Zooplankton functional trait database for Canadian lakes

This dataset contains functional traits of 102 crustacean zooplankton taxa. The taxa included here covers the species sampled in 624 Canadian lakes as part of the LakePulse Network. The trait database was assembled and refined based primarily on two published freshwater compilations by the authors (Barnett et al. 2007, Hébert et al. 2016), as well as the body sizes (lengths in mm) measured in the LakePulse pan-Canadian dataset. The traits used are: feeding type (B(Bosmina)-filtration, C(Chydorus)-filtration, D(Daphia)-filtration, S(Sidae)-filtration, stationary suspension or raptorial), habitat (littoral, pelagic or intermediate) and trophic group (carnivore, herbivore, omnivore, or a combination of these). Species body lengths were based on the measurement of up to 10 individuals per taxon per lake by BSA Environmental Services (Ohio, U.S.A.), and averaged by taxon. Feeding type, habitat and trophic group functional traits were obtained from literature (Barnett et al., 2007; Demott & Kerfoot, 1982; Griffiths et al., 2019; Hébert et al., 2016).