Ecological Archives E092-172-D1.
Authors
Data Files
Abstract
Metadata
Dr. David W. Thieltges
Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ)
P.O. Box 59
NL-1790 AB Den Burg
The Netherlands
Email: [email protected]Dr. Karsten Reise
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research
Wadden Sea Station Sylt
Hafenstrasse 43,
25992 List
Germany
Email: [email protected]Dr. Kim N. Mouritsen
Aarhus University
Department of Biological Sciences
8200 Aarhus N
Denmark
Email: [email protected]John P. McLaughlin
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology
University of California
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9610
USA
Email: [email protected]Dr. Robert Poulin
Department of Zoology
University of Otago
P.O. Box 56
Dunedin
New Zealand
Email: [email protected]
Sylt_Data_Nodes.csv - The node information for the Sylt tidal basin food web. File is 4511 records, not including header row, and is formatted as comma separated values. No compression scheme was used. Blank cells indicate that information has yet to be collected.
Sylt_Data_Links.csv - The trophic link information for the Sylt tidal basin food web. File is 26720 records, not including header row, and is formatted as comma separated values. No compression scheme was used. Blank cells indicate that the information has yet to be collected.
All_Sylt_Data_Files.zip - A zip file containing both the above data files.The metadata tables describe the column header and variable information contained in the above data files.
Table 2A - Column header descriptions for Nodes data files: Column headers are taken directly from the Sylt_Data_Nodes.csv data file and are followed directly by their descriptions. To obtain a list of the variables in a column, as well as their definition, click on the column header.
Table 2B - Column variable descriptions for Nodes data files: Definitions of variables are organized by column headers from Table 2A.
Table 3A - Column header descriptions for Links data files: Column headers are taken directly from the Sylt_Data_Links.csv data files and are followed directly by their descriptions. To obtain a list of the variables and their definitions present in any column click on the column header.
Table 3B - Column variable descriptions for Links data files: Definitions of variables are organized by column headers from Table 3A. Link-type variables are defined in Table 3C.
Table 3C - Link-type definitions for Links data files: Definitions of Link-type variables are organized for this column header from Table 3A.
Table 4 - Missing and under-represented groups and severely aggregated nodes.
All_Sylt_Metadata_Tables.zip - A zipped file containing Tables 2A, 2B, and 3A, 3B, 3C and 4.
This data set presents a food web for the Sylt tidal basin, an intertidal ecosystem in Germany and Denmark. The intertidal part of this bight consists of extensive tidal flats with the main habitats being lugworm sandflats, seagrass meadows, and mixed mussel and oyster beds. This food web has three noteworthy attributes: (1) high resolution of free-living organisms, (2) inclusion of metazoan parasites and other infectious agents, and (3) inclusion of ontogenetic stages of parasites with complex life cycles. The food web contains 230 nodes, 161 species/assemblages, and 3338 links. Of the 161 species/assemblages, 6 are basal, 120 are free-living, and 35 are infectious. Data on the free-living assemblages and parisitism were gathered during original field sampling and supplemented with information from additional published sources and local expert knowledge. Taxonomic resolution is high, although a few functional or taxonomic groups (e.g., phytoplankton, macroalgae) are lumped into single nodes. Each ontogenetic stage of parasites with complex life cycles is treated separately and coded accordingly. For each node, we have included additional information such as taxonomy, life history, residency, and vagility. Further, for each link, we define a specific interaction type. We present the data and metadata in the system-neutral format standardized by R.F. Hechinger and colleagues, and thus we recognize variables that are not represented in our data set but may be added by further study.
Key words: benthos; complex life-cycles; consumer-resource; food webs; infectious agents; intertidal, parasites; Sylt Basin; trematodes; trophic interactions.
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