This readme.txt file was generated on 20220428 by Ismael Ramirez Recommended citation for the data: Ramirez, Ismael E; Causton, Charlotte E; Gutierrez, George A; Mosquera, Denis A; Piedrahita, Paolo; Heimpel, George E. (2022). Data set for the publication "Specificity within bird-parasite-parasitoid food webs: a novel approach for evaluating potential biological control agents of the avian vampire fly". Retrieved from the Data Repository for the University of Minnesota, https://doi.org/10.13020/ZKJ4-QA65. ------------------- GENERAL INFORMATION ------------------- 1. Title of Dataset Data set for the publication "Specificity within bird-parasite-parasitoid food webs: a novel approach for evaluating potential biological control agents of the avian vampire fly" 2. Author Information Ramirez, Ismael E Causton, Charlotte E Gutierrez, George A Mosquera, Denis A Piedrahita, Paolo Heimpel, George E 3. Date published or finalized for release: 2022 4. Date of data collection (single date, range, approximate date): (January – June) from 2013 to 2018 5. Geographic location of data collection (where was data collected?): Loma Alta Ecological Reserve, Santa Elena, Ecuador. 6. Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the data: Bell Museum, Galapagos Conservancy, the International Community Foundation (with a grant awarded by The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust), National Geographic Foundation, and the University of Minnesota 7. Overview of the data (abstract): 1. Quantitative food web analyses can provide insights into the specificity of consumers such as herbivores, parasites, and parasitoids. Understanding such patterns can be useful in forecasting the potential benefits and risks of biological control agents being considered for introduction against invasive species. 2. The avian vampire fly, Philornis downsi (Diptera: Muscidae), is a neotropical bird parasite that is invasive in the Galapagos Islands, where it is causing substantial mortality of endemic bird species. We used a novel in-field experimental food web approach within the native range of P. downsi in Ecuador to test the hypotheses that pupal parasitoids known to attack P. downsi specialize on members of the genus Philornis, which occur only in bird nests. We deployed pupae of non-Philornis fly species adjacent to bird nests to assess specificity of the parasitoids and used two indices to assess specificity: Resource Range (RR), which evaluates the breadth of host use, and Pair Difference Index (PDI), which evaluates interaction strength. Abstract reference: Ramirez, I. E., Causton, C. E., Gutierrez, George, A., Mosquera, D., Piedrahita, P., & Heimpel, G. E. (2022). Specificity within bird-parasite-parasitoid food webs: a novel approach for evaluating potential biological control agents of the avian vampire fly. Journal of Applied Ecology. Accepted. -------------------------- SHARING/ACCESS INFORMATION -------------------------- 1. Licenses/restrictions placed on the data: Attribution 4.0 International 2. Links to publications that cite or use the data: Not Available yet 3. Was data derived from another source? No If yes, list source(s): NA 4. Terms of Use: Data Repository for the U of Minnesota (DRUM) By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. https://conservancy.umn.edu/pages/drum/policies/#terms-of-use --------------------- DATA & FILE OVERVIEW --------------------- 1. File List A. Filename: masterwebinterac.csv Short description: Total abundance of two species of flies found in Loma Alta -------------------------- METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION -------------------------- 1. Description of methods used for collection/generation of data: Data was gatehered in the field. We monitored artificial wooden nest boxes (n=46) and bamboo poles with multiple nesting cavities (n=24) (Bulgarella et al. 2017), as well as naturally occurring bird nests found in trees and other structures between 2013 and 2018 (inclusive). We observed the progress of active nests using an endoscopic fiber-optic camera with wireless monitor (shaft 17 mm diameter, fiber-optic cable length 91 cm) mounted on a pole 2. Methods for processing the data: The data was gethered by counting nests, pupae and insects emerging from pupae Reference: Bulgarella, M., Quiroga, M. A., Boulton, R. A., Ramírez, I. E., Moon, R. D., Causton, C. E., & Heimpel, G. E. (2017). Life cycle and host specificity of the parasitoid Conura annulifera (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae), a potential biological control agent of Philornis downsi (Diptera: Muscidae) in the Galápagos Islands. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 110, 317-328. 3. Instrument- or software-specific information needed to interpret the data: R-studio, Bipartite and Econnulter packages 4. Standards and calibration information, if appropriate: NA 5. Environmental/experimental conditions: Natural conditions - Data was gathered in the field 6. Describe any quality-assurance procedures performed on the data: NA 7. People involved with sample collection, processing, analysis and/or submission: Ismael Ramirez, Denis Mosquera and Agustin Gutierrez ----------------------------------------- DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: masterwebinterac.csv ----------------------------------------- 1. Number of variables: Two 2. Number of cases/rows: 104 3. Missing data codes: Not applicable 4. Variable List A. Name: Predator Description: Species of parasitoids that emerged from a Philornis species pupae B. Name: Philornis niger Description: Predator/parasitoid numbers that emerged from that particular speices of fly, 0= no parasitoid emerged 1= one parasitoid emerged. C. Name: Philornis downsi Description: Predator/parasitoid numbers that emerged from that particular species of fly, 0= no parasitoid emerged 1= one parasitoid emerged.