DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17248816
title: OdonTraits Europe. A comprehensive traits dataset for European dragonflies and damselflies

description: Description

Species traits are an important facet of biodiversity and are useful for testing many ecological hypotheses. Many initiatives to centralize species traits have emerged in recent years, but there are still large gaps in species traits’ knowledge in the literature. Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) are present in most freshwater and surrounding ecosystems and are important indicators of freshwater health and conditions across the land-water interface. They are also important predators and prey both as larvae and adults and are vital to land-water energy transfers and community functioning. Here we present OdonTraits Europe, a database aggregating traits of all 143 European resident Odonata species. Our database compiles 43 traits representing adult and larvae morphology, life history, behaviour, phenology, and other ecological attributes, along with species legal, endemism, and conservation status, with a taxonomic coverage of > 95% for all traits. Accessible and robust coverage of Odonata species traits will help to advance knowledge and applications involving this sentinel of the freshwater realm. 

A datapaper describing this dataset is currently under revision in a peer reviewed journal.

File overview

The following files are contained in this record.



imago.csv 

larvae_exuvia.csv

ecological.csv

protection_endemism.csv

conservation.csv

taxonomic.csv


Missing values are coded as "NA". 

File descriptions

imago.csv

This file contains morphological traits of Odonata adults in Europe.




Column label
Column description


species_name
scientific species name 


body_size_min
minimal adult body size in millimeters


body_size_max
maximal adult body size in millimeters


abdomen_length_min 
minimal adult body length in millimeters


abdomen_length_max 
maximal adult body length in millimeters


hindwing_min
minimal hindwing span in millimeters


hindwing_max
maximal hindwing span in millimeters


coloration_male
specific coloration of mature male body: 1 - dark/black;  2 - azure blue/black; 3 - metallic green/blue; 4 - yellow/dark; 5 - brownish; 6 - green-yellow; 7 - gray-blue; 8 - red


coloration_class
coloration of mature male body (general aspect): dark (black, azure-blue, brown, dark green); intermediate; pale (red, yellow, light blue)




larvae_exuvia.csv

This file contains morphological traits of final-instar Odonata larvae (measured from final exuvia) in Europe.




Column label
Column description


species_name
scientific species name 


exuvia_length_min
minimal exuvia total length in millimeters (including caudal lamellae for Zygoptera)


exuvia_length_max
maximal exuvia total  length in millimeters (including caudal lamellae for Zygoptera)


exuvia_body_length_min 
minimal exuvia body length (mm) for Zygoptera only


exuvia_body_length_max
maximal exuvia body length (mm) for Zygoptera only


exuvia_caudal_lamellae_min
minimal exuvia length of caudal lamellae (mm) for Zygoptera only


exuvia_caudal_lamellae_max
maximal exuvia length of caudal lamellae (mm) for Zygoptera only




ecological.csv

This file contains ecological traits of Odonata in Europe.




Column label
Column description


species_name
scientific species name 


habitat
habitat preference: 1 - eutrophic; 2 - oligotrophic; 3 - temporary waters; 4 - streams and rivers; 5 - southern streams and rivers (= Mediterranean); 6 - generalist (species occurring in a wide range of standing and flowing waters)


percher_flier
Adult activity modes related to thermoregulation and foraging, where perchers spend most time at rest, fliers spend more time in flight, and  flier_percher use both strategies


start_main_flight_period
start of the main flight period in Europe, excluding the extreme early records


end_main_flight_period
end of the main flight period in Europe, excluding the extreme late records


sti
Species Temperature Index (STI) is the average temperature (°C) of the species’ range in Europe, based on the data from 1990 onwards from the European atlas; uses average monthly temperatures for 1960–1990 (WordlClim) at a 50 × 50 km grid scale.


sti_sd
Species Temperature Index (STI) standard deviation


partivoltine
>2 years to complete one generation


semivoltine
2 years to complete one generation


univoltine
1 year to complete one generation


bivoltine
2 generations completed in one year


multivoltine
>2 generations completed in one year


overwintering_stage
overwintering as: larva; egg; egg_larva (semi- or partivoltine species overwinters first year in egg stadium and second winter as larva); adult


oviposition_mode
endophyic = the laying of eggs inside a substrate, usually living or dead plant tissue; exophytic = the dropping of eggs onto the water surface or during flight; sediment = the laying of eggs inside the bottom substrate of a stream


larval_strategy
position in the water of the larvae (behaviour and feeding strategy): burrower = in the bottom sediment; clasper = on rocks, stones, soil; hider = hide within roots of trees; sprawler = within the submerged vegetation




protection_endemism.csv

This file contains legal protection status and endemism of Odonata in Europe.




Column label
Column description


species_name
scientific species name 


bern_convention
Species listed in the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (1979), or Bern Convention, which was the first legal convention to protect Europe’s wild plants and animals. 


habitats_directive_2
Species mentioned on Annex II of the European Habitats Directive; countries need to designate, protect and manage special areas of conservation for those species


habitats_directive_4
Species mentioned on Annex IV of the European Habitats Directive; species of “community interest” that requires strict protection throughout its entire range


endemic_europe
Species is endemic to Europe


endemic_eu27
Species is endemic to the 27 countries of the European Union (EU27)


near_endemic_europe
Species just occurs marginally outside Europe, i.e. North Africa, Turkey or just east of the Ural Mountains




conservation.csv

This file contains conservation status indicators of Odonata in Europe.




Column label
Column description


species_name
scientific species name 


redlist_2024_category
Red List category in Europe as assessed in the European Red List of 2024: Critically Endangered (CR); Endangered (EN); Vulnerable (VU); Near Threatened (NT); Data Deficient (DD); Least Concern (LC); Not Applicable (NA) (species does not occur in the focal region)


redlist_2024_criteria
IUCN Red List criteria for threatened (CR, EN, VU) or near-threatened (NT) status


eu27_redlist_2024_category
Red list category in EU27 as assessed in the European Red List of 2024: Critically Endangered (CR); Endangered (EN); Vulnerable (VU); Near Threatened (NT); Data Deficient (DD); Least Concern (LC); Not Applicable (NA) (species does not occur in the focal region)


eu27_redlist_2024_criteria
IUCN Red List criteria for threatened (CR, EN, VU) or near-threatened (NT) status


population_trend
occurrence trends of dragonflies in Europe over the period 2010-2020, as calculated for the European Red List: decreasing; increasing; stable; unknown


eoo_europe
Extent of Occurrence (EOO) of a species in Europe in km² in the period 2000-2020, calculated using IUCN method; this is the surface area of a convex hull around the records and  includes not suitable habitats for the species and even seas


aoo_europe
Area of Occupancy (AOO) is the area within its ‘extent of occurrence’ in Europe which is occupied by a species, calculated here as the sum of all 2 x 2 km squares where the species has been found in the period 2000-2020 


eoo_eu27
Extent of Occurrence (EOO) of a species in EU27 in km² in the period 2000-2020, calculated using IUCN method; this is the surface area of a convex hull around the records and  includes not suitable habitats for the species and even seas


aoo_eu27
Area of Occupancy (AOO) is the area within its ‘extent of occurrence’ in EU27 which is occupied by a species, calculated here as the sum of all 2 x 2 km squares where the species has been found in the period 2000-2020 




taxonomic.csv

This file contains the species list with higher taxonomy.




Column label
Column description


species_name
scientific species name 


species_name_long
full scientific species name with author


family
family 


genus
generic name


species
species epithet