Ecological Methods

Description

4th edition of this classic Ecology text Computational methods have largely been replaced by descriptions of the available software Includes procedure information for R software and other freely available software systems Now includes web references for equipment, software and detailed methodologies Ecological Methods Contents Prefaces Preface to fourth edition Preface to third edition Preface to second edition Preface to first edition About the Companion Website 1 Introduction to the Study of Animal Populations 1.1 Population estimates 1.1.1 Absolute and related estimates 1.1.2 Relative estimates 1.1.3 Population indices 1.2 Errors and confidence References 2 The Sampling Programme and the Measurement and Description of Dispersion 2.1 Preliminary sampling 2.1.1 Planning and fieldwork 2.1.2 Statistical aspects 2.2 The sampling programme 2.2.1 The number of samples per habitat unit (e.g. plant, host or puddle) 2.2.2 The sampling unit, its selection, size and shape 2.2.3 The number of samples 2.2.4 The pattern of sampling 2.2.5 The timing of sampling 2.3 Dispersion 2.3.1 Mathematical distributions that serve as models 2.3.2 Biological interpretation of dispersion parameters 2.3.3 Nearest-neighbour and related techniques: measures of population size or of the departure from randomness of the distribution 2.4 Sequential sampling 2.4.1 Sampling numbers 2.5 Presence or absence sampling 2.6 Sampling a fauna 2.7 Biological and other qualitative aspects of sampling 2.8 Jack knife and Bootstrap techniques References 3 Absolute Population Estimates Using Capture–Recapture Experiments 3.1 Capture–recapture methods 3.1.1 Assumptions common to most methods 3.1.2 Estimating closed populations 3.1.3 Estimations for open populations 3.2 Methods of marking animals 3.2.1 Handling techniques 3.2.2 Release 3.2.3 Surface marks using paints and solutions of dyes 3.2.4 Dyes and fluorescent substances in powder form 3.2.5 Pollen 3.2.6 Marking formed by feeding on or absorption of dyes 3.2.7 Marking by injection, panjet or tattooing 3.2.8 External tags 3.2.9 Branding 3.2.10 Mutilation 3.2.11 Natural marks, parasites and genes 3.2.12 Rare elements 3.2.13 Protein marking 3.2.14 Radioactive isotopes 3.2.15 Radio and sonic tags References 4 Absolute Population Estimates by Sampling a Unit of Habitat – Air, Plants, Plant Products and Vertebrate Hosts 4.1 Sampling from the air 4.2 Sampling apparatus 4.2.1 Exposed cone (Johnson–Taylor) suction trap 4.2.2 Enclosed cone types of suction trap including the Rothamsted 12m trap 4.2.3 Rotary and other traps 4.3 Comparison and efficiencies of the different types of suction traps 4.3.1 Conversion of catch to aerial density 4.3.2 Conversion of density to total aerial population 4.4 Sampling from plants 4.4.1 Assessing the plant 4.4.2 Determining the numbers of invertebrates 4.4.3 The extraction of animals from herbage and debris 4.4.4 Methods for animals in plant tissues 4.4.5 Special sampling problems with animals in plant material 4.5 Sampling from vertebrate hosts 4.5.1 Sampling from living hosts 4.5.2 Sampling from dead hosts 4.5.3 Sampling from vertebrate ‘homes’ References 5 Absolute Population Estimates by Sampling a Unit of Aquatic Habitat 5.1 Open water 5.1.1 Nets 5.1.2 Pumps 5.1.3 Water-sampling bottles 5.1.4 The Patalas–Schindler volume sampler 5.1.5 Particular methods for insects 5.2 Vegetation 5.2.1 Floating vegetation 5.2.2 Emergent vegetation 5.2.3 Submerged vegetation 5.3 Bottom fauna 5.3.1 Hand net sampling of forest litter 5.3.2 Sampling from under stones 5.3.3 The planting of removable portions of the substrate 5.3.4 Cylinders and boxes for delimiting an area 5.3.5 Trawls, bottom sledges and dredges 5.3.6 Grabs 5.3.7 Dendy inverting sampler 5.3.8 Box samplers and corers 5.3.9 