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Title
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Estimating Populations
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Type
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Primary: Laboratory
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Operation
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Resilient Planet
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Mission:
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Mission 2: Survivors
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Print Page
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35
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Subjects
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Science | Life science | BioDiversity | Ecosystems | Populations | Science as inquiry | Science process skills | Analyzing data | Classifying | Collecting data | Measuring | Observing | Using mathematics | Using scientific equipment
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Grades
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5 | 6 | 7 | 8
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Keywords
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Bob Ballard, NOAA, coral, anemone, shark, reef, population, estimating, biodiversity, conclusion, health, ecosystem, transect, species, area, plant, slow, moving, animal, sessile, organism, sample, individual, Presence, Absence, Proportional, similarity, formula
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Duration
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00:50:00 (HH:MM:SS)
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Audience
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Teachers | Elementary Grades | Junior High
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Created On
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4/20/2008
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From: Resilient Planet Mission 2: Survivors (pp: 35) |
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Estimating Populations This lab enables students to use a quadrat tool to perform a transect, which allows researchers to count species in a small area of an ecosystem, to represent the whole ecosystem. |
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Scientists, like Bob Ballard or the ecologists at NOAA, do not have the time or funding to count every plant or animal in ecosystems. Imagine counting every coral, anemone, or shark on a reef! Instead, scientists estimate population and biodiversity. This allows them to draw conclusions about the health of the ecosystem they research.
In this lab, you will use a transect and quadrat tool to estimate populations. Transects help remove sample bias. They provide a guide that enables the researcher to count species in a small area of the ecosystem, which, in turn, can be used to represent the whole ecosystem. This type of transect is best for plants, slow-moving animals, and sessile organisms.
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| Materials |
- Lab 2 Data Sheet
- 51 m of rope or string marked at 1-meter intervals
- 1-m square quadrat tool (p. 114)
- illustrated species identification guide
- map
- stake or stick
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| Lab Prep |
- Build a quadrat square 1 m on each side.
- What is the area of your sample square?
- How might this be used to determine a population?
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| Make Observations |
- Before going into the field, select one random point on a map of the ecosystem to be observed.
- Go to your starting location and put a stake on your point. This becomes the starting point of your transect. Tie the string to the stake and stretch it out for a 50-meter line.
- Form three or more teams and spread out evenly along the transect line.
- Drop the quadrat tools on the transect line. This will provide random sample sites along the transect.
- To conduct your sample, first identify as many species of plants and animals you observe in your quadrat plot and record your findings.
- Now, count the number of individuals you find in your plot. Record your data for each species.
- Determine the Biodiversity Index of your sample. To determine the B.I. use the formula:
| B.I. = |
(number of species counted)
(number of individuals counted) |
- What do your data tell you about your ecosystem?
- Use your map to determine or estimate the total area of your ecosystem. Record it. Use the total area and your population numbers to calculate an estimated population for each species you found.
- What are the limitations of this sampling technique? Would this work for all ecosystems? How might you sample ecosystems for which this technique may not work?
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| Extension |
Compare your sample areas with the Presence Absence and Proportional Similarity formulas found in the JMC. How similar are your three samples? What does this tell you about your ecosystem?
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Journal Question
Why is it important to know the populations of species found in an ecosystem? What can be inferred from data scientists collect on populations? | |
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