Unit 2 - Field Techniques for Biologists

Question 1

What are hazards in fieldwork?

Answer 1

• Uneven terrain
• Weather conditions
• People becoming isolated and injured
• Contact with harmful organsims

Question 2

How should sampling wild organisms be carried out?

Answer 2

In way that minimises impact on the species and habitat (leave them as you find them)

Question 3

Wat type of species should be especially considered?

Answer 3

Rare and vulnerable species and habitats that are covered by legisaltion

Question 4

What is a point count?

Answer 4

The observer records all individuals seen from a stationary location.

Question 5

What type of organisms is a point count used for?

Answer 5

Birds

Question 6

What are transects used for?

Answer 6

Determining changes in community across environment gradient

Question 7

What is an example of a transect experiment?

Answer 7

Extending a line down a hill and measuring moisture or PH level every meter and recording changes

Question 8

What is remote detection?

Answer 8

Counts and measurements done from the air using a satelitte

Question 9

What are remote detections used for usually?

Answer 9

Plant sampling

Question 10

What are quadrats used for?

Answer 10

Monitoring plant population and other slow moving organisms

Question 11

What are traps and nets used for?

Answer 11

Mobile species who are more difficult to sample

Question 12

What are camera traps or scats used for?

Answer 12

Sampling elusive species who are difficult to sample through normal observations (it provides indirect evidence)

Question 13

How can an organism be identified?

Answer 13

Classification guides, biological keys, or analysis of DNA

Question 14

What do classification guides focus on?

Answer 14

One class of organisms from one part of the world

Question 15

What is a biological key?

Answer 15

A series of questions which focus on the features and organism can be separated by

Question 16

What is DNA analysis useful for?

Answer 16

Separating organisms that only have subtle difference or organisms which only have some remaining evidence like fossils

Question 17

How can organisms be classified?

Answer 17

Taxonomy or phylogenetics

Question 18

What does taxonomy involve?

Answer 18

The identification and naming of organisms and classification into groups based on shared characteristics

Question 19

What is classic taxonomy based on?

Answer 19

Morphology

Question 20

What is phylogenetics?

Answer 20

The study of evolutionary history and relationships among individuals or groups of organisms

Question 21

What does phylogenetics use to make inferences about an organism

Answer 21

It uses heritable traits like morphology, DNA sequences and protein structure

Question 22

What is a phylogeny?

Answer 22

A diagrammatic hypothesis of its relationships to other organisms

Question 23

What can genetic evidence reveal?

Answer 23

Relatedness obscured by divergent or convergent evolution

Question 24

What are model organisms?

Answer 24

Organisms that are easily studied or have been well studied (entire genome sequenced)

Question 25

Examples of taxonomic groups

Answer 25

Nematodes, arthropods, chordates

Question 26

Examples of model organisms

Answer 26

E. Coli, Arabidopsis thaliana, C. elegans, Drosphila melanogaster

Question 27

What can presence, absence or abundance of indicator species give information about?

Answer 27

Environmental qualities such as presence of a pollutant

Question 28

What species can be used to monitor an ecosystem?

Answer 28

Susceptible and favoured

Question 29

What does absence or reduced population indicate?

Answer 29

That a species is susceptible to some factor in the environment

Question 30

What does abundance or increased population indicate?

Answer 30

Species is favoured by the conditions

Question 32

What is the formula for estimating population size?

Answer 32

N=(MC)/R, where M=captured, marked and released sample, C= Second captured sample, R= Recaptured from second sample

Question 33

What does the mark and recapture method assume?

Answer 33

All individuals have an equal chance of capture, no immigration or emigration, and that individuals that are marked and released mixed fully and randomly with total population.

Question 34

What are methods of marking?

Answer 34

Banding, tagging, surgical implantation, painting, hair clipping

Question 35

What are

Question 36

Measurements used to quantify animal behaviour

Answer 36

Latency, frequency, and duration

Question 37

What is latency?

Answer 37

The time between the stimulus occurring and the response behaviour

Question 38

What is frequency?

Answer 38

The number of times a behaviour occurs within observation period

Question 39

What is duration?

Answer 39

The length of time each behaviour occurs during the observation period

Question 40

What does an ethogram do?

Answer 40

Lists species-specific behaviours to be observed and recorded in the study

Question 41

What does recording the duration of each of the behaviours and the total time of observation allow to be calculated?

Answer 41

The proportion of time spent on each behaviour in the time budget

Question 42

What does an ethogram in a wild context allow?

Answer 42

Construction of time budgets

Question 43

What is anthropomorphism?

Answer 43

The attribution of human motivation, characteristics or behaviour to non-human animals

Question 44

What can anthropomorphism lead to?

Answer 44

Invalid conclusions