Harvard Forest Data Archive

HF177

Soil Arthropods in Hemlock Removal Experiment at Harvard Forest 2008

Related Publications

Data

• hf177-01: ants (preview)
• hf177-02: beetles (preview)
• hf177-03: spiders (preview)

Overview

• Lead: Tara Sackett, Aaron Ellison
• Investigators: Sydne Record
• Contact: Information Manager
• Start date: 2008
• End date: 2008
• Status: complete
• Location: Simes Tract (Harvard Forest)
• Latitude: +42.47 degrees
• Longitude: -72.22 degrees
• Elevation: 200 to 240 meter
• Datum: WGS84
• Taxa: Araneae (spiders), Coleoptera (beetles), Formicidae (ants), Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)
• Release date: 2023
• Language: English
• EML file: knb-lter-hfr.177.10
• DOI: digital object identifier
• EDI: data package
• DataONE: data package
• Related links:
• Air and Soil Temperature in Hemlock Removal Experiment at Harvard Forest since 2004
• Ant Assemblages in Hemlock Removal Experiment at Harvard Forest since 2003
• Ant Diversity and Vegetation Composition in Hemlock Removal Experiment at Harvard Forest 2006
• Coarse Woody Debris in Hemlock Removal Experiment at Harvard Forest since 2005
• Deer and Moose Browsing in Hemlock Removal Experiment at Harvard Forest 2008
• Light Environment in Hemlock Removal Experiment at Harvard Forest since 2004
• Litterfall in Hemlock Removal Experiment at Harvard Forest since 2005
• Overstory Vegetation in Hemlock Removal Experiment at Harvard Forest since 2003
• Seed Bank in Hemlock Removal Experiment at Harvard Forest 2004-2010
• Tree Seed Dispersal in Hemlock Removal Experiment at Harvard Forest 2005
• Understory Vegetation in Hemlock Removal Experiment at Harvard Forest since 2003
• Study type: short-term measurement
• Research topic: biodiversity studies; large experiments and permanent plot studies
• LTER core area: population studies
• Keywords: arthropods, biodiversity, hemlock, hemlock woolly adelgid, soil
• Abstract:

  In eastern North American forests, eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) is a foundation species. As hemlock is lost from forests due to the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) and pre-emptive salvage logging, the structure of assemblages of species associated with hemlock is expected to change. We manipulated hemlock canopy structure at hectare scales to investigate the effects of hemlock death on assemblages of ants, beetles, and spiders in a New England forest. Relative to reference hemlock stands, both in situ death of hemlock and logging and removal of hemlock altered composition and diversity of beetles and spiders, and logging increased the species richness and evenness of ant assemblages. Species composition of ant assemblages in disturbed habitats was non-random relative to the regional species pool, but we found no evidence that interspecific competition shaped the structure of ant, beetle or spider assemblages, in either manipulated or intact forest stands. Environmental filtering by hemlock appears to maintain low levels of species richness and evenness in forest stands, suggesting that the loss of hemlock due to the hemlock woolly adelgid or human activities will not likely lead to extirpations of ant, beetle, or spider species at local scales.

• Methods:

  In May, July, and September 2008, we randomly selected five 1-m2 sub-plots (separated by at least 10 m) within each canopy manipulation plot, sifted all the leaf litter from the sub-plot into Winkler extractors (Krell et al. 2005), and recovered ants, beetles, and spiders over a 10-day period. We also deployed five pitfall traps 3-5 m away from each sub-plot for 10 days; traps were charged with propylene glycol, which does not bloat the spiders.

  Voucher specimens are deposited in the Harvard Forest Sample Archive

• Organization: Harvard Forest. 324 North Main Street, Petersham, MA 01366, USA. Phone (978) 724-3302. Fax (978) 724-3595.

• Project: The Harvard Forest Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program examines ecological dynamics in the New England region resulting from natural disturbances, environmental change, and human impacts. (ROR).

• Funding: National Science Foundation LTER grants: DEB-8811764, DEB-9411975, DEB-0080592, DEB-0620443, DEB-1237491, DEB-1832210.

• Use: This dataset is released to the public under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 (No Rights Reserved). Please keep the dataset creators informed of any plans to use the dataset. Consultation with the original investigators is strongly encouraged. Publications and data products that make use of the dataset should include proper acknowledgement.

• License: Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal (CC0-1.0)

• Citation: Sackett T, Ellison A. 2023. Soil Arthropods in Hemlock Removal Experiment at Harvard Forest 2008. Harvard Forest Data Archive: HF177 (v.10). Environmental Data Initiative: https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/1d65cf68f691248fe6d554f06b2c0da9.

Detailed Metadata

hf177-01: ants

1. start.date: start date
2. end.date: end date
3. block: block
   • Valley: valley block
   • Ridge: ridge block
4. treatment: treatment
   • Girdled: girdled
   • Logged: logged
   • HemlockControl: hemlock control
   • HardwoodControl: hardwood control
5. plot: plot number (1-8)
6. replicate: replicate number (1-5)
7. sampling.method: sampling method
   • Litter_sifting: litter sifting
   • Pitfall: pitfall trap
8. genus: genus of ant
9. species: species of ant
10. num.workers: number of individual workers (unit: number / missing value: NA)

hf177-02: beetles

1. start.date: start date
2. end.date: end date
3. block: block
   • Valley: valley block
   • Ridge: ridge block
4. treatment: treatment
   • Girdled: girdled
   • Logged: logged
   • Hemlock: hemlock control
   • Hardwood: hardwood control
5. plot: plot number (1-8)
6. replicate: replicate number (1-5)
7. sampling.method: sampling method
   • Litter_sifting: litter sifting
   • Pitfall: pitfall trap
8. family: Family of beetle
9. morphospecies.code: morphospecies code as used in paper and vouchers
10. count: number of individuals of the given morphospecies (unit: number / missing value: NA)

hf177-03: spiders

1. start.date: start date
2. end.date: end date
3. block: block
   • Valley: valley block
   • Ridge: ridge block
4. treatment: treatment
   • Girdled: girdled
   • Logged: logged
   • Hemlock: hemlock control
   • Hardwood: hardwood control
5. plot: plot number (1-8)
6. replicate: replicate number (1-5)
7. sampling.method: sampling method
   • Litter_sifting: litter sifting
   • Pitfall: pitfall trap
8. family: Family of spider
9. genus: genus of spider; if prefaced with “imm”, then immature, and not identified to genus.
10. species: species of spider; if “sp.” then not identified to species.
11. males: number of mature males (unit: number / missing value: NA)
12. females: number of mature females (unit: number / missing value: NA)
13. immature: number of immature individuals (unit: number / missing value: NA)