Monitoring of a Habitat                    Name __________________________

 

            During this activity, you and your group will be collecting data on a particular habitat.  This activity is done by scientists' everyday, in order to determine the population, health and diversity of habitats.  When studying the population, scientists are simply looking for a count of the species in a habitat.  When studying the health, scientists would monitor the change in numbers over time and see what is causing a change in those numbers.  When studying diversity, scientists are looking at the wide range of species that live in this habitat.

            You will be monitoring a particular habitat using a "quadrat system".  Simply put, you will be using a grid to divide up the habitat and then count the number of organisms in that grid.  This system works extremely well if you have a habitat of slow or non-moving organisms.  Obviously, this system would not work well trying to count fish, which are constantly moving.

 

Scientific Method

 

  1. Observation:  The ocean contains a wide variety of organisms.

 

 

  1. State your problem:

 

 

  1. Gathering information:  One way we can monitor a population is to use a quadrat system.

 

  1. Hypothesis:

 

 

  1. Experimental Procedures:
    1. Divide the class into groups of 6.
    2. Each member should have his or her own quadrat-measuring device.
    3. Each section of the quadrat should be monitored.
    4. One at a time, each member should

                                                               i.      Go to the habitat.

                                                             ii.      Place their measuring device on a section of the quadrat.

                                                            iii.      Count the different organisms within their device.

    1. Record your data on the chart.
    2. Repeat as often as time allows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Recording of Data:

 

Trial

Quadrat Measured

Sea Urchins

Wavy Turban Snails

Kellet's Whelk

Knobby Sea Star

Keyhole Limpet

GorgonianSea Fan

Abalone

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Avg.

x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Analyzing of data:

 

 

 

  1. State your conclusion:

 

 

  1. Error Analysis:

 

 

 

 

Questions:

 

  1. Which species was the greatest in number?

 

  1. Which species was the least in number?

 

  1. Is using the quadrat technique an accurate way to monitor a habitat?  Please explain you view.

 

 

 

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