Air-lift and suction devices 5.4 Poisons and anaesthetics used for sampling fish in rock pools and small ponds References 6 Absolute Population Estimates by Sampling a Unit of Soil or Litter Habitat: Extraction Techniques 6.1 Sampling 6.2 Bulk staining 6.3 Mechanical methods of extraction 6.3.1 Dry sieving 6.3.2 Wet sieving 6.3.3 Soil washing and flotation 6.3.4 Flotation separation of plankton, meiofauna and other small animals 6.3.5 Separation of plant and insects by differential wetting 6.3.6 Centrifugation 6.3.7 Sedimentation 6.3.8 Elutriation 6.3.9 Sectioning 6.3.10 Aeration 6.4 Behavioural or dynamic methods 6.4.1 Dry extractors 6.4.2 Wet extractors 6.5 Summary of the applicability of the methods References 7 Relative Methods of Population Measurement and the Derivation of Absolute Estimates 7.1 Factors affecting the size of relative estimates 7.1.1 The ‘phase’ of the animal 7.1.2 The activity of the animal 7.1.3 Differences in the response between species, sexes and individuals 7.1.4 The efficiency of the trap or searching method 7.2 The uses of relative methods 7.2.1 Measures of the availability 7.2.2 Indices of absolute population 7.2.3 Estimates of absolute population 7.2.4 Removal trapping or collecting 7.2.5 Collecting 7.3 Relative methods: catch per unit effort 7.3.1 Observation by radar 7.3.2 Hydroacoustic methods 7.3.3 Fish counters 7.3.4 Electric fishing 7.3.5 Aural detection 7.3.6 Exposure by plough 7.3.7 Collecting with a net or similar device 7.3.8 Visual searching and pooting 7.4 Relative methods: trapping 7.4.1 Interception traps 7.4.2 Flight traps combining interception and attraction 7.4.3 Light and other visual traps 7.5 Traps that attract animals by some natural stimulus or a substitute 7.5.1 Shelter traps 7.5.2 Trap host plants 7.5.3 Baited traps 7.5.4 The use of vertebrate hosts or substitutes as bait for insects 7.6 Using Sound References 8 Estimates of Species Richness and Population Size Based on Signs, Products and Effects 8.1 Arthropod products 8.1.1 Exuviae 8.1.2 Frass 8.2 Vertebrate products and effects 8.3 Effects due to an individual insect 8.4 General effects: plant damage 8.4.1 Criteria 8.5 Determining the relationship between damage and insect populations References 9 Wildlife Population Estimates by Census and Distance Measuring Techniques 9.1 Census methods 9.2 Point and line survey methods 9.2.1 Indices of abundance using transects 9.2.2 Methods based on flushing 9.2.3 Line transect methods: the Fourier series estimator 9.2.4 Point transects 9.3 Distance sampling software in R 9.4 Spatial distribution and plotless density estimators 9.4.1 Closest individual or distance method 9.4.2 Nearest-neighbour methods References 10 Observational and Experimental Methods for the Estimation of Natality, Mortality and Dispersal 10.1 Natality 10.1.1 Fertility 10.1.2 Numbers entering a stage 10.1.3 The birth-rate from mark and recapture data 10.2 Mortality 10.2.1 Total 10.2.2 The death-rate from mark and recapture data 10.2.3 Climatic factors 10.2.4 Biotic factors 10.2.5 Experimental assessment of natural enemies 10.3 Dispersal 10.3.1 Detecting and quantifying jump dispersal 10.3.2 Quantifying neighbourhood dispersal 10.4 The measurement and description of home range and territory 10.4.1 The minimum convex polygon area method for estimating home range 10.4.2 The kernel estimation method for home range 10.5 The rate of colonisation of a new habitat and artificial substrates 10.6 The direction of migration References 11 The Construction, Description and Analysis of Age-specific Life-tables 11.1 Types of life-table and the budget 11.2 The construction of a budget 11.3 Analysis of stage-frequency data 11.3.1 Southwoods graphical method 11.3.2 Richards & Waloffs first method 11.3.3 Manlys method 11.3.4 Ruesinks