Disentangling the effects of heterogeneity, stochastic dynamics and sampling in a community of aquatic insects

► Stochastic fluctuations in aquatic insect communities are driven by the environment. ► We analyze stochastic temporal fluctuations in aquatic insect communities. ► Community correlations are used as measurement of similarity. ► We quantify components of heterogeneity, environmental noise and sampling over-dispersion. ► Results are compared to similar results for communities of tropical butterflies.