ESTIMATING ANIMAL POPULATION DENSITY USING THE

SNIPPET SQUARE SAMPLE METHOD

Arranged by :

Cindy Aurellia Salsabilla (B1B018016)

Assistant : Rosyid Ridlo Al Hakim

PRACTICAL REPORT OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE

JENDERAL SOEDIRMAN UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF BIOLOGY
PURWOKERTO
2020
 I. INTRODUCTION

A. Background

Population is interpreted as a collection of groups of the same kind of creatures (or

other groups of individuals capable of exchanging genetic information) inhabiting a
special room, which has characteristics that, although best described statistically, are
unique as belonging to the group and not characteristics of the individuals within that
group ( Soetjipta, 1992).
Population estimation is a method used to calculate the density of a population.
The population density of one species or group of animals can be expressed in terms of
the number or biomass per unit, or the unit area or volume unit or unit catch. Relative
density can be calculated by comparing the density of a species with the density of all
species contained in that unit. Relative density is usually expressed as a percentage (Suin,
1989).
Population density is a measure of the size of the population in relation to the unit
of space, which is generally studied and expressed as the individual count or biomass per
unit area per unit content. The population density can be calculated in two ways, namely
absolute and relative. In relative density the number of individuals cannot be stated with
certainty, but rather compared to other types or their frequency per unit time. There are
two ways to measure absolute density, namely counting all individuals and the sampling
method (Widyaleksono, et al, 2012).

B. Purpose

The purpose of this practical is to find out the density of the earthworm population.
 II. MATERIAL AND METHODS

A. Material

The materials that used in this activity Soil and earthworms..

The tools that used in this activity are tape measure or ruler rope or wood
as a barrier, a sampling cylinder with a diameter of 4 cm of plastic material
(paralon), and a plastic bag to store temporary samples.

B. Time and Location

Day : Wednesday, 25 November 2020

Time : 07.00 AM

Location : Garden of Faculty of Biology, UNSOED

C. Methods
1. This practicum carried out observations of the population density of
earthworms. Make a brief note of the study area (habitat type: grass known
for impact of grass species, plant species etc.).
2. Place a square (50x50 cm) in the sample / quadrant before digging the soil,
making a rough estimate of the vegetation cover. From the sample /
quadrant, each 5 replications was taken.
3. Taking samples by inserting a sampling cylinder into the soil as deep as 20
cm from the soil surface. Earthworms in the sampling cylinder.
Earthworms were collected in a plastic bag and then counted.
4. If in the sample there are earthworm eggs (which are whitish, soft and
slightly rounded shape with both slightly ends sharp), collect and count the
number.
5. Collect the ground animals found in your footage and calculate their
densities.
6. All records of observations are presented in a working table
 III. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

A. Result

Day / date of location : Sunday/29 November 2020

Practicum location : Garden of Faculty of Biology, UNSOED
Weather : Rainy
Time : 14:00 WIB

Snippet Number of Eggs Number of earthworms

I 0 2
II 0 0
III 0 1
IV 0 0
V 0 0

Figure 3.1 Plot 50 x 50 cm for sampling. Figure 3.2 Sampling cylinder 20cm
deep on soil.

Figure 3.3 Result of snippet I. Figure 3.4 Result of snippet III.

Calculation:
Total number of individuals
Density =
Plot area
 3
= = 12
0,25
B. Discussion

From the sampling with an area of 50 x 50 cm with a tube as deep as 20 cm

that I made, I obtained snippet I with 2 earthworms and 0 worm eggs, in snippet II
there were no results, in snipped III 1 earthworm and 0 earthworm eggs were obtained
and no results were obtained in snippets IV and V. The calculation of density is
obtained at 12 with the number of individuals per m².
Soil fauna play important roles in agroecosystems, as crucial actors of the four
aggregated and interrelated functions that determine soil health. Microbivorous
microfauna (in particular nematodes, protozoa) and detritivorous meso- and
macrofauna (collembola, acari, diplopoda, earthworms, various insects...) modulate
and/or complement the activity of saprotrophic microorganisms to determine carbon
transformations in the soil. Through the same process, these organisms are also
strongly involved in nutrient cycling. The soil Becosystem engineer^ macrofauna
(earthworms, ants, termites) play a major role in soil structure maintenance, while
many biocontrollers from the different size categories (microbivorous and carnivorous
nematodes, collembola, predatory mites, ground or rove beetles, and centipedes, for
instance) are involved in biological regulation. The effects of different agricultural
systems and agricultural practices on the abundance, activity, taxonomic and
functional diversity of soil fauna are therefore highly relevant and are being
investigated by a number of soil agroecologists. However, although a number of
review articles have addressed the relationship between agroforestry practices and soil
health, only one has focused on the effects of agroforestry on soil fauna and the
functions they perform (Marsden et al, 2019).
Earthworms which penetrate deeper into soil respond to traditional soil tillage
by a greater decrease in their number. In our study, a correlation was determined
between the soil richness in nutrients and the number of Lumbricidae. A higher
content of N and P in soil after a single ploughing (plots without compaction)
significantly correlated with the density of earthworms, whereas subsequent to the
tillage methods U-2 and U-4 (plots with compaction) an increase in the soil content of
nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium coincided with a decrease in the density of
earthworms. A single ploughing raised the soil content of organic C, to which
Lumbricidae responded by their growing number (Orzech & Załuski, 2020).
 IV. CONCLUSION

Based of result and discussion, we conclude that it obtained snippet I with 2

earthworms and 0 worm eggs, in snippet II there were no results, in snipped III 1
earthworm and 0 earthworm eggs were obtained and no results were obtained in
snippets IV and V. The calculation of density is obtained at 12 with the number of
individuals per m².
 REFERENCES

Marsden, C., Martin-Chave, A., Cortet, J., Hedde, M., & Capowiez, Y. 2019. How
agroforestry systems influence soil fauna and their functions - a review. Plant and
Soil, 10(1), pp: 1-16.

Orzech K. & Załuski D. 2020. Effect of Soil Compaction And Different Soil Tillage Systems
on Chemical Properties of Soil and Presence of Earthworms in Winter Oilseed Rape
Fields. Journal of Elementology, 25(2), pp: 413-429.

Soetjipta & Pasaribu, H. M. 2010. Simulasi Estimasi Populasi Hewan. Jambi: Universitas
Negeri Jambi.

Suin, N. M. 2010. Estimasi Besarnya Populasi Serangga. Makassar: Universitas Negeri

Hasanudin.

Widyaleksono C.P, Trisnadi, dkk. 2012. Petunjuk Praktikum Ekologi Umum. Surabaya:
Airlangga University Press.