July 8
Lecture and Activities associated with examination of Forest litter
by KEFYN CATLEY from the AMMNH
He gave great ideas on how to study the forest
"Observations of the insects on a Flower over a 2 hr period"
# of spider webs, types of webs and their distribution Are they
random? Height location?
The biodiversity of the leaf litter
Intersting fact most of the forest top soil is spring tails and
so top is mainly spring tail faeces !!
The number of insects can be quantified using the Simpson Index
After collection students can determine the ecological roles using
post its to make a food web. Additionally ; give student job
to research the specific insects.
Methods to collect insects:
Pit fall Traps
Use a bulb corer and dig a hole in the soil, and place a plastic cup
in the soil In cup place a dampened piece of filter paper with some
preservative. Cover cup leaving space for insects to enter. Leave for a
week. This can be used for comparisons of different mico habitats.Use a
tea strainer to skim off the insects
Leaf Litter Sifter
This apparatus is used to sift a sample of leaf litter from a selected
area. The insects collected should be shaken on a piece of news paper and
sorted or put in plastic containers for lab examination.
Sweep Net
This net is similar to a butterfly net except it is used to sweep over
vegetation. Collect the insects by using a bug sucker for small insects
and place the others in containers for lab examination. ( bug sucker
can be made with a film canister and straws)
Berlese funnel
Put leaf liter in a funnel ; the funnel opening is covered with a screen
of mesh Place alight over the litter and the insects and small invertebrates
collect on moist paper towel in petri dish
To Identify Spider webs
Fill 3 knee highs with corn starch . Gentle tap in the direction of
the wind this will show up the spider pattern in web
The
Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
CN 5281, Princeton NJ 08543-5281 - Tel:(609)452-7007
- Fax:(609)452-0066
Technical contact: lpt@woodrow.org
