DSL2002033 Jornada Basin LTER

NMSU, Wooton Hall, Room 200 2995 Knox Street, Room 200 Box 30003, MSC 3JER Las Cruces NM 88003

(505) 646-7918 (505) 646-5889 datamanager@jornada.nmsu.edu http://jornada-www.nmsu.edu Dr. David C Lightfoot Jornada Basin LTER

Sevilleta LTER 167 Castetter Hall University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131-1091

505-277-8949 505-277-0304 dlightfo@unm.edu http://search.lternet.edu/directory_view.php?personid=9617&query=Lightfoot ORG0000001 John Anderson Jornada Basin LTER

New Mexico State University Jornada Basin LTER Box 30003, MSC 3JER Las Cruces NM 88003-8003

505-646-5818 janderso@jornada.nmsu.edu Researcher Dr. David C Lightfoot Jornada Basin LTER

Sevilleta LTER 167 Castetter Hall University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131-1091

505-277-8949 505-277-0304 dlightfo@unm.edu http://search.lternet.edu/directory_view.php?personid=9617&query=Lightfoot Researcher Dr. Walt Whitford Jornada Basin LTER

Retired, EPA USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3JER Las Cruces NM 88003-8003

505-646-8032 wawhitfo@nmsu.edu Researcher Cathie I Sandell

unkown Researcher 2005 English Jackrabbits and desert cottontail rabbits are the most abundant non-domestic herbivores in the Chihuahuan Desert. We hypothesize that lagamorph populations were extremely low in desert grasslands prior to desertification because rabbits depend upon shrubs for water (bark and small stems), during the winter dry season. Data on population densities of rabbits in various habitats over a series of years is needed to test this hypothesis. We further hypothesize that rabbit populations will crash when winters and early summers are especially dry. Birds can be sensitive indicators of environmental change and also respond to habitat structure. We census birds on regular basis to examine the variability in patterns of abundance among habitats and among years. We predict that grassland and mesquite dune habitats will support fewer birds than the more heterogeneous shrubland habitats. Location and methods. Transects 1 km in length have been established in one area in each of 5 habitats. Three-meter lengths of rebar were driven into the soil at 50 m intervals. Each length has a section of whit PVC pipe attached to the top to facilitate line of sight orientation by an observer. An observer walks each transect once every two weeks. Chihuahuan Desert Las Cruces NM Southwest USA Dona Ana County JRN Jornada Basin LTER LTER birds rabbits lizards animals consumers populations

This dataset is released to the public and may be used for academic, educational, or commercial purposes subject to the following:

The Jornada Basin LTER Information Management System provides protocol and services for data collection, verification, organization, archives, and distribution.

Data managers interact with researchers during the entire scientific process--from the initial planning of sampling designs and field data collection to archiving and distribution of long-term data. The goal of data management is to build and maintain an archive of Jornada Basin LTER data files that are fully documented, error free, and organized in useful ways. Our protocol for data collection and processing seeks maximum interaction between researchers and data management personnel to avoid confusion and potential loss of data or problems with integrity of data. The data manager helps researchers to construct data forms that allow convenient data entry and analysis. Data documentation forms are completed by principal investigators prior to data entry. Data are entered into computer data files by data entry personnel using programs that error- check and verify the data as it is entered. Computer files are subjected to further verification by graphing and/or error-checking programs, and/or examination by field investigators. Error-checked data files are stored with associated documentation files on floppy disks and on a hard-disk database. Back-up data files are maintained as "hard-copy," on multiple floppy disks, and on read/write 30- year magneto-optical disks. Various sets of these data are stored at different sites on the NMSU campus. The final responsibility for quality assurance (both in data and documentation content) rests with the principal investigator who submits the data for inclusion in the Jornada Basin LTER Information Management System. To facilitate quality assurance, the data management staff will provide copies of data and documentation submitted by a principal investigator to that investigator upon request.

All data collected during a calendar year should be submitted to the Jornada Basin LTER data manager prior to July first of the following year. Data must be submitted with standard Jornada Basin LTER forms (both Project Abstract and Data Set documentation) which include objectives of the study, methods, as well as format and content of the data.

Data will be made publicly available no later than 2 years after submission of the data unless an earlier date is specified by the principal investigator. In the event that an extension of the 2 year period is necessary, the principal investigator may petition the Jornada Basin LTER Executive Committee for a longer protected period.

