ConclusionĬonsistent with previous findings, air temperature best explained variation in the activity level of flying insects. After accounting for the seasonal phenological development, the most important weather variable influencing the capture rate of flying arthropods was temperature, while surface-dwelling species were principally influenced by solar radiation. The non-linear proxy of density always accounted for more of the variation than the linear component of weather. We were able to statistically separate the variation in capture rates into a non-linear component of capture date (density) and a linear component of weather (activity). We used arthropod pitfall trapping data and weather data from 10 seasons in high-arctic Greenland to identify climatic effects on the activity pattern of nine arthropod taxa. The capture rate of arthropods in passive open traps like pitfall trap integrates density and activity and, therefore, serves as a proxy of the magnitude of such arthropod-related ecological processes. Earlier emergence due to advanced timing of snowmelt following climate change may expose adult arthropods to unchanged temperatures but higher levels of radiation. However, density and activity may be sensitive to separate components of climate. Arthropods play an important role in the high-arctic ecosystem and this role is determined by their density and activity. Climate change is particularly pronounced in the High Arctic and a better understanding of the repercussions on ecological processes like herbivory, predation and pollination is needed.
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