The record contains information on beetle succession in decaying <i>Eucalyptus obliqua</i> logs, from 1999-2009. Data on beetle species identification, field sampling notes, and collection details from eucalyptus logs across the decade range from 1999 - 2009 are provided.

The Norfolk Island Green Parrot (Cyanoramphus cookii) Wild Breeding Project (2013-2014) dataset contains records of Green Parrot breeding success and survival rates per nesting site, including number of eggs laid, number of chicks hatched and number of chicks fledged. Records of sex composition are recorded as well as records of parental attendance and any nesting disturbance. For information on study site coordinates (restricted data) for this species, please contact the dataset author.

Invertebrates dominate the animal world in terms of abundance, diversity and biomass and play critical roles in maintaining ecosystem function. Despite their obvious importance, disproportionate research attention remains focused on vertebrates, with knowledge and understanding of invertebrate ecology still lacking. Due to their inherent advantages, usage of camera traps in ecology has risen dramatically over the last three decades, especially for research on mammals. However, few studies have used cameras to reliably detect fauna such as invertebrates or used cameras to examine specific aspects of invertebrate ecology. Twenty-four Reconyx PC800 HyperfireTM cameras were deployed on 7th July 2016 at Main Camp and left until 12th October 2016 (98 days, or 2352 h of deployment) in the Simpson Desert, south-western Queensland, capturing 372 time-lapse images of Wolf spiders (Family Lycosidae). Images were tagged with camera location, position, angle, camera ID and presence of lycosids. Additionally, spotlight surveys were conducted in October 2016 every hour between dusk (19:30 h) and dawn (05:30 h) over three nights with a total of 352 lycosids observed. This data set was used to determine whether: 1) camera traps provide a viable method for detecting wolf spiders, 2) diel activity patterns of the spiders can be ascertained, and 3) patterns in spider activity vary with environmental conditions, specifically between burned and unburned habitats and the crests and bases of sand dunes. This data presents a useful example of the utility of cameras as a tool for determining the diel activity patterns and habitat use of larger arthropods such as wolf spiders. Please note: Camera trap images are not provided and only species occurrence records are included. Also, image files were renamed after collection, resulting in a number versus time conflict. However, dates and times of sightings provided are correct.

The lesser hairy­footed dunnart (<i>Sminthopsis youngsoni, Dasyuridae</i>) is a generalist marsupial insectivore in arid Australia, but consumes wolf spiders (<i>Lycosa spp., Lycosidae</i>) disproportionately often relative to their availability. This project tested the hypothesis that this disproportionate predation is a product of frequent encounter rates between the interactants due to high overlap in their diets and use of space and time. This data set focuses on overlap in the use of different microhabitats of wolf spiders (<i>Lycosa spp.</i>) and the lesser hairy­footed dunnart (<i>Sminthopsis youngsoni</i>) in the Simpson Desert, south­western Queensland Australia. Microhabitat use was determined by estimating the percentage cover of seven microhabitat variables and distance to nearest cover along trails left by individuals of each species­ group and a randomly orientated (control) trail for each actual trail as a measure of the availability of each microhabitat within the local environment. Trail length was also recorded and data was collected across 16 trapping grids at Main Camp during July and October (winter and Spring) in 2017. Differences in microhabitat use between trail types (actual vs control) and species (lycosids vs dunnarts) were assessed using non­metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and permutational analyses of variance (PERMANOVA). These analyses were performed using this data.

The lesser hairy-footed dunnart (<i>Sminthopsis youngsoni, Dasyuridae</i>) is a generalist marsupial insectivore in arid Australia, but consumes wolf spiders (<i>Lycosa spp., Lycosidae</i>) disproportionately often relative to their availability. This project tested the hypothesis that this disproportionate predation is a product of frequent encounter rates between the interactants due to high overlap in their diets and use of space and time. This data set focuses on dietary overlap, with diet and predatory behaviour of wolf spiders (<i>Lycosa spp.</i>), the lesser hairy-footed dunnart (<i>Sminthopsis youngsoni</i>) and prowling spiders (<i>Miturga spp.</i>, which represent other common invertebrate predators) were determined by tracking individuals and directly observing prey captures. Seventeen wolf spiders, 10 prowling spiders and 5 dunnarts were captured from Main Camp site in the Simpson Desert, south-western Queensland during 2016 with 30, 13 and 13 direct prey captures witnessed for each species respectively. This data is used for calculating overlap between prey taxa and prey size between these predators using the symmetrical version of MacArthur and Levin's and Pianka's overlap equation. However, it can also be used as a case study for calculating overlap between other species-groups.

