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156 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is the environment?
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The sum of all circumstances and conditions surrounding an organism/group of organisms.
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What are two things that environmental science can do?
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1.Provide us with information about the environment and the effect that is having on organisms.
2.Help to inform decisions taken to preserve/manage organisms and their environment. |
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What is research?
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The gathering of knowledge, or any systematic investigation to establish facts. May involve testing hypotheses.
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What are the four mediums research can be based in?
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-Field based, go out and collect info in the field
-Laboratory based, analyse samples brought into the lab -computer based, produce predictive models/simulations -literacy based, analyse published records |
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In Enviro science, what is research often focused on?
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Species distribution, population and interactions and management.
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Methods needed in enviro science include
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-IDing
-detection -sampling -monitoring -mapping -environmental analysis |
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What is monitoring?
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Documenting the state of a system and how it may change over time.
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What are some important points for monitoring?
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-Use the same methods/techniques everytime
-If you do have to change the mehtod, allow a period of overlap where you can ascertain if the two methods are comparable |
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Incorporating monitoring into a management program flow diagram
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Set objective>implement management plan>monitor/reasearch>analyse data>incorporate new information>set objective
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What are some common failings of monitoring plans?
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-not learning very much
-experience/gut feeling over rule scientific data -underlying assumptions that management plans must be beneficial |
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What are the main steps in designing a monitoring program?
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-define your objective
-design the monitoring program -collect the data -analyse the data -communicate the results |
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What are some things that need to be considered when designing a monitoring program?
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Geographic scale, how much and how often you will sample, what methods to use.
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What are some common mistake so monitoring programs?
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-sampling the wrong thing/indicator
-too little data collected -poor sampling technique -too ambitious a program -poor analysis -lack of consistency in technique |
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How to reduce common mistakes made in monitoring programs?
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-run thru design with colleagues
-check literature for methods -run a pilot study |
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What sample size do i need?
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-species area curve
-balancing ideal sample size against practicalities |
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What methods to choose?
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depends on resources available to you, what you are sampling, doesnt need to be hi tech
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be rigorous in your data collection
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-make field notes (observations, pre formatted data sheets)
-excel spreadsheets |
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Important things to remember in data analysis
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-make sure it can be properly analysed
-use appropriate statistical tests -dont misinterpret |
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why do we need to collect data?
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-to investigate phenomena
-propose models to help understanding -to develop theories -make informed m'ment decisions -reasoning based on evidence |
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What are the objectives for measuring data?
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-description
-research -monitoring -adaptive management |
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What are the two ways that statistics can be defined?
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-collections of qualitative information
-methods of handling qualitative information |
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What are the limitations of statistics?
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-can't prove anything but can support hypotheses
-no theory has ever been proven -inaccurate data = misleading results - |
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Why, when investigating environmental phenomena, do you need to follow logical, replicable, formal procedure?
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So that it is repeatable and can stand up to peer scrutiny.
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What are the steps in Underwood's model 1997?
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Observations >
Models > Hypothesis > Null Hypothesis > Experiment > Interpretation > Reject Hypothesis? Back to observations |
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What is a hypothesis?
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A prediction that proposes an explanation for observations.
The null hypothesis is there for statistical reasons, disproof of the null hypothesis leaves proof for the hypothesis. |
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What is a variable?
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A property that takes on different values eg height, weight, age
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What are the independent and dependent variables?
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IV = the variable we manipulate in the experiment
DV = the variable we hypothesise will alter as a consequence of manipulation |
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What are the categories of measurement?
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-Nominal
-ordinal -interval -ratio |
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What is nominal measurement?
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names results
individuals are placed into categories which must be mutually exclusive e.g. colour, sex |
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What is ordinal measurement?
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ranks results that may not indicate
absolute quantities e.g. Abundance of plant species in a quadrat: Dominant = 5 Abundant = 4 Frequent = 3 Occasional = 2 Rare = 1 |
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What is interval measurement?
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in addition to rank, provides equal
intervals between successive values of a variable |
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What is ration measurement?
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highest level of measurement
– provides equal intervals – includes absolute zero e.g. measurements of length and mass |
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Principles for ecological experimental design?
