Practical Field Ecology A Project Guide

This book introduces experimental design and data analysis /interpretation as well as field monitoring skills for both plantsand animals. Clearly structured throughout and written in astudent-friendly manner, the main emphasis of the book concentrateson the techniques required to design a field based ecologicalsurvey and shows how to execute an appropriate sampling regime. Thebook evaluates appropriate methods, including the problemsassociated with various techniques and their inherent flaws (e.g.low sample sizes, large amount of field or laboratory work, highcost etc). This provides a resource base outlining details from theplanning stage, into the field, guiding through sampling andfinally through organism identification in the laboratory andcomputer based data analysis and interpretation.

The text is divided into six distinct chapters. The firstchapter covers planning, including health and safety together withinformation on a variety of statistical techniques for examiningand analysing data. Following a chapter dealing with sitecharacterisation and general aspects of species identification,subsequent chapters describe the techniques used to survey andcensus particular groups of organisms. The final chapter coversinterpreting and presenting data and writing up the research. Theemphasis here is on appropriate wording of interpretation andstructure and content of the report.