ABSTRACT:The objective of this experiment is to study the ecology on Tioman Island. The estimation of population size was determined by studying the distributions of organisms along a line transect. Quadrats were placed along the line transect and the organisms present were noted. All the quadrats were placed 5 meters apart. The data obtained were recorded and tabulated in a table. Other abiotic factors like humidity, temperature, salinity and current velocity were determined to identify the correlation between the distributions of different organisms along the line transect and the different abiotic factors mentioned above. A kite diagram was plotted to show the distribution of organisms more clearly.

AIM:To carry out the study of ecology on Tioman Island

It is also the study of the interactions between life and its physical environment. A component in ecological study usually focuses on the ecosystem of an area. They are any living component that affects another organism. Biotic components are the living things that shape an ecosystem. We will be studying about the seaside ecosystem on Tioman Island. and the living food that the organism consumes. The entire array of organisms inhabiting a particular ecosystem is called a community. biome. biotic components are the living components of an organism's environment. In a typical ecosystem. An ecosystem is the unique network of animal and plant species that depends on the other to sustain life. Abiotic components are non-living chemical and physical factors in the environment. as well as soil. Abiotic influences may be classified as light or more generally radiation. The producers at the seaside are the algae. . Not to mention pressure and even sound waves if working with marine. temperature. In this experiment. the abiotic factors along the seaside will be discussed. and relations of organisms and their interactions with each other in a common environment. or deep underground. animals and fungi to different extents. Such things include animals which consume the organism in question. abundance. As opposed to abiotic components. The macroscopic climate often influences each of the above.Those underlying factors affect different plants. the chemical surrounding composed of the terrestrial atmospheric gases. the relationship between animals and plants and how one species affect another. plants and other photosynthetic organisms are the producers that provide the food. water. such as predators and prey.INTRODUCTION:Ecology is the scientific study of the distributions.

g. This results in an estimate of the area covered. For counting them. to count plants growing on a school field.: intestinal bacteria).5 or 1 meter in length. you need two areas. this might not give you a sample that was representative of the whole field.25m2. if you were sampling from a school field. belt transects. it would not be feasible to count them all. line transects. The quadrat is suitable for sampling plants.EXPERIMENT 1:. called a sample. you could use a quadrat with sides 0. For example. A transect line is used for measuring the changes between at least two areas. It is important that sampling in an area is carried out at random. plants noting each instance). point transects and curved line transects. When an ecologist wants to know how many organisms there are in a particular habitat.Transect is also a way of sampling populations.g. Instead. For example. or bias. It would be an unrepresentative. A suitable size of a quadrat depends on the size of the organisms being sampled. It usually consists of a 100 squares. you distribute quadrats in regular intervals on the transect line.It requires an observer to move along a fixed path and to count occurrences along the path and. wood. or plastic) used in ecology to isolate a sample. and some aquatic organisms. such as strip transects.Estimating Population Size Introduction A transect is a path along which one records and counts occurrences of the phenomena of study (e.to avoid bias. at the same time. he would be forced to count a smaller representative part of the population. can be done using a sampling square called a quadrat. A quadrat is a square (of either metal. . usually about 1m2 or 0. only the changes between two areas. One way you can sample randomly is to place the quadrats at coordinates on a numbered grid. The estimation of the abundance of biological populations (such as terrestrial mammal species) can be achieved using a number of different types of transect methods. it can not measure the population. you connect them with a line and then you measure the population of the species you want to count (e. sample.or animals that do not move much (such as snails). obtain the distance of the object from the path. Using these two figures one can arrive at an estimate of the actual density of objects. For a transect line. an estimate of the way in which detectability increases from probability 0 to 1 as one approaches the path. Sampling of plants. but for convenience only placed quadrats next to a path. and you count the species in those quadrats. slowmoving animals (such as millipedes and other insects).

