitable size and shape, or transects.

Question 6

How to sample mobile species

Answer 6

Using capture techniques such as traps and nets

Question 7

How can elusive species be sampled

Answer 7

• Directly using camera traps
• indirectly using scat sampling

Question 8

What is random sampling

Answer 8

• Individuals selected from the larger population must be chosen completely by chance
• Minimises the effect of bias which may affect a non-random sample

Question 9

What is stratified sampling

Answer 9

• population being sampled is split into sub populations
• individuals are then randomly selected from each sub-population

Question 10

What is systematic sampling

Answer 10

• taken at regular intervals (eg in transect)
• more likely to reveal nest sites (eg than a random search)

Question 11

Identification of an organism in a sample can be made using:

Answer 11

• classification guides
• biological keys
• analysis of DNA or protein

Question 12

What is taxonomy?

Answer 12

• the identification and naming of organisms
• their classification of into groups based on shared characteristics

(Classic taxonomy classification is based on morphology)

Question 13

Phylogenetics definition

Answer 13

The study of the evolutionary history and relationships among individuals or groups of organisms.

Question 14

Phylogenetics uses heritable traits such as __________, _____________ and _____________ to make inferences about an organisms evolutionary history and create a phylogenetic tree

Answer 14

Morphology, DNA sequences and protein structure

Question 15

Advantage of genetic evidence in seeing relatedness

Answer 15

Genetic evidence can reveal relatedness obscured by divergent or convergence evolution

Question 16

What is divergent evolution

Answer 16

Accumulation of differences between closely related populations leading to speciation.

Question 17

What is convergent evolution

Answer 17

Independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods in time

(Creates analogue structures)

Question 18

What does familiarity with taxonomic groupings allow?

Answer 18

Predictions and inferences to be made about the biology of an organism from better known (model) organisms.

Question 19

Examples of taxonomic groups

Answer 19

Nematodes, arthropods and chordates

Question 20

What are model organisms

Answer 20

Those that are either easily studied or have been well studied

Question 21

Examples of model organisms

Answer 21

• bacterium e. Coli
• flowering plant arabidopsis thaliana
• nematode C. elegans
• arthropod drosophila melanogaster
• mice, rats and zebrafish

Question 22

Why are model organisms useful

Answer 22

Information obtained from them can be applied to other species that are more difficult to study directly

Question 23

Presence, absence or abundance of indicator species can give…

Answer 23

Information of environmental qualities, such as the presence of a pollutant

Question 24

How can an absence or reduced population be used to monitor an ecosystem?

Answer 24

• absence or reduced population indicates a species is susceptible to some factor in the environment
• abundance or increased population indicates it is favoured by the conditions

Question 25

Assumptions made in the Mark and Recapture technique for estimating population size

Answer 25

• all individuals have an equal chance of recapture
• there is no immigration or emigration
• individuals that are remarked and released can mix full and randomly with the total population

(Sampling methods used each time are identical)

Question 26

Examples of marking animals

Answer 26

• banding
• tagging
• surgical implantation
• painting
• hair clipping

Question 27

The method of marking and subsequent observation must…

Answer 27

Minimise the impact on the study species

Question 28

Measurements used to quantify animal behaviour

Answer 28

• latency (time between the stimulus occurring and the response behaviour)
• frequency (number of times a behaviour occurs within the observation period)
• duration ( length of time each behaviour occurs during the observation period)

Question 29

What does an ethogram do

Answer 29

An ethogram of the behaviours shown by a species in a wild context allows the construction of time budgets

An ethogram lists species-specific behaviours to be observed and recorded in the study

Question 30

Why are ethograms useful

Answer 30

Recording the duration of each of the behaviours in the ethogram (together with the total time of observation) allows the proportion of time spent on each behaviour to be calculated in the time budget

Question 31

Importance of avoiding anthropomorphism

Answer 31

anthropomorphism can lead to invalid conclusions

Question 32

What is anthropomorphism

Answer 32

The attribution of human traits, emotions or intentions to non human entities

Eg dolphins ‘smiling’