Sept. 8, 2010

9/8/10


Justin A.

Ecology Population



• We went over the homework (UP pg. 37-41).

• Turned in lab 58.

• Video: How to count populations

- For species that don’t move, like plants, use the method of random sampling (quadrant).

1. First get an area of where the plant is - randomly.

2. Make a quadrant.

3. Count the number of plants in every quadrant.

4. Find the average.

- For species that move like animals, use these methods.

1. For water animals (example: sharks), use photo identification. Identify the skin pattern and then when the next shark’s picture is taken, see if it has a different pattern so you know it is not the same one.

2. For animals like deer, take a video with inferred rays to count them from a helicopter. See the pattern of their skin.

3. For animals at night, use a motion camera with night vision (example: tigers). See the tiger’s skin as it goes by. Then when a new one is seen, check if you’ve seen it before.

4. The most common way to find the population of land animals is mark and recapture. To do this, you need to find a couple of animals of the same species. Mark them in a certain way. Then when you see another one, you know if you have seen it before because it will have the mark.



• Next we did a lab (pg. 76 in workbook).

- Lab: Mark and Recapture.

1. Materials: toy animals, tape and a bucket.

2. Objective: To be able to estimate the total number of toys in the bag without counting every single one using the Mark and recapture method


• Homework: Work on UP pgs. 43-53, Finish Termite lab report, and work on Oil Spill

Next scribe: Katie B.