BRAINCAKEMark-Release-Recapture
Animals that move around, such as woodlice, beetles, snails, fish and small mammals, cannot be sampled with quadrats. Their population size is estimated by mark-release-recapture.
Method
1. Capture a sample of the animals using a suitable method, such as pitfall traps for ground beetles or netting for fish.
2. Count them and mark each one in a way that is harmless and will not wash off, for example a small dot of non-toxic paint on a beetle's underside.
3. Release them back where they were caught.
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More in Populations in Ecosystems
- Predator-Prey Relationships
- Estimating Population Size with Quadrats
- Random Sampling with Quadrats
- Systematic Sampling along Transects
- Assumptions of Mark-Release-Recapture
- Succession
- Primary Succession
- Secondary Succession
All 20 lessons in Populations in Ecosystems · All AQA A-level Biology topics