Scavenger community and carrion decomposition in a Tibetan alpine meadow

Animal carrion, an ephemeral but nutritional resource, supports diverse invertebrate species involved in the decomposition process. Necrophagous flies, as primary colonizers, can largely affect the invertebrate community and associated carrion removal; however, the effect of fly exclusion on invertebrate decomposers and associated carrion decomposition has been poorly understood.   
To address this gap, we conducted a field experiment to investigate the response of arthropod scavengers and carrion removal to fly exclusion using yak carrion and chicken carrion in a Tibetan alpine meadow.
Results show that flies (maggots) and necrophagous beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) were the predominant scavengers on both yak carrion and chicken carrion in the Tibetan alpine meadow. Maggots, necrophagous beetles, and predatory beetles responded differently to carrion types. Specifically, during the early stages of decomposition, maggots were more abundant on chicken carrion compared to yak carrion, wh..., , , # private for peer review

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.ksn02v7f7](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.ksn02v7f7)

## Description of the data and file structure

**Data File Description**

**File Name**: Data for 24-0206-EEN

This Excel file contains two sheets that record different aspects of the experiment involving the decomposition of carrion and the diversity of arthropods.

**Sheet1: diversity of arthropods**

This sheet contains data on the diversity and abundance of arthropods observed during the experiment under different treatments.

* **Carrion type**: The type of carrion used in the experiment.
* **Sampling day**: The day on which sampling occurred, measured as the number of days since the start of the experiment.
* **Repetition**: The experimental repetition number to identify replicates.
* **Treatment**: The treatment applied during the experiment, either excluding or including flies.
* **Species columns**: Each remaining column corresponds to a specific species, and the value...