LUQ LTER DATA SETS DOCUMENTATION FORM

ON-LINE VERSION

A DATA SET is a series of observations collected by the same methodology. Each data set should have documentation sufficient for someone unfamiliar with the research to replicate the study. Data sets may be broken into subsets (data files) that are discrete in space and time, in that order. The documentation for a data set should include all spatial and temporal subdivisions of the data.

(Data, Abstract, Methods, Variables)

NOTES:

• Add rows to tables or lines to paragraphs as you need them for entering your data.
• Contact emelendez@lternet.edu if you have any question.
• See online Guidelines (http://luq.lternet.edu/datamng/imdocs/division.html) to help you fill this form

DATA SET IDENTIFIER : Bromeliad invertebrate counts at different elevations in the LEF

PROJECT TITLE : Bromeliad invertebrate diversity in the LEF

PROJECT DESCRIPTION : Tank bromeliads form complex, but discrete, microcosms whose biological, physical and chemical parameters can be sampled in their entirety. Plants impound canopy litter and throughfall water, and form a microhabitat for mainly detritivorous animal communities. This study of their fauna provided a natural way to examine diversity, and also the relationship between diversity and habitat parameters at different elevations in the LEF.

RESEARCH LOCATIONS:: Four areas within the LEF: Tabonuco at El Verde [Sonadora, La Prieta and Odum trail], Palo Colorado at Tradewinds and El Toro Trails, and Dwarf Forest at Pico del Este.

INVESTIGATORS:

SOURCE OF FUNDING (SPONSOR):Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, Napier University Edinburgh, USDA Forest Service.

DATA SET ABSTRACT: Identification and number of invertebrates recovered from each bromeliad sampled.

DATA SET METHODS: Plants selected for collection were measured and removed from the substrate. Retained water and litter was collected and measured. Plants were dismembered in the laboratory and all animals from plants, water and retained litter were recovered and preserved for counting and identification. For details see Richardson, B.A. 1999. The bromeliad microcosm and the assessment of faunal diversity in a neotropical forest. Biotropica 31:321-336.

REFERENCES: none

CROSS-REFERENCES (other data sets related to this one): Bromeliad chemistry; Bromeliad collection data

SAMPLE LOCATION: With the researchers and various museums

STORAGE SITES (of data files): with the researchers; at the Institute for Tropical Ecosystem Studies (ITES) of the Universityu of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras

INVESTIGATOR'S ASSIGNED KEYWORDS:phytotelmata, bromeliads, invertebrates, diversity (species richness and abundance)

LEF LTER OFFICIAL KEYWORDS (See table): EAST PEAK, EL VERDE, Q PRIETA, Q SONADORA, OTHER PLOTS, CLOUD FOREST, COLORADO, TABONUCO, COMMUNITY COMPOSITION, PLANTS, PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL

PUBLICATIONS :
Hansen, M and B.A Richardson. 1998. A new species of Omicrus Sharp (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae) from Puerto Rico and its larva, the first known larva of Omicrini. Systematic Entomology 23:1-8.

Richardson, B.A. 1999. The bromeliad microcosm and the assessment of faunal diversity in a neotropical forest. Biotropica 31:321-336.

Richardson, B.A., M.J. Richardson, F.N. Scatena, and W.H. McDowell. 2000. Effects of nutrient availability and other elevational changes on bromeliad populations and the invertebrate communities in a humid tropical forest in Puerto Rico. Journal of Tropical Ecology 16:167-188.

Richardson, B.A., C. Rogers, and M.J. Richardson. 2000. Nutrients, diversity, and community structure of two phytotelm systems in a lower montane forest, Puerto Rico. Ecological Entomology 25:348-356.

DISSEMINATION : UNRESTRICTED

FILING

_X__ "File" copy only : Data Management will only file an electronic copy of the data file and its documentation 
___ "Enter" data on-line : Data Management will be in charge of entering the data on computer files (Contact Eda C. Meléndez)

SITES DESCRIPTIONS: Heliconia plants growing in Tabonuco forest in the area of the El Verde Field Station

Geographical positional system (GPS) Coordinates for each location:

VARIABLES (ATTRIBUTES):

File Name or # above (all in which the variable appears)	1	1	1
Abbreviation (as it appears on the data file)	Taxon 1	Taxon 2	Tab = tabonuco;PC = palo colorado; df = dwarf forest; /Year /plant number
NAME OF VARIABLE	Taxon 1	Taxon 2	Count of organisms
DEFINITION OFVARIABLE	Name of organism 1	Name of organism 2	Count of organisms of that species in that plant
UNIT	N/A	N/A	N/A
PRECISION	N/A	N/A	N/A
RANGE OR LIST OF VALUES			0=PRESENT, 1, ...
DATA TYPE	Alphanumeric	Alphanumeric	integer
MISSING DATA CODES	none	none	none

COMPUTATIONAL METHODS:

Variable Name	Formula

FOR DATA MANAGER USE ONLY

DATE OF LAST REVIEW: January 23, 2006
DATE OF LAST ENTRY : March 1998
STAGE OF DATA SET MANAGEMENT (dates) :
RECEIVED ENTERED: July 4, 2003
FILED ON-LINE: July 4, 2003
REVIEWED BY RESEARCHER
FILING MEDIA :
NAME OF DOCUMENTATION FILE : LTERBAS130.HTM, Heliconia Invertebrate data.doc
NAME OF ON - LINE CATALOG : LTERBAS
RECORD # : 130
DOCUMENT TYPE : data set (magnetic media)
PRIORITY TO BE ENTERED : N/A