\log
The initial iteration of this file was generated by Heather
O'Lear in early January 1994. Minor editorial revisions were
made to the documentation and header sections of the file
by RCI on 5 January 1994 and the file was put under sccs
control on that date as well.[RCI 5 January 1994] Editorial
revisions to the first iteration were provided by Tim
Seastedt on 6 January 1994 and incorporated on that date.
[RCI 6 January 1994]
\doc
TITLE. Soil microarthropod densities on Niwot Ridge.
ABSTRACT. Microarthropod densities in the upper 5 cm of soil
were estimated for different alpine communities on Niwot Ridge
in the Front Range of Colorado. Densitites were higher than
previously reported and averaged 111,200 individuals/m2. Acari
dominated this group and composed 80-90% of the fauna;
Collembola composed an average of 15%. Oribatid mites composed
23-58% of total densities, while Prostigmatid mites composed
32-54%. The relative abundance of the Oribatid and
Prostigmatid mites varied significantly across the landscape,
with Prostigmatids more abundant in the xeric sites.
Composition of the detritus-based food web appear to change
substantially across the snow depth gradient found in the
alpine tundra.
INVESTIGATOR. Tim Seastedt, INSTAAR, CB 450, University of
Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309-0450, (303) 492-3302 or
(303) 492-0434, tims@culter.colorado.edu.
VARIABLES. abundance, composition, fauna list, moisture
gradient.
KEYWORDS. microarthropods, landscape, alpine, animal species composition.
LOCATION. Study sites in 1992 included the krummholz and
trough areas directly south of the crest of Niwot Ridge;
sites in 1993 were on or adjacent to the Saddle snowfence
experiment area. Samples and original data are stored in
Research Laboratory #1 (Room 178a).
TIMING. begin 10 July 1992, end 26 August 1993, once at each site.
CITATIONS. [1]O'Lear, H.A., and T.R. Seastedt. 1994. Landscape
patterns of litter decomposition in alpine tundra. Oecologia 99: 95-101.
[2]Seastedt, T.R., and D.A. Crossley, Jr. 1978. Further
investigations of microarthropod populations using the
Merchant-Crossley high-gradient extractor. Journal of the
Georgia Entomological Society 13: 338-344.
COMMENTS. Soil cores (5 cm in depth) were randomly removed
from selected habitats located on Niwot Ridge. Habitats included
dry meadow (dry) dominated by Kobresia myosuroides, wet meadow
(wet) dominated by Carex spp. and Sibbaldia spp., mesic meadow
(mes) dominated by Acomastylis rossii, shrub community (shb)
dominated by Salix spp., sub-alpine meadow (sam), krummholz
community (krm), and Acomastylis community adjacent to krummholz
(abk). The high-gradient extraction method described by Seastedt
and Crossley (1978) was used to remove invertebrates. Extracted
samples were placed in a gridded petri dish containing gylcerol
and counts were done using a dissecting scope. Numbers of
individuals were then multiplied by 552.6 to obtain
densities/m2.
\type
statistical.
\header
COL1. label=sample date (yymmdd), type=string, units=none,
missing value indicator=, minimum=920710, maximum=930826,
precision=
COL2. label=site, type=string, units=none, missing value
indicator=, minimum=, maximum=, precision=
COL3. label=number of immature Oribatid mites, type=integer,
units=none, missing value indicator=, minimum=0,
maximum=166, precision=
COL4. label=number of adult Oribatid mites, type=integer,
units=none, missing value indicator=, minimum=0,
maximum=157, precision=
COL5. label=number of Prostigmatid mites, type=integer,
units=none, missing value indicator=, minimum=2,
maximum=263, precision=
COL6. label=number of Mesostigmatid mites, type=integer,
units=none, missing value indicator=, minimum=0,
maximum=40, precision=
COL7. label=number of Collembola, type=integer,
units=none, missing value indicator=, minimum=0,
maximum=165, precision=
COL8. label=number of other insects, type=integer,
units=none, missing value indicator=, minimum=0,
maximum=13, precision=
COL9. label=comments, type=string, units=none, missing value
indicator=, minimum=, maximum=, precision=
{*********************************************************************
If the data section below contains no data then you will need to
obtain permission from the investigator listed in the documentation
section of this file. If you have obtained permission or if the data
are already contained in this file, include the following
acknowledgment (in addition to an acknowledgment of the investigator)
in any published use of these data: "Logistical support
and/or data were provided by the Niwot Ridge Long-Term Ecological
Research project (NSF DEB 0423662) and the Mountain Research Station
(BIR 9115097)." Please send 4 reprints or high-quality copies of any
such publications to Todd Ackerman, NWT LTER data manager,
INSTAAR, CB 450, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309-0450.