The lesser hairy-footed dunnart (<i>Sminthopsis youngsoni, Dasyuridae</i>) is a generalist marsupial insectivore in arid Australia, but consumes wolf spiders (<i>Lycosa spp., Lycosidae</i>) disproportionately often relative to their availability. This project tested the hypothesis that this disproportionate predation is a product of frequent encounter rates between the interactants due to high overlap in their diets and use of space and time. This data set focuses on overlap in the diel acttivity patterns wolf spiders (<i>Lycosa spp.</i>) and the lesser hairy-footed dunnart (<i>Sminthopsis youngsoni</i>) in the Simpson Desert, south-western Queensland Australia. To quantify the temporal activity of lycosids, spotlight surveys were conducted in October 2016 every hour between dusk (19:30 h) and dawn (05:30 h) over three nights. Additionally, remote camera traps were deployed to further quantify patterns in the activity of lycosids and S. youngsoni. Twenty-four Reconyx PC800 HyperfireTM cameras were deployed on 7th July 2016 at Main Camp and left until 12th October 2016 (98 days, or 2352 h of deployment). Images were tagged with camera location, position, angle, camera ID number, species and confidence and date and time data were extracted from each image. This data was used to identify mean activity times for each species (with confidence intervals) and to assess overlap in nocturnal activity patterns between lycosids and S. youngsoni, and thus the potential for competition and predation using the Overlap v 0.2.7 package in R. This data presents a useful example for investigating how the 'Overlap' package works and the benefits it provides.

There are presence absence records for vegetation and matched hydrological data from 687 1 x 1 m quadrats recorded from 11 wetlands and wetland complexes (28 sampled hydrological gradients (referred to as transects) across the upper and lower southeast of South Australia. Plant data were collected in spring 2013. Hydrological monitoring data at each site consisted of continuous (6 hourly) surface water level data from a state agency monitoring network. Observed water levels at the monitoring instrument on the day of monitoring were related to the observed depth of water at each quadrat, assuming a flat, level water surface and obtain a datum for each quadrat relative to the monitoring instrument. The continuous monitoring record was then used to calculate a range of different hydrological predictors indicating the variation at each quadrat. The hydrological dataset provided are the univariate summary statistics recording different aspects of surface water dynamics for each quadrat. Hydrological predictors (sum-exceedance value, hydroperiod and maximum inundation depth) were calculated for annual and seasonal periods in the three-years prior to plant data collection. See metadata and relevant publication for additional details on calculation. Hydrological predictors for each quadrat are provided in a single matrix of sites by predictors, with relevant location details for the quadrat (xy coordinates, site, transect). Included is a single electrical conductivity class for each transect (ordinal variable - low moderate, high - see metadata). Vegetation data are provided as a single matrix (quadrats x plant functional group) showing presence absence of each functional group in each quadrat. There is also a lookup table giving the assignment of each plant species to a plant functional group.

This is a collated plant survey data from the Fleurieu Peninsula wetlands (version.2). There is a biological and a spatial component to the dataset. [1] Biological data: This was collated from several sources, collected over the period 2000-2009 and used in the analyses for the paper <i>Diversity patterns of seasonal wetland plant communities mainly driven by rare terrestrial species</i> (Deane et al - Biodiversity and Conservation, DOI: <em>10.1007/s10531-016-1139-1</em>). Biological data were pre-processed to remove sampling bias (the method is described in the paper). Data are presence-absence of 215 native plant species (i.e., exotic species removed) from 76 seasonal wetlands (size range 0.5 - 35 ha) located on the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia (centred on latitude 35.5 °S). [2] Spatial data: For each of the 76 wetlands a small amount of spatial data is also provided. Area, centroids, elevation and catchment. The data could be of interest for any typical community data analysis (e.g. beta diversity, similarity, assembly), provided only native wetland plant species were of interest. Data were used to model extinction risk, species-area relationships, occupancy distributions and so on.

The lesser hairy-footed dunnart (<i>Sminthopsis youngsoni, Dasyuridae</i>) is a generalist marsupial insectivore in arid Australia, but consumes wolf spiders (<i>Lycosa spp., Lycosidae</i>) disproportionately often relative to their availability. This project tested the hypothesis that this disproportionate predation is a product of frequent encounter rates between the interactants due to high overlap in their diets and use of space and time. This data set focuses on the dietary aspect. Specifically, invertebrate pitfall trapping was employed to quantify food availability and selectivity for both wolf spiders and <i>S.youngsoni</i>. Pitfall traps were deployed along trails left by tracked individuals, as well as control trails, of both species groups in the north-western Simpson Desert, Queensland. In total, invertebrate pitfall traps were deployed along 11 <i>S.youngsoni</i> and 8 <i>lycosa</i> trails in October 2016. Invertebrates were identified to the level of "Order", except for spiders (Order: Arachnida) and bees, wasps and ants (Order: Hymenoptera) which were identified to the "Family" level using identification keys and were also counted and grouped into seven size classes. This data was used for the following analyses: [1] a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test whether total numbers of arthropods differed between trail type and species, [2] non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and [3] permutational analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) to test whether assemblages of arthropod prey and prey sizes differed between the two trail types for each species and between each species.

The record contains information on the number of aphids and chemical footprints of two aphid species. The data was collected in field and laboratory trials, we first examined how plant microsites alter fitness by measuring the fecundity of each species. Next, we tested whether intra- and interspecific pre-inhabitation modify habitat selection in two aphid species. Then we conducted laboratory trials showed that <i>R. maidis</i> displaced <i>R. padi</i>. Through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis and bioassays testing the effects of aphid density and footprint extracts, we found a density-dependent response, with <i>R. padi</i> avoiding locations previously inhabited by <i>R. maidis</i>. Chemical analysis of footprint crude extracts showed a highly abundant compound, 1-hexacosanol, and when presented as the synthetic form also elicited <i>R. padi</i> displacement.