Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.v6wwpzh7p

Description of the data and file structure

Insect floral visitors vary spatiotemporally and influence fruit production in mango orchards

Abstract

This dataset was generated from a field study conducted on six commercial mango farms in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. The study aimed to assess the spatiotemporal variation in insect flower visitors and their influence on mango fruit production. Observations of insect visitors to mango inflorescences were conducted at increasing distances from the crop border adjacent to native vegetation, across different times of the day (morning, midday, and afternoon), and during a designated night-time period. Subsequent fruit set data were recorded from the same inflorescences to evaluate the impact of insect visitation on reproductive success. The dataset includes flower visitor abundance, taxonomic identity, spatial and temporal variables, diversity indices, environmental conditions, and corresponding fruit set measurements.

Methods

• Study Area: Six commercial mango farms in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
• Sampling Design: At each farm, three trees were selected at each of five distances (0, 50, 100, 150, 200 m) from native vegetation.
• Diurnal Surveys: Conducted over three non-consecutive days per farm, in three time slots daily: morning (9:00–12:00), midday (12:01–15:00), and afternoon (15:01–18:00). Each tree was observed for 5 minutes per slot.
• Nocturnal Surveys: Conducted once per farm in one time slot (21:00–00:00), following the same tree-distance structure.
• Environmental Data: Temperature, relative humidity, and wind conditions were recorded during each survey.
• Diversity Metrics: Hill numbers were used to compute Species Richness, Total Abundance, and Shannon Diversity Index per survey.
• Fruit Set Assessment: Six recently opened panicles per tree were tagged before surveys. Fruit set was recorded at early stage (25–30 days post-survey) and harvest (100–110 days). A total of 504 panicles were monitored (84 trees × 6 panicles).

Files and variables

File: Fruit_set.csv

Description: Contains early and harvest-stage fruit set data from mango panicles observed during insect visitation surveys.

Variables

• Farm – Mango farm identifier
• Distance – Distance of tree from native vegetation border (meter)
• Tetragonula_visits – Cumulative stingless bee visits (number of visits)
• Mesembrius_visits (number of visits)
• Chrysomya_visits (number of visits)
• Formicidae_visits (number of visits)
• Other_insect_visits (number of visits)
• Total_visits (number of visits)
• Early_fruit_count - Number of fruits per six panicles recorded at early stage (25–30 days after visitation)
• Harvest_fruit_count – Number of fruits per six panicles recorded at maturity (100–110 days)
• Fruit_length_mm - The size of mango fruit vertically i.e. top to bottom (in mm)
• Fruit_breadth_mm - The size of mango fruit horizontally i.e. side to side (in mm)
• FC_major mm - Fruit circumference around major axis i.e. vertically (in mm)
• FC_minor_mm - Fruit circumference around minor axis i.e. horizontally
• Weight_g - Fruit weight in grams
• 'NA' in the values of fruit measurement means there was no fruit on those panicles, hence, no fruit measurements could be recorded.

File: Diversity_indices_Diurnal.csv

Description: Contains species richness (SR), total abundance, and Shannon Diversity Index (SD) values derived from diurnal floral visitor observations.

Variables

• Farm
• Distance
• Time_of_day (9:00–12:00 , 12:01–15:00, 15:01–18:00)
• Species_Richness (SR)
• Total_Abundance (Total)
• Shannon_Diversity (SD)

File: Diurnal_visits.csv

Description: Raw abundance data for each insect species recorded during diurnal (daytime) 5-minute surveys.

Variables

• Region (Darwin)
• Farm
• Survey (Diurnal)
• Distance
• Time (9:00–12:00, 12:01–15:00, 15:01–18:00)
• Temp (in Degree Celcius)
• RH - Relative humidity (%)
• Wind speed in meter per secon
• [Species_X] – One column per species, with abundance count per survey
• Total - Total insect visits recorded

File: Diversity_indices_Nocturnal.csv

Description: Similar to the diurnal dataset but for nocturnal surveys conducted once per farm between 21:00–00:00.

Variables

• Farm
• Distance
• Time_of_day (21:00 - 00:00)
• Species_Richness (SR)
• Total_Abundance (Total)
• Shannon_Diversity (SD)

File: Nocturnal_visits.csv

Description: Species-specific abundance data recorded during nocturnal 5-minute surveys.

Variables

• Region
• Farm
• Survey (Nocturnal)
• Distance (in meter)
• Time (21:00–00:00)
• Temp (in Degree Celcius)
• RH - Relative humidity (%)
• Wind speed in meter per second
• [Species_X] – One column per species with nocturnal counts
• Total - Total insect visits recorded

Code/software

Analyses were performed using standard ecological metrics and statistical software (e.g., R packages such as vegan, lme4)

Access information

Other publicly accessible locations of the data:

• NA

Data was derived from the following sources:

• This is the original data generated from this research