Abstract
Trait-based approaches advance ecological and evolutionary research because traits provide a strong link to an organism’s function and fitness. Trait-based research might lead to a deeper understanding of the functions of, and services provided by, ecosystems, thereby improving management, which is vital in the current era of rapid environmental change. Coral reef scientists have long collected trait data for corals; however, these are difficult to access and often under-utilized in addressing large-scale questions. We present the Coral Trait Database initiative that aims to bring together physiological, morphological, ecological, phylogenetic and biogeographic trait information into a single repository. The database houses species- and individual-level data from published field and experimental studies alongside contextual data that provide important framing for analyses. In this data descriptor, we release data for 56 traits for 1547 species, and present a collaborative platform on which other trait data are being actively federated. Our overall goal is for the Coral Trait Database to become an open-source, community-led data clearinghouse that accelerates coral reef research.
Highlights
Background & SummaryMost ecosystems are rich in species that display a wide diversity of characteristics1
Species traits can be used as explanatory variables for the responses of ecosystems to environmental change, as functionally significant traits mediate species’ responses to disturbances3
We introduce the Coral Trait Database: a curated database of trait information for coral species from the global oceans
Summary
Most ecosystems are rich in species that display a wide diversity of characteristics (i.e., traits). Compilations of species trait data with broad taxonomic coverage have revealed, for example, a general axis of variation in plants that describes costs and benefits of key chemical, structural and physiological traits; and factors influencing the metabolic rates of organisms13 Such broad-scale insights have been restricted to relatively few taxonomic groups, often due to lack of data, information about the ecological context in which data were collected, when such data do exist. Trait data tend to be gathered rapidly, for instance with means extracted from tables that present a mixture of original data and data collected previously by others (i.e., meta-analyses) Such a rapid assembly of data can result in omission of important contextual information (e.g., local environmental conditions and levels of variation and replication), confusion about the origin of the data, preventing appropriate provenance and credit, and the accidental duplication of data points in large datasets. Our vision is an inclusive and accessible data resource to more rapidly advance the science and management of a sensitive ecosystem at a time of unprecedented environmental change
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