Welcome to the database of the National Bison Range (NBR) Long Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTREB). Here you can find survey and experimental data collected by the Belovsky Lab since 1978. 

We address how ecosystem structure (species and their abundances in a food web) can vary over time and space and how this influences ecosystem function (nutrient availability and primary production). Long term studies are essential for assessing these dynamic relationships and how environmental changes affect them.

We have 41 years (1978-2019) of data at NBR, a bunchgrass prairie ecosystem, which constitutes one of the longest grassland datasets (e.g., Konza and Pawnee LTER sites each have ~35 years). We have continuous monitoring of and field experiments with grasshoppers (Orthoptera, Acrididae), their enemies (predators and parasites), their food plants and nutrient availability for plants. Though mammals are abundant (monitored as well), grasshoppers are dominant herbivores, removing up to 40% of aboveground annual primary production (ANPP, Belovsky 2000); therefore, we study the most important food web elements.

Survey Data

Experimental Data