Abstract
The Collembola, an order of apterous insects, have been studied by ecologists interested in populations of soil organisms in an effort to delimit the requirements of these organisms in a soil ecosystem. Soil is an open ecosystem; thus, there are many variables which must be taken into consideration. Each soil layer and plant layer has its own microclimate and is heterogeneous both vertically and horizontally. The interactions between these layers increase the difficulty of accurately delimiting and describing variances in the daily and seasonal fluctuations that occur. Ecologists have attempted, in some instances, to combine and describe these interactions as they affect Collembola populations. In other instances, an individual factor of the environment was measured in an effort to attribute a single factor as the cause for population fluctuations.