C. Philip Wheater - Practical Field Ecology

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Offers a comprehensive, accessible introduction to experimental design, field monitoring skills for plants and animals, data analysis, interpretation and reporting This user-friendly book presents field monitoring skills for both plants and animals, within the context of a research project. This text provides a single resource to take the reader all the way through from the planning stage, into the field, guiding through sampling, organism identification, computer-based data analysis and interpretation, and finally how to present the results to maximise the impact of the work. Logically structured throughout, and revised extensively in the second edition, the book concentrates on the techniques required to design a field-based ecological survey and shows how to execute an appropriate sampling regime. It evaluates appropriate sampling and analytical methods, identifying potential problems associated with various techniques and how to mitigate these.
The second edition of this popular text has updated reference material and weblinks, increased the number of case studies by 50% to illustrate the use of specific techniques in the field, added over 20% more figures (including 8 colour plates), and made more extensive use of footnotes to provide extra details. Extensions to topics covered in the first edition include additional discussion of: ethical issues; statistical methods (sample size estimation, use of the statistical package R, mixed models); bioindicators, especially for freshwater pollution; seeds, fecundity and population dynamics including static and dynamic life tables; forestry techniques including tree coring and tree mortality calculations; the use of data repositories; writing for a journal and producing poster and oral presentations. In addition, the use of new and emerging technologies has been a particular focus, including mobile apps for environmental monitoring and identification; land cover and GIS; the use of drones including legal frameworks and codes of practice; molecular field techniques including DNA analysis in the field (including eDNA); photo-matching for identifying individuals; camera trapping; modern techniques for detecting and analysing bat echolocation calls; and data storage using the cloud. 
Divided into six distinct chapters,
begins at project inception with a chapter on planning—covering health and safety, along with guidance on how to ensure that the sampling and experimental design is suitable for subsequent statistical analysis. Following a chapter dealing with site characterisation and general aspects of species identification, subsequent chapters describe the techniques used to survey and census particular groups of organisms. The final chapters cover analysing, interpreting and presenting data, and writing up the research.
Offers a readable and approachable integrated guide devoted to field-based research projects Takes students from the planning stage, into the field, and clearly guides them through organism identification in the laboratory and computer-based data analysis, interpretation and data presentation Includes a chapter on how to write project reports and present findings in a variety of formats to differing audiences Aimed at undergraduates taking courses in Ecology, Biology, Geography, and Environmental Science,
will also benefit postgraduates seeking to support their projects.

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Table of Contents

1 Cover

2 List of Tables

3 List of Figures

4 List of Boxes

5 List of Case Studies

6 List of Plates

7 Preface to the Second Edition Preface to the Second Edition Ecology is a rapidly evolving subject, not least in the techniques available to the field ecologist. Since the publication of our first edition of this project guide, advances have been made in several areas, most notably those that take advantage of modern technological developments. Whilst field ecologists have always sought to invent new methods and improve existing ones for monitoring plants and animals, new mobile technologies increasingly enable the tools for identification and verification of organisms to be literally in a researcher's back pocket. Similar advances in mobile phone apps have facilitated environmental monitoring, which has the potential to reduce the amount of equipment the researcher has to carry and perhaps go some way to providing standardisation of monitoring tools. There has been continued refinement of previously laboratory‐based techniques that provide access to information more cheaply and immediately in the field where once we would have had to take samples back to sophisticated laboratories for analysis. Further developments in other technologies have opened up new and exciting opportunities to survey our environment (in the case of drone technology, the sky is literally the limit!). As these developments bed in, it is appropriate to review the tools available to field researchers. We have extended this second edition to cover a wider range of methods, with a special focus on more recent developments, emphasising the direction of travel of modern field ecology. Following positive feedback from many students and colleagues, we have increased the number of case studies, which demonstrate the realities of working in the field. Developments have also been made recently in the analysis of ecological data, and this is reflected in a broader coverage of some of the more accessible techniques and available software. Since communication of scientific results is highly relevant in today's confusing mix of fact and opinion, we have also expanded our coverage of presentation skills to include publishing in scientific journals and presentation at conferences. We have been privileged to have had expert advice and constructive criticism from a large number of experts who, in addition to the input to the first edition of this book, have reviewed the plans and implementation of the second edition, provided case studies and photographs, read and commented on individual sections, and generally encouraged us in our endeavours.

