Data from: Habitat disturbance selects against both small and large species across varying climates

Global extinction drivers, including habitat disturbance and climate
change, are thought to affect larger species more than smaller species.
However, it is unclear if such drivers interact to affect assemblage body
size distributions. We asked how these two key global change drivers
differentially affect the interspecific size distributions of ants, one of
the most abundant and ubiquitous animal groups on earth. We also asked
whether there is evidence of synergistic interactions and whether effects
are related to species’ trophic roles. We generated a global dataset on
ant body size from 333 local ant assemblages collected by the authors
across a broad range of climates and in disturbed and undisturbed
habitats. We used head length (range: 0.22 – 4.55 mm) as a surrogate of
body size and classified species to trophic groups. We used generalized
linear models to test whether body size distributions changed with climate
and disturbance, independent of species richness. Our analysis yielded
three key results: 1) climate and disturbance showed independent
associations with body size; 2) assemblages included more small species in
warmer climates and fewer large species in wet climates; and 3) both the
largest and smallest species were absent from disturbed ecosystems, with
predators most affected in both cases. Our results indicate that
temperature, precipitation and disturbance have differing effects on the
body size distributions of local communities, with no evidence of
synergistic interactions. Further, both large and small predators may be
vulnerable to global change, particularly through habitat disturbance.