Abstract
SUMMARY (1) Two superficially similar chalk grasslands in the Breckland of East Anglia provided very different habitats for the abundant terrestrial isopod Armadillidium vulgare (Latreille). At Lakenheath Warren the site was a tussocky grassland, ungrazed, with Festuca spp. covering 65-80% of the area, and most of the isopod population was found in the litter layer (5 cm deep) of the large tussocks throughout the year. At Weeting Heath National Nature Reserve, smaller Festuca tussocks comprised 25-30% of the site, and the isopods moved between the tussocks and the intervening grazed sward. (2) Mean annual population density of A. vulgare on the grazed site at Weeting was 1.4-1.6 times larger than that of the ungrazed site at Lakenheath, which increased to a maximum of 2.8 times at other periods. (3) Differences in population structure between the two sites were detected in terms of age structure, generation distribution and cohort composition.
Published Version
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