ESTIMATING POPULATION SIZES
COMPLETE EXAM WITH ACTUAL
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
A population is all the - organisms of one species in a habitat
Populations of different - species in a habitat make up a community
A pooter is a - small jar with two tubes, one for sucking the insect in and the other to put
into the mouth to suck with
A net is - a capture device used to capture butterflies and other airborne insects - form
of active collecting
A pitfall trap is a - small jar buried under the ground with leaves or grass on top. Small
insects, amphibians, and reptiles fall in and cannot escape - used for passive collecting
A quadrat is a - square frame enclosing a known area. You can study a small area
within a quadrat and scale up your findings to make estimates for larger areas
Using the capture-recapture method involves - marking a select amount, releasing
them, then selecting a new amount and counting how many of the new amount are
marked
The capture-recapture method uses the formula populations size = - number in first
sample x number in second sample / number in second sample that have marks
The small sample area method involves - finding the amount of organisms in 1m2 and
multiplying that amount by the total area
The bigger the sample the more - accurate the estimate is
When using the capture-recapture method you need to make 3 assumptions: - no
changes in population size due to death or migration, the method was done identically,
the marking hasn't hurt the organism or made it an easier target
Scientists have to remember their samples may be - unrepresentative of the population
as a whole
Population sizes are always changing as - animals are being born and animals are
dying, also there is movement of animals in and out of the ecosystem
