Abstract
Tetrapods (amphibian, reptiles, birds and mammals) are model systems for global biodiversity science, but continuing data gaps, limited data standardisation, and ongoing flux in taxonomic nomenclature constrain integrative research on this group and potentially cause biassed inference. We combined and harmonised taxonomic, spatial, phylogenetic, and attribute data with phylogeny-based multiple imputation to provide a comprehensive data resource (TetrapodTraits 1.0.0) that includes values, predictions, and sources for body size, activity time, micro- and macrohabitat, ecosystem, threat status, biogeography, insularity, environmental preferences and human influence, for all 33,281 tetrapod species covered in recent fully sampled phylogenies. We assess gaps and biases across taxa and space, finding that shared data missing in attribute values increased with taxon-level completeness and richness across clades. Prediction of missing attribute values using multiple imputation revealed substantial changes in estimated macroecological patterns. These results highlight biases incurred by non-random missingness and strategies to best address them. While there is an obvious need for further data collection and updates, our phylogeny-informed database of tetrapod traits can support a more comprehensive representation of tetrapod species and their attributes in ecology, evolution, and conservation research.
Additional Information: This work is output of the VertLife project. To flag erros, provide updates, or leave other comments, please go to vertlife.org. We aim to develop the database into a living resource at vertlife.org and your feedback is essential to improve data quality and support community use.
Version 1.0.1 (25 May 2024). This minor release addresses a spelling error in the file Tetrapod_360.csv. The error involves replacing white-space characters with underscore characters in the field Scientific.Name to match the spelling used in the file TetrapodTraits_1.0.0.csv. These corrections affect only 102 species considered extinct and 13 domestic species (Bos_frontalis, Bos_grunniens, Bos_indicus, Bos_taurus, Camelus_bactrianus, Camelus_dromedarius, Capra_hircus, Cavia_porcellus, Equus_caballus, Felis_catus, Lama_glama, Ovis_aries, Vicugna_pacos). All extinct and domestic species in TetrapodTraits have their binomial names separated by underscore symbols instead of white space. Additionally, we have added the file GridCellShapefile.zip, which co...