Quadrat Studies
Analysis:
1. Were there more or fewer dandelions in the study area than most lawns in the neighbourhood? Propose two reasons for any difference.
There were more dandelions in the study area then in most lawns in the neighbourhood because people will spray pesticides on their lawns to eliminate the dandelions so it improves the appearance of their homes. I also think that the digital field area will not be maintained and tended to as well as a person would take care of their own lawn.
2. Why is it important to choose your sample areas at random?
It is important to choose your sample areas at random because you want every quadrat to have an equal chance of being selected. The selection of one location should also not influence which is selected next. This should avoid bias. It is important to do this so that it gives you a more accurate population total. (Otherwise you may over or under estimate)
3. Do you think this is a convenient method for estimating population size? Explain your answer.
Yes I do think that this is a convenient method of estimating population size because it did not take much time, there are not many required materials, and the calculations are simple. It would be tedious, time consuming, and expensive to count the entire population area.
4. What do you think provides a more accurate estimation of population size: your numbers or the class numbers? Explain.
I think that using the class average number of dandelions per quadrat should provide a more accurate total population of dandelions in the study area because in most cases, you want to collect as many randomly selected samples as possible (to increase the proportion of the total population sampled). This accuracy of an estimate increases with the number of samples taken. This is because the number of dandelions found in any given sample will vary from the number found in other samples. By collecting numerous samples, the effect of these variations can be averaged out.
5. Describe the type of animal population that could be estimated using this method. Provide an example.
The type of animal population that could be estimated using this method are those that don’t move much or are slow moving because you don’t want organisms to move from one quadrat to another during the experiment. Possible examples include snails, millipedes, worms, sea stars, and turtles.

Conclusion:
The intention of this experiment was to estimate the dandelion population in a lawn or field. It was found that the estimated total population of dandelions in a field was 36.0. After the experiment was finished, I discovered that this is an accurate method of estimating population size in certain species. This is proven by my personal calculated average of 3.0 dandelions per quadrat being the same as the class average number of dandelions per quadrat. Also, my personal results and the class results for the total population for dandelions in the field both were equal to approximately 36. Randomly selecting the quadrat numbers before viewing the digital study area allowed the results to be unbiased. If the quadrats are selected at random, it is fair and should be representative of the entire population. Thus, the quadrat study method is an effective process of population sampling for slow moving or stationary species.