Selected aspects of the ecology of nematodes in Butterpot Provincial Park, Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland

Cuthbert, Fiona M. (1990) Selected aspects of the ecology of nematodes in Butterpot Provincial Park, Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

A total of 46 nematode taxa, from seven orders and 21 families, were collected from three habitats (a black spruce-moss forest, a Dryopteris-white birch forest, and a dry Kalmia heath-barren) in Butterpot Provincial Park, Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland. These nematodes represent four feeding groups: microbial feeders, plant feeders, omnivores and predators. The vertical distribution, abundance, and seasonal dynamics of the four feeding groups, as well as selected species, are discussed. -- Principal Components and Multiple Regression analyses revealed two environmental factors which correlate positively with increasing nematode numbers. Soil productivity (inferred from PC1) may have been the main factor governing nematode abundance in this study. The second Principal Component is a function of soil particle size and soil temperature. -- The habitat rankings in terms of total nematode abundance were: Dryopteris-white birch forest > black spruce-moss forest > Kalmia heath barren Dryopteris]. The most abundant nematode populations, in all feeding groups, were in the topmost soil layer of all sites, although plant feeding nematodes comprised a larger percentage of the total nematode fauna in the lower soil layers. Within the topmost soil layer, nematode numbers from all feeding groups peaked in late spring/early summer and again in autumn. -- Five distinct nematode assemblages within the three habitats were identified, by Cluster Analysis. Composition of the nematode fauna from the Kalmia heath-barren was clearly distinct from that found in the two forest habitats. These latter habitats were similar in overall nematode species composition, but different soil layers within these habitats appeared to have different nematode assemblages. Discriminant Functions Analysis gave clear evidence that the five nematode species assemblages had an ecological basis.

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