Habitat fragmentation mite data, South Carolina, 2018

These csv files contain mite abundance and richness data, fungal abundance data, and leaf characteristics used in the paper "The impact of habitat fragmentation on domatia-dwelling mites and a mite-plant-fungus tritrophic interaction" published in Landscape Ecology in 2022. The project was conducted at the Savannah River Site, near Aiken, South Carolina, United States during the summer of 2018. The goal of the project was to assess the impacts of landscape-level habitat fragmentation on communities of mites and fungi on leaf surfaces growing on Quercus nigra oak trees within landscape patches. To investigate this, we counted and morphotyped mites found on leaves taken from oaks located in habitat patches manipulated to have different edge-to-area ratios and connectivity statuses. We also manipulated mite access to domatia on oak leaves using a tar treatment, and assessed whether mite exclusion and landscape fragmentation variables influenced levels of fungal hyphae on oak leaves. We found a significant positive effect of patch edge proximity on mite abundance and richness, as well as fungal hyphae abundance, indicating that landscape-level habitat fragmentation can impact microscopic foliar communities.