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-State your hypothesis
-replication, take replicate samples - random sampling, to ensure sampling is representative of population -control, take samples from areas with no treatment |
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Most common forms of presenting data?
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-bar graph
-histogram -scatter plot -pie graph |
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What are descriptive statistics?
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Means, medians, averages, ranges, standard deviations
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What is the mean?
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mid point, dividing the sum of observations by the number of observations
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What is the median?
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the middle observation, half the values are above and half below in a set rated by magnitude
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What is the mode?
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The most frequently occurring event
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Relationship between the mode, median and mean?
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In a perfectly symmetrical distribution the mean,
median and mode are all the same In a skewed distribution the mean shifts towards the direction of the skew |
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How to measure variability?
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-range
-standard deviations -variance -significance and P levels -standard error -check for normality |
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What is range?
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the highest and lowest observations in a
distribution |
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What is standard deviation?
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an indicator of how much the data are
spread around the mean – a widely used measure of variability |
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What is variance?
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a measure of variability related to the
standard deviation () – the square of the standard deviation – 2 for a population variance – s2 for a sample variance |
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what are t tests?
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Typically used to compare 1 or 2 samples
Tests the probability that the samples come from a population with the same mean value Paired t test compares the means of a variable in the same population under different conditions or at two different times |
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What is significance level?
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describes the likelihood that there is a difference between 2 groups and that it isnt just chance
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what is a P value?
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-gives the probability of any observed difference in measurement between the 2 groups having happened by chance.
-P = 0.05 means the probability of the difference having happened by chance is 1 in 20 (1/0.05) = 5% If P < 0.05 indicates that the figure quoted is “statistically significant” – unlikely to have happened by chance |
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What is standard error?
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Standard error (S.E.) of the mean is the
standard deviation of a sample of means Standard Error gives us an indication of how good an estimate our sample mean is |
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In regards to animals, what do we want to know?
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• Species richness and diversity
• Distribution of a particular species • Abundance/density of a particular species • Changes over time • Diet • Health/body condition of individual animals • Movements • Interactions with other species • Habitat use • Reproductive behaviour |
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What resources are available?
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# people
time available equipment |
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What are some general considerations when doing a risk assessment for a study?
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-likelihood of an incident
-how to minimise the risk of an incident happening -what to do in the event of an incident, the consequences |
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What are some considerations about the animals themselves?
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-behaviour
-safety issues -survey methods -marking methods |
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When do you need ethics approval?
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when working on an vertebrates, some invertebrates as well
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Whatre the pieces of legislation in place that require you to get ethics approval?
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-1986 prevention of cruelty to animals act
-Australian Code of PracEce for the Care and Use of Animals for ScienEfic Purposes (“The Code”) |
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What are the three R's of animal welfare?
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-Replacement - find other ways of addressing your Q's without using animals
-Reduction - Reduce # of individual animals you'll be using -Refinement - improve techniques to minimise harm and stress |
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What are other permits that you may need?
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-for working in national/state forest
-working with native animals -marking animals -collecting specimens |
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What should you do for wildlife surveys?
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Choose an indicator species or group
or attempt to survey everything |
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What are some animal survey methods?
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-active searches/counts
-trapping -remote cameras -sign surveys - scats, hairs, tracks -index methods - chew cards |
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What are some molecular genetic techniques?
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-Collect DNA material from hairs, scats, chew cards, stomach contents
-ID species, individuals, sex etc |
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What are some considerations relative to animal trapping?
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-adequate food, water and safety for the animal
-cleaning trap between captures -efficient handling, how long in the trap -cover the trap so no drowing in wet weather -is the trap sheltered from heat? |
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What kind of measurements might you want to take when collecting animal data?
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-take blood/fur samples
-body condition -other body features (tails, ears etc) -body mass -body length -sex - |
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What are some types of animal marking?
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-use natural markings (non invasive/low risk)
-ear notch -ear tag -toenail clip -leg band -neck band -dyes/paints -tatooing -tail notching |
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How can you use marking to estimate population size?
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-mark as many as you can
-return 1 week later and count the no of marked and unmarked animals population=marked(t1)/marked(t2)*total observed(t2) t1=100 seals marked t2=200 seals (50 marked, 150 unmarked) pop estimate = 100/50*200=400 |
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What are the advantages/disadvantages of pitfall traps?
