Sampling Methods in the Southern California Rocky Intertidal Zone

Presentation Type

Poster

Presentation Type

Submission

Keywords

biodiversity, spatial sampling, methods, intertidal

Department

Biology

Major

Hispanic Studies

Abstract

This project seeks to evaluate the efficacy of ecological sampling methods in the California rocky intertidal zone. The OPIHI method, developed by the University of Hawai’i, is a common point-intercept method using quadrats to estimate ecological data including species coverage, population density, and biodiversity of an area. Its effectiveness for representing biodiversity has not been tested in the California rocky intertidal zone. The OPIHI method is quantitatively compared to an alternative, more time consuming and comprehensive ecological surveying method known as bioblitzing. Preliminary data comparing these two methods along five transects of quadrat data suggest that the differences between all three biodiversity indicators (richness, Shannon’s index, and Simpson’s index) are minimal between the two methods. The mean greatest difference in richness between the two methods is 1.636 from transect 1 with a standard deviation of 1.362. The greatest mean difference in Shannon’s index is 0.033 from transect 2 with a standard deviation of 0.342. The greatest mean difference in Simpson’s index is -0.018 from transect 4 with a standard deviation of 0.087. Overall, the mean difference between the two methods for richness is a positive value, suggesting that the bioblitz method returns a higher richness value than the OPIHI method. The majority of the mean differences in the Shannon’s and Simpson’s indices is negative, suggesting that the OPIHI method overestimates these two indices. This project has valuable implications for efficient and effective ecological sampling because the OPIHI method is less time and labor intensive.

Faculty Mentor

Dr. Florybeth La Valle

Location

Waves Cafeteria

Start Date

24-3-2023 2:00 PM

End Date

24-3-2023 4:00 PM

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Mar 24th, 2:00 PM Mar 24th, 4:00 PM

Sampling Methods in the Southern California Rocky Intertidal Zone

Waves Cafeteria

This project seeks to evaluate the efficacy of ecological sampling methods in the California rocky intertidal zone. The OPIHI method, developed by the University of Hawai’i, is a common point-intercept method using quadrats to estimate ecological data including species coverage, population density, and biodiversity of an area. Its effectiveness for representing biodiversity has not been tested in the California rocky intertidal zone. The OPIHI method is quantitatively compared to an alternative, more time consuming and comprehensive ecological surveying method known as bioblitzing. Preliminary data comparing these two methods along five transects of quadrat data suggest that the differences between all three biodiversity indicators (richness, Shannon’s index, and Simpson’s index) are minimal between the two methods. The mean greatest difference in richness between the two methods is 1.636 from transect 1 with a standard deviation of 1.362. The greatest mean difference in Shannon’s index is 0.033 from transect 2 with a standard deviation of 0.342. The greatest mean difference in Simpson’s index is -0.018 from transect 4 with a standard deviation of 0.087. Overall, the mean difference between the two methods for richness is a positive value, suggesting that the bioblitz method returns a higher richness value than the OPIHI method. The majority of the mean differences in the Shannon’s and Simpson’s indices is negative, suggesting that the OPIHI method overestimates these two indices. This project has valuable implications for efficient and effective ecological sampling because the OPIHI method is less time and labor intensive.