Bioinformatics

Student Projects

Recognisable Taxonomic Units

Recognisable Taxonomic Units (RTUs)

Create a Biodiversity Checklist of Recognisable Taxonomic Units.

Basically, you sample an area and produce a species list for butterflies, snakes, frogs, mammals or lizards.

The processes required are: (Theory / Practice / Application)

Theory

• Set the Goal(s)
• Assess the contribution of your data to the goal(s)
• Assess how well you have achieved your goal(s)

Practice

• Sample an area
• Identify the species (taxa)
• Create a list of RTUs
• Comment on the distribution of these species (local or widespread)

Application

• Discuss what information you have acquired.
• How best can you use this information?
• What is the value of this information?

The area chosen may be a specific site or a defined area. This site or area may be local to yourself or somewhere you intend to visit.

See how long it takes to make a BioDiversity List using the computer, compared to beginning from scratch with field work. That is not to say that field work is obsolete, rather, you can plan and be predictive before you begin your field work.