User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
Working with insects without capturing them is a very hard thing to do. You not only have to count the individuals that appear to look the same but also need to be specific in characteristics that you write down as it makes it easier to identify actual species later on.
As I started the data collection, I realized that trying to count the insects just at the moment of visit is not enough. And the approach was switched to five continuous visits from site A to site B and then back. Mean values representing the day value appeared to give more consistent and believable results. When I started writing the report, I read many papers which tested exact hypothesis but used more precise techniques to obtain data. The effort it takes experts to obtain viable data set is enormous, most of studies evaluate up to 3000 individuals that are captured. The effects related to one cause have so many variables that it is almost impossible to conclude on something. This course has definitely increased my appreciation for a subject matter. Most of my university work was performed in the lab, but working in the field appears to me much harder because you basically have no control over the environment that effects the subject of your interest.
I hope this blog was somewhat interesting to read, and could warn someone who decides to perform similar study on the difficulties that he/she might face.
Yes when one starts to look at how many samples may be required….it can be mind-boggling. A well-designed study will attempt to sample within the constraints of available resources as well as get reliable numbers – tricky to do!