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Harvard Forest Data Archive

HF263

Soil Invertebrate Species in Macrosystems Biodiversity Project at Harvard Forest 2012

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Data

Overview

  • Lead: Michael Kaspari, Robert Waide, James Brown
  • Investigators: Michael Weiser
  • Contact: Information Manager
  • Start date: 2012
  • End date: 2012
  • Status: complete
  • Location: Harvard Forest
  • Latitude: +42.53780 to +42.54054 degrees
  • Longitude: -72.17899 to -72.17329 degrees
  • Elevation: 352 to 363 meter
  • Datum: WGS84
  • Taxa: Achipteriidae, Aphelacaridae, Archeonothroidae, Bdellidae, Brachychthoniidae, Camisiidae, Carabidae, Carabodidae, Cepheidae, Ceratoppiidae, Ceratozetidae, Chamobatidae, Cicadellidae, Ctenobelbidae, Curculionidae, Elateridae, Entomobryidae, Euphthiracaridae, Formicidae, Galumnidae, Gymnodamaeidae, Hahniidae, Hermanniellidae, Hermanniidae, Hypogastruridae, Isotomidae, Liacaridae, Malaconothridae, Metrioppiidae, Monotomidae, Nanhermanniidae, Nitidulidae, Nooliodidae, Nothridae, Onychiuridae, Oppiidae, Oribatellidae, Oribatulidae, Otocepheidae, Parapirnodidae, Phenopelopidae, Phthiracaridae, Platygastridae, Psychodidae, Ptiliidae, Reduviidae, Salticidae, Scheloribatidae, Scydmaenidae, Sminthuridae, Staphylinidae, Tectocepheidae, Tetracondylidae, Trachytidae, Trhypochthoniidae, Xylobatidae
  • Release date: 2023
  • Language: English
  • EML file: knb-lter-hfr.263.5
  • DOI: digital object identifier
  • EDI: data package
  • DataONE: data package
  • Related links:
  • Study type: short-term measurements
  • Research topic: biodiversity studies; international research projects; regional studies
  • LTER core area: primary production, population studies
  • Keywords: abundance, ants, arthropods, biodiversity, communities, diversity, insects, litter, species lists
  • Abstract:

    Leaf litter invertebrates and soil microbes were sampled in an array of 21 1m2 subplots by the Kaspari Ant Lab at the University of Oklahoma as part of a macrosystems biodiversity and latitude project supported by the National Science Foundation under Cooperative Agreement DEB#1065836.

  • Methods:

    Patterns of biodiversity, such as the increase toward the tropics and the peaked curve during ecological succession, are fundamental phenomena for ecology. Such patterns have multiple, interacting causes, but temperature emerges as a dominant factor across organisms from microbes to trees and mammals, and across terrestrial, marine, and freshwater environments. However, there is little consensus on the underlying mechanisms, even as global temperatures increase and the need to predict their effects becomes more pressing.

    The purpose of this project is to generate and test theory for how temperature impacts biodiversity through its effect on biochemical processes and metabolic rate. A combination of standardized surveys in the field and controlled experiments in the field and laboratory measure diversity of three taxa -- trees, invertebrates, and microbes -- and key biogeochemical processes of decomposition in seven forests distributed along a geographic gradient of increasing temperature from cold temperate to warm tropical.

    An array of 21 1m2 subplots was used to sample leaf litter invertebrates and soil microbes. The subplots were directed 1m, 10m, 50m, 100m and 200m from a central subplot where the "1m" plots shared an edge with the central subplot. The leaf litter and litter soil interface were sifted and placed in berlese funnel extractors for 48 hours, with litter invertebrates extracted into 95% ethanol. Within each 1m2 plot, 9 soil cores (2cm diameter, ~8cm depth) were taken with all 9 pooled and mixed.

  • 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. Other funding: NSF grant DEB-1065836

  • 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: Kaspari M, Waide R, Brown J. 2023. Soil Invertebrate Species in Macrosystems Biodiversity Project at Harvard Forest 2012. Harvard Forest Data Archive: HF263 (v.5). Environmental Data Initiative: https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/64949739f1f177b6cfdfc724dc0455f4.

Detailed Metadata

hf263-01: hf soil invertebrates

  1. sample.mekou: Kaspari Lab reference number given to the initial berlese sample collected in field
  2. location: code of site where samples were collected
    • hfr: Harvard Forest
  3. distance: distance in meters along the sampling log 10 array where the soil core was sampled (unit: meter / missing value: NA)
  4. direction: direction on the log 10 array where the soil core was sampled
  5. plotcode: name of site, distance, and direction along the log 10 array of the soil sample
  6. phylum: phylum to which the sample was identified
  7. subphylum: subphylum to which the sample was identified
  8. class: class to which the sample was identified
  9. subclass: subclass to which the sample was identified
  10. order: order to which the sample was identified
  11. suborder: suborder to which the sample was identified
  12. infraorder: infraorder to which the sample was identified
  13. superfamily: superfamily to which the sample was identified
  14. family: family to which the sample was identified
  15. subfamily: subfamily to which the sample was identified
  16. genus: genus to which the sample was identified
  17. morphospecies: site specific placeholder name shared by taxa that the determiners believe are in the same species when the correct species name cannot be determined
  18. larva: whether or not the sample is in its larval stage
    • yes: larval stage
    • no: not larval stage
  19. tax.scale: the most atomic taxonomic scale of the determination
  20. count: abundance of that taxon in sample (unit: number / missing value: NA)
  21. how.est: taxon abundance (count) was typically determined through direct counts of all specimen with that determination. Some abundance measures were estimated using subsampling on grids.
  22. new.mekou: Kaspari Lab reference number given to the separated samples (vials, pins, etc.) after processing. Many specimen get returned to the initial collection and thus sample.mekou=new.mekou. Where newMEKOU is blank, assume sample.mekou=newMEKOU
  23. sort.by: lab tech performing separation into focal taxon groupings
  24. det.by: name of person giving determination to specimen
  25. notes: additional information associated with sample, typically determination notes