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-cheap and easy to place hundreds of them in an area (plstic cups embedded in ground with ethanol) prefect for crawling bugs
-can capture small mammals by accident |
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What is a useful trap for capturing flying insects? What are its dis/advantages?
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Sticky traps
-cheap and easy to set out -can pick up other debris and damage insects |
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What are light traps? What are their advantages?
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-captures nocturnal flying insects
-large numbers in short periods, doesnt damage the insects |
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What are pheromone traps best for? dis/advantages?
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-v effective, species specific traps exploiting attraction to sex pheromones
-used for pest control -more expensive |
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What is fogging?
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-captures wide variety of insects
-v effective at getting large numbers of insects in hard to reach places -v unenvironmentally friendly due to toxic chemicals used |
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How would you get a better survey of insects?
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Use several different approaches/techniques
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What is a common method of trapping lizards alive?
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Noosing
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What is a common way of trapping frogs?
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Pit fall traps
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What are the pros and cons of mistnets?
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-good no's of small birds can be captured, enables easy handling for marking/banding
-cuses stress to birds and may be destroyed by large animals ie emus |
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What are cannon nets?
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A way of capturing large birds (ie waterfowl), useful in certain environments.
Problems = stress/injury |
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What is the best method for capturing larger birds?
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-Direct handling/capture
-may require more then one person -physically demanding, stressful, time consuming |
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What is the Australian bird and bat banding scheme?
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-Started in 1953
-coordinates all banding -run by environment australia -trains and licenses banders -banding permits |
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why may you need to mark an animal?
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-to estimate population size
-to estimate longevity of species -to estimate movements of individuals |
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What do banding studies show?
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international movements
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What are two types of live animal traps?
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Elliot traps
cage traps |
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What is the difference between true north, grid north nd magnetic north?
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True north = Earth's geographic north pole
Grid North = the direction of the vertical lines on a topographic map Magnetic North = direction to the Earth's magnetic north pole |
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What is a map datum?
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The way the 3d earth is projected on a 2d map
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What are the features of the universal transvers mercator?
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-earth between 80degrees S and 84 degrees N divided into 60 zones
-low distortion |
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How is a location recorded in the UTM?
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Zone, 7 figure eastings, 7 fugure northigns
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What are the common datums used in Australia?
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AGD66
ADG84 GDA - geocentric datum of australia |
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What are the three bits of information in GPS signal?
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-a pseudorandom code, ID code for each satellite
-ephemeris data, location info for each satellite -almanac data, satellite status, date, time |
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What are some sources of error for calculating GPS location?
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-ionosphere and troposphere affects signal speed
-number of satellites visible -signal multipath, signal reflection off objects |
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What is the accuracy of most handheld GPS units?
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10-20m
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What is remote sensing?
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The technology of aquiring information about the Earth's surface from airborne platforms (balloon, aircraft) or spaceborn platforms (satellites)
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What are some applications of remote sensing?
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Monitoring landscape and atmospheric changes -
-weather -vegetation coverage change -salinity -glacial size change |
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How is remote sensed info captured?
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-made up of pixels the size of which defines the resolution
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What does a GIS enble?
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collection, storage, analysis and display of geographically referenced data
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What is vegetation?
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Plant species and structure at a specific location.
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Why should we map vegetation?
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Conservation Management
-what have we lost, what do we still have, what do we need to conserve, where do we regenerate? -weed management -understanding of plant animal interactions -risk assessment (fire) -impacts of threats eg drought, fire, grazing etc |
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What is growth form?
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Habit of plant, eg tree, herb, shrub
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What is stratum?
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Layer in a vegetation type produced by the occurrence of an aggregation of plants of the same habit
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what is broad floristic?
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genus of the dominant species in the dominant stratum
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What are the main stratum?
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Canopy, Subcanopy, shrub layer/understorey, ground layer
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What is classification of vegetative systems based on?
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Structure
Floristics Condition Disturbance Abiotic factors eg soil type, terrain etc |
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What is a tree?
