Data from: Using full-length metabarcoding and DNA barcoding to infer community assembly for speciose taxonomic groups: a case study

How insect communities are assembled in nature remains largely unknown. In
particular, whether habitat filtering or competition serves as the main
mechanism in forming insect communities is rarely subject to an in-depth
investigation. One bottleneck lies in the difficulty of species
identification when dealing with a large number of diverse insects.
However, High-Throughput Sequencing (HTS) technology coupled with classic
DNA barcoding offers a great opportunity to infer community assembly for
this speciose group. In this study, using 13,909 full-length barcodes
obtained by Sanger sequencing or the SOAPBarcode metabarcoding method, we
showed that competition was the main assembly mechanism for the moth
communities studied in temperate forests of China. The two sequencing
methods showed highly consistent results with regards to both diversity
composition and community assembly mechanism. Significant phylogenetic
signals and structure suggested that the focal moth communities were the
result of the non-neutral assembly process, which was further confirmed by
results of neutral assembly test that accounted for immigration and
speciation rates. In conclusion, HTS coupled with a well-curated DNA
barcode library can facilitate community assembly inferences, especially
for speciose taxonomic groups.