Big data from tiny flies: patterns revealed from over 42,000 phorid flies (Insecta: Diptera: Phoridae) collected over one year in Los Angeles, California, USA

Abstract

The first ever large-scale inventory of an urban phorid fly fauna is described. Collections from 30 Malaise traps from urban Los Angeles over one year from the BioSCAN Project document the presence of 99 species from 42,480 specimens identified. Species accumulation curves predict 102–106 species actually occurring in this area. Collections are overwhelmingly dominated by the North American fungus feeding species Megaselia agarici, which accounts for about one quarter of all specimens identified. Percentage of M. agarici per site ranges from approximately 4% to 75%. Diversity varied significantly among sites, with species richness per site ranging from 23 to 82. Implications of patterns of abundance, diversity, and size are discussed.