Canopy Arthropods related data sets

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Two different studies are being conducted related to this subject. One is on the canopy invertebrate responses to Hurricane Hugo, tree species, and recovery time since 1991 and another on the bromeliad invertebrate diversity in the LEF.

Some of the results from the canopy invertebrate responses include:

• Hurricane disturbance affects invertebrate abundances significantly. Changes in functional organization are consistent with comparable studies of arthropod responses to canopy removal during harvest in temperate forests.
• Tree species also affected invertebrate abundances significantly, but invertabrate communities did not differ significantly between the three early successional and three later successional tree species.
• Leaf area missing, an indicator or herbivore effect on canopy processes, showed significant seasonal and annual trends, as well as differences among tree species and hurricane treatments.
• Herbivore abundances and leaf area missing were not related to concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, or calcium in the foliage.
• This study demonstrated that invertebrate community structure and herbivory are dynamic processes that reflect the influences of host species and variable environmental conditions.

On the other hand the bromeliad invertebrate diversity study provided a natural way to examine diversity, and also the relationship between diversity and habitat parameters at different elevations in the LEF. 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.