Arthropod Pitfall Traps-III in 5x1 grid at LTER II NPP sites

Objectives. Desertification is hypothesized to have altered the spatial and temporal availability of resources required by the biota. Results of desertification on the Jornada include changes to shrub dominated communities and major soil changes. We hypothesize that these shifts in vegetation have changed resources temporally for many of the consumers. If grassland systems respond to rainfall without significant lags, but shrub systems do not, then consumer species should reflect these differences. In addition, shifts from grassland to shrubland results in greater structural heterogeneity of the habitats. We have hypothesized that consumer populations, diversity, and densities of some consumers will be higher in grasslands than in shrublands. Diversity and/or densities are hypothesized to be related to the NPP of the sites. Data will be collected for the duration of the LTER program in order to provide data to test these hypotheses. Data for arthropods captured in pitfall traps on LTER III consumer plots at 2 month intervals. Data includes order, family, genus, species, and number.研究目标：现有假说认为，荒漠化会改变生物区系所需资源的时空可获得性格局。霍顿拉（Jornada）盆地的荒漠化效应体现为灌丛主导群落的更替与土壤特征的显著改变。我们提出假说：这类植被转型已从时间维度上改变了多数消费者类群的资源可获得性。若草原生态系统对降雨的响应不存在显著滞后，而灌丛生态系统则存在滞后，则消费者类群应当能够反映二者的差异。此外，草原向灌丛的植被转型会提升生境的结构异质性。我们进一步提出假说：部分消费者类群的种群规模、物种多样性及种群密度，在草原样地中均高于灌丛样地；消费者类群的物种多样性与/或种群密度，应与样地的净初级生产力（Net Primary Productivity, NPP）呈相关关系。本数据集将在长期生态研究（Long-Term Ecological Research, LTER）计划的全周期内持续采集，以为上述所有假说的验证提供数据支持。 本数据集涵盖以2个月为采样间隔，在长期生态研究三期（LTER III）消费者样地中通过陷阱诱捕器（pitfall traps）采集得到的节肢动物数据，记录内容包括类群的目、科、属、种阶元信息及个体数量。