Ecological Archives E092-173-D1.
Authors
Data Files
Abstract
Metadata
Dr. Kim N. Mouritsen
Aarhus University
Department of Biological Sciences
8200 Aarhus N
Denmark
Email: [email protected]Dr. Robert Poulin
University of Otago
Department of Zoology
P.O. Box 56
Dunedin
New Zealand
Email: [email protected]John P. McLaughlin
University of California, Santa Barbara
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9610
USA
Email: [email protected]Dr. David W. Thieltges
Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ)
Marine Ecologist
P.O. Box 59
NL-1790 AB Den Burg
The Netherlands
Email: [email protected]
Otago_Data_Nodes.csv - The node information for the Otago Harbour food web. File is 3508 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.
Otago_Data_Links.csv � The trophic link information for the Otago Harbour food web. File is 15408 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_Otago_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 Otago_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 Otago_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_Otago_Metadata_Tables.zip: A zipped file containing Tables 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 3C, and 4.
This data set presents a food web for Otago Harbour, an intertidal mudflat ecosystem in New Zealand. The harbor consists of a series of mudflats exposed at low tide, each separated from its closest neighbor by 200�400 m. 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 180 nodes, 142 species/assemblages, and 1924 links. Of the 142 species/assemblages, 3 are basal, 123 are free-living, and 19 are infectious. Data on the free-living assemblages and parasitism 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 mobility. 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 mudflat; Otago Harbour; parasites; trematodes; trophic interactions.
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