Sampling Habitat

Question 1

List the different types of bird bands & collars

Answer 1

• Butt-end bands
• Lock-on and rivet bands
• Dyes to mark feathers
• Web tags
• Ear tags (mammals)

Question 2

Scute Notches

Answer 2

Marks made by filling notches in marginal scutes of turtles (using a small file)

Question 3

List different types of marking methods

Answer 3

Permanent, temporary, date-specific, & individual-specific

• Toe clips
• Fin clips
• Tattoos
• Brands (heat or freeze)
• Fluorescent pigments
• Subcutaneous latex injections

Question 4

Study characteristics of permanent marking methods

Answer 4

Long-term studies

Question 5

Study characteristics of temporary marking methods

Answer 5

Behavioural-study that requires organization when sampling

Question 6

Study characteristics of date-specific marking methods

Answer 6

Good for both long-term and short-term studies because its easy to apply

Question 7

Study characteristics of individual-specific marking methods

Answer 7

Requires detailed information on movement, growth rate, etc

- Most difficult and requires a lot of time

Question 8

Pattern Mapping

Answer 8

Sketches/photographs mapping colour patterns among animals

• Color patterns of amphibians vary among individuals, analogous to fingerprints
• Patterns in the tails of humpback whales

Question 9

Fin Clipping

Answer 9

• Method of marking fish

- Clipping of adipose fin to indicate hatchery origin for salmonids

Question 10

Toe Clipping

Answer 10

• Method for marking amphibians

- Removal of no more than three toes, one from each foot (can cause necrosis)

Question 11

Freeze branding

Answer 11

Pressing a metal bar with a certain identifying design (cooled wit liquid nitrogen, compressed CO2 etc) against the dorsal body of a fish
- Similar to hot branding

Question 12

Subcutaneous latex injections

Answer 12

• Marking method best used for large frogs

- VIE tags injected internally; visible from the outside

Question 13

Telemetry

Answer 13

Tracking method that provides information on daily movements, seasonal movements, home range, etc.

Question 14

What components of water are measured during aquatic habitat sampling?

Answer 14

• Water temperature
• Dissolved oxygen levels
• Light penetration
• Current velocity
• Water chemistry (pH/acidity, alkalinity/basicity, hardness, conductivity, nitrates)

Question 15

How is water temperature measured during habitat sampling?

Answer 15

Kemmerer and Van Born water sampling devices; temperature probes

Question 16

Water chemistry measurements

Answer 16

• pH/acidity
• Alkalinity/basicity
• Hardness
• Conductivity
• Nitrates

Question 17

How are terrestrial habitats (non forest) sampled?

Answer 17

• Quadrat sampling of vegetation coverage
• Six coverage classes: 0-5%, 5-25%, 25-50%, 50-75%, 75-95%, 95-100%
• Line intercept method

Question 18

How are forest habitats sampled?

Answer 18

• Looking at canopy coverage or closure (the percentage of the forest floor with tree cover directly overhead)
• DBH: diameter at breast height

Question 19

Microclimates

Answer 19

Climates on a very local scale that differ from those around them
- Can affect reproductive success

Question 20

Herbage

Answer 20

Grasses

Question 21

Browse

Answer 21

Leaves, stems, shoots of shrubs and trees

Question 22

Mast

Answer 22

Other plant material used for food such as flowers and fruits