Similarity percentage analysis of the relative pathogen composition between consecutive sampling events.

The greatest differences in honey bee colony pathogen composition was explained by changes in abundance of a different pathogen between consecutive sampling events. The percent difference attributed to each pathogen between consecutive sampling events was calculated using a similarity percentage (SIMPER) analysis of a Bray-Curtis dissimilarity matrix. The cumulative difference of the top three pathogens in comparisons between consecutive sampling events is reported as a percentage. The difference in percent mite infestation was calculated in comparisons between consecutive sampling events. When the change in mean mite infestation was greatest, DWV accounted for the most difference in honey bee colony pathogen composition.