<em>Aedes sierrensis</em> - <em>Lambornella clarki</em> host - parasite interaction data: Field survey and temperature dependence laboratory experiments

Temperature is a fundamental driver of species interactions, including parasitism. Here, we use field surveys and lab experiments to characterize the temperature dependence of the interaction between the mosquito host Aedes sierrensis and its facultative ciliate parasite Lambornella clarki. Field survey data quantifying infection presence across a 1100 km geographic climate gradient are paired with long-term environmental temperature measurements from PRISM. PRISM temperature estimates are compared to direct measurements of tree hole habitat temperatures logged with iButtons. Lab experiments with six host populations from different climates across the study area describe the fundamental temperature sensitivity of the host - parasite interaction and underlying host and parasite traits. Methods There are five data files. Two files contain field data for tree holes sampled in the Lambornella clarki infection survey. One of these files contains the infection data from the sampled juvenile Aedes sierrensis mosquitoes, plus temperature and precipitation data from PRISM and RADS-CHIRPS. The other file contains temperature data logged by iButtons placed within tree holes, plus temperature data from PRISM and infection presence data. Three files contain data from the laboratory temperature dependence experiments. One file contains data from the infection experiment, one file contains data from the Lambornella clarki free-living population growth experiment, and one file contains data from the mosquito melanization assay.