Data from Effects of elevation, season, and bait type on assemblage of forensically-relevant blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in contrasting habitats of Northwestern Arizona.
Data files
Mar 20, 2026 version files 564.13 KB
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HualapaiHOBO.KahlerWeidnerWeatherData.csv
22.59 KB
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Kahler_Weidner.Mojave.HOBO_Weather_Data_2021-2022.csv
19.14 KB
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Kahler_Weidner.Reared_2021-2022_Data.csv
10.51 KB
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Kahler.Weidner.Captured2021-2022Data.csv
37.50 KB
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Kahler.Weidner.Kingman.Weather2021-2022.csv
15.62 KB
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Kahler.Weidner.NOAAKingmanRH.csv
452.73 KB
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README.md
6.05 KB
Abstract
The objective of this study was to identify blow fly species between two contrasting habitats in northwestern Arizona— the Black Mountains (Mojave Desert) and the Hualapai Mountains (Arizona/New Mexico Mountains). This research aimed to assess the impacts of food source (game meat (javelina; Tayassu tajacu) compared to chicken (Gallus domesticus) liver), seasonality, and elevation on blow fly biodiversity. Each habitat had three site locations at different elevational gradients (low, middle, high) with four bait traps deployed at each site (two of each meatbait type). The dataset provided included weather data from both habitats collected using one HOBO MX2301A Temperature Data Loggers (Onset Computer Corporation, Bourne, MA, USA) per habitat, with comparative data included from Kingman Regional Airport via the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (Temperature and Relative Humidity). The data set for the blow flies includes each captured identification per trap and flies reared from eggs.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.jdfn2z3rh
Description of the data and file structure
Adult blow flies were sampled from January 2021 to January 2022 using baited traps deployed twice monthly across habitats with distinct thermal regimes. Trap duration was standardized using accumulated degree days (ADD; base 10 °C) to account for year-round temperature differences. Temperature and relative humidity were recorded with HOBO MX2301A data loggers at each site and supplemented with regional climate data from Kingman Regional Airport (NOAA). Traps were suspended 2–2.5 m above ground on native vegetation to minimize scavenger interference and were deployed for 1–7 days depending on thermal conditions, corresponding to ~3–28 ADD in the Mojave and ~0–24 ADD in the Hualapai. These intervals were sufficient to capture adult flies as well as eggs and larvae.
Files and variables
File: HualapaiHOBO.KahlerWeidnerWeatherData.csv
Description: Hualapai Mountains weather collected every 3 hours by HOBO MX2301A Temperature Data Loggers (Onset Computer Corporation, Bourne, MA, USA) during trap deployment.
Variables
- Season: Season: Seasons were defined as spring (March-May), summer (June-August), fall (September-November) and winter (December-February).
- Month: Month HOBO was deployed.
- Date-Time (MST): Date and time (set to every 3 hours) the HOBO reading was collected.
- Temp (C): Temperature in Celcius during reading.
- RH (%): Relative Humidity in percentage during reading.
- Dew Point (C): Dew point in Celcius during reading.
File: Kahler_Weidner.Mojave.HOBO_Weather_Data_2021-2022.csv
Description: Mojave Desert weather collected every 3 hours by HOBO MX2301A Temperature Data Loggers (Onset Computer Corporation, Bourne, MA, USA) during trap deployment.
Variables
- Season: Season: Seasons were defined as spring (March-May), summer (June-August), fall (September-November) and winter (December-February).
- Month: Month HOBO was deployed.
- Date-Time (MST): Date and time (set to every 3 hours) the HOBO reading was collected.
- Temp (C): Temperature in Celcius during reading.
- RH (%): Relative Humidity in percentage during reading.
- Dew Point (C): Dew point in Celcius during reading.
File: Kahler_Weidner.Reared_2021-2022_Data.csv
Description: Adult blowflies reared from eggs.
Variables
- Date: Date trap was recovered.
- Month: Month trap was recovered.
- Season: Seasons were defined as spring (March-May), summer (June-August), fall (September-November) and winter (December-February).
- Trap ID: Location and trap number. Four traps per location. Locations were identified by elevation. Therefore, Hualapai traps locations were Low (DC), Middle (WS), High (US) and Mojave were High (SGP), Middle (RT), and Low (CS).
- Habitat: Mojave (M) or Hualapai (H)
- Elevation: High (H-US, M-SGP), Middle (H-WS, M-RT) or Low (H-DC, M-CS)
- Meat Type: Game Meat (GM) or Chicken Liver (CL)
- C. latifrons: number of adults reared.
File: Kahler.Weidner.Captured2021-2022Data.csv
Description: Adult blowflies captured in trap deployments. Missing values are blank cells.
Variables
- Date: Date trap was recovered.
- Month: Month trap was recovered.
- Season: Seasons were defined as spring (March-May), summer (June-August), fall (September-November) and winter (December-February).
- Trap ID: Location and trap number. Four traps per location. Locations were identified by elevation. Therefore, Hualapai traps locations were Low (DC), Middle (WS), High (US) and Mojave were High (SGP), Middle (RT), and Low (CS).
- Habitat: Mojave (M) or Hualapai (H)
- Elevation: High (H-US, M-SGP), Middle (H-WS, M-RT) or Low (H-DC, M-CS)
- Meat Type: Game Meat (GM) or Chicken Liver (CL)
- Trap Interference: Whether the trap had been interfered with (humans or scavengers).
- C. latifrons: number of adult blow flies
- C. coloradensis: number of adult blow flies
- C. terranovae: number of adult blow flies
- C. livida: number of adult blow flies
- P. regina: number of adult blow flies
- L. sericata: number of adult blow flies
- L. cuprina: number of adult blow flies
- L. mexicana: number of adult blow flies
- C. rufifacies: number of adult blow flies
- C. Cadaverina: number of adult blow flies
- C. macellaria: number of adult blow flies
- C. alaskensis: number of adult blow flies
- Damaged: number of adult blow flies that could not be identified due to damage.
File: Kahler.Weidner.Kingman.Weather2021-2022.csv
Description: NOAA weather data collected from KINGMAN AIRPORT, AZ US (USW00093167) with manual Celcius conversions from Fahrenheit.
Variables
- Date: Date of reading.
- Month: Numbered 1-12 represents the month. 1 = January, 2 = February, 3 = March, etc.
- TMAX (Degrees Fahrenheit): NOAA reading in Fahrenheit.
- TMIN (Degrees Fahrenheit): NOAA reading in Fahrenheit.
- PRCP (Inches): precipitation measurement in inches.
- Max Cel: TMAX (F) converted into Celcius.
- Min Cel: TMIN (F) converted into Celcius.
- Average Cel: Average Celcius from Max Cel and Min Cel.
File: Kahler.Weidner.NOAAKingmanRH.csv
Description: NOAA weather data collected from KINGMAN AIRPORT, AZ US (USW00093167) for relative humidity. Data with report type "SOD" was not provided by NOAA, therefore "null" represents the absence of data.
Variables
- STATION: NOAA station identification
- DATE: data and time of reading.
- REPORT_TYPE: METAR (Meteorological Aviation Routine Weather Report) code
- HourlyRelativeHumidity: Hourly humidity readings
Access information
Other publicly accessible locations of the data:
Data was derived from the following sources:
- NOAA weather station KINGMAN AIRPORT, AZ US (USW00093167)