Thursday, June 17, 2010

The UNIVERSAL LAW of LISTING...




Tomorrow is a big day. I shall be putting the Universal Law of Listing (the ULL - see previous 'freaky' blog) to the test tomorrow in a cunning triple-whammy.

I shall be visiting FIVE bits of the patch.

1. Halfway House, the bend in the river (where I shall be sitting for 1.25h)
2. The Manchester Ship Canal path and the farmland of Upper Moss Side (which I shall be meandering around for a further 1.25h)
3. Pumphouse Pool (where again, I shall sit for 1.25h)
4. Birch Wood, Lapwing Wood, Hillcrest Quarry (which I shall yomp through for 1.25h)
5. Eastern Reedbed and Millbrook Pool (where I shall end my day siutting again for the final 1.25h).

Now, those of you who read my previous 'freaky theory of listing' blog, may recognise that choosing FIVE 1.25h chunks of time lends itself quite nicely to a 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% time split across the day during which I can record the accumulation of species across the patch (Test 1).

It ALSO means that for EACH of these five bits of the patch I can split my obs into five 15 minute blocks (20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% again, for simple maths) and look at species accumulation at EACH of these individual spots on the patch (Test 2)...

...and if that is not enough, I can look at random 15 minute segments of the day WITHIN each of my five wee patchlets and look at species accumulation over five 3 minute segments (Test 3).


My God it's a field experiment!!!

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