Effects of Spatiotemporal Variation in Temperature and Water Availability on a Riparian Insect Community

Water is an essential resource for any animal community. Permanent water sources (e.g., rivers or lakes) moderate temperature variation and allow terrestrial animals to access this vital resource in the absence of sufficient precipitation, which is expected to become increasingly scarce in many global regions. Thus, my research aimed to understand the importance of a permanent water source to the dynamics of an insect community, and whether the effects of proximity to a water source change across seasons that greatly vary in both precipitation and temperature. My results will provide new insight into the complex role of spatiotemporal variation in temperature and water availability in community dynamics, which is important given the prediction for warmer, drier climates in many global region