A species-level trait dataset of bats in Europe and beyond

Froidevaux, J. S. P. et al. (2023) A species-level trait dataset of bats in Europe and beyond. Scientific Data, 10, 253. (doi: 10.1038/s41597-023-02157-4) (PMID:37137926) (PMCID:PMC10156679)

Abstract

Knowledge of species’ functional traits is essential for understanding biodiversity patterns, predicting the impacts of global environmental changes, and assessing the efficiency of conservation measures. Bats are major components of mammalian diversity and occupy a variety of ecological niches and geographic distributions. However, an extensive compilation of their functional traits and ecological attributes is still missing. Here we present EuroBaTrait 1.0, the most comprehensive and up-to-date trait dataset covering 47 European bat species. The dataset includes data on 118 traits including genetic composition, physiology, morphology, acoustic signature, climatic associations, foraging habitat, roost type, diet, spatial behaviour, life history, pathogens, phenology, and distribution. We compiled the bat trait data obtained from three main sources: (i) a systematic literature and dataset search, (ii) unpublished data from European bat experts, and (iii) observations from large-scale monitoring programs. EuroBaTrait is designed to provide an important data source for comparative and trait-based analyses at the species or community level. The dataset also exposes knowledge gaps in species, geographic and trait coverage, highlighting priorities for future data collection.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The authors would like to acknowledge funding from the EU Framework Horizon 2020 through the COST Action CA18107 ‘Climate change and bats: from science to conservation – ClimBats’ (https://climbats.eu/). Jeremy Froidevaux was funded by the Région Bretagne (SAD grant number 19041) and the Leverhulme Trust (grant number: ECF-2020-571). Nia Toshkova was funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund (CP-06-COST/15 from 16.12.2020) and а PhD Fellowship from Karoll Knowledge Foundation. Orly Razgour was supported through a Natural Environment Research Council Independent Research Fellowship (NE/M018660/1).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Hill, Dr Davina
• Authors: Froidevaux, J. S. P., Toshkova, N., Barbaro, L., Benítez-López, A., Kerbiriou, C., Le Viol, I., Pacifici, M., Santini, L., Stawski, C., Russo, D., Dekker, J., Alberdi, A., Amorim, F., Ancillotto, L., Barré, K., Bas, Y., Cantú-Salazar, L., Dechmann, D. K. N., Devaux, T., Eldegard, K., Fereidouni, S., Furmankiewicz, J., Hamidovic, D., Hill, D. L., Ibáñez, C., Julien, J.-F., Juste, J., Kaňuch, P., Korine, C., Laforge, A., Legras, G., Leroux, C., Lesiński, G., Mariton, L., Marmet, J., Mata, V. A., Mifsud, C. M., Nistreanu, V., Novella-Fernandez, R., Rebelo, H., Roche, N., Roemer, C., Ruczyński, I., Sørås, R., Uhrin, M., Vella, A., Voigt, C. C., and Razgour, O.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Journal Name: Scientific Data
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 2052-4463
• ISSN (Online): 2052-4463
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Scientific Data 10: 253
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License