Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Data Set Details

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GCE-LTER Data Set Summary

Accession:

INV-GCES-1211

Research Theme:

Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology (Directed Study)

Contributors:

Brian R. Silliman, John Griffin, Rebecca Atkins

Title:

Effects of marsh periwinkle (Littoraria irrorata) size and density on cordgrass (Spartina aterniflora) biomass and dead standing material

Abstract:

Marsh periwinkles (Littoraria irrorata) are common in southeastern US salt marshes, including those on Sapelo Island, GA. They are known to affect the productivity of cordgrss (Spartina alterniflora) and also contribute to its decomposition following senescence. The population struture of Littoraria, in terms of the size and densities of individuals, varies widely in space and time. No previous experiments have, however, attempted to manipulate the density and body size of populations of Littoraria and assessd the response of Spartina. We perforned such an experiment in Airport Marsh on Sapelo Island, using small experimental enclosures and measured Spartina biomass and dead standing material after 3 months (mid July - mid Oct, 2012). We assessed response variables by removing all Spartina material from plots before seperating and drying them in the lab.

DOI:

10.6073/pasta/f928ba65fe411e6048741ade3fa2996a

Key Words:

Aquatic Invertebrate Monitoring, Littoraria, mollusks, predation, salt marshes, Spartina, speciation

LTER Core Area:

Population Studies

Research Themes:

Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology

Study Period:

13-Jul-2012 to 15-Oct-2012

Study Sites:

Sapelo -- Sapelo Island, Sapelo Island, Georgia

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Downloads:

Data Table: INV-GCES-1211 (Main data table for data set INV-GCES-1211, 37 records)

Access: Public (released 30-Oct-2014)

Metadata: Text (ESA FLED), XML (Ecological Metadata Language)

Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [1.76kb], Text File [0.99kb], MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [90.05kb], MATLAB (Variables) [61.65kb], Text Report [13.57kb]

Column List:(hide)

Column	Name	Units	Type	Description
1	Plot	none	integer	Unique idetifyer for each experimental plot
2	Snail_density	none	integer	Snail density experimental set at beginning of experiment
3	Flag_Snail_density	none	string	QA/QC flags for Snail density experimental set at beginning of experiment (flagging criteria, where "x" is Snail_density: x<0="I")
4	Snail_size	none	string	Experimentally set at beginning of experiment (S = small [5-8mm shell height], L = large [10-11mm]).
5	Aboveground_Spartina_biomass	grams	floating-point	Total mass of living Spartina from each plot (after drying)
6	Flag_Aboveground_Spartina_biomass	none	string	QA/QC flags for Total mass of living Spartina from each plot (after drying) (flagging criteria, where "x" is Aboveground_Spartina_biomass: x<0="I", x>40="Q")
7	Dead_Spartina	grams	floating-point	Total mass of dead Spartina from each plot (after drying)
8	Flag_Dead_Spartina	none	string	QA/QC flags for Total mass of dead Spartina from each plot (after drying) (flagging criteria, where "x" is Dead_Spartina: x<0="I", x>40="Q")

Statistics:

Generate script code to retrieve data tables for analysis in: MATLAB, R, SAS, SPSS

Citation:

Silliman, Brian R. 2012. Effects of marsh periwinkle (Littoraria irrorata) size and density on cordgrass (Spartina aterniflora) biomass and dead standing material. Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Project, University of Georgia, Long Term Ecological Research Network. http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/f928ba65fe411e6048741ade3fa2996a

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