8 Preface to the First Edition

9 Acknowledgements

10 About the Companion Website

11 1 Preparation Choosing a topic for study Ecological research questions Creating aims, objectives, and hypotheses Reviewing the literature Practical considerations Statistical considerations in project design Choosing sampling methods Summary

12 2 Monitoring Site Characteristics Site selection Site characterisation

13 3 Sampling Plants and Other Static Organisms Sampling for static organisms Quadrat sampling Pin‐frames Transects Plotless sampling Distribution of static organisms Forestry techniques

14 4 Sampling Mobile Organisms General issues Invertebrates Capturing aquatic invertebrates Capturing soil‐living invertebrates Capturing ground‐active invertebrates Capturing invertebrates from plants Capturing airborne invertebrates Fish Amphibians Reptiles Birds Mammals

15 5 Analysing and Interpreting Information Keys to tests Exploring and describing data Testing hypotheses using basic statistical tests and simple general linear models More advanced general linear models for predictive analysis Generalized linear models Statistical methods to examine pattern and structure in communities: classification, indicator species, and ordination

16 6 Presenting Information Written reports Writing style Computer files Specific guidance for writing for a journal Specific guidance for preparing a poster Specific guidance for preparing an oral presentation Summary

17 Appendix 1Glossary of Statistical Terms

18 References

19 Index

20 End User License Agreement

List of Tables

1 Chapter 1 Table 1.1 Example timescales for a short research project. Table 1.2 Random numbers. Coordinates can be extracted simply by taking pairs... Table 1.3 Common statistical tests. Note that in each case, there are possibl...

2 Chapter 2 Table 2.1 Common factors influencing living organisms.Table 2.2 Types of bioindicators for monitoring environmental conditions.Table 2.3 Range of taxa used as bioindicators.Table 2.4 Major taxonomic groups.Table 2.5 Major divisions of the Raunkiær plant life‐form system.

3 Chapter 3Table 3.1 DAFOR, Braun–Blanquet, and Domin scales for vegetation cover.Table 3.2 Abundance (ESACFORN) scales for littoral species.Table 3.3 Recommended quadrat sizes for various organisms.

4 Chapter 4Table 4.1 Some considerations in the choice of radio‐tracking equipment.Table 4.2 Summary of killing and preservation techniques for commonly studied...Table 4.3 Factors to consider when using pitfall traps.Table 4.4 Examples of baits and target insect groups.Table 4.5 Factors to consider when choosing light traps to collect moths.Table 4.6 Summary of different types of net.Table 4.7 Example of timed species counts. Using 12 surveys, each of 1 hour (...Table 4.8 Comparison of bat detector systems.

5 Chapter 5Table 5.1 Abundance of invertebrates in ponds. Percentages in parentheses may...Table 5.2 Summary of commonly used methods of population estimation based on ...Table 5.3 Common diversity and evenness indices.Table 5.4 Commonly used similarity measures.Table 5.5 Statistics that should be reported for difference tests. These are ...Table 5.6 Statistics that should be reported for relationship tests. These ar...Table 5.7 Statistics that should be recorded for tests used to examine associ...Table 5.8 Using dummy variables. Example of how two dummy variables (large/no...Table 5.9 A spider indicator species analysis. The respective overall indicat...Table 5.10 Types of stress measure for computing MDS solutions.

6 Chapter 6Table 6.1 Mean number of individuals a)of invertebrate orders found in pollut...Table 6.2 Uses of different types of graphs.Table 6.3 Examples of words used unnecessarily when qualifying terms.Table 6.4 SI units of measurement. To standardise the units in which measurem...Table 6.5 Conventions for the use of abbreviations.Table 6.6 Examples of Latin and foreign words and their emphasis.

List of Illustrations

1 Chapter 1 Figure 1.1 Flowchart of the planning considerations for research projects. Figure 1.2 Example timescales for a medium‐term research project. Note... Figure 1.3 Example of a section of a data recording sheet for an investigati... Figure 1.4 Examples of sampling designs. (a) Random sampling; (b) systematic... Figure 1.5 Experimental layouts for five different treatments. (a) Clustered... Figure 1.6 Data set approximating to a normal distribution.

2 Chapter 2 Figure 2.1 Phase 1 habitat map. In the UK, Phase 1 habitat surveys involve ma... Figure 2.2 Portable weather station. Many automated weather stations will au... Figure 2.3 Maximum/minimum thermometer. As the temperature rises, the alcoho... Figure 2.4 Types of thermometers. Old style soil thermometers like the one s... Figure 2.5 Whirling hygrometer. This is also called a psychrometer and consi... Figure 2.6

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