| Twenty-three species of limno-terrestrial tardigrades were recorded in North Carolina in a corridor along 35.5°N latitude. Four species are possibly new to science. Nine new species records were reported in the Piedmont Plateau and fourteen in the Coastal Plain/Fringe. Analyses of these populations suggest that abiotic influences, as well as both inter- and intra-specific associations have roles in determining distributions.;Field collections were made in each of ten systematically located areas along the transect line. Sampling areas were nested within three geophysical provinces and further stratified by microhabitat. Moss, lichen, and leaf litter were removed from six microhabits in each sampling area. Environmental data were recorded and plant materials placed in paper bags for drying out. In the laboratory, samples were re-hydrated, tardigrades removed, preserved on slides in Hoyers solution, and identified to species.;Species were not distributed evenly, but in three distinct groups of abundant, common, and rare. A new hot spot of species richness was identified in the Coastal Plain. The effects of abiotic factors -- specifically elevation, humidity, precipitation, bedrock, and a land form model -- were examined by both univariate and multivariate procedures. Patterns and trends of species distributions were evident in the humidity, precipitation and land form index studies. Both positive and negative species associations were identified by several approaches with contradictory results. Similarities and differences in tardigrades' relationships with other syntopic fauna were found between assemblages in North Carolina and Antarctica.;Broader applications include further delineation of the proposed Appalachian and Gulf Coast regional clusters, and clarification of characteristics of suitable habitat on the microhabitat, local sampling area, provincial, and statewide scales. |
