Chapter 1.3, Problem 7P

Ecology: Gathering Data Which technique for gathering data (observational study or experiment) do you think was used in the following studies?

1. (a) The Colorado Division of Wildlife netted and released 774 fish at Quincy Reservoir. There were 219 perch, 315 blue gill, 83 pike, and 157 rainbow trout.
2. (b) The Colorado Division of Wildlife caught 41 bighorn sheep on Mt. Evans and gave each one an injection to prevent heartworm. A year later, 38 of these sheep did not have heartworm, while the other three did.
3. (c) The Colorado Division of Wildlife imposed special fishing regulations on the Deckers section of the South Platte River. All trout under 15 inches had to be released. A study of trout before and after the regulation went into effect showed that the average length of a trout increased by 4.2 inches after the new regulation.
4. (d) An ecology class used binoculars to watch 23 turtles at Lowell Ponds. It was found that 18 were box turtles and 5 were snapping turtles.