DOI: 10.5061/dryad.1g1jwsv6w
title: High resolution image documentation of Greenlandic arthropod species

description: Temperatures in the Arctic currently rise at four times the global
 average, making it of utmost importance to understand the thermal biology
 of species in these sensitive environments. For arctic ectotherms in
 particular, thermal tolerance limits and adaptive potential are mostly
 unknown. Such knowledge is urgently needed to predict climate change
 impacts on future distributions of biodiversity in these rapidly changing
 environments. Here, we provide new data on upper and lower thermal limits
 of 93 Greenlandic species of insects, arachnids, and collembolans
 identified using barcode sequencing representing ~8% of terrestrial
 Greenlandic arthropod species. We found pronounced differences in heat and
 cold tolerance among species and a strong phylogenetic signal for both
 heat tolerance and thermal scope (difference between upper and lower
 thermal limits), suggesting that terrestrial Greenlandic arthropods are
 evolutionarily constrained in their capacity to cope with increasing and
 more variable future temperatures. Further, with projected future
 increases in microclimatic temperatures induced by climate change, we
 reveal a marked increase in the number of species that will experience
 potentially stressful temperatures, as well as prolonged periods of
 stressful exposure. Together, our results suggest that climate change will
 likely result in substantial changes in distributions and abundances of
 Greenlandic terrestrial arthropods.
description: # Narsarsuaq Arthropod fauna images Summer 2023
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1g1jwsv6w](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1g1jwsv6w) ## Description of the data and file structure Arthropods (insects, arachnids and collembola) were collected in Narsarsuaq, Southern Greenland (61.160°N, 45.424°W). All individuals were caught in a 200 x 200 m area less than 100 m from the laboratory facilities. Animals were collected in the summer season from the 12th of August until the 17th of August 2023. All animals were collected during the day between 09:00 and 19:00, and all days of the study period showed similar temperature profiles. A subset of the collected arthropods was chosen based on visual novelty and transferred to individual 5 mL glass vials with plastic screw-lids within 30 minutes after being collected. The vials with arthropods were kept outside of the laboratory in the shade for a duration no longer than 1 hour before being tested for either heat or cold tolerance. Animals were collected on 6 separate days constituting 6 batches where between 80 and 138 individuals were tested per batch. Following exposure to ramping assay (CTmax or CTmin), animals were frozen and transported to laboratory facilities in Aalborg University where they were imaged. Imaging was performed using an Olympus SZX10 stereo microscope, and Olympus DP74 colour camera. Animals were thawed in small batches of between 1 and 10, before being placed on a 1% agarose plate facilitating proper positioning of the animals. Each animal was pictured from multiple angles, including ventral, dorsal and profile in addition to identifying markers, i.e. wing webbings or cornicles. Additionally, each animal was measured from the tip of the head to the end of the abdomen and a micro-ruler was imaged at the same magnification for scale. Subsequent COI sequencing was used for species identificaition. ### Files and variables #### File: Species_images.zip **Description:** Parent folders decribe taxonomy of all individuals in sub folders. Each subfolder represent a single individual. One picture contains a micro ruler and all other pictures of that individual is taken at the same magnification to enable measurements.  ### **Funding:** The work was funded by the European co-funded Partnership BiodivClim-191 ASICS (0156-00024B to TNK), and by the Novo Nordisk Foundation (grant NNF23OC0082599 to MØ). Laboratory facilities in Narsarsuaq, Greenland, was supported by the Greenland Integrated Observing System (GIOS) (the Danish National Fund for Research Infrastructure (NUFI)). ### **Licenses:** All animals were collected in accordance with regulations from the government of Greenland under the non-exclusive license no. G23-006 for utilization of Greenland genetic resources as granted to Aalborg University for use between 01/05-2023 until 31/09-2023. ### **Change log:** **Dec 2025**: A more conservative taxonomic assignment was introduced in the newest version, resulting in some changes in taxonomic assignment and naming, but also a more reliable taxonmoic assignment.