Mojave National Preserve 2013 insect diversity data.csv

The primary data for this publication:

Ruttan, A., Filazzola, A. and Lortie, C. J. (2016) Shrub-annual facilitation complexes mediate insect community structure in arid environments. Journal of Arid Environments 134: 1-9.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140196316301100

Insect samples were collected at Kelso dunes over a nine-day
period between April 24th and May 2nd, 2013. Insects were
sampled daily using pan traps (approximately 18 cm in diameter)
set at ground-level along an east-west axis parallel to Kelso Dunes.
Thirty pairs of pan traps were set along two parallel 45 m transects
(transects were 10 m apart) with alternating blue, yellow, and
white traps approximately every 3 m using the NSERC-CANPOLIN
protocol (http://www.uoguelph.ca/canpolin). Pan traps were
paired so that each replicate had one pan trap under the southern
portion of a L. tridentata canopy, halfway between the base of the
shrub and the drip-line, and within a patch of annual plants. The
other pan traps were deployed 2 m south of each paired shrub in an
adjacent open microsite, also with annual plants present (see
Appendix A; Fig. A2). Open microsites were located two metres
from the drip-line of shrubs because this was on average the
maximum distance possible without being within a two metre
radius of another shrub (Ruttan pers. obs). Pan traps were half-filled
with a solution of soapy water prepared by mixing five drops of
unscented dish detergent per litre of water (for protocol, see:
http://www.uoguelph.ca/canpolin). Pan traps were set out by 9:00
a.m. and collected at 5:00 p.m. daily targeting typical peak insect
activity (http://www.uoguelph.ca/canpolin). All samples were
collected on sunny days with no precipitation. Samples were
collected from each pan trap replicate and stored in vials of 70%
ethanol. Insects were then sorted from samples and identified to
the family level for ease of identification using Goulet and Huber
(1993) and Borror et al. (1989).