A student investigated the population density of dog's mercury (Mercurialis perennis) in a deciduous wood using random sampling. They placed a 0.5 m×0.5 m0.5\text{ m} \times 0.5\text{ m}0.5 m×0.5 m quadrat at ten randomly chosen coordinates and recorded the number of individual plants in each quadrat, obtaining the following dataset:
15,18,16,14,112,17,13,19,15,17 15, \quad 18, \quad 16, \quad 14, \quad 112, \quad 17, \quad 13, \quad 19, \quad 15, \quad 17 15,18,16,14,112,17,13,19,15,17Following standard ecological sampling guidelines, the student must identify and exclude any anomalous results before calculating the mean density of the population.
What is the estimated mean population density of M. perennis per square metre (m−2\text{m}^{-2}m−2)?
16.0 organisms m−216.0\text{ organisms m}^{-2}16.0 organisms m−2
57.6 organisms m−257.6\text{ organisms m}^{-2}57.6 organisms m−2
64.0 organisms m−264.0\text{ organisms m}^{-2}64.0 organisms m−2
102.4 organisms m−2102.4\text{ organisms m}^{-2}102.4 organisms m−2