A quadrat frame is most often used for this type of sampling. very large.). Zonation is a change in the biotic factor. The frame is placed on the ground (or on whatever is being investigated) and the animals. Within habitats such as woodlands or scrub areas. that are random sampling. However. Use graph paper and begin by drawing a sketch of the shore profile across the bottom. depending on what the survey is for. because statistics are widely used to process the results of sampling. Many of the common statistical techniques used are only valid on data that is truly randomly collected. The finished kite diagrams for several transects can now be compared. Draw another horizontal line and enter the data for the next species. large numbers of samples/records are taken from different positions within the habitat.In the simplest form of random sampling. Then join the tops and bottoms of these bars. and organisms that are restricted to particular zones will be obvious. so the diagram that results will have a shape something like a kite (hence µkite diagram¶!). In this case. Not present will be a point on the horizontal line. and/ or plants inside it counted. When using random sampling techniques. This technique is also only possible if quadrats of small size are being used. and so on. systematic sampling and stratified sampling. often the vegetation. it is also often not possible to physically lay quadrat frames down. Next draw a horizontal line above this and locate the stations ± mark a vertical bar at each station for the first species (5 squares above and 5 below for Abundant. Random sampling is usually carried out when the area under study is fairly uniform. and or there is limited time available. the quadrat is thrown to fall at µrandom¶ within the site. This is done many times at different points within the habitat to give a large number of different samples. because tree trunks and shrubs get in the way.There are three main ways of taking samples. It would be impossible to throw anything larger than a 1m2 quadrat and even this might pose problems. That is the profile and one species done. 4 for Common etc. an area the same size as the quadrat has to be measured out instead and the corners marked to indicate the quadrat area to be sampled. . measured. Kite diagrams are used to look for pattern of zonation. True randomness is an important element in ecology. or collected. this is usually unsatisfactory because a personal element inevitably enters into the throwing and it is not truly random.

A long plastic string which is 35 metres long was obtained. For simple calculation. Placing quadrats 1. 3. The transect line was ran across the beach perpendicular to the coast line for a desired length which in this experiment was 33. c. Another 4 quadrats were placed at the 5m. Counting the organisms 1. Different species of organisms were identified in each quadrat. Making a transect line 1. Finally one more qudrat was placed at the 32m line. The same steps were repeated for all the other species present in each quadrat all along the transect line. 3. That is on the left or the right of the transect line. The quadrats were placed every 5m along the transect line starting from the beginning of the transect line. 3. 2 more quadrats were placed at the 26 and 30 m marks also along the transect line. b. 2. the number of a particular species was counted in one square of the quadrat and multiplied by the number of squares which contained that particular species. measuring tape Procedures a. The length of the string was measured using a measuring tape.25m (hence using a string of 35m in length which was slightly longer than the length needed). . The plastic string or the transect line in this case was placed in an area which had a gradual change in species composition along the line.5m by 0. A decision was made on where to place the quadrats used to determine the density of any particular species in the area.5m) were placed at the beginning of the line which was between the range of 0-2 m. 15m and also the 20m marks respectively. 2 quadrats(0. All the quadrats were placed on the same side of the transect line for uniformity. 2. Stakes were placed at each end of the string to mark the beginning and the end of the line transect.Apparatus and Materials 50cm by 50 cm metal quadrats. 10m. 2.

Calculating species frequency 1. Step 1 was repeated with all the other species observed in all the quadrats. The species density was calculated using the formula:           4. The total quadrat area was calculated using the formula:      2. The species frequency of species A was calculated using the formula:         2. Steps 1.d. The total number of species A was counted in all the quadrats used. Species A was noted whether it was present in each of the nine quadrats.25m 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Inner region Middle region Near sea water *squares represent quadrats *straight line represents transect line . e. Calculating species density 1. 3.3 were repeated to calculate the species density for all the other species observed in the quadrats. Results 33.

