Using area-based methods I sampled Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area three separate times using three different sampling methods: systematics, random, and haphazard sampling.
All three techniques were comparable in terms of time spent sampling. Between the three methods it took an average of 12 hours, 35 minutes with largest difference between methods being 14 minutes.
The most accurate sampling strategy was the haphazard strategy with an average percent error of -6.71 and a standard deviation of 47.29; both values are the lowest of all three data sets. For common species, the most accurate results were again from the haphazard sampling. For rare species, all of the results were noticeably less accurate then for common species, however, once again the most accurate of the three methods was the haphazard sampling.
The number of common species in the community and abundance measurements I believe is represented sufficiently, however the abundance and number of rare species would require more than 24 sampling points to improve accuracy.
Area; Systematic Table:
Area; Random Table
Area; Haphazard Table:
