PAHANG CAMPUS BRANCH

Faculty of Applied Sciences

AS120

INTRODUCTION TO ECOLOGY
BIO330

LABORATORY REPORT
Experiment 1: Demography – Human
Population Ecology

PREPARED BY PREPARED FOR

SHAWN RIZAL BIN DR AIDA

AHMAD FADZIL BAHARUDDIN

2018659262

AS1204I

DATE OF SUBMISSION

4TH MAY 2020

Experiment 2: Determination of the Density of Plant
Species in a Habitat

Introduction

The term ‘population’ in ecology is understood as a group of similar species inhabiting a

particular space at a particular time. The population of a species is dynamic and is affected by
various biotic and abiotic factors. Potential surge or decline in variables such as mortality and
fecundity may alter the population number greatly. A quadrat is a base line frame be utilised
to mark out a specific area of the community to be sampled. Quadrats are not restricted to any
particular shape or size. A single quadrat may not accurately define the population of all
species in an are, and thus, repeated quadrat samplings must be carried out. This form of
sampling is called stratified random sampling. This experiment aims to demonstrate the
usefulness of this technique of sampling to study the population of species in a habitat.

Objective

To study the population of species using the quadrat sampling technique.

Apparatus and Materials

Nails, a hammer and thread.

Procedure

1. A small field was chosen to be our site for the experiment. A base line was constructed
along the border of the selected vegetation patch using a thread and a nail. The nail
was carefully hammered to ensure no vegetation was harmed.
2. A total of ten square quadrats, measuring 1m × 1m, were constructed randomly
throughout the field.
3. Each quadrat’s individual species were identified and recorded in a table.
4. Then each individual species’ occurrence were counted in every quadrat. All the
numbers were recorded.
5. The recorded data on the number of individual species in each quadrat was used to
calculate the frequency, density and abundance of the population.
6. Finally, all data is then presented graphically in the form of charts in the analysis
section to further examine the population.

Random distribution of quadrats

 Number of individuals in each quadrat Total % frequency
Relative Relative
Sample Plant species number Y Z of each
Abundance Density
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 individuals species
Result

Ageratum
1 4 2 7 1 8 1 0 2 1 7 33 9 10 90 3.7 3.3
conyzoides

2 Indigofera sp. 3 0 5 3 7 1 3 0 3 7 32 8 10 80 4.0 3.2

3 Sida acuta 0 4 1 4 3 2 7 6 0 1 65 8 10 80 8.1 6.5

Acalypha
4 1 1 3 7 5 1 3 2 1 8 32 10 10 100 3.2 3.2
indica
Andropogon
5 0 0 2 1 5 3 4 1 0 0 16 6 10 60 2.7 1.6
sp.
Cynodon
6 3 7 5 0 1 1 0 3 1 1 48 8 10 80 6.0 4.8
dactylon

7 Setaria glauca 1 5 5 7 4 3 2 1 6 0 34 9 10 90 3.8 3.4

Trichodesma
8 4 3 4 3 2 1 0 0 3 8 28 8 10 80 3.5 2.8
sp.
Achyranthes
9 0 1 4 1 3 2 2 0 1 4 62 8 10 80 7.8 6.2
aspera
Biophytum
10 5 4 7 3 2 1 0 11 2 0 35 8 10 80 4.4 3.5
sensitivum

385 38.5

Y: number of quadrat in which species occurred (occurrence)

X: total number of quadrat in study

Table: Data of species’ relative abundance and relative density

Species Relative abundance (%) Relative density (%)

Ageratum conyzoides 0.96 8.57

Indigofera sp. 1.04 8.31

Sida acuta 2.10 16.88

Acalypha indica 0.83 8.31

Andropogon sp. 0.70 4.16

Cynodon dactylon 1.56 12.47

Setaria glauca 0.99 8.83

Trichodesma sp. 0.91 7.27

Achyranthes aspera 2.03 16.10

Biophytum sensitivum 1.14 9.10

Total – 100
Calculation

The values for the percentage of frequency, abundance and density of each species utilised
the following formulae:

Percentage of frequency 𝐘
= × 100
of each species (%) 𝐙

where,

Y = number of quadrat in which species occurred

(occurrence)
X = total number of quadrat in study

Total number of individuals of the species

Abundance =
Total number of individuals of all species recorded

Total number of individual of the species

Density =
Number of quadrat per unit studied
To calculate for the relative abundance;

