Ecological Stoichiometry Cooperative

ESC

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Data Template Glossary

Category Word Source Definition
Body_Size_Measure AFDM Ash Free Dry Mass. Mass of sample after the dried sample is oxidized (ashed) in a muffle furnace at high temperature and re-weighed. The loss upon oxidation is referred to as AFDW.
Body_Size_Measure Carbon Mass of carbon of a sample
Body_Size_Measure Dry Mass of sample after water content has been removed.
Body_Size_Measure Wet Mass of sample before water content has been removed.
Ecosystem_type Lake USGS Where surface-water runoff (and maybe some groundwater seepage) have accumulated in a low spot, relative to the surrounding countryside.
Ecosystem_type Pond EPA and USGS A small body of still water formed naturally or by hallowing or by embankment. Shallow enough to contain only photic zones.
Ecosystem_type Reservoir An artificial lake, or river whose outlet is intentionally dammed for the purpose of containing water in the form of a lake. Containing aphotic zones.
Ecosystem_type River EPA A large natural stream of water flowing in a channel to the sea, a lake, or another such stream.
Ecosystem_type Saline Lake USGS An endorheic lake (without an outlet) resulting in a saline water body (1,000 ppm or greater).
Ecosystem_type Stream EPA A general term for a body of flowing water; natural water course containing water at least part of the year. Includes intermittent, ephemeral, and perennial streams. Distinguished from a river as being in the 1st-4th order size class, and generally considered "wadeable."
Ecosystem_type Wetland EPA Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs, and similar areas.
Ecosystem_type Coastal
Habitat_type Benthic The ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water
Habitat_type Littoral The region of high-water mark to low-water mark
Habitat_type Pelagic Science Direct Termed as a near water environment, especially water close to land that is affected by runoff and the influence of tides.
Habitat_type Riparian Nature The zones adjacent to rivers and streams, known as riparian zones. These include river banks and floodplains.
Sample_Pooling multiple_individuals Sample is taken from multiple organisms
Sample_Pooling subsample_composite Sample is taken from a section of an organism's body
Sample_Pooling whole_individual Sample is taken from the whole body of an individual organism
Statistical Pooling Aggregate The reported observation is from a summary of multiple observations (i.e. mean or median)
Statistical Pooling Independent The reported observation is from a single measure of the sample
Type_organism Fish Aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits
Type_organism Insecta
Type_organism Mollusca
Type_organism Annelida
Type_organism Amphibian
Type_organism Crustacean
Type_organism Periphyton Also known as biofilm living attached to substrata. All benthic options, epilithon, microphytobenthos, benthic algae, cyanobacteria (benthic)
Type_organism Seston Science Direct The particulate matter suspended in bodies of water such as lakes and seas. It applies to all suspended organisms/organic material. Examples: SPOM, phytoplankton, cyanobacteria (suspended) and bulk plankton (no distinction between phytos and zoops).
Type_organism Detritus (FPOM) Science Direct Fine Particulate Organic Matter. Organic particles in the size range of >0.45 to <1000 μm that are either suspended in the water column or deposited within lotic habitats; including sediment organic matter.
Type_organism Detritus (CPOM) Science Direct Course Particulate Organic Matter. Organic particles larger than 1 mm in size suspended in the water column or deposited within lotic habitats; including leaf litter, leaves, wood, litter.
Type_organism Detritus (Other) Bulk pom and any pom that doesn’t classify size.This includes flocculant detrital material.
Type_organism Macrophyte An aquatic plant, large enough to be seen with the naked eye
Type_organism Invertebrates (Other) Flatworms, arachnida, echinoderms, numertean, porifera, chelicerates, cnideria, echinodermata & etc.
Type_organism Microbial (Other) Examples: microbial mat, fungi. Non-photosynthetic or heterotrophic
Trophic_status Eutrophic EPA An aquatic system with high nutrient concentrations, which fuels algal growth. This algae eventually dies and decomposes in a process that reduces the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water.
Trophic_status Mesotrophic EPA An aquatic system that is somewhere between eutrophic (nutrient enriched) and oligotrophic (nutrient poor).
Trophic_status Oligotrophic EPA A water body or habitat with low concentrations of nutrients.
Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) The measure of dissolved organic carbon
NO3 Nitrate (NO3) As elemental Nitrogen.
NH4 Ammonium (NH4) As elemental Nitrogen.
SRP Soluble Reactive Phosphorus - dissolved inorganic phosphorus (orthophosphate) As elemental Phosphorus.
Total Carbon (TC) The sum of all forms of carbon in a sample
Total Dissolved Phosphorus (TDP) The measure of all dissolved phosphorus
Total Inorganic Carbon (TIC) The sum of all inorganic carbon
Total Nitrogen (TN) The sum of all forms of nitrogen
Total Organic Carbon (TOC) The sum of all organic carbon
Total Phosphorus (TP) The sum of all forms of phosphorus
Light_units μmol_m2_s Micromoles per square meter per second (μmol/m2s1)
Light_units lm Lumen
Light_units lm_m2 Lux, one lumen per square meter
Origin_Organism epilithon Science Direct Attached to rocks
Origin_Organism epipsammon diatoms.org Attached to or moving through sand
Origin_Organism epipelon diatoms.org Attached to mud
Origin_Organism phytoplankton NOAA Also known as microalgae, floating plant like (photosynthetic) organisms
Origin_Organism epiphyton Science Direct Attached to plants
Origin_Organism epixylon wordwebonline.com Attached to wood
Origin_Organism epiphyte wikipedia.org Growing on plants
Origin_Organism epizootic www.merriam-webster.com Growing on animals