Bluebell Fieldwork Flashcards
(15 cards)
What was the main aim of the biodiversity study?
To determine if human activity affected biodiversity in a small-scale ecosystem.
What was the key hypothesis about pollution?
Areas near the A406/North Circular would have higher pollution levels.
What theory underpinned this study?
Pollution from human activities drives biodiversity and ecosystem changes.
What were the two main study locations?
Bluebell Wood (protected) and Friern Bridge Retail Park (high human activity).
What method measured species abundance?
Grid quadrat sampling (100 squares) at 4 random locations per site.
What was the key finding about biodiversity?
Protected Bluebell Wood had higher biodiversity (4.2/5) than the retail park.
How did human activity impact results?
Retail park showed lowest biodiversity due to pollution and foot traffic.
What limited the study’s reliability?
Only 2 sites studied, November weather affected ground cover visibility.
How could the study be improved?
More sites, seasonal comparisons, and traffic pollution data from A406.
Why were these locations chosen?
Contrast between protected woodland and urban area showed human impacts clearly.
How was data presented?
Stacked bar charts showing species distribution across quadrats.
What were strengths of the bar charts?
Visual comparison of multiple species types in one graph.
What were weaknesses of the bar charts?
Became hard to read with many variables; potential for errors.
What unexpected factor affected results?
Persistent rainy weather before fieldwork altered ground cover conditions.
What conclusion was reached?
Hypothesis accepted - human activity reduces biodiversity (retail park vs. woodland).
