Data and code for: Moisture and competition constrain ephemeral resource quality for burying beetle reproduction

Shifts in abiotic factors such as temperature and moisture can change the availability of resources, especially under climate change. Both abiotic and biotic drivers can have profound, rapid effects on species distribution, survival, and reproduction. Little is known about how abiotic factors affect the availability of ephemeral resources. Burying beetles (Nicrophorus spp.) are specialist users of ephemeral resources, as their reproduction requires locating, defending, and burying a small carcass. Environmental moisture, such as coastal fog, could change how quickly carcasses dry out. We tested the role of carcass moisture and interspecific competition with a generalist scavenger, Heterosilpha spp., on reproduction by placing pairs of Nicrophorus guttula in field chambers with control and experimentally dehydrated mouse carcasses. Pairs that were given control of mouse carcasses were more likely to carry out reproductive behaviors and produce viable offspring than pairs that were given ..., Site. We conducted this experiment at the Bodega Marine Reserve in Bodega Bay, California (38.319061, -123.072443) between June and September 2022. The site is composed of coastal prairie, dunes, and rocky intertidal habitat. Summers are mild (average daily minimum temperatures are 9-14 degrees C, with average daily maximum temperatures 15-20 degrees C), with fog often present early in the mornings (mean relative humidity is 85-100%) (WRCC 2024). The coastal prairie is primarily composed of species such as bush lupine (Lupinus arboreus), seaside daisy (Erigeron glaucus), woolly sunflower (Eriophyllum spp.), and ice plant (Carpobrotus spp.) (Barbour et al. 1973).
Trapping beetles. We set up pitfall traps baited with mouse carcasses in the coastal prairie to collect N. guttula and Heterosilpha spp. for experiments (Figure 1B, Figure 1C, Appendix S1: Section S1). N. guttula is our focal species (Appendix S1: Section S1), a burying beetle that requires a small carcass that it buries belowgr..., , # Data and code for: Moisture and competition constrain ephemeral resource quality for burying beetle reproduction

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.6q573n67v](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.6q573n67v)

## Description of the data and file structure

These data involve an experiment completed in 2022 on burying beetle reproduction, and also a supplementary project in 2024 to confirm the treatment realism of the 2022 experiment. 

### Files and variables

#### File: filled\_nicrocosms.csv

**Description:** Data on the setup of experimental chambers and the male and female N. guttula pair placed within.

##### Variables

* date_nicrocosm_complete: date the experimental chamber was set up with treatments and N. guttula pair - **NOTE: if a row has an empty cell for this date column, that entire row can be disregarded. No experimental chamber was set up, and these lines are removed in the script.** 
* time_nicrocosm_complete: time the experimental chamber was set up with treatments and N. guttul...,