*2.3. Identification of Plant Species*

Sequences were assigned to plant species using the BLAST tool in Geneious based on identity similarity and query coverage between sequences from the gu<sup>t</sup> samples and a custom reference database containing BCI-specific plant barcodes (*rbcL*, *psbA/trnH*, *matK)* for trees ([43]), shrubs, and lianas (Kress, unpubl). (Table S2) For samples with successful amplification for two or three of the gene markers, plant species identification was assigned if there was a match for the highest sequence similarity across multiple gene markers. If there were multiple taxa with the same similarity, identification was made to genus or family level. If there was no overlap between two or three gene markers, the sample was labeled as "Conflict", indicating that different primer sets match different plant taxa. For samples with successful amplifications for only one gene marker, plant species identification was made to the species with the highest percent identity and query coverage. If more than one plant had similar identity and coverage, sequences were assigned to the level of concordance in the cluster (genus or family). Data visualizations were created with Microsoft Excel and Powerpoint.
