Sampling Animal Biodiversity Flashcards
What is sweep netting?
A long,wide net is used to catch flying insects in a grassland environment
What is one advantage of sweep netting?
Quick and easy
Large area can be covered
What are disadvantages of sweep netting?
Insects can fly away making it harder to count.
What is the function of a pooter?
A small glass jar used for collecting insects. Two tubes; one is placed over the insect and the second is used to create suction.
What is one advantage and one disadvantage if using a pooter?
Advantage: species collected in the jar cannot escape.
Disadvantage: if predators are sucked in it may affect other organisms.
How is tree beating for sampling animal biodiversity?
A white sheet is placed on the floor beneath a tree. The tree is hit with a stick. Vibration cause animals to fall on the sheet which are counted.
What are advantages of tree beating?
Inexpensive
Easy to count the insects on the white sheet
What are disadvantages to tree beating?
Not all insects may fall out the tree
Insects may fly away before being recorded
What is the function of a pitfall trap?
Used to trap small moving animals. A can is sunk into the ground. A roof is made to prevent rain entering.
What are advantages and disadvantages for using a pitfall trap?
Advantage: cheap and effective
Disadvantage: quite selective. Fails to represent the ecosystem as a whole.
How is a tullgren funnel used?
Used to collect small animals from leaf litter. The leaf litter is in a funnel. A Light above the litter warms up. They fall through a mesh screen and are collected.
What is an advantage of using a tullgren funnel?
The organisms are trapped so cannot escape.
How is a light trap used?
Used to collect flying insects at night. It contains a UV light that attract the insects. Under the light is a container with alcohol which the insects fall into.
What are advantages for using light traps?
Easy and simple to use
Helps to sample night time animals which would otherwise be hard to identify
What is the purpose of the mark and recapture method?
To capture a sample of animals and estimate the total population.
This method involves capturing animals, marking them, and then releasing them to analyze population dynamics.
What does C1 represent in the mark and recapture formula?
C1 = number of marked animals initially captured.
This is the first capture in the lark and recapture method.
What does C2 represent in the mark and recapture formula?
C2 = total number of animals captured in the second sample.
This is the second capture in the lark and recapture method.
What does C3 represent in the lark and recapture formula?
C3 = number of marked animals recaptured in the second sample.
This indicates how many of the initially marked animals were captured again.
What is the formula to estimate the total population using the mark and recapture method?
Total population = (C1 x C2) / C3
This formula helps estimate the overall population based on the captures.
True or False: In the mark and recapture method, animals are harmed during the process.
False.
Animals are not harmed; they are only trapped temporarily.
What is a disadvantage of the mark and recapture method?
Requires skill and a suitable permit.
Additionally, some animals may be scared to enter traps.
Fill in the blank: The mark and recapture method captures a sample of _______.
[animals].
This method helps in estimating population sizes in ecology.