Individuals and institutions utilizing data from the Jornada Basin LTER database are requested to place the following acknowledgment in any publication in which these data are mentioned: Data sets were provided by the Jornada Basin Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) projects. Funding for these data was provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation (Grants DEB-92-40261 and DEB 94-11971). Please send 1 copy of any publication that cites Jornada Basin LTER data to: John P. Anderson Jornada Experimental Range P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3JER New Mexico State University Las Cruces, NM 88003-0003

http://jornada-www.nmsu.edu/datacat.htm Jornada Basin,Chihuahuan Desert, 17 miles NE of Las Cruces, NM, USA -107.002148 -106.502641 32.831393 32.428919 1188 2658 meter 1989-03-08 1994-12-02

Every two weeks (see history file for exceptions)

Data set title - Animal Transects DataData set file name - ANMLTRAN.DSD-------------------------------------------------------------------------mm/dd/yyyy - Date of CommentInt - Initials of person making CommentKJL = Kevin J. La FleurJPA = John P. AndersonJL = Jim LenzKR = Ken RamseyChanges/Updates - List any changes made to documentmm/dd/yyyy Int Changes/Updates---------- --- --------------------------------------------------------04/18/1989 KJL Form completed by investigator08/02/1996 KJL Converted data set document file to new format.02/15/1997 JPA Updated files associated with data set.Edited content of documentation.06/13/2002 JL Added Dataset ID and Project ID sections.01/14/2003 KR Changed format for Attributes and AssociatedFiles section.Moved Dataset and Project IDs to top of form.01/16/2003 KR Removed Missing/Questionable data section andincorporated into Attributes section.06/05/2003 KR Changed data set access policy to UNRESTRICTEDper Dave Lightfoot-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Data Manager

NMSU, Wooton Hall, Room 200 2995 Knox Street, Room 200 Box 30003, MSC 3JER Las Cruces NM 88003

(505) 646-7918 (505) 646-5889 datamanager@jornada.nmsu.edu http://jornada-www.nmsu.edu Data Manager

NMSU, Wooton Hall, Room 200 2995 Knox Street, Room 200 Box 30003, MSC 3JER Las Cruces NM 88003

(505) 646-7918 (505) 646-5889 datamanager@jornada.nmsu.edu http://jornada-www.nmsu.edu Debra Peters

USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3JER New Mexico State University Las Cruces NM 88003-0003

505 646 2777 505 646 5889 debpeter@nmsu.edu ORG0000001 One observer walks each transect from segment 1 to 20. The observerrecords all birds, rabbits, and lizards seen. The distance of eachanimal from the transect line is also estimated and recorded. Transectsare walked in the morning hours only, once every two weeks. The Emlenmethod (Emlen 1971) will be used to estimate densities of each animalspecies at each site.

Field data is entered using LOTUS 1-2-3 add-in, D.A.V.E., which is a dataentry and verification program.

See ANMLTRDE.PRO for data entry procedure.The animal code is added, after the data is entered using the LOTUSadd-in D.A.V.E, by a Quattro Pro spreadsheet macro by comparing thespecies name in the data to those within the species list included in themacro file. Updates to species list should also be made to macro specieslist. Macro file = ANMLCODE.WQ1. Instructions are included at beginningof macro code with additional instructions provided as macro executes.

Dr. David C Lightfoot

Sevilleta LTER 167 Castetter Hall University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131-1091

505-277-8949 http://search.lternet.edu/directory_view.php?personid=9617&query=Lightfoot Responsible Investigator Dr. Walt Whitford

Retired, EPA USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3JER Las Cruces NM 88003-8003

505-646-8032 Additional Investigator Jackrabbits and desert cottontail rabbits are the most abundant non-domestic herbivores in the Chihuahuan Desert. We hypothesize that lagamorph populations were extremely low in desert grasslands prior to desertification because rabbits depend upon shrubs for water (bark and small stems), during the winter dry season. Data on population densities of rabbits in various habitats over a series of years is needed to test this hypothesis. We further hypothesize that rabbit populations will crash when winters and early summers are especially dry. Birds can be sensitive indicators of environmental change and also respond to habitat structure. We census birds on regular basis to examine the variability in patterns of abundance among habitats and among years. We predict that grassland and mesquite dune habitats will support fewer birds than the more heterogeneous shrubland habitats. Location and methods. Transects 1 km in length have been established in one area in each of 5 habitats. Three-meter lengths of rebar were driven into the soil at 50 m intervals. Each length has a section of whit PVC pipe attached to the top to facilitate line of sight orientation by an observer. An observer walks each transect once every two weeks. Dr. Debra Peters

USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3JER New Mexico State University Las Cruces NM 88003-0003

