Sampling Plants and Animals

• Qualitative is the qualities of the object while quantitative is using numbers and statistics.
• Qualitative Techniques

  Descriptive data that can be used to prepare species lists. Often paired statement keys are used.
• Density (Quantitative)

  The number of individuals of the same species present per unit area or unit volume.
• Relative Abundance (Quantitative)

  Percent composition of an organism relative to total number of species in the area.
• Simpson's Diversity Index

  A measure of diversity which takes into account the number of species present, plus the relative abundance of each species.
• Lincoln Index

  A method of estimating population sizes of individual animal species using capture-mark-recapture. This method assumes no animals migrate in our out of the sample area.
• Trent Biotic Index

  A measure which uses freshwater invertebrates to compare wate quality at different points in a stream or river.
• Quadrat

  Used to survey plants present in a square metre. Positioned randomly to remove bias and allow for reliable comparisms.
• Point Transect

  Point readings taken at either systematic or random locations along a tape extended across a site.
• Line Transect

  A tape laid along the ground in a straight line between 2 poles to measure distribution of organisms. Sampling rigorously confined to organisms actually touching the line.
• Belt Transect

  Used to estimate distribution of organisms in relation to a certain area. Records all species between 2 lines. Same as line transect but records abundance as well as presence, or absence of species.
• Standard Deviation

  Used to quantify variation or spread of a set of data values.