Investigating distribution & abundance

• What is the abundance of an organism?

  Population size in an area
• What does the distribution of an organism refer to?

  Where an organism is found in a habitat
• Why is it often impractical to count all organisms in a habitat?

  It would take too long
• What are the steps to investigate abundance?

  • Count individuals in several sample areas
  • Estimate population size for the total area
• What are the steps to investigate distribution?

  • Count individuals in one sample area
  • Repeat in a second sample area
  • Compare findings
• What is a pooter used for?

  Collecting ground insects
• How does a pooter work?

  Suck on the short tube to collect insects
• What should you do in each sample area when using a pooter?

  Suck up as many insects as possible
• What is a pitfall trap used for?

  Investigating ground insects
• How does a pitfall trap function?

  Insects fall in and can't escape
• What should you do after setting up a pitfall trap?

  Count insects the next day
• What health and safety measure is advised for pitfall traps?

  Place tiny cones around traps
• What should you do to ensure accurate results in investigations?

  • Repeat measurements several times
  • Take the average result
• What is the purpose of sweep nets?

  Collecting small animals from long grass
• What are pond nets used for?

  Collecting small animals from ponds and rivers
• What is a quadrat used for?

  Studying the distribution of small organisms
• What are the methods to investigate organisms in their habitat?

  • Pooters for ground insects
  • Pitfall traps for ground insects
  • Sweep nets for long grass
  • Pond nets for ponds and rivers
  • Quadrats for small organisms