Abstract
Arthropods play a dominant role in natural and human-modified terrestrial ecosystem dynamics. Spatially-explicit population time-series are crucial for statistical or mathematical models of these dynamics and assessment of their veterinary, medical, agricultural, and ecological impacts. Arthropod data have been collected world-wide for over a century, but remain scattered and largely inaccessible. With the ever-present and growing threat of arthropod vectors of infectious diseases and pest species, there are enormous amounts of historical and ongoing surveillance. These data are currently reported in a wide variety of formats, typically lacking sufficient metadata to make reuse and re-analysis possible. We present the first minimum information standard for arthropod abundance. Developed with broad stakeholder collaboration, it balances sufficiency for reuse with the practicality of preparing the data for submission. It is designed to optimize data (re-)usability from the “FAIR,” (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles of public data archiving (PDA). This standard will facilitate data unification across research initiatives and communities dedicated to surveillance for detection and control of vector-borne diseases and pests.
