Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve

03 Mar, 12 AM - 03 Mar, 10 AM

The hypothesis being tested in this experiment is that areas with recent fire damage (>10yrs) will have a greater diversity of insects than the areas that have been fire free for an extended period of time (<30yrs). Two sites, one that have been fire-free for more than 30 years and one that were burned in the last ten years will be chosen. The unburned sites serve as a control. Sites will be chosen that are far enough from opposing habitats as to prevent migration. At each site, three stakes will be placed fifteen meters apart at the base of the slope. Then three 50m transect lines will be ran from the base of the slope up the mountain. North and South facing slopes tend to have a difference in vegetation. Therefore, for the sake of consistency, transects will all be laid on south facing slopes. Two different forms of sampling will be performed. The first will be collections using a net. A sweep will be done with the net over the length of the entire transect. Second, any bushes found along the transect will be shaken into cafeteria trays and the contents placed in bags. The insect species will be identified down to the genus. The two measurements will be number of insects per bush sampled and the number of insects per transect.

Visit #28043 @Stunt Ranch Santa Monica Mountains Reserve

Approved

Under Project # 24966 | Research

Affects of Fire on Insect Diversity

undergraduate_student - University of California, Los Angeles

Reservation Members(s)

Lars Clark Mar 3, 2012 (1 days)

Reserve Resources(s) | Create Invoice