Question

Ecologists are studying the fire coral population in a 280-square-kilometer area on the Great Barrier Reef. Fire corals cannot move from one location to another in their environment.
Which of the following methods is most appropriate for the ecologists to use to determine the size of the fire coral population?


Counting all the fire corals in the total area to determine the precise number of individuals in the population

A

Determining the size of the fire coral population in a quadrat sample area and using it to estimate the overall population size

B

Using a mark and recapture method to estimate the overall population size

C

Tagging individual fire corals and returning the following year to count how many are still in the same area

Answer 1

Answer

The correct option is determining the size of the fire coral population in a quadrat sample area and using it to estimate the overall population size .

Explanation:

Quadrat can be described as a method to calculate the size of individuals of a population. A quadrat is an instrument which has a square shape which is used by statisticians to measure the distribution of population in a unit area. By counting the number of individuals in the quadrat, the number of individuals in the whole area can be calculated.

It is an effective method because counting each individual from a population becomes extremely tiresome and may not be possible for larger populations.