Consistent covariation of dispersal, life history and thermal niches across terrestrial arthropods

This dataset was used to run the analyses for Logghe et al. Consistent covariation of dispersal, life history and thermal niche across terrestrial arthropods (in progress). The data is a subset from a larger dataset published on GBIF: https://doi.org/10.15468/75g5z9. "Trait data syndromes.xlsx" contains data on life histories and ecological traits for eight different arthropod orders. These data were obtained mainly obtained from literature and taxonomic experts, expect for thermal niche data which was calculated de novo. Each row of the dataset contains data for a single species. Metadata is provided for the different columns. See the datapaper by Logghe et al. for more information about the creation of the overarching dataset: Garben Logghe, Femke Batsleer, Dirk Maes, Tristan Permentier, Matty P. Berg, Dimitri Brosens, Stijn Cooleman, Pallieter De Smedt, Jonas Hagge, Jorg Lambrechts, Marc Pollet, Fons Verheyde, Dries Bonte. 2024. An in-depth dataset of northwestern European arthropod life histories and ecological traits. bioRxiv 2024.12.17.628846. Abstract Demographic traits shape the organization of life histories and are closely linked to population growth and persistence. These growth rates offer limited insight into whether organisms can acclimate or shift their ranges to cope with changing thermal conditions. Dynamics of species distributions are therefore not only affected by life history but also by dispersal and thermal niche. To which degree these traits are organised into syndromes remains unclear, despite its relevance for distribution forecasting under climate change. Arthropods, as ectotherms, are experiencing global declines, with many species facing the need to either acclimate or disperse in response to climate change. We quantified life history, dispersal and thermal range covariation among 4000 Western European arthropod species spanning eight orders, considering phylogenetic relationships to account for shared ancestry. We demonstrate the existence of two independent axes of life history variation: the fast-slow continuum and reproductive strategy axis. Notably, species at the fast end of the continuum tend to have higher dispersal capacities and broader thermal niches compared to slower species. The resulting syndromes were surprisingly consistent across orders, indicating a relatively uniform pattern of trait covariations across arthropod groups. These trait combinations, which generally enhance range-shifting potential, point at the emergence of two distinct groups of arthropods: those well-suited and those less equipped to mitigate the effects of future climate change.