AICE Environmental Management: Environmental Research and Data Collection

Steps of an Investigation

• Experimental Planning

• Hypothesis (likely provided)

• Independent variable: manipulation and description

• Dependent variable: measurement and description

• Controlled variables: description and control methods (at least two)

• Control group: explanation for its verification role

• Number of trials/replicates: at least 3, data use to identify anomalies

• Safety precautions and ethical measures

Presentation of Data and Observations

• Graph Types

• Line, Bar, Histograms

• Graphing Rules

• Use pencil, label axes with units, independent variable on X-axis, dependent on Y-axis.

• Scale linear; use keys and labels, ensure adequate space.

• Specifics:

  • Line graphs: points marked with 'X' or dot, straight lines drawn with ruler

  • Bar graphs: straight bars not touching, equal width, no shading

  • Histograms: touching bars with equal width

• Data Tables: should include headings, not data.

Key Terms

• Reliable Data: Consistent, accurate, trustworthy, replicable results.

• Bias: Prejudice favoring/disfavoring entities; impacts investigation integrity.

Climate Change Data

• Historical Data: Use of paleoclimate records (ice cores, etc.) for understanding trends.

• Climate Proxies: Reconstruct past climates in absence of direct measurements.

Evaluation of Procedures and Data

• Identifying limitations: systematic/random errors, anomalous results.

• Suggestions for improvements: better standardization/measurement techniques.

Data Analysis and Conclusions

• Calculations and Patterns: Use correct significant figures, identify anomalies.

• Interpretation and Conclusion: Describe key points in quantitative data, trends using tables/graphs.

Collection Techniques

• Sampling Methods: Random (equal chance), Systematic (transects).

• Mark-Release-Recapture for mobile organisms using Lincoln index formula:
  N = \frac{n1 \cdot n2}{m}

• Data Collection Techniques:

• Pitfall Traps: Buried containers designed to capture small organisms as they move through their environment, effective for surveying terrestrial invertebrates.

• Sweeping Nets: Tools used to dislodge insects from vegetation by sweeping a net through plants, allowing for collection of flying and crawling organisms.

• Kick Sampling: A method applied in freshwater habitats, where substrate disturbance in a river causes organisms to be swept into a net downstream for sampling benthic biodiversity.

• Turbidity Measurement: A technique that quantifies water clarity by measuring the cloudiness caused by suspended particles, critical for assessing water quality and ecological health.

• Beating Trays: Equipment used to capture insects from foliage by placing a tray underneath a tree or shrub and shaking the branches, which enables small organisms to fall into the tray for easy collection.

• Questionnaires/ Interviews: Series of questions for specific groups

Biodiversity Indices

• Simpson’s Index of Diversity (D): Range from 0-1, indicating health and diversity of ecosystems.

Geospatial Systems and Big Data

• Geospatial Data: Acquired via GPS/Remote Sensing; analyzed in GIS.

• Satellite sensors: a technique for gathering information about an object without coming into physical contact with it. Digital satellite images, can be analyzed in GIS to produce maps of land cover and land use.

• Radio tracking: uses electronic tags that emit a very high radio frequency signal that can be used

  to locate the animal.

  Advantages

  • tags are relatively lightweight, inexpensive and can have long battery lives.

  Disadvantages

  • it can be labor-intensive to follow the animals with the receiver.

  • This method can be used on small animals for populations that stay within a geographically

  restricted area.

• Big Data: Exceeds individual analytical abilities, involves multiple data sources