505 646 2777 PE00000002 Information Manager Historical Perspective: The Chihuahuan Desert , similar to many arid and semiarid ecosystems of the world, has experienced dramatic changes in vegetation structure and ecosystem processes over the past several centuries. The reasons for the expansion of woody plants and decrease in perennial grasses are numerous and controversial, including livestock grazing, drought, climate change, reduction in fire frequency, and change in small animal populations. The problem is further complicated by the existence of interactions among these factors that feature positive feedbacks and that create threshold behavior and nonlinearity in ecosystem responses. A general consensus does not exist regarding the key factors that control the desertification process or the conditions that explain varying patterns of shrub invasion or grass persistence under similar conditions. It is also unclear why many attempts to remediate shrublands back to grasslands have failed whereas some methods have worked well, but with long time lags. Site History: The Jornada Basin Long Term Ecological Research Program (JRN LTER), supported by major funding from the National Science Foundation, has been investigating desertification processes since 1982. We benefit from a legacy of long-term data available from 1912 onwards, thanks to collaboration with our research partner, the Jornada Experimental Range Agricultural Research Service (JER ARS). Significant progress has been made in understanding the causes and consequences of desertification, although important problems still remain. In particular, several key questions are unresolved, including (1) can we predict spatial and temporal variation in ecosystem properties related to desertification and grass recovery? (2) how do we integrate diverse observations about vegetation, climate, soils, hydrology, and animal populations to accomplish this prediction? This integration is the focus of current LTER studies. Research Topics: desertification; ecosystem indicators and vegetation dynamics; geomorphology and wind; ecohydrology; animal interactions; factors affecting primary production; animal-induced soil disturbances; direct and indirect consumer effects; vertebrate and invertebrate population dynamics; grazing effects on ecosystem structure and function; biodiversity and ecosystem. Jornada Basin Climate and Vegetation NSF Award DEB-0080412 description. U.S. National Science Foundation (Grant DEB-0080412) uid=JRN,o=lter,dc=ecoinformatics,dc=org all public read ANMLTRAN.DAT Data file ANMLTRAN.DAT column 10 1 1 12 2 14 2 17 2 20 4 23 3 28 3 32 /A 36 1 39 1 41 DATE DATE Date data was collected Character mm/dd/yyyy 1 SITE SITE Site code Character Site code TIME TIME Time of day data was collected Character Time of day data was collected SKY SKY Condition of the sky Character Condition of the sky WIND WIND Wind condition Character Wind condition SPP SPP Species code Character Species Codes For Jornada Basin LTERII Animal Tran http://jornada-www.nmsu.edu/studies/lists/anmltran NUMB. NUMB. Number of individual species spotted Integer number 1 natural DIST. DIST. Perpendicular distance from transect Integer Perpendicular distance from transect in meters SEGM. SEGM. Segment number Number Segment number CODE CODE Animal code Integer Animal code ERR ERR Error code Integer Error code ANMLTRAN.HIS Data file ANMLTRAN.HIS column 10 1 1 12 2 14 2 17 2 20 4 23 3 28 3 32 /A 36 1 39 1 41 DATE DATE Date data was collected Character mm/dd/yyyy 1 SITE SITE Site code Character Site code TIME TIME Time of day data was collected Character Time of day data was collected SKY SKY Condition of the sky Character Condition of the sky WIND WIND Wind condition Character Wind condition SPP SPP Species code Character Species Codes For Jornada Basin LTERII Animal Tran http://jornada-www.nmsu.edu/studies/lists/anmltran NUMB. NUMB. Number of individual species spotted Integer number 1 natural DIST. DIST. Perpendicular distance from transect Integer Perpendicular distance from transect in meters SEGM. SEGM. Segment number Number Segment number CODE CODE Animal code Integer Animal code ERR ERR Error code Integer Error code ANMLCODE.WQ1 Spreadsheet macro program that autoloads and executes to modify ANMLTRAN.WK1 and ANMLTRAN.DAT files by appending identifying numeric animal code to end of each record, File Format: BINARY, File Type: Quattro Pro ANMLCODE.WQ1 Quattro Pro Data entry, verification, and analysis file ANMLTRAN.DSD Data set documentation, File Format: ASCII, File Type: Text file ANMLTRAN.DSD ASCII Text file Metadata file ANMLTRAN.HTM HTML format of dataset documentation (OLD), File Format: ASCII, File Type: HTML file ANMLTRAN.HTM ASCII HTML file Other ANMLTRAN.IMG Data entry template image used to enter data, File Format: BINARY, File Type: LOTUS 1-2-3 with D.A.V.E. add-in ANMLTRAN.IMG LOTUS 1-2-3 with D.A.V.E. add-in Data entry, verification, and analysis file ANMLTRAN.LST Animal species listing and codes, File Format: ASCII, File Type: Text file ANMLTRAN.LST ASCII Text file Other ANMLTRAN.PRJ Project documentation, File Format: ASCII, File Type: Text file ANMLTRAN.PRJ ASCII Text file Metadata file ANMLTRCK.EXE Program that checks the ASCII data file for errors, File Format: BINARY, File Type: Microsoft QuickBasic 4.5 ANMLTRCK.EXE Microsoft QuickBasic 4.5 Data entry, verification, and analysis file ANMLTRCK.IMG Data entry template image used to error check, File Format: BINARY, File Type: LOTUS 1-2-3 with D.A.V.E. add-in ANMLTRCK.IMG LOTUS 1-2-3 with D.A.V.E. add-in Data entry, verification, and analysis file ANMLTRDE.PRO Data Entry procedures, File Format: ASCII, File Type: Text file ANMLTRDE.PRO ASCII Text file Data entry, verification, and analysis file ANMLTRSP.EXT External ascii file used by LOTUS add-in D.A.V.E. to to verify species codes during data entry. Consists of 4-letter species codes in single, left-justified column., File Format: ASCII, File Type: Text file ANMLTRSP.EXT ASCII Text file Data entry, verification, and analysis file OLDANMLT.PRO Data Entry procedures (OLD), File Format: ASCII, File Type: Text file OLDANMLT.PRO ASCII Text file Other