Distribution of species in quadrats Species Species A Image Species B Species C Species D Species E Species F Species G Species H Quadrat number 1 Species A: 5 species in whole qudrat Species B: 16 species in 14 squares the quadrat Species C: 2 squares of the quadrat .

0 9.5 3.5 4.0 3.0 5.0 2.0 9.5 The boxes in this table represent each box in a quadrat.5 1. Quadrat number 8 .0 5.0 2.0 4.0 5.0 2. The numbers in the boxes represent the number of species E present throughout the area of the quadrat.5 5.Quadrat number 2 Species A: 3 species in whole quadrat Species B: 3 species in 11 squares of the quadrat Species C: 2 squares of quadrat Species D: 2 squares of quadrat Quadrat number 3 Nothing Quadrat number 4 Species G: 4 species Quadrat number 5 Species G: 2 species Species H: 3 species Species A: 2 species in whole quadrat Quadrat number 6 Species G: 12 species Species H: 39 species Species A: 10 species Quadrat number 7 0 0 0 0 0 5.5 4.0 6.0 4.5 9.5 2.

*0.2 Species frequency(%) *total number of quadrats is 9 .1 33. 2A 8E.3 22. 4A 9E. 15A 0 The boxes represent each box in a quadrat.3 33.3 11.7 22. Species D is present throughout the whole quadrat. 1A 10A 13E 7E 19E 2E.2 33. The numbers and alphabets represent the corresponding numbers of each species present throughout the area of the quadrat. 10F 1A 9E 16E 16E 16E.8E 5E 11E 16E.75cm2 contains 40 barnacles (this rule applies throughout this quadrat) Quadrat number 9 Species A: 6 species in whole quadrat Species B: 22 squares in whole quadrat Species E: 8 species in a small square multiplied 64 squares of quadrat (plastic quadrat) Species frequency Species Number of quadrats in which particular species is present A B C D E F G H 6 2 2 3 3 1 3 2 66.2 22. 1A 8E 3E 6E. 3A 25E 16E 5E 1A 7E.

7 Species Quadrat Quadrat Quadrat Quadrat Quadrat Quadrat Quadrat Quadrat Quadrat 1 A B C D E F G H 2 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 4 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 6 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 7 3 0 0 5 5 4 0 0 8 2 0 0 5 3 0 0 0 9 * Numbers in the table represent the abundance of species according to the ACFOR scale .3 4.Species density Species Number of particular species present in all quadrats A B C 64 257 Individuals cannot be identified D Individuals cannot be identified E F G H    Species density(per m2 ) 28.4 114.0 18.2 - - 318 10 18 42 141.4 8.

.A B C D E F G Quadrat 1 Quadrat 2 Quadrat 3 Quadrat 4 Quadrat 5 Quadrat 6 Quadrat 7 Quadrat 8 Quadrat 9 Kite diagram according to the ACFOR scale.

thus causing the difference in the abiotic factors. 5 and 6 represented the middle shore of the beach. there is also the presence of tiny rocks. the line transect covered an area from the inner coast to the coastline. Quadrats 3. Species G and H are different species of water flea. A total of 8 different species of organisms were observed all along the line transect in the area of quadrats. This quadrat contains only sands. Even during low tide. Species C and D are fungus and algae and they grow in dark and moist places where light does not reach or has minimum light. . which become the shelter and home for the water fleas. Species A was found only on the rocks present at the sea shore. 4. Quadrats 4 to 6 are areas with sands and also rocks. Quadrat 3 is different from all the other quadrats as no organism can be found in this quadrat. In order to increase the accuracy of the experiment.25m line transect. which are species A. Besides. So these species were found mainly at the bottom of the rocks out of reach of light. Quadrat number 1 and 2 showed the presence of 4 different species which were species A. B. Species B is another type of organism that is present on the rocks but it is only found on rocks on the inner shore. C and D. The reasons why these 2 species are commonly found in quadrats 4 to 6 is that the surrounding is ideal for the growth of organism. which proved that sandy area is not suitable for growth for any organism. seawater is still present in these quadrats.Discussion The results obtained are all based on the data collected from the 9 quadrats placed all along the 33. Species A clung on to the rocks tightly. This is proven as species G and H could not be found in quadrat 3 which has no rocks. Compared to quadrat 3. The difference between these 2 areas is that during low and high tide. the sea water level will be higher in the coastline. Species B was not found on the rocks nearer the coast line where species A was found. This could be due to certain biotic or abiotic factors present at the 2 different locations. these 3 quadrats showed the presence of organism. which is very important for the water flea to survive. G and H. The factors at the inner shore are favourable for the growth of B but are not favourable nearer the coast line.

