AS Ecological Monitoring

Question 1

Earthworm extraction methods

Answer 1

Soil flooding (with an irritant), soil pit extraction

Question 2

Beating tray

Answer 2

A method of sampling invertebrates on the branches of bushes and small trees.

Question 3

Belt transect

Answer 3

systematic sampling method that samples at intervals along strip that is marked across a habitat

Question 4

Colonisation media

Answer 4

A method of demonstrating the presence of species by providing places that they can colonise which can then be checked.

Question 5

DAFOR scale

Answer 5

A qualitative scale that judges the abundance of organisms. Initials stand for: Dominant, Abundant, Frequent, Occasional, Rare.

Question 6

eDNA

Answer 6

eDNA is DNA detected in environmental samples such as water or soil that is used to confirm the presence of the species that produced it.

Question 7

Kick sampling

Answer 7

A method of sampling aquatic invertebrates by disturbing the substrate.

Question 8

Light traps

Answer 8

A method of sampling populations of night-flying organisms that are attracted to lights, especially moths.

Question 9

Lincoln index

Answer 9

A catch, mark, release, recapture method of estimating animal populations.

Question 10

Pitfall trap

Answer 10

A method of sampling populations of mobile animals that live on the soil surface, by collecting individuals that fall into traps set into the ground.

Question 11

Quadrat

Answer 11

An area, usually square or circular, in which samples are taken. The size of the quadrats depends upon the organisms being studied.

Question 12

Random sampling

Answer 12

a subset chosen from a larger set randomly, where all had an equal chance of being selected

Question 13

Remote sensing

Answer 13

Any method of monitoring the features of a location from another location, normally used to describe surveys from satellites or high-flying aircraft.

Question 14

Salinity

Answer 14

A measure of the salt concentration of a solution.

Question 15

Satellite imagery

Answer 15

The collection of images using satellites: visible light, infra-red, microwaves etc.

Question 16

Simpson’s index of biodiversity

Answer 16

A quantitative measure of the number of species and the abundance of each in an area.

Question 17

Sonograms

Answer 17

A graph showing the volumes of sounds at different frequencies.

Question 18

Standard deviation

Answer 18

A measure of the amount of variation relative to the mean

Question 19

Standardised method

Answer 19

a method that allows comparison of results collected at different times, locations and by different researchers. All other variables should be controlled.

Question 20

Surber sampler

Answer 20

A method of sampling aquatic invertebrates by disturbing the substrate that produces more reliable quantitative data than kick sampling.

Question 21

Sweep nets

Answer 21

A method of sampling populations of flying insects and invertebrates among vegetation.

Question 22

Systematic sampling

Answer 22

sampling a regular interval or spacing

Question 23

Transect

Answer 23

A line or belt of sampling sites across an area.

Question 24

Tüllgren funnel

Answer 24

A piece of equipment used to extract invertebrates from soil or leaf litter.

Question 25

Turbidity

Answer 25

A measure of the level of suspended solids in water which affects the ability of light to penetrate the water.

Question 26

Modern methods of monitoring organisms

Answer 26

motion sensitive cameras, CCTV, Image databases, DNA databases, Sonograms, GPS tracking, Satellites, Drones.

Question 27

Indirect evidence of the presence of organisms

Answer 27

Nest, burrows, droppings, owl pellets, tracks, footprints, territorial markings