nematode.ave.mass: Nematode Genus and Family Average Body Mass

In Nematode: Ecological Indices Calculator for Nematode Communities

Nematode Genus and Family Average Body Mass

Description

A dataset containing the average dry body mass (in micrograms) of nematode genera and families, compiled from morphological measurements and allometric scaling. Essential for metabolic rate calculations and size-spectrum analyses in soil ecology.

Usage

nematode.ave.mass

Format

A data frame with 1094 rows and 4 variables:

Genus

Nematode genus name (character), taxonomically validated against Nemaplex database

Family

Corresponding taxonomic family (character)

Genus.Average.Mass

Mean dry mass per genus (numeric, \mug)

Family.Average.Mass

Mean dry mass per family (numeric, \mug)

Source

Nemaplex.UCDavis.edu; Revision Date: 02/02/2026; Accessed 03/18/2026

• Website: http://nemaplex.ucdavis.edu/

See Also

Use nematode.info for complementary trait data.

Examples

# Load data
data(nematode.ave.mass)

# Find mass range within a family (e.g. Rhabditidae)
rhabditidae <- subset(nematode.ave.mass, Family == "Rhabditidae")
range(rhabditidae$Genus.Average.Mass, na.rm = TRUE)

# Convert to biomass (example: 100 individuals of Acanthopharynx)
100 * subset(nematode.ave.mass, Genus == "Acanthopharynx")$Genus.Average.Mass

Nematode documentation built on April 7, 2026, 5:08 p.m.