Spatial and seasonal determinants of arthropod community composition across an agro-ecosystem landscape

We used Malaise traps to sample arthropod community composition at biweekly intervals across an agroecosystem landscape in southern Ontario, Canada, to evaluate the relative impact of site spacing, seasonal timing, weather conditions, local plant community attributes, and agricultural extent across the local landscape on spatial and temporal variation in arthropod community composition. The 15 field sites sampled spanned a wide gradient of agricultural extent that in isolation had a strong impact on spatial variation in arthropod community composition. DNA barcoding of the samples identified >10,000 different arthropod BINs (Biodiversity Index Numbers). Local variation in plant community composition and canopy copver best explained variation in arthropod community dissimilarity. Weather variables followed closely in explanatory power, driven primariy by seasonal variation in temperature. Significant effects of time remained after accounting for environmental variables, with little in..., Arthropod biodiversity was sampled biweekly during May-October 2019 from 29 Malaise traps located across 12 farms and 3 conservation areas in southern Ontario. The samples were stored in ethanol and the resulting liquid was used to used to identify biodiversity index numbers (BINs) using DNA metabarcoding via lab analyses conducted at the University of Guelph Centre for Biodiversity Genomics. Plant biodiversity (to genus at minimum and to species as appropriate) and relative abundance were sampled from 10 quadrats measuring 1 x 1 m positioned around the arthropod Malaise traps at monthly intervals from May-September. , , # Data from: Spatial and seasonal determinants of arthropod community composition across an agro-ecosystem landscape

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.j0zpc86pk](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.j0zpc86pk)

## Description of the data and file structure

### Files and variables

#### File: Burgess\_data\_Feb03\_21.csv

**Description:** 

##### Variables

* Trap: unique identifier for each trap based on farm owner or conservation area name
* t: biweekly sampling interval
* PC1: first axis of a principal components analysis (PCA) of 6 weather variables relevant to each trap location
* PC2: second axis of the weather PCA
* PC3: third axis of the weather PCA
* PC4: fourth axis of the weather PCA
* Genus_richness: total number of plant types (genus or species) counted across 10 quadrats measuring 1 x 1 m
* Avg_temp: average temperature (deg C) recorded by data loggers over each 2 week collection period
* CV_temp: coefficient of variation in temperature recorded by data loggers
* Rel_humid: relativ...