Arthropod rain in a lowland tropical forest

Resource subsidies link habitats, facilitating the flow of energy across ecological boundaries. In lowland tropical forests, \"arthropod rain\" (i.e., arthropods falling from the canopy to the understory) represents a potentially important but understudied terrestrial nutrient flux. We investigated the composition, biomass, and environmental drivers of arthropod rain on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Pairs of traps–pan traps and pole traps–placed 1 m above the ground, respectively collected fallen arthropods and arthropods potentially climbing to the canopy. Average (± SE) arthropod biomass density in pan traps was dominated by Hymenoptera (primarily ants; 0.501 ± 0.023 mg dry mass m-2 day-1) and Lepidoptera larvae (0.228 ± 0.001 mg m-2 day-1). Total dry biomass density in pan traps was 0.896 ± 0.033 mg m-2 day-1; thus, ca. 27 kg of arthropod biomass rains into the understory per km2 per month during the wet season in this forest. Arthropod abundance in pan traps declined with increasing ..., , # Data from: Arthropod rain in a lowland tropical forest

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.1zcrjdg54](10.5061/dryad.1zcrjdg54)

## Description of the data and file structure

Data were collected to measure the quantity and biomass of arthropods falling from the forest canopy into the understory and their relationship to strong wind and rain events in Panama.

Note: 'NA' in any cell = missing data or no data

### Files and variables

#### File: arth_rain_weather.csv

**Description:** 

##### Variables

* reference: voucher specimen code
* collection_date: date sample was collected as mm/dd/yyy
* location: transect site name
* trap_type: type of trap
* trap_number: unique trap numbered position within a transect
* trap_code: code used to identify individual traps
* densiometer: percent canopy cover measurement (%)
* latitude: latitude coordinate of the middle of the transect at a given location (decimal degree)
* longitude: longitude coordinate of the middle of the transect at a given location...,