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a woody plant more than 5 m tall, usually with a single stem.
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What is a shrub?
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a woody plant less than 8 m tall, frequently with many stems arising at or near the base.
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What constitutes tall closed forest?
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Trees taller then 30m with dense (70-100%) foliage cover.
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What constitutes a tall open forest?
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Trees taller then 30m with mid dense (30-70%) foliage cover.
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What constitutes tall woodland?
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Trees taller then 30m with sparse (10-30%) foliage cover.
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What constitutes tall open woodland?
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Trees taller then 30m with very sparse (<10%) foliage cover.
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What do closed forest, open forest, woodland and open woodland have in common?
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Trees 10-30m tall
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What is the height of trees in low forests/woodlands?
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5-10m
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How tall are shrubs in scrub and tall shrubland?
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2-8m
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How tall are shrubs in heath and low shrubland?
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0-2m
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How many major MajorVegetationGroups are there in Australia?
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23
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What is an EVC?
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One or more floristic communities that appear to be associated
with a recognisable environmental niche |
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How many EVC's are there?
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300
20 simplified native veg groups 34 sub groups |
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What are bioregions?
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Landscape scale classification including
-climate -geomorphology -soils -vegetation |
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What is the process of creating a vegetation map?
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-Select survey sites
-conduct field surveys, floristics, structure etc -use aerial/satellite images to determine signature -delineate areas of the same signature |
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What are some examples of vegetation related data you could collect ?
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Structure
-tree height -cover -DBH -tree density -shrub density Floristics -dominant canopy sp -subdominanat canopy spp -dominant shrub species |
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What are some methods for vegetation sampling?
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Visual estimates
• Total counts • Frame quadrats • Transects • Point quadrats • Harvesting • Plotless sampling • Seed-bank soil cores • Seed traps |
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Which veg method should you use?
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Depends on
your objective time resources vegetation type habitat type and shape accuracy required etc use several and compare |
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What are total counts?
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Assessing density of large or obvious plants
that are at low density • Every individual of a species or a number of species in the study area is counted no sampling bias |
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what are fram quadrats?
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Assessing density of large or obvious plants
that are at low density • Every individual of a species or a number of species in the study area is counted |
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What are plotless techniques?
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Measure the space between things
- Useful when plots/quadrats aren’t practical - Works better for non-random distributions - Often used in tree density sampling |
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What are som measurments that can be taken of trees?
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Height
• Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) • Condition • Openness of canopy • Presence of dead wood • Presence of hollows • Presence of epicormic growth etc. |
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What do tree measurements tell us?
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Age of trees
• History of habitat • Condition of habitat • Biodiversity value – what species might use habitat |
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What are the physical properties of water?
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– density
– viscosity – surface tension – thermal properties – erosive power |
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What are the chemical properties of water?
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– H2O
– pH – capacity to contain dissolved oxygen – capacity to carry solutes |
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What properties of water do temperature affect?
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– density, viscosity, surface tension, oxygen
saturation – metabolism of aquatic life, decomposition |
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What are the three important thermal stratification regions in still water bodies?
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Epilimnion - a well-lit, wind-stirred upper
stratum – primary production dominates Thermocline - maximum rate of change in temperature Hypolimnion - a darker, stagnant region |
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What is the pH of rainwater?
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5.64
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What is the lethal to life water pH range?
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Lethal: pH<5.5 and pH>9.5
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Why is pH significant?
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-some organisms have a wide pH tolerance
-pH may limit animal distribution -means of detecting serious problems - mining wastes, acid rain, runoff etc |
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What are some factors that affect pH?
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-photosynthesis
-bicarbonate/co2 from the substrate -High levels of dissolved organic matter reduces pH - |
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How many ppt of salt ions are there in the world avg fresh and sea waters?
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Fresh - <3
Sea - 35 |
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Does salinity increase as you move up or downstream?
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downstream
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What is conductivity?
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The concentration of dissolved ions in water
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What is conductivity measured in?
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micro siemens per cm
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What are the origins of the ions in water?
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rock weathering, atmospheric wet and dry sources, balances betwen precipitation and evaporation
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What factors decrease DO?
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increase in temperature
increase in salinity dissolved organic matter |
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What factors increase DO?
