AWET -- Arthropod Weight Estimation Tool
- 1Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL
Abstract
Arthropods drive essential ecosystem processes such as pollination, decomposition, and nutrient cycling and are widely used as indicators of ecosystem condition and function. Among various arthropod-derived metrics, body weight is a key variable in functional ecology and frequently assessed as dry body weight. However, drying arthropod specimens limits the samples future potential for research, as it prevents further processing such as trait measurements or species identification. Here, we present AWET (Arthropod Weight Estimation Tool), an open-source application for automated estimation of individual fresh body weight and extraction of morphometric measurements from standardized images of pre-sorted arthropod samples. AWET combines automated image analysis with taxon-specific allometric regression models to estimate fresh body weight while simultaneously quantifying body length, width, area, and specimen abundance. The software operates with standard imaging equipment, requires no machine-learning-based classification or segmentation, and allows users to define taxonomic groupings according to their objectives. By preserving specimens for downstream analyses while processing large numbers of individuals within milliseconds, AWET provides an efficient, non-destructive, and cost-effective workflow for high-throughput arthropod phenotyping. The software is a practical and expandable tool for biodiversity monitoring projects investigating changes in arthropod biomass, abundance and individual morphometric measures.
Related
- Computer vision-based estimation of small arthropod biomass
- Immersed Weight Measurements: A Useful Tool for Estimating Size and Predicting Wet and Dry Body Component Weights of the Sea Cucumber Cucumaria frondosa.
- Soil–Arthropod Interactions Across Forest Types in a Mediterranean Mountain Landscape
- Cuticulome.org: a centralized database of proteins in arthropod cuticles
- The enlightened entomologist: fast, non-destructive whole-arthropod clearing for three-dimensional imaging
BibTeX
@misc{cretton2026awet,
title = {{AWET -- Arthropod Weight Estimation Tool}},
author = {M. Cretton and R. Boesch and J. Bolliger and K. Bollmann and R. Flury and M. Jochum and N. van Koppenhagen and T. Zimmerman and M. K. Obrist},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.03.749054},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.03.749054v1},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - AWET -- Arthropod Weight Estimation Tool
AU - M. Cretton
AU - R. Boesch
AU - J. Bolliger
AU - K. Bollmann
AU - R. Flury
AU - M. Jochum
AU - N. van Koppenhagen
AU - T. Zimmerman
AU - M. K. Obrist
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/03
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.03.749054
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.03.749054v1
AB - Arthropods drive essential ecosystem processes such as pollination, decomposition, and nutrient cycling and are widely used as indicators of ecosystem condition and function. Among various arthropod-derived metrics, body weight is a key variable in functional ecology and frequently assessed as dry body weight. However, drying arthropod specimens limits the samples future potential for research, as it prevents further processing such as trait measurements or species identification. Here, we present AWET (Arthropod Weight Estimation Tool), an open-source application for automated estimation of individual fresh body weight and extraction of morphometric measurements from standardized images of pre-sorted arthropod samples. AWET combines automated image analysis with taxon-specific allometric regression models to estimate fresh body weight while simultaneously quantifying body length, width, area, and specimen abundance. The software operates with standard imaging equipment, requires no machine-learning-based classification or segmentation, and allows users to define taxonomic groupings according to their objectives. By preserving specimens for downstream analyses while processing large numbers of individuals within milliseconds, AWET provides an efficient, non-destructive, and cost-effective workflow for high-throughput arthropod phenotyping. The software is a practical and expandable tool for biodiversity monitoring projects investigating changes in arthropod biomass, abundance and individual morphometric measures.
ER -