Thermal adaptation in South African Odonates

Data on body temperatures and thermal niches have been collected for various odonate species (“dragonflies and damselflies”) using thermal imaging (infrared camera, or IR-camera). These data were collected in SANParks and other areas (i. e. nature reserves) during 2012 and 2013, as part of research collaboration involving Lund University (Sweden) and Stellenbosch University (Western Cape Province, South Africa). The enclosed data is part of a larger study aiming to understand the evolution of thermal adaptations and thermal plasticity in relation to phylogeny, biogeography and local microclimatic variation in odonates. Such data are of interest not only in terms of basic research questions in ecology and evolution, but might also be of relevance in conservation biology and management planning, particularly in the light of ongoing climate change and rising global temperatures that can increase extinction risk of ectothermic animals like insects.