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presence of plants
fast moving, turbulent water |
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What is DO most dependent on?
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temperature, the higher the temp the less DO
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With a cloudless sky, what affects the amount of solar radiation reaching the ground/water?
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latitude
altitude season time of day transparency of the atmosphere |
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What is the littoral zone?
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extends from the
shore at the highest water to the lowest extent of the photic zone |
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What are the features of the littoral zone?
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Coarse sediments – habitat complexity
High rates of photosynthesis Producers, consumers and decomposers present Often the most taxonomically rich zone – greatest diversity |
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What is the profundal zone?
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below the littoral zone extending to the
lake bed Generally poorly lit Much finer sediments than the littoral zone Decomposers predominate in the deeper regions of the lake Respiration dominates Least taxonomically rich zone |
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What is the limnetic/pelagic zone?
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open water beyond the littoral
zone includes part of the photic zone Photosynthesis takes place – lower rates than in the littoral zone Taxonomic richness > than in the profundal zone, but < littoral zone Producers and consumers dominate |
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What are the limitations of physico chemical measurements?
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– single samples from a particular site on a regular basis
– they don’t take into account the spatial and temporal variability of aquatic environments – measurements are highly specific – they don’t pick up any unpredicted pollutants or effects – can’t detect possible synergistic effects of contaminants |
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What are the advantages of macroinvertebtrates in bio-monitoring?
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1. Ubiquitous – can be affected by changes in
conditions in many aquatic ecosystems 2. Large number of species offers a range of responses to various environmental stresses 3. Sedentary nature allows effective spatial analyses of pollutant or disturbance effects 4. Comparatively long life cycles – temporal changes can be determined Macroinvertebrates act as continuous monitors of the water they live in – long-term analysis of: both regular |
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What are the two main types of macroinvertebrate consumers?
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grazers - eat green plants
predators - eat other animals |
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What are the two groups that macroinvertebrates can be grouped into based on diet?
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generalists - eat a variety of prey
specialists - small range of prey |
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Define human dimensions research.
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‘How people value wildlife, how they
want wildlife to be managed, and how they affect or are affected by wildlife and wildlife management decisions.’ (Decker et al. 2001) |
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Why are the human dimensions important?
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Values> Attitudes >behaviours
Education, management, policy, legislation |
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Why are human dimensions important for environmental sustainability?
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• Sustainability indicators (Wallis et al.)
• Water saving behaviours (Graymore et al.) • Landholder attitudes/knowledge (James et al.) |
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Why are human dimensions important for marine and coastal?
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• Attitudes toward marine protected
areas (Wescott et al.) • Beach use (Weston et al.) • Estuary management (Arundel et al., James et al.) • Community‐based monitoring (Koss et al.) |
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Why are human dimensions important for wildlife management?
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• Compliance (e.g. dog leashing laws; wildlife policy)
(Weston et al., Miller et al.) • Wildlife‐human conflicts (Miller et al.) • Volunteerism (Weston et al.) • Recreational fishing (Wallis et al.) |
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Why are human dimensions important for habitats/plants?
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• Weeds and wildlife – perceptions
held by managers • Food, fibre and medicinal plant resources – knowledge gained from indigenous Australians • Knowledge/experience of commercial apiarists (Gibson et al.) |
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What can we use modern technology for?
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• Detection
• Observing movements • Looking at feeding activity • Monitoring behaviour and physiology • Genetic sampling and analysis |
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What are three different types of camera technology?
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-Video: motion triggered or time lapse
-Fixed position remote camera; night vision IR, day vision colour -Animal Cam - attached to animal to monitor behaviour |
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What are some features of passsive IR remote cameras?
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-triggered by motion or heat
-day time/night time combined -better in open areas -lots of false sshots caused by wind etc |
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What are some different methods of tracking animals?
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– Radio tracking
– GPS tagging/tracking – Satellite tracking – Light-‐sensitive tags |
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Questions you may want to answer with tracking technology
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• How far does an animal travel (home range, migration)?
• How fast does it move? • When is the animal active? • What environments does it prefer? |
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What is the potential accuracy displacement for satellite tracked animals?
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200-300m
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