DSL2002050 SMAMMALS 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 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 ORG0000001 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 Greg S Forbes

unknown Researcher 2005 English 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. Methods and locations. Pitfall trap grids have been installed at three creosotebush sites, three grassland sites, three mesquite sites, and two tarbush sites. Each grid consists of four by five rows of traps at 10 meter intervals. A mammal live-trap is placed next to each pitfall trap. Traps are opened for one week in the late spring and one week in the late summer. Small mammals are removed from the traps and assigned individual numbers by removing a single digit from each foot. Species, sex, and measurement data are taken for each animal. Chihuahuan Desert Las Cruces NM Southwest USA Dona Ana County JRN Jornada Basin LTER LTER animals consumers populations small mammals

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 1990-06-05 1990-11-02

twice/year (one week period)

Data set title - Small mammal trapping (LTER-II)Data set file name - SMAMMALS.DSD----------------------------------------------------------------mm/dd/yyyy - Date of CommentInt - Initials of person making CommentJPA = John P. AndersonJL = Jim LenzKR = Ken RamseyChanges/Updates - List any changes made to documentmm/dd/yyyy Int Changes/Updates---------- --- -----------------------------------------------06/02/1990 JPA Form completed by investigator03/24/1997 JPA Converted documentation file to new format.09/13/2001 JPA Added site location names under site description.06/13/2002 JL Added Dataset ID and Project ID sections.03/01/2004 KR Changed format for Attributes and AssociatedFiles section.Moved Dataset and Project IDs to top of form.Removed Missing/Questionable data section andincorporated into Attributes section.-------------------------------------------------------------------

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 ----------------------------------------------------------------Methods and locations. Pitfall trap grids have beeninstalled at three creosotebush sites, three grassland sites,three mesquite sites, and two tarbush sites. Each grid consistsof four by five rows of traps at 10 meter intervals. A mammallive-trap is placed next to each pitfall trap. Traps are openedfor one week in the late spring and one week in the late summer.Traps are baited with mixed seed chicken feed each evening, andchecked each morning.Small mammals are removed from the traps and assignedindividual numbers by removing a single digit from each footand following the code on the diagram on the field data sheets.Species, sex, and measurement data are taken for each animal.

Field data are entered with D.A.V.E. data entry andverification program.

Dr. Walt Whitford

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

505-646-8032 Responsible Investigator 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 Additional Investigator 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. Methods and locations. Pitfall trap grids have been installed at three creosotebush sites, three grassland sites, three mesquite sites, and two tarbush sites. Each grid consists of four by five rows of traps at 10 meter intervals. A mammal live-trap is placed next to each pitfall trap. Traps are opened for one week in the late spring and one week in the late summer. Small mammals are removed from the traps and assigned individual numbers by removing a single digit from each foot. Species, sex, and measurement data are taken for each animal. 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 SMAMMALS.DAT Data file SMAMMALS.DAT column /A 1 1 10 4 15 1 20 4 25 1 33 1 37 3 43 5 47 2 54 DATE DATE Sampling date (mm/dd/yy, where mm=Month, dd=Day, and yy=Year) Number mm/dd/yy 1 ZONE ZONE Vegetation zone Character Vegetation zone SITE SITE Site code Character Site code PLOT PLOT Plot identification code Character Plot identification code SPECIES SPECIES 4-letter species acronym Character Mammal species list for Jornada Basin LTER http://jornada-www.nmsu.edu/studies/lists/mammal.t SEX SEX Sex (gender) Character Sex (gender) RECAP RECAP Recapture Character Recapture TOE TOE Toe mark number Character Toe mark number WEIGHT WEIGHT Body weight Float gram 0.1 real REPROD REPROD Reproductive condition (Condition of vulva or testes) Character Reproductive condition (Condition of vulva or test MAMMALS.LST Mammal species list, File Format: ASCII, File Type: Text file MAMMALS.LST ASCII Text file Other SMAMMALS.DED Data entry procedure documentation, File Format: ASCII, File Type: Text file SMAMMALS.DED ASCII Text file Data entry, verification, and analysis file SMAMMALS.DSD Data set documentation, File Format: ASCII, File Type: Text file SMAMMALS.DSD ASCII Text file Metadata file SMAMMALS.IMG Data entry & verification program, File Format: BINARY, File Type: LOTUS 1-2-3 D.A.V.E. add-in SMAMMALS.IMG LOTUS 1-2-3 D.A.V.E. add-in Data entry, verification, and analysis file SMAMMALS.PRJ Project documentation, File Format: ASCII, File Type: Text file SMAMMALS.PRJ ASCII Text file Metadata file SMAMMALS.WK1 Spreadsheet for data entry, File Format: BINARY, File Type: LOTUS 1-2-3 SMAMMALS.WK1 LOTUS 1-2-3 Data entry, verification, and analysis file