Читать книгу Practical Field Ecology - C. Philip Wheater - Страница 17

Having decided on a provisional topic, the next step in the successful planning of any research project is to identify those questions you wish to ask and then to formulate the aims and objectives. There are various reasons for researching particular plants, animals, or environments and this section provides a quick overview of the scope of ecological projects.

Many studies involve monitoring the number of species, number of individuals (relative abundance), estimates of population size or density (absolute abundance), or community structure (diversity, evenness, and richness). Additionally, studies on animals may require observations of the behaviour of individuals or groups and their interactions with each other and their environment.