a constant of 0.75cm2 to 40 barnacles applies throughout the area of the quadrat. The growth of species E could be due to the higher salinity and also moister conditions because of the distance from the coast line.Quadrats 7. One source of error that has to be taken into account is that individual organisms are hard to differentiate especially in the case of species B and E where the organisms grow in a large area. This is because species F can only be found in the coastline.9 per m2 while species F had the lowest species density of 4. The conditions here favoured the growth of another species. 8 and 9 were all nearer to the coast line. . which is the lowest among the species found in the experiment. The whole of quadrat number 7 and the majority of quadrat number 8 were species E. The calculation will then lead to the total number of the organism in each quadrat. The species density is the measure of how many organisms of a particular species are present per m2. There were also a few of species A and D present. Species E had the highest species density of 368. it helped in producing result with higher accuracy. the species density could not be calculated because species C and D were algae and fungus and the number of individuals of that species could not be identified. Even though this method cannot totally eliminate the source of error.4 per m2. Species A has the highest species frequency that was 66. On the other hand. This proved that species A can stay in a bigger range of habitat. and the number is used to multiply by the number of square in each quadrat. species F has only a percentage frequency at 11. Species frequency measures the occurrence and probability of the species that is found in all the quadrats. form the inner shore to the coastline. Species E can be found in large numbers growing on the rocks. however. the number of organism in a small square of each of the quadrat is counted. For quadrat number 8. The total surface area of quadrats were used in this experiment was 2. For species C and D. In order to reduce the error. which is species E.11%. Due to this reason the data obtained might be slightly inaccurate and this might give an inaccurate picture of the distribution of organisms in that particular area.67%.25 m2.

The limitation in the experiment is that the location in which the quadrats placed was uneven. everyone has to be careful during the counting of the different species. This makes their surface to be very slippery. Some organisms have shell with sharp edges. especially on the surface of the rocks. This will lead to the inaccuracy in determining the number of organism in some o the quadrats. Thus. This can avoid falling or any other accident from happening. Safety precaution should also be taken. which will cut our hands easily during the experiment. Moreover. . it is very important to wear shoes with rough bottomed surface. Thus. most of stones found were covered with algae and fungi.

Stream flow measuring is easily accomplished using a water current meter and a tape measure. Quick stream flow measuring is best done with a water current meter to measure water current velocity. suitable float (an orange ) . The current velocity meter allows you to measure stream flow velocity in feet or meters per second and measure water depth in hundredths of a foot up to three feet. The water current meter offers two unique methods for determining average water velocity: 1) For small stream flows and pipes.EXPERIMENT 2:. the experiment was conducted in a different way. The average stream flow velocity times the cross-sectional area of the stream determines the stream flow measurement in cubic feet or meters per second. This same principle also applies to the transport of nutrients and carbon dioxide in plants. Many organisms occupy a certain range of water velocities while they get stressed at water with higher velocities. which aids with their respiration. This steady reading is the true average velocity for the stream flow. However. The area for of a channel is known for pipes. as we did not have the apparatus stated above. The stream flow measurement for the profile is the sum of the average velocity of each subsection of stream flow times its cross-sectional area.Determining Current Velocity Introduction Current is a factor that interacts with many abiotic and biotic effects. It also transfers oxygen to organisms. Apparatus and Materials Tape measure. the current velocity meter may be used to measure a vertical profile of water velocity at several points across a stream channel. the current velocity meter may be moved smoothly and uniformly throughout the stream flow profile until a steady average reading is displayed. Current performs an essential function of transferring food to waiting organisms. stopwatch. or is determined for a stream flow measurement by measuring the distance from shore and water depth at various points across the stream flow to construct a channel profile. 2) For larger streams.

