Three sampling strategies were used, based on area, in the Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area – systematic, random, and haphazard/subjective. It was observed that the systematic method yielded the fastest sampling time. When comparing the percent error among the different strategies it appeared that accuracy increased with species abundance; lower percent errors for more abundant species were observed with systematic and random sampling techniques, indicating they work well for the most common species. Conversely, the haphazard method had a lower percent error for one of the least common species, suggesting that this method could work well for rare species.
Sampling Strategy 1: Systematic
Estimated sampling time: 12 hours 7 minutes
Percent error most common species 1: -3.3%
Percent error most common species 2: 10.0%
Percent error least common species 1: 90.3%
Percent error least common species 2: -100%
Sampling Strategy 2: Random
Estimated sampling time: 13 hours 11 minutes
Percent error most common species 1: 6.4%
Percent error most common species 2: 5.5%
Percent error least common species 1: -100%
Percent error least common species 2: -100%
Sampling Strategy 3: Haphazard/subjective
Estimated sampling time: 12 hours 55 minutes
Percent error most common species 1: 31.9%
Percent error most common species 2: -31.9%
Percent error least common species 1: -8.6%
Percent error least common species 2: – 52.4%
While one was faster, all are pretty similar. I was surprised at your % error for the rare species for haphazard. It can be lowest for rare species but usually still much worse than the common species