The data contained in these files have many sources. Generally,
data collected prior to 1993 would have been subjected to quality
control standards imposed by the investigator. Data after 1992
were likely to have been manually entered and/or processed in the
NWT LTER central data management laboratory. Detailed information
on the quality control protocols and programs associated with any
data routed through the NWT LTER data management laboratory will
be supplied upon request. The user of these data should be aware
that, while efforts have been taken to ensure that these data are
of the highest quality, there is no guarantee of perfection for
the data contained herein and the possibility of errors exists.
If you encounter questionable data, please contact the NWT LTER
data manager (todda@culter.colorado.edu; (303) 492-4771) so that
the data can be corrected or qualified. Thus, these data should
be considered dynamic in that past data may be modified and future
data will be appended.
******************************************************************}
\data
920710 wet 50 33 08 05 28 02
920710 wet 67 29 37 01 09 06
920710 wet 103 129 112 00 08 03
920710 wet 26 39 05 03 05 01
920710 wet 28 65 70 03 121 03
920710 mes 00 28 56 00 26 00
920710 dry 07 05 47 04 34 00
920710 dry 24 09 73 03 06 00
920710 dry 36 38 47 20 44 01
920710 dry 24 34 20 11 11 00
920710 dry 40 45 49 33 60 01
920710 dry 23 03 46 25 18 00
920716 krm 81 23 179 15 17 00
920716 krm 40 13 71 09 14 01
920716 krm 82 89 245 22 20 00
920716 krm 47 22 52 20 08 00
920716 krm 107 62 176 40 49 01
920716 krm 134 82 126 18 23 00
920716 sam 24 22 95 02 07 00 {subalpine meadow}
920716 sam 11 17 37 06 44 04
920716 sam 23 11 60 05 11 00
920716 mes 26 75 47 30 29 02
920716 mes 55 94 39 04 10 00
920716 mes 53 63 65 13 02 01
920716 mes 52 62 85 31 31 01
920710 mes 99 29 47 13 00 00
920710 mes 18 00 02 08 00 01 {"other" is Homoptera}
920716 abk 18 12 58 07 05 03 {Acomastylis by krummholz}
920716 abk 36 08 63 03 14 00 {Acomastylis by krummholz}
930615 shb 49 54 28 01 07 00 {shrub}
930615 shb 55 84 06 09 07 00
930615 dry 06 08 13 02 79 00
930615 dry 15 24 66 08 05 09 {7 of the "other" are Homoptera}
930615 mes 17 06 35 00 03 02 {1 of the "other" is Homoptera}
930615 mes 30 10 35 02 03 05 {4 of the "other" are Homoptera}
930615 wet 36 31 47 01 29 05 {all of the "other" are Homoptera}
930615 wet 58 39 76 01 34 05 {1 of the "other" is Homoptera}
930615 mes 20 23 156 00 125 00
930615 dry 13 08 46 00 08 01 {"other" is Homoptera}
930615 wet 18 08 65 02 16 01 {"other" is Homoptera}
930615 wet 13 19 15 05 34 03 {2 of the "other" are Homoptera}
930615 dry 12 18 60 02 02 00
930615 shb 48 40 57 00 20 02 {all of the "other" are Homoptera}
930622 dry 10 51 299 02 12 04 {3 of the "other" are Homoptera}
930622 mes 84 52 96 03 04 01 {"other" is Homoptera}
930622 mes 24 05 43 01 09 03
930622 dry 66 71 312 08 21 06 {2 of the "other" are Homoptera}
930622 wet 15 28 139 00 10 03
930622 shb 69 38 113 02 23 00
930622 shb 45 46 45 02 14 00
930622 wet 22 24 74 01 11 02
930622 dry 37 43 198 01 22 03 {2 of the "other" are Homoptera}
930622 shb 135 157 167 00 17 00
930622 shb 161 94 124 01 14 02 {all of the "other" are Homoptera}
930622 mes 09 14 48 00 11 07 {4 of the "other" are Homoptera}
930622 wet 135 145 241 00 24 05 {4 of the "other" are Homoptera}
930622 wet 39 64 74 00 07 00
930622 mes 11 13 157 00 165 00
930826 dry 60 44 160 00 09 05
930826 wet 166 75 15 00 05 03
930826 wet 24 36 43 00 17 09
930826 dry 24 22 263 00 141 08
930826 mes 35 10 68 01 03 02
930826 shb 72 18 80 01 20 00
930826 shb 95 80 68 05 14 00
930826 mes 113 63 90 03 05 04
930826 mes 22 24 62 02 31 02
930826 mes 49 24 70 00 01 06
930826 shb 75 23 54 03 16 03
930826 shb 132 64 240 04 22 01
930826 wet 14 19 94 04 15 13
930826 wet 56 44 49 01 34 09
930826 dry 35 51 154 00 05 04
930826 dry 00 00 18 00 61 00