New Zealand Terrestrial Antarctic Biocomplexity Survey (nzTABS)

The New Zealand Terrestrial Antarctic Biocomplexity Survey (nzTABS) is the largest and most comprehensive interdisciplinary landscape-scale study of terrestrial biology ever undertaken in Antarctica, incorporating fieldwork of 1500+ person days in 6 of the Dry Valleys (total area of 6500 km2), strategic sampling of over 1200 sites designed to encompass the landscape heterogeneities in the ecosystem, and a range of high-resolution remote sensing data. All samples were collected during the month of January in each sampling year.


Initially a 220 km2 study area, consisting of Miers, Marshall, and Garwood Valleys as well as Shangri-La, was divided into more than 600 geographically and geologically distinct ice-free sectors (hereinafter “tiles”) using remote-sensing data and published soil maps. Tile boundaries were delineated where the combination of geographical and geological variables changed, and on-the-ground assessments were carried out in November 2008 to confirm the reliability of delineations. 554 tiles were chosen for sampling to encompass the entire range of geographical and geological heterogeneity. Sampling of soils and biological communities was carried out over two successive austral summers (January 2009 and January 2010). Surveys were conducted for vegetation (i.e., mosses, lichens, algal and cyanobacterial mats), lithic microbial communities, and invertebrates at each sampling site (verified by GPS to be inside its respective tile), followed by collection of bulk soil samples for additional analyses, including molecular analyses of bacteria (total and cyanobacteria-only) and fungi. In addition, a number of key variables were derived from satellite imagery, including surface soil temperature, a topographically derived ‘wetness index’, and distance to the coast. After quality control, data for 490 samples were included in the analysis.


These data represent geochemistry and geomorphology to population genetics and microbial ecology parameters. Further details are provided at https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-018-0274-5.


Please cite the data with the following citation:

Lee, C.K., Laughlin, D.C., Bottos, E.M. et al. Biotic interactions are an unexpected yet critical control on the complexity of an abiotically driven polar ecosystem. Commun Biol 2, 62 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-018-0274-5

Simple

Identification info

Date (Creation)
2024-03-21T12:34:56
Date (Publication)
2019-05-15T00:00:00
Citation identifier
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-018-0274-5

Presentation form
Purpose
The central goal of nzTABS is to determine the primary abiotic drivers of biodiversity in the Dry Valleys, one of few ecosystems where such undertaking can be achieved.
Status
Point of contact - Custodian, Owner, etc
Role Organisation Individual Electronic mail address
Author Lee, C.K. charles.lee@waikato.ac.nz
Co-author Laughlin, D.C.
Co-author Bottos, E.M.
Publisher Communications Biology
Spatial representation type
Topic category
  • Biota
  • Geoscientific information
  • Climatology, meteorology, atmosphere

Extent

N
S
E
W


Temporal extent

Time period
2009-01-01T00:00:00 2013-01-01T00:00:00
Keywords
  • MCMURDO DRY VALLEYS
  • DNA
  • INSTALLATION
  • K020A
GCMD Earth Science and Earth Science Services Keywords
  • TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
  • MICROFAUNA
  • ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS
  • TROPHIC DYNAMICS
  • LICHENS
  • DIGITAL ELEVATION/TERRAIN MODEL (DEM)
  • FAUNA
  • CYANOBACTERIA (BLUE-GREEN ALGAE)
  • ANIMALS/INVERTEBRATES
  • MOSSES/HORNWORTS/LIVERWORTS
  • BIODIVERSITY FUNCTIONS
  • SOIL CHEMISTRY
  • FUNGI
  • AIR TEMPERATURE
  • SOIL MOISTURE
  • SOIL TEMPERATURE
GCMD Platform/Sources Keywords
  • FIELD SURVEYS
  • SATELLITES
  • LABORATORY
  • Data Collections
GCMD Instrument/Sensors Keywords
  • GIS
  • TEMPERATURE LOGGERS
GCMD Locations Keywords
  • ANTARCTICA
Resource constraints
Legal constraints Access constraints Use constraints Constraint application scope
This data set conforms to the CC BY Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) License License Dataset
Language
English
Character encoding
UTF8
Supplemental Information
Any additional comments about this dataset

Distribution Information

Distribution format

Transfer options

Online resource
Name Linkage (URL) Protocol Function Description
GET DATA https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1038%2Fs42003-018-0274-5/MediaObjects/42003_2018_274_MOESM5_ESM.7z WWW:DOWNLOAD-1.0-http--download Download

Resource lineage

Statement
All samples were collected using sterile techniques and transferred frozen to the laboratory for continued analysis. Data are good quality, with no known issues or problems.
Hierarchy level
Dataset
Metadata constraints
Legal constraints Access constraints Use constraints Constraint application scope
This data set conforms to the CC BY Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) License License Metadata

Metadata

Metadata identifier
urn:uuid/91a5c352-7930-4541-a238-63ba06131591

Language
English
Character encoding
anyValidURI
Metadata Contact
Role Organisation Individual Electronic mail address
Point of contact University of Waikato charles.lee@waikato.ac.nz

Type of resource

Resource scope
Dataset
Metadata linkage
Name Linkage (URL) Protocol Function Description
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-018-0274-5 Complete Metadata
Date info (Revision)
2024-07-17T04:27:08.403Z
Date info (Creation)
2024-03-20T07:21:17

Metadata standard

Format name
ISO 19115-1
Edition
2018
 
 

Overviews

Spatial extent

Keywords

GCMD Earth Science and Earth Science Services Keywords
AIR TEMPERATURE ANIMALS/INVERTEBRATES BIODIVERSITY FUNCTIONS CYANOBACTERIA (BLUE-GREEN ALGAE) DIGITAL ELEVATION/TERRAIN MODEL (DEM) ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS FAUNA FUNGI LICHENS MICROFAUNA MOSSES/HORNWORTS/LIVERWORTS SOIL CHEMISTRY SOIL MOISTURE SOIL TEMPERATURE TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS TROPHIC DYNAMICS
GCMD Instrument/Sensors Keywords
GIS TEMPERATURE LOGGERS
GCMD Platform/Sources Keywords
Data Collections FIELD SURVEYS LABORATORY SATELLITES

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