method 11.3.5 Dempsters method 11.3.6 Richards & Waloffs Second Method 11.3.7 Kiritani, Nakasuji & Manlys method 11.3.8 Kemptons method 11.3.9 The Bellows and Birley Method 11.4 The description of budgets and life-tables 11.4.1 Survivorship curves 11.4.2 Stock–recruitment (Moran–Ricker) curves 11.4.3 The life-table and life expectancy 11.4.4 Life and fertility tables and the net reproductive rate 11.4.5 Population growth rates 11.4.6 The calculation of r 11.5 The analysis of life-table data 11.5.1 The comparison of mortality factors within a generation (Table 11.3) 11.5.2 Survival and life budget analysis 11.5.3 Sibley's 𝝀 contribution analysis References 12 Age-grouping, Time-specific Life-tables and Predictive Population Models 12.1 Age-grouping 12.2 Aging young by developmental stage 12.3 Aging by using structures 12.3.1 Annelids 12.3.2 Crustaceans 12.3.3 Insects 12.3.4 Molluscs 12.3.5 Fish 12.3.6 Lampreys 12.3.7 Reptiles and amphibians 12.3.8 Birds 12.3.9 Mammals 12.4 Time-specific life-tables and survival rates 12.4.1 Physiological time 12.4.2 Life-table parameters 12.4.3 Recruitment in the field 12.4.4 Empirical models 12.4.5 Intrinsic rate models and variable life-tables 12.4.6 Lewis–Leslie matrices and R packages References 13 Species Richness, Diversity and Packing 13.1 Diversity 13.1.1 Description of 𝜶- and 𝜸-diversity 13.1.2 Species richness 13.1.3 Models for the S:N relationship 13.1.4 Non-parametric indices of diversity 13.1.5 Which model or index? 13.1.6 Comparing communities–diversity ordering 13.1.7 Procedure to determine a-diversity 13.1.8 Determining b-diversity 13.2 Similarity and the comparison and classification of samples 13.2.1 Measures of complementarity 13.2.2 Similarity indices 13.2.3 Multivariate analysis 13.3 Species packing 13.3.1 Measurement of interspecific association 13.3.2 Measurement of resource utilisation 13.3.3 Niche size and competition coefficients References 14 The Estimation of Productivity and the Construction of Energy Budgets 14.1 Estimation of standing crop 14.1.1 Measurement of biomass 14.2 Determination of energy density 14.3 Estimation of energy flow 14.4 The measurement of production 14.5 The measurement of feeding and assimilation 14.5.1 The quality of the food eaten 14.6 Feeding and assimilation rates 14.6.1 Radiotracer techniques 14.6.2 Gravimetric techniques 14.6.3 Indicator methods 14.6.4 Measurement of faecal output 14.7 The measurement of the energy loss due to respiration and metabolic process 14.7.1 Calorimetric 14.7.2 The exchange of respiratory gases 14.7.3 The respiratory rate 14.8 The energy budget, efficiencies and transfer coefficients 14.8.1 The energy budget of a population (or trophic level) 14.8.2 Energy transfer across trophic links 14.9 Identification of ecological pathways using stable isotopes 14.10 Assessment of energy and time costs of strategies References 15 Studies at Large Spatial, Temporal and Numerical Scales and the Classification of Habitats 15.1 Remote sensing data from satellites 15.2 Remote sensing using piloted and unmanned aircraft 15.3 Long-term studies 15.3.1 Planning spatial and temporal sampling 15.3.2 The classification of time series 15.3.3 Time series analysis 15.3.4 Detecting synchrony 15.3.5 Measuring temporal variability 15.3.6 Detecting break-points 15.3.7 Determining if a species has become extinct 15.4 Geographical information systems 15.5 Detection of density dependence in time series 15.5.1 Bulmers (1975) test 15.5.2 Pollard etal.'s (1987) randomisation test 15.5.3 Dennis and Taper's (1994) bootstrap approach 15.5.4 Using a battery of approaches to detect density dependence 15.6 Citizen science projects 15.7 Ecosystem services 15.8 Habitat classification 15.8.1 Qualitative 15.8.2 Quantitative References Index Supplemental Images EULA