Maseno University
Department of Zoology
SZL 202: Basic Ecology
Practical 1: Study of Animal Species Diversity within Siriba Campus
1.0 Introduction
Species diversity is defined as the number of species and abundance of each species that live in
a particular location. The number of species that live in a certain location is called species
richness. If you were to measure the species richness of a forest, you might find 20 bird species,
50 plant species, and 10 mammal species. Abundance is the number of individuals of each
species. For example, there might be 100 mountain beavers that live in a forest. You can talk
about species diversity on a small scale, like a forest, or on a large scale, like the total diversity
of species living on Earth.
There are numerous reasons why species diversity is essential. Each species has a role in the
ecosystem. For example, bees are primary pollinators. Imagine what would happen if bees went
extinct. Fruits and vegetables could be next, and subsequently the animals that feed off them -
this chain links all the way to humans. Various species provide us not only with food but also
contribute to clean water, breathable air, fertile soils, climate stability, pollution absorption,
building materials for our homes, prevention of disease outbreaks, medicinal resources, and
more. Let's look at some examples.
Species diversity contributes to ecosystem health. Each species is like a thread holding together
an ecosystem. If a species disappears, an entire ecosystem can start to unravel. Species diversity
is crucial for ecosystem health. For example, in the Pacific Northwest, salmon holds together the
entire ecosystem. Salmon carry rich nutrients from the ocean back to the stream environment.
When salmon die, those nutrients are gobbled up by insects, plants, mammals, and birds. If
salmon were to disappear, the impacts would be felt through the entire food chain.
2.0 Materials
Note books, Pens, Binoculars, Field guide books
3.0 Methodology
The students will be divided into smaller groups of five members each. Each group is to take a
walk in the field (as will be directed by the course technologist) and record all the animal species
observed both crawling/walking on the ground as well as those that are flying or patching on
trees.
There will be sets of 10 recordings (tables) of the data, with each recording taking 10 minutes
with a break of at least one minute in between each set of recording.
The data will be represented in a table as shown below,
Set 1. (The first 10 minutes)
Name of the Tally Total Activity Social Feeding Habitat Ecological
organism Number Behavior Guild Importance
(in batches of 5)
NB: Perform ten trials of 10 minutes each (Set 1 up to Set 10)
Post Field work Activities.
1. Identify the top five most abundant organisms from your findings
2. Calculate the relative frequency of the top 5 most abundant organisms
3. Draw a pyramid of numbers and pyramid of biomass for the top 5 most abundant
4. Construct any three possible food chains out of your data
5. Construct a possible food web out of your data
Good Luck
Nixon Omolo
Course Technologist
