Investigating abundance and distribution

Question 1

abundance

Answer 1

the relative representation of a species in a particular ecosystem

Question 2

distribution

Answer 2

where a species of organism is found in the environment and how it is organised

Question 3

quadrat

Answer 3

a sample area used in practical ecology, often measured using a square frame divided into sections that you lay on the ground

Question 4

individual counts

Answer 4

a measure of the number of individual organisms in an area

Question 5

percentage cover

Answer 5

the area covered by the above-ground parts of a particular species

Question 6

ACFOR scale

Answer 6

a simple scale used to describe the abundance of a species in a given area

Question 7

line transect

Answer 7

a way of collecting data more systematically; a tape is stretched between two points and every individual plant (or animal) that touches the tape is recorded

Question 8

belt transect

Answer 8

when two tapes are stretched out and the ground between them surveyed or a tape stretched out and quadrats are taken at regular intervals