transect

(trăn-sĕkt′)

tr.v. tran·sected, tran·secting, tran·sects

To divide by cutting transversely.

A usually straight line along which measurements or observations are made at regular intervals, as for purposes of ecological study.

tran·sec′tion n.

transect

a line across a habitat or habitats along which organisms are sampled in order to study changes that may occur along that line. Transects are most frequently used in studying changes in vegetation (often a particular species) across a physically changing habitat such as blanket bog or sand dunes. A belt transect may be considered as a widening of a line transect or as a continuous line of QUADRATS, and all plants within the belt are recorded, as opposed to only those t ouching the line in the case of the line transect. Recording in a belt transect is much more time-consuming but gives more accurate results. Association transects are very long and usually only dominant species or ASSOCIATIONS are recorded.

Collins Dictionary of Biology, 3rd ed. © W. G. Hale, V. A. Saunders, J. P. Margham 2005

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References in periodicals archive

A transect of 1.05 km was surveyed for five times, and total 10 birds,ranging in number from 2 to 3 individuals,were seen between the altitudinal range of 1675 m and 2500 m asl.

DISTRIBUTION AND POPULATION STATUS OF HIMALAYAN MONAL PHEASANT (LOPHOPHORUSIMPEJANUS) IN SALKHALA GAME RESERVE, NEELUM VALLEY AZAD JAMMU AND KASHMIR (PAKISTAN)

In areas where the pipeline is aboveground, only 14.9% of the transects transitioned from "no shrub" to "shrub" (Fig.

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System Facilitates Shrub Establishment in Northern Alaska

Transects surveyed by MORA staff were of 3 types: (A) the 6 original transects surveyed by the USGS, 1996-2001; (B) 16 transects that were approximate matches to the original USGS transects; and (C) 26 new transects created by MORA staff (Fig.

INCREASED AMPHIBIAN PRESENCE IN A MONTANE LAKE AFTER FISH REMOVAL, MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, WASHINGTON

4) they show that in 2008 weta were present in most locations (94%) along the three north erntra nsects and present only at the northernmost positions on the three southern transects. By 2013, their distribution had changed so they were detected along the three so uthern transects and the Central transect, and were no longer found at some locations (39%) along the North and Northeast transects.

Population expansion by Cook Strait giant weta, Deinacrida rugosa (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae), following translocation to Matiu/Somes Island, New Zealand, and subsequent changes in abundance

These benchmarks served as fixed elevation reference points for comparing changes in soil surface elevations along our 10 permanent line transects at different survey periods.

Native desert grassland plant species declines and accelerated erosion in the Paint Gap Hills of southwest Texas

Note that for some analyses we divided the transect depths into four strata based on species groupings determined by MDS analyses of fish and invertebrate communities.

A Comparison of Fishes and Invertebrates Living in the Vicinity of Energized and Unenergized Submarine Power Cables and Natural Sea Floor off Southern California, USA

A given survey should last less than three hours, depending on the transect length, within the 2-3 h after sunrise and the 2-3 h before sunset to match the period of maximal activity of roe deer (Bubenik 1960, Maublanc et al.

Saving time and money by using diurnal vehicle counts to monitor roe deer abundance

These and other large mammal studies employ a variety of detection methods, often coupling transects with camera traps.

Composicion y densidad de las comunidades de grandes mamiferos bajo un gradiente de alteracion en el noreste de Costa Rica

Given the topographic range of the Transect 2013 data, the entire life cycle of deep propagating convection can be evaluated in terms of the PWV temporal and spatial evolution captured by the Transect, including the initiation phase at the highest elevations of the SMO.

The North American monsoon GPS transect experiment 2013

We determined the amount and type of primary and secondary seafloor habitat from the video footage taken along each transect. Primary habitat covered >50% of the seafloor, and secondary habitat covered >20% of the remaining seafloor.

A comparison of density and length of Pacific groundfishes observed from 2 survey vehicles: a manned submersible and a remotely operated vehicle

At all sites, the mean (SEM) population of Himalayan Griffon was estimated as 51.607.60 and 467.61 individuals on the basis of nesting site population count and transect survey counts, respectively.

Spatio-temporal Decline of Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis Hume, 1869) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan