BFS Biology 2011-2012 Measuring Biodiversity - Jangsan Sports Complex Park Biodiversity is the total of the variety of organisms

in the biosphere (Miller & Levine, 2010, p.1126). The term can also be used to discuss ecosystems within the biosphere, ranging from hundreds of kilometers to a few centimeters. When measuring biodiversity the method is to count all the individual species in an area and count how many of each species there are. For example when surveying a patch of forest one has to count all the different species of trees, grasses, shrubs, insects, fungi, lichen, mammals, birds and bacteria and then count how many of each species are in the area....which is nearly impossible in nearly every case. Methods of surveying biodiversity rely on sampling techniques that scientists use to get an idea of the average overall biodiversity of an area. This lab will use a randomplot sampling technique to measure the biodiversity in the park. From the data collected, the Simpsons Index of Diversity (1-D) will be applied to get a single number for the biodiversity of the area. These Simpsons Indices can then be compared to determine if one area is more biodiverse then another. The Simpsons Index is a measure of the sum of the number of individuals of a species divided by the total number of individuals present. Think of it as a way to measure how likely you are to select the same species if you randomly sampled an individual from the habitat. Since the class is already familiar with the Simsons Index, the next step is to collect the data. Random Plot Sampling is dividing an area into random plots, usually 10x10m, and sampling that specific areas biodiversity. The teacher will create the plots and the student team will then need to sample the biodiversity in this area. The teams are then broken into smaller groups to get an accurate measure of the area. Bibliography
Miller, K. & Levine, J.S. (2010). Biology. Pearson Education Inc: Upper Saddle River, NJ

Jason Crewe 2011-2012 Busan Foreign School - jcrewe@gmail.com CC-BY-NC-SA

Field Lab Teams Team members: _______________________________________________________ Team Lead (1) - responsible for communicating with other groups, organizing the group. Ensures groups are all counting the samples as the same species. Ensures that maps and data collection and calculations are correct __________________ Map Sketcher(1) - makes an accurate sketch of the area surveyed. Notes the position in the field relative to other groups. : ___________________________ Data Recorder (1) - records the data, sketches samples : ___________________ Data Collector (2) - pics up samples, examines and identifies the samples:__________ Figure 1: Map of Jangsan Park, including the location of sample and relative locations of neighbouring samplers. Biodiversity values are written in the plots.

Jason Crewe 2011-2012 Busan Foreign School - jcrewe@gmail.com CC-BY-NC-SA

Table 1: Sampling Data of Plot ___ by _____________________________________ Species Number of individuals Sketch & Description

Jason Crewe 2011-2012 Busan Foreign School - jcrewe@gmail.com CC-BY-NC-SA

Figure 2: Map of Sample Plot #1 showing locations of species, abiotic factors and general features of terrain.

Jason Crewe 2011-2012 Busan Foreign School - jcrewe@gmail.com CC-BY-NC-SA

Table 1: Sampling Data of Plot ___ by _____________________________________ Species Number of individuals Sketch & Description

Jason Crewe 2011-2012 Busan Foreign School - jcrewe@gmail.com CC-BY-NC-SA

Jason Crewe 2011-2012 Busan Foreign School - jcrewe@gmail.com CC-BY-NC-SA

Calculations: Calculated Simpsons Index values for plots. Show all work below.

Overall map of Jangsan Sports Field Park Biodiversity A sketch of the park showing all group locations and the biodiversity measurements for each sampling location.

Jason Crewe 2011-2012 Busan Foreign School - jcrewe@gmail.com CC-BY-NC-SA

Final Biodiversity Map of the Jangsan Sportsfield Park. A colored A3 size map of the park showing the general features of the park, the biodiversity values of each park and the overall biodiversity. One submitted per group. Level 1 Summary Questions (completed individually) 1. The class used Random Plot sampling to collect data on the parks biodiversity. Are other ways to measure biodiversity more accurate? Why was this method chosen? Would you choose it if you were doing the sampling again? 2. Are some parts of the park more biodiverse than others? Describe. What were the differences seen in the areas that had the largest difference in biodiversity? 3. Do you think the overall number of biodiversity obtained from Simpsons Index calculations is a measure of the overall value of the park? What else do you think can count as part of value when talking about the environment? Activity (completed individually) Go to the website wordle.net and create a collection of words you think can be used to describe the park other than Simpsons Index. Be creative when you make your product. Think of biotic, abiotic, recreation, fun, relaxation, etc to make your wordle. First email a copy to your teacher and then print this creation and bring it to class. Level 3 When comparing values in an experiment how can it be known if one number is different from another? Is 0.44 the same as 0.45, or is it different? A way to find if the numbers are statistically similar or dissimilar is called Students T-Test. Using this method you can determine if the two biodiversity measurements are actually different, or just seem different due to random chance. Dividing the sampled areas by the pathway in the park the t-test can be used to find out if they are statistically the same, or different. Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlfLnx8sh-o and try to do the calculations. Are the two halves of the park statistically significantly different?

Jason Crewe 2011-2012 Busan Foreign School - jcrewe@gmail.com CC-BY-NC-SA