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SS LECTURE2 ENB 310 Sampling Method

The document discusses various methods for sampling static and mobile organisms in environmental research. It describes planning sampling, including choosing appropriate equipment and methods. For static organisms, common techniques discussed are quadrat sampling using square frames, transect sampling along gradients, and plotless sampling. Mobile organism sampling can involve direct observation, distance sampling recording animal distances, and capture techniques like traps. The key points are that sampling needs to be random, representative of the population, and involve an appropriate level of effort.

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Shadia Sultan
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43 views22 pages

SS LECTURE2 ENB 310 Sampling Method

The document discusses various methods for sampling static and mobile organisms in environmental research. It describes planning sampling, including choosing appropriate equipment and methods. For static organisms, common techniques discussed are quadrat sampling using square frames, transect sampling along gradients, and plotless sampling. Mobile organism sampling can involve direct observation, distance sampling recording animal distances, and capture techniques like traps. The key points are that sampling needs to be random, representative of the population, and involve an appropriate level of effort.

Uploaded by

Shadia Sultan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ENB310

Preparation and Presentation of


Environmental Data

SAMPLING METHODS
Learning
Outcomes
At the end of this lecture you should be able to…

 Differentiate between population and sample


 List and describe different types of sampling
methods
 List and describe methods of sampling static and
mobile organisms
Planning your sampling
 All research needs careful planning (whether in
the field or not)

 It is perhaps self evident that such planning


should involve the correct use of equipment and
choice of appropriate sampling methods and
collection sites
 In addition, a wide range of associated logistic,
legal, and health and safety implications are also
very important
Planning your sampling
 Although many of these issues are equally
important in field or laboratory-based
investigations, field research may be more limited
by time and other factors (access to sites, time of
year, weather conditions) than research based
entirely in the laboratory
Sample : An estimator of population
Good sample should
be:
RANDOM
REPRESENTATIVE
every unit in the
sample should reflect population from which
the composition of the
population of interest the sample is drawn has
an equal probability of
being chosen
Sample…
 Environmental systems are usually intrinsically
variable (i.e. physical, chemical and biological
factors differ spatially and temporally), the larger
the sample, then the more representative it will
be of the population

 However, the larger the sample, the more time


and effort it will take to collect it
Sample…
 Since environmental systems are usually intrinsically
variable (i.e. physical, chemical and biological
factors differ spatially and temporally), the larger
the sample, then the more representative it will be
of the population
 However, the larger the sample, the more time and
effort it will take to collect it
 Sampling effort is the number of sampling units
(quadrats, pitfall traps, animals handled, hours of
observations, sites surveyed, etc.)
Sampling design/methods
Sampling design/methods
Appropriate sampling equipment
 Appropriate clothing and footwear
 Backpack
 Compass & global positioning system (GPS)
 Watch
 Nets
 Traps
 Plastic tubes
 Plastic bags
 First Aid Box/kit
 Writing materials
 etc
Sampling static organisms
 Organisms that are firmly attached to rock surfaces,
to dead wood or trees, or within substrates,
including sand, mud or soil (e.g. algae, fungi,
lichens, mosses, ferns, vascular plants, and
encrusting animals such as barnacles) can be
monitored using methods suitable for static
organisms
Sampling static organisms
 Animals’ homes (e.g. crab burrows, badgers’ setts
and ants’ nests) and by-products (e.g. dung and leaf
litter) can also be sampled using such techniques
 Other techniques are %cover, or number and
diversity of species within static (or relatively static)
communities
 Common techniques include; quadrat, transects
and plotless (distance) samplings
Quadrat
Quadrat sampling is a widely used botanical field
technique that can be suitable for monitoring static
animal populations
The classic quadrat is square and is used to simply
define an area within which you can estimate
density, frequency, cover or biomass of the
organisms being studied
Quadrats

Figure 3.1 Quadrats From left to right – subdivided wire quadrat (with pin-frame ), fixed
square wire quadrat, folding wire quadrat (open and closed).
Transect
 Transects are generally used to sample changes
along an environmental gradient, which may
include geological, climatic or altitudinal
gradients. The length of a transect depends on the
gradient under investigation: rocky shore transects
may only stretch
 1–200 m but montane transects may exceed
several kilometers.
 Two basic types used: line and belt transects
Transect
Sampling mobile organisms
• Like to static organisms, mobile species can also be
distributed evenly in space (homogeneous), or be
randomly distributed or clumped (aggregated
/heterogeneous).
• Plotless sampling is a reasonably effective method of
exploring this
• Possible to utilize this technique to look at the
distribution temporally rather than spatially. Here
organisms are counted in blocks of time rather than
blocks of space (quadrats or other spatially blocks).
Distance sampling
• This involves a series of
observations at points (or along
transects) where not only the
animals but also the distance from
the point (or line) to the animal is
recorded

• It requires considerable knowledge


& skill to analyse the data correctly
Direct observation
 This is the most straightforward method of
monitoring animals and is widely used to estimate
the size of flocks, herds and shoals

• However, this frequently requires considerable skill


and experience, especially when animals are
moving away from you or in a random manner
Indirect methods
In the absence of appropriate methods of direct
observation, indirect signs can be used to identify
whether a particular animal is or has been present
e.g. excreta/droppings/dung, feather footprint etc
Capture techniques
• Lincoln index (Capture-Mark)
It is often necessary to catch animals in order to count,
measure and/or mark them to enable their movements
to be monitored, or for populations (P) and densities to
be estimated
P= n1n2/m2
n1= no. marked in first sample, n2= no. captured in second sample
M2=No. of marks from first sample captured in second sample
• Baited traps
Appropriate traps are set to collect animals samples
Thanks You

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