Abundance of given species

Relative abundance = × 100
Total number of individuals of all species recorded

Relative abundance of 3.7 Relative abundance of 6.0

= × 100 = × 100
Ageratum conyzoides 385 Cynodon dactylon 385

= 0.96 % = 1.56 %

Relative abundance of 4.0 Relative abundance of 3.8

= × 100 = × 100
Indigofera sp. 385 Setaria glauca 385

= 1.04 % = 0.99 %

Relative abundance of 8.1 Relative abundance of 3.5

= × 100 = × 100
Sida acuta 385 Trichodesma sp. 385

= 2.10 % = 0.91 %

Relative abundance of 3.2 Relative abundance of 7.8

= × 100 = × 100
Acalypha indica 385 Achyranthes aspera 385

= 0.83 % = 2.03 %

Relative abundance of 2.7 Relative abundance of 4.4

= × 100 = × 100
Andropogon sp. 385 Biophytum sensitivum 385

= 0.70 % = 1.14 %
To calculate for the relative density;

Density of a given species

Relative density = × 100
Total density of all species recorded

Relative density of 3.3 Relative density of 4.8

= × 100 = × 100
Ageratum conyzoides 38.5 Cynodon dactylon 38.5

= 8.57 % = 12.47 %

Relative density of 3.2 Relative density of 3.4

= × 100 = × 100
Indigofera sp. 38.5 Setaria glauca 38.5

= 8.31 % = 8.83 %

Relative density of 6.5 Relative density of 2.8

= × 100 = × 100
Sida acuta 38.5 Trichodesma sp. 38.5

= 16.88 % = 7.27 %

Relative density of 3.2 Relative density of 6.2

= × 100 = × 100
Acalypha indica 38.5 Achyranthes aspera 38.5

= 8.31 % = 16.10 %

Relative density of 1.6 Relative density of 3.5

= × 100 = × 100
Andropogon sp. 38.5 Biophytum sensitivum 38.5

= 4.16 % = 9.10 %
 Relative Abundance(%) Frequency (%)

0
1
2

0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2.2
2.4
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90

0
100
Analysis

Ageratum conyzoides Ageratum conyzoides

Indigofera sp. Indigofera sp.

Sida acuta Sida acuta

Acalypha indica Acalypha indica

Andropogon sp. Andropogon sp.

Cynodon dactylon Cynodon dactylon

Species
Species
Setaria glauca Setaria glauca

Each Individual Species

Trichodesma sp. Trichodesma sp.

Percentage Relative Abundance of

Achyranthes aspera Achyranthes aspera
Percentage Frequency of Each Individual Species

Biophytum sensitivum Biophytum sensitivum

 Relative Percent Density of Each
Individual Species

Biophytum Ageratum
sensitivum, conyzoides,
9.1% 8.57%
Indigofera
sp.,
8.31%
Achyranthe
s aspera,
16.1%

Sida acuta,
16.88%
Trichodesma sp.,
7.27%

Setaria Acalypha
glauca, Cynodon indica,
8.83% dactylon, 8.31%
12.47%

Andropogon
sp.,
4.16%
Discussion

The experiment was carried out to study the population of species using the quadrat sampling
technique. Through the quadrat sampling technique, we can deduce the biodiversity of the
specific site of study. The biodiversity of an ecosystem can be measured by two variables, the
species richness and species abundance.

Based on the experiment, 10 distinct species are found in the experimental site. This
is used to represent the species richness. By analysing the frequency of the species, the
highest occurring species is Acalypha indica, which occurred in every quadrat sampling. The
lowest occurring species is Andropogon sp., which only occurred at 60%. In terms of density,
Sida acuta is found to be the species with the highest relative density, at 16.88%. The species
with the lowest percent density is Andropogon sp., appearing only at 4.16%.

Examining in the perspective of the ecological niche of the site, the dominating species
should be the species with the highest percent density of the population. Hence the main
dominating species are Sida acuta and Achyranthes aspera with the relative percent densities
of 16.88% and 16.10% respectively. Looking at the species abundance, the most abundant
species is Sida acuta with a relative percent abundance of 2.10% whilst the least abundant
species is Andropogon sp., with a relative percent abundance of 0.70%. The species
abundance must correlate with the species density as seen in this experiment.

A few precautions must be taken when performing quadrat sampling. This is in order
to undermine any possible sampling errors. The first step is to ensure the proportion of the
quadrat is in relative to the size of the species to be carry out the quadrat sampling; which
means larger species requires larger quadrat sampling units. Another step that must be taken
is to perform as many quadrat samplings as possible in the site-in-study. Too few samplings
can greatly affect the results, as it will be inadequate to represent the entire population of the
site-in-study.

In sum, by analysing the data, we can deduce that the vegetation of the experimental
site is heterogeneous in nature. This can be seen in the diversity of both species richness and
species abundance of the experimental site. The higher both variable varies, the more diverse
the population of the particular demography.

Conclusion

The population of species can be studied thoroughly by using the quadrat sampling technique
to acquire the species’ abundance and density patterns.
References

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Campbell, N. A. (2014). Campbell Biology (9th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
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Glass, M. (2018, May 21). Advantages and Disadvantages of Quadrat Use. Retrieved from
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