2.5m First time taken by stop watch = 15s Second time taken by stop watch = 22s Average time =   . A float was placed on the water and was allowed to travel the distance of 0.Procedures 1.5m was timed accurately. The measurement was repeated 2 times in order to obtain the mean. In this case. The time taken for the orange to float across the distance of 0.5m. 3. the distance used was 0.5m. The mean time was divided by the coefficient of 0. A suitable straight stretch of water was chosen and the distance was measured with a tape measure.85 due to the reason that it would give a more accurate velocity because water at the surface flows faster than water beneath. Results Distance used = 0.

the seawater moves as longitudinal waves. Besides.02m/s. The sea waves move forwards then backwards. One of the limitations faced in the experiment is that it was hard to determine the distance travelled by the orange as the seawater constantly moves.Discussion The rate of flow or the current velocity was determined by dividing the distance by the time. this situation limits us to determine the wave speed accurately. The mean time is divided by the coefficient of 0. Thus.85 to get a more accurate time because the water flows with different velocities at the surface and beneath.02m/s. In order to overcome it. The results show that the current velocity is 0. This was done by fixing a constant distance in sea water and timing the time for a float to float across that distance. This gives a more accurate result compared to just doing it once or twice. . two wooden sticks can be placed so that the distance can be identified easily. An orange was used because it is conspicuous and will float mainly below the surface of water. One way of overcoming this error is to repeat the experiment a few times and take the two closest times into account of calculating the mean time. The mean time was calculated to give a more accurate representation of the time for the orange to travel a particular distance. The beginning and the end of the path of the orange can be seen easily by looking at markers like stones. This shows that the wave current is moving at a speed of 0.

often denoted as pHT. and the new pH scale is referred to as the total scale.7). pH measurement is complicated by the chemical properties of seawater.1% and 3. phosphate content. To resolve this problem. However. seawater can be substantially less saline.8%.Investigating the pH and salinity of water sample Introduction The pH of seawater plays an important role in the ocean's carbon cycle and there is evidence of ongoing ocean acidification caused by carbon dioxide emissions. and bicarbonates. Although the vast majority of seawater has a salinity of between 3. Where mixing occurs with fresh water runoff from river mouths or near melting glaciers. These solutions have a relatively low ionic strength (~0. Fe content and nitrate content . magnesiumand calcium sulfates. seawater is not uniformly saline throughout the world. As part of its operational definition of the pH scale.EXPERIMENT 3:. nitrite. Salinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water. Mg hardness. and several distinct pH scales exist in chemical oceanography.1) compared to that of seawater (~0. Apparatus and Materials pH paper and indicators for free chloride. and consequently are not recommended for use in characterising the pH of seawater since the ionic strength differences cause changes in electrode potential. an alternative series of buffers based on artificial seawater was developed. This new series resolves the problem of ionic strength differences between samples and the buffers. It is a general term used to describe the levels of different salts such as sodium chloride. the IUPAC define a series of buffer solutions across a range of pH values (often denoted with NBS or NIST designation).

