Biodiversity of Leaf Litter Lab Report

Luke Johnson
Mrs. Norris
AP Environmental Science
11 October, 2014
Collaborators:
Hannah Whitt, James Hamil, Megan Redfern
Introduction:
When measuring biodiversity, richness and evenness must be taken into account. Richness is the
number of species per sample, the more species present the richer the sample is. Evenness is a measure
of the relative abundance of the different species making up the richness of an area. Simpsons diversity
Index is a measure of diversity using richness and evenness in determining diversity. It is important for
environments to maintain a high diversity so there are more food chains in an ecosystem, and if one
species was to become extinct or leave an area, the entire ecosystem would not collapse.
Problem:
How diverse is leaf litter collected from a forest behind Heritage High School?
Hypothesis:
By collecting leaf litter that is damp, near a water source, and in a dimly lit area, then many
different species and a multitude of each species will be found, and the leaf litter around the High
School would have a number close to 0 for the Simpsons Index.
Parts of the Experiment:
Control Group: None
Experimental Group: Different Samples of Leaf litter in class
Independent Variable: Location of leaf litter collection
Dependent Variable: Amount of organisms in sample
Controlled Variables: Light source, container, time, temperature
Materials:
Leaf Litter
Compound Microscope
Alcohol
Berless Funnel
Source of Light
Methods:
1. Collect a sample of leaf litter. Be sure to collect the entire layer down to the soul.
2. Examine the sample and classify what you see the layer is composed of.
3. Place your sample into the Berless Funnel under the light source. Place a small beaker of alcohol
under the funnel. The hope is that small invertebrates will travel away from the light and fall
into your alcohol.
4. The next day, collect your beaker and examine the organisms you have collected under the
microscopes. You will need to calculate the number of each species you have, and identify them.
Each person may work on a portion of the sample and put your numbers together. Use the
Identification pages to name each species.
5. Use the information to calculate the diversity indices for your sample.
Photos:



Data:
Species Name Quantity
Millipede 4
Proturan 2
True Bug 2
Ant 3
Japygid 1
Springtail 3
Spider 2
Isopod 3
Beetlemite 1
Termite 1
Pauropod 1
Aphid 2

Total Organisms: 25
Simpsons Index: .063
Simpsons Index of Diversity: .937
Simpsons Reciprocal Index: 1.06761567
Observations:
Location: Heritage High School Trail
Type of Environment: Deciduous Forest
Date: 25 September, 2014
Weather: Cloudy, humid
Air Temperature: 63 degrees Fahrenheit
Conclusion:
Due to the insects collected being under the shade of trees and leaves, placing a light overhead
allowed for the insects to crawl further down the Berless funnel into the beaker of alcohol, away from
the heat and the light. The insects collected were numerous and varied greatly in species having a
Simpsons Index of .063 suggesting high biodiversity. In order to have a more accurate study other
samples must be taken from the same ecosystem in different areas. This is due to not every square
meter having the same number of organisms on it. If I were to replicate this experiment to take samples
of a large forest, I would measure out specific distances from the last sample I took over several acres or
square miles of land. I was correct in assuming that collecting leaf litter near a water source, in a damp
area, with little light, would lead to high biodiversity.







Work Cited
Biodiversity of Leaf Litter. N.p.: Web. 11Oct. 2014. PDF