Читать книгу Practical Field Ecology - C. Philip Wheater - Страница 23

Whilst focusing in on the main aim of the research will help you to formulate the procedure to be followed, you will also need to understand the limitations of the approach that you take. For example, census methods (such as simple species counts) can be quick to implement and provide substantial amounts of data in a short time. In contrast, techniques to assess population sizes or community structure tend to be much more time consuming and may produce complex data sets. However, you should be aware that whilst it is usually possible to extract census information from population or community study data sets (albeit with a loss of detailed information), it is not possible to use census methods to assess community structure or population levels. In general, it is important to have at least some knowledge about the ecology and behaviour of the species or community under investigation when designing the research project, irrespective of the type of study being undertaken. Understanding the limitations as well as the potential benefits of any technique employed is essential to being able to critically evaluate the data gathered. As such, refining and developing new and existing methods can avoid or, at the very least reduce, biases and other problems with particular techniques. Case Study 1.1 describes one particular example of how a novel technique was developed.