Seasonal population patterns of a new scale pest, Acanothococcus lagerstroemiae Kuwana, from 2015 - 2017 dataset
Description
This dataset is from collecting crapemyrtle bark scale (Acanthococcus lagerstroemiae) crawlers from at least three trees for each of seven locations over three years (2015, 2016, and 2017). Full publication: https://meridian.allenpress.com/jeh/article/38/1/8/430984/Seasonal-Population-Patterns-of-a-New-Scale-Pest The purpose of this study was to understand the seasonal population dynamics of the scale populations. More specifically, the two main objectives of this data were: 1) determine seasonal crawler activity of CMBS crawlers on crapemyrtles and 2) determine whether a degree-day model can provide a more accurate estimate of the first crawler peak compared to a calendar date In brief, double-sided sticky tape (1.905cm wide) was wrapped around several branches (5 or more) per tree and collected on a regular basis (usually weekly). A new piece of tape replaced it each time. Tape was inspected under a dissecting microscope to count the number of crawlers. In the data file "CMBS_Obj1_mega.xls", each tab represents data collected from separate locations. "Date Set" - Date the tape was set on the tree "Date Collected" - Date the tape was removed from the tree "# of Days" - Calculation; Date collected - Date set. "Tree Number" - Number to identify a specific tree within a location "Branch ID" - Column to represent separate subsamples (i.e. branches) within a tree. "Length (cm)" - Length of the double-sided sticky tape for that particular branch. This corresponds to the diameter of the branch. "Crawlers" - number of crawlers counted on a piece. As numbers approached over several 100, investigators often estimated the number of crawlers by subsampling sections of the tape (on graph paper) and estimating the number of crawlers on the whole tape. "Crawlers / sq cm" - Calculation; Number of crawlers per sq. cm of sticky tape (based on the length and width of the tape). "Crawlers / sq cm / 7 day average" - Calculation; Number of crawlers per sq. cm standardized to a 7-day period. Since sometimes tapes were collected up to 14 days after setting, number of crawlers needed to be standardized to a similar time-period. We chose 7-days, as that's the most common sampling period in our dataset. Note that the "College Station, TX" tab has an additional column entitled "Upper/Lower" (2015); where branches were placed on upper or lower branches to determine whether population dynamics was different based on location on the tree. The second file uploaded ("allclean.csv") contains degree-day data. Location codes closest to collection sites were used to calculate degree days assuming a lower developmental temperature threshold of 1.7, 4.4, 7.2, 10, 12.8, or 15.6ºC. The table columns explained: DD_XXXX_#_#: DD refers to "Degree days", XXXX is the weather station code, # _ # is the lower temperature threshold for the degree day calculation (i.e. 1_7 = 1.7ºC). See publication to match location codes with trapping locations.