2. All these were determined by using respective indicators. phosphate content. the nitrate content. the nitrite content.Procedures 1. 3. the hardness of the water and finally the iron content in the water. Results Middle region pH Total free chlorine nitrate nitrite phosphate hardness iron 7 0 0 0 15 Very hard 0 Near sea water 8 0 0 0 18 Very hard 0 salinity and pH of sea water in the middle region and region near sea water . These readings for salinity and also pH was taken at 2 different places. The pH of the water was also determined using a pH indicator. that was water from the middle of the beach and water from further down the beach (closer to the water). the total free chlorine. that is. The salinity of the water was determined by a few indicators.

which are the middle shore and shore nearer to the coast line. This means that there are magnesium ions present in the water. so that the result will not be affected. nitrite. the beaker was covered to prevent the contact of the sample with the surrounding. phosphate.Discussion Water was taken at 2 regions. Clean beaker must be used to take the sample and once the sample is taken. Both water samples also tested to be very hard. we can only assume that the small area would be able to represent the whole region accurately. . The water was tested for a few soluble salts including free chlorine. nitrate. hardness and iron. All other tests for soluble salts were negative. Thus. Besides. The pH of the water samples were 7 for middle shore and 8 for the deeper region. The limitation in this experiment is that only 1 small area in each region (middle and coastline) was surveyed. Water was not taken at the shallow area or inner shore because no s ample could be collected. There is one way to overcome this problem. we should also avoid other contaminants from mixing up with the water sample. so that the result in the same area could be compared and increase the accuracy. that is to take sample of seawater in more areas of two different regions. The tests show that phosphate is present in both water samples collected.

heat flows from the object with the higher temperature to the object with the lower one. so that the wet-bulb thermometer usually shows a lower temperature than that of the dry-bulb thermometer. Something that feels hotter generally has a higher temperature. This is a consequence of the laws of thermodynamics. otherwise. Temperature is one of the principal parameters of thermodynamics. Evaporation from the wet bulb lowers the temperature. Relative humidity can also be determined by locating the intersection of the wet. . There are various devices used to measure and regulate humidity. Temperature is a physical property that underlies the common notions of hot and cold.and dry-bulb temperatures on a psychrometric chart. however. the wet bulb is covered with a thin coating of ice and yet may be warmer than the dry bulb. one with a dry bulb and one with a wet bulb.EXPERIMENT 4:. In a psychrometer. When the air temperature is below freezing. Temperature is a physical property that underlies the common notions of hot and cold. which is related to how hot or cold that substance is. the objects have the same temperature. though temperature is not a direct measurement of heat. there are two thermometers. This is a consequence of the laws of thermodynamics. which measures dry-bulb temperature. heat flows from the object with the higher temperature to the object with the lower one. the objects have the same temperature. Relative humidity is computed from the ambient temperature as shown by the dry-bulb thermometer and the difference in temperatures as shown by the wet-bulb and dry-bulb thermometers. If no net heat flow occurs between two objects. though temperature is not a direct measurement of heat. If no net heat flow occurs between two objects. Temperature is one of the principal parameters of thermodynamics. A device used to measure humidity is called a psychrometer or hygrometer. Something that feels hotter generally has a higher temperature.Checking temperature and humidity Introduction Temperature is the measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a substance. otherwise.

After the temperature was determined. 2. This would have affected the humidity of the experiment as an overall.Apparatus and Materials Whirling hygrometer Procedures 1. The temperature was read after spinning the hygrometer in the air for about 60 seconds. the temperature and humidity of the area is determined. The dry temperature in the region is 27°C while the wet temperature was 26°C. The temperature of the surroundings was determined by using a whirling hygrometer. The surrounding humidity is 92% based on the humidity chart. Two temperatures were determined by using this instrument. Another reason to have a different temperature and humidity is the time of day the readings were taken. The first one was known as the wet temperature while the second one was known as the dry temperature. One of the limitations of this experiment is that it was carried out during a rainy day. Ways to improve the results obtained include placing the thermometer probe in the same position each time a measurement is taken to allow a valid comparison of results. the corresponding humidity of the surrounding environment was determined by reading it off a humidity chart. Results Humidity Dry temperature Wet temperature humidity and temperature 92% 27°C 26°C Discussion By using a whirling hygrometer. .

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