COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ECOLOGICAL SURVEY TECHNIQUES ON INVERTEBRATE

The objective of this study was to determine appropriate methodologies in different habitats in order to identify invertebrates using identification keys. The study was carried out in the Close House in the University of Newcastle Experimental Farm. The methods employed during the study were Pitfall trapping, Sweep netting, Blo-Vac and Beating trays. The skills of using the identification keys were developed in order to identify the groups of insects present in different habitats at least to the level of their order. Major invertebrate orders such as Hemiptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera and Coleoptera were identified and assessed using appropriate methods of survey, having undertaken a quantitative comparison of the relative advantages and disadvantages of the various methods used. Sampling techniques were taken in open and dense vegetations, trees and shrubs and the data collected were analysed using bar charts, Simpson’s biodiversity index and Shannon biodiversity index. The results showed that Blo- Vac method produced the highest number of species in both habitats followed by Sweep netting but beating tray method recorded the least number of species from trees and shrubs. There was a significant difference between Simpson biodiversity index and Shannon diversity but there was no significant difference between Simpson Evenness and Shannon Evenness