Radiocesium Dispersion in a Cryptozoan Food Web

Abstract

Radiocesium dispersal in a forest floor food web is being studied in a Liriodendron stand previously tagged with 137Cs. Initial studies traced the movement and equilibration of 137Cs in the forest floor stratum. Subsequently, weekly samples are revealing seasonal shifts in concentration of 137Cs in available food materials (leaf litter, wood, roots and mosses). Pitfall trap collections form the basis for estimates of 137Cs equilibrium concentrations in arthropods. Laboratory measurements of biological half lives are being made for radiocesium in the major arthropod species. A preliminary synthesis of these data suggests that radiocesium techniques can be used to provide much detail on structure and function in this food web, but some relationships between animal species remain obscure.