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GCE-LTER Data Set Summary

Accession: INV-GCEM-1709 Research Theme: Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology (Monitoring)
Contributors: Steven C. Pennings, Merryl Alber, Tim Montgomery, Jacob Shalack, Dontrece Smith
Title: Fall 2016 crab population monitoring: mid-marsh and creek bank abundance based on crab hole counts at GCE marsh, monitoring sites 1-10
Abstract: This data set is the Fall 2016 estimate of crab densities at the GCE-LTER marsh sites used for population monitoring. Crab abundance was determined by counting the number of crab holes within a 625 cm^2 quadrat and converting the counts to number per square meter. Counts were made in the mid-marsh and creek bank zones (n = 4 per zone) at GCE sites 1 through 10. Note that this census method does not differentiate which species made a particular hole and therefore only estimates total burrowing crab abundance, potentially including species Uca pugnax, Uca minax, Uca pugilator, Armases cinereum, Eurytium limosum and Sesarma reticulatum. Crab holes that are not actively maintained are quickly covered by tidal activity and other sediment disturbances, therefore plugged holes were assumed to be unoccupied and excluded from the counts.
DOI: 10.6073/pasta/c1ef775fbd3cd6ca54b6964ea10f9621
Key Words: Aquatic Invertebrate Monitoring, Armases, crabs, creek bank, density, Eurytium, fall, intertidal, marshes, mid-marsh, monitoring, mud, permanent plots, population dynamics, Sesarma, Uca
LTER Core Area: Population Studies
Research Themes: GCE2 Q2 - Domain Patterns, GCE3 Area2 - Patterns within the Domain, Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology
Study Period: 24-Oct-2016 to 28-Oct-2016
Study Sites:
GCE1 -- Eulonia, Georgia, USA
GCE2 -- Four Mile Island, Georgia, USA
GCE3 -- North Sapelo, Sapelo Island, Georgia, USA
GCE4 -- Meridian, Georgia, USA
GCE5 -- Folly River, Georgia, USA
GCE6 -- Dean Creek, Sapelo Island, Georgia, USA
GCE7 -- Carrs Island, Georgia, USA
GCE8 -- Alligator Creek, Georgia, USA
GCE9 -- Rockdedundy Island, Georgia, USA
GCE10 -- Hunt Camp, Sapelo Island, Georgia, USA
» Download Geographic Coverage: Google Earth
Species References: Armases cinereum, Eurytium limosum, Sesarma reticulatum, Uca minax, Uca pugilator, Uca pugnax
Project References: Marine invertebrate monitoring
Downloads: Information

Data Table: INV-GCEM-1709 (Main data table for data set INV-GCEM-1709, 88 records)

Access: Public (released 10-Sep-2017)

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

Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [7.97kb],  Text File [6.48kb],  MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [807.30kb],  MATLAB (Variables) [457.74kb],  Text Report [100.27kb]

Column List:(hide)

Column Name Units Type Description
1 Year YYYY integer Calendar year sample was collected Calenday month sample was collected
2 Month MM integer Calendar month sample was collected
3 Day DD integer Calendar day sample was collected
4 Site none integer GCE study site code
5 Zone none integer Marsh zone
6 Plot none integer Plot number
7 Location none string Geographic location code in the GCE Metadata Database for the sampling plot
8 Flag_Location none string QA/QC flags for Geographic location code in the GCE Metadata Database for the sampling plot (flagging criteria, where "x" is Location: manual)
9 Location_Notes none string Notes on location assignments and geographic accuracy
10 Longitude degrees floating-point Geographic longitude in decimal degrees
11 Flag_Longitude none string QA/QC flags for Geographic longitude in decimal degrees (flagging criteria, where "x" is Longitude: x<-180="I", x>180="I", manual)
12 Latitude degrees floating-point Geographic latitude in decimal degrees
13 Flag_Latitude none string QA/QC flags for Geographic latitude in decimal degrees (flagging criteria, where "x" is Latitude: x<-90="I", x>90="I", manual)
14 Quadrat_Area cm^2 floating-point Areal measurement of the quadrat frame
15 Hole_Count Count integer Number of crab holes recorded in 625 cm^2 quadrat
16 Hole_Density Count/m^2 floating-point Calculated number of crab holes per meter squared
Statistics: Generate script code to retrieve data tables for analysis in: MATLAB, R, SAS, SPSS
Citation: Pennings, Steven C. 2017. Fall 2016 crab population monitoring: mid-marsh and creek bank abundance based on crab hole counts at GCE marsh, monitoring sites 1-10. Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Project, University of Georgia, Long Term Ecological Research Network. http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/c1ef775fbd3cd6ca54b6964ea10f9621

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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grants OCE-9982133, OCE-0620959, OCE-1237140 and OCE-1832178. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.