Malaise_trap_ReadME.txt

Description

Data set to accompany the paper " Extensive regional variation in the phenology of insects and their response to temperature across North America" published in Ecology (2023) See below for a full list of authors and addresses. Authors are also listed in the main data file, "Malaise_trap_Data_2019-2021.txt", which is a tab-delimited file. See the ReadMe file for a description of the variables in the main data file. There are also separate tab-delimited files for the "repeatability" analyses, which contain a subset of data from the main data file, and an excel file with the tree swallow laying date data used to estimate the start of the three main phenological periods. Here, we describe the phenology and abundance of insects collected in Malaise traps using a standardized protocol at 96 sites in open, grassy habitats across North America (n = 1041 samples). Over three years (2019-2021), we found strong regional differences in the phenology of insects and their response to temperature, even within the same taxonomic group, habitat type and time of season. At a smaller scale, insect biomass at different traps operating on the same days was correlated up to about 75 km apart. This geographic and phenological variation has not been studied well, and it is a major source of controversy in previous analyses of insect declines that have aggregated studies from different locations and time periods. Using our standardized protocol, we estimate that 5 or 1% declines in insect abundance across North America could be detected with just 1 or 5 more years of sampling, respectively, of a study such as ours (131 samples/year). Thus, standardized monitoring networks such as this have the potential to answer important questions about the distribution and abundance of insects at a continental scale in a relatively short time frame. Authors and addresses Peter O. Dunn Dept. of Biol. Sci., Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Insiyaa Ahmed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rivers Project Office Elise Armstrong Dept. of Biology, Siena Heights Univ. Natasha Barlow Birds Canada Malcolm A. Barnard Inst. of Marine Sci., Univ. of N.C. at Chapel Hill Marc Bélisle Dépt. de Biologie, Univ. de Sherbrooke T.J. Benson Ill. Nat. Hist. Survey, Prairie Res. Inst., Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Lisha L. Berzins Dept. of Biology, Univ. of Saskatchewan Chloe Boynton Canadian Wildl. Service, Environ. and Climate Change Canada T. Anders Brown Environ. Sci. Program and Biol. Dept., Trinity College Melissa Cady Alaska Peninsula and Becharof Nat. Wildl. Refuges, U.S. Fish and Wildl. Service Kyle Cameron Birds Canada Xuan Chen Dept. of Biology, Salisbury Univ. Robert G. Clark Wildl. Res. Div., Environ. and Climate Change Canada, and Dept. of Biol., Univ. of Saskatchewan Ethan D. Clotfelter Dept. of Biol. and Environ. Studies, Amherst College Kara Cromwell Div. Biol. Sciences, University of Montana Russell D. Dawson Dept. of Ecosys. Sci. and Manag., Univ.of North. British Columbia Elsie Denton US Dept. of Agri., Agri. Res. Service, Rangeland and Meadow Forage Unit Andrew Forbes Dept. of Biology, Univ. of Iowa Kendrick Fowler Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecol. Program Kevin C. Fraser Dept. of Biol. Sci., Univ. of Manitoba Dany Garant Dépt. de Biologie, Univ. de Sherbrooke Megan Hiebert Birds Canada Claire Houchen Dept. of Biol. Sci., George Washington Univ. Jennifer Houtz Dept. of Ecol. and Evol. Biol., Cornell Univ. Tara L. Imlay Dept. of Biology, Dalhousie Univ., and Pacific Wildl. Res. Centre, Canadian Wildl. Serv. Brian D. Inouye Dept. of Biol. Sci., Florida State Univ. David W. Inouye Dept. of Biology, Univ. of Maryland, and Rocky Mountain Biol. Lab. Michelle Jackson A Rocha Canada Andrew Jacobson Dept. of Environ. and Sustain., Catawba College Kristin Jayd Dept. of Entomol., Univ. of Maryland Christy Juteau A Rocha Canada Andrea Kautz Carnegie Mus. of Nat. Hist., Powdermill Nature Res. Caroline Killian Environ. Sci. Program and Biol. Dept., Trinity College Elliot Kinnear Dept. of Biol. Sci., Univ. of Manitoba Kimberly J Komatsu Smithsonian Environ. Res. Center Kirk Larsen Dept. of Biology, Luther College Andrew Laughlin Dept. of Environ. Studies, UNC Asheville Marty Leonard Dept. of Biol., Dalhousie Univ. Valerie Levesque-Beaudin Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, Univ. of Guelph Ryan Leys Birds Canada and Biol. Dept., Univ. of Waterloo Elizabeth Long Mohonk Preserve Stephen C. Lougheed Dept. of Biology, Queen's Univ. Stuart Mackenzie Birds Canada Jen Marangelo Missoula Butterfly House & Insectarium Colleen Miller Dept. of Ecol. and Evol. Biol., Cornell Univ. Brenda Molano-Flores Ill. Nat. Hist. Survey, Prairie Res. Inst., Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Christy Morrissey Dept. of Biol. and School of Environ. and Sustain., Univ. of Saskatchewan Emony Nicholls Ministry of Forests, Lands and Nat. Res. Operations Jessica M. Orlofske Biol. Sci. Dept., University of Wisconsin - Parkside Ian S. Pearse U.S. Geol. Survey, Fort Collins Sci. Center Fanie Pelletier Dépt. de Biologie, Univ. de Sherbrooke Amber L. Pitt Environ. Sci. Program and Biol. Dept., Trinity College Joseph Poston Dept. of Biology, Catawba College Danielle Racke Claytor Nature Center, Univ. of Lynchburg Jeannine A. Randall Dept. of Ecosys. Sci. and Manag., Univ.of North. British Columbia Matthew L. Richardson Center for Urban Research, Engagement and Scholarship, Univ. of the District of Columbia Olivia Rooney Dept. of Ecol. and Evol. Biol., Cornell Univ. A. Rose Ruegg Dept. of Environ. Studies, UNC Asheville Scott Rush Dept of Wildl., Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mississippi State Univ. Sadie Ryan Dept. of Geog. and Emerging Pathogens Inst., Univ. of Florida Mitchell Sadowski Biol. Dept., Westfield State Univ. Ivana Schoepf Dept. of Science, Univ. of Alberta - Augustana Lindsay Schulz Cultural and Environ. Resource Manag., Central Washington Univ. Brenna Shea Missoula Butterfly House & Insectarium Thomas N. Sheehan The Jones Center at Ichauway Lynn Siefferman Dept. of Biology, Appalachian State Univ. Derek Sikes Univ. of Alaska Museum, Univ. of Alaska Fairbanks Mark Stanback Dept. of Biology, Davidson College John D. Styrsky Dept. of Biology, Univ. of Lynchburg Conor C. Taff Dept. of Ecol. and Evol. Biol., Cornell Univ. Jennifer J. Uehling Dept. of Ecol. and Evol. Biol., Cornell Univ. Kathleen Uvino Environ. Science, Univ.of Jamestown Thomas Wassmer Dept. of Biology, Siena Heights Univ. Kathryn Weglarz Biol. Dept., Westfield State Univ. Megan Weinberger Dept. of Biology, Univ. of Iowa John Wenzel Carnegie Mus. of Nat. Hist., Powdermill Nature Res. Linda A. Whittingham Dept. of Biol. Sci., Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee