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"

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.