Data for: Relatively large wings facilitate life at higher elevations in Nearctic dragonflies

Determining which traits allow species to live at higher elevations is essential to understanding the forces shaping montane biodiversity.
For the many animals that rely on flight for locomotion, a long-standing hypothesis is that species with relatively large wings should better persist in high-elevation environments because wings that are large relative to the body generate more lift and decrease the aerobic costs of remaining aloft. Although these biomechanical and physiological predictions have received some support in birds, other flying taxa often possess smaller wings at high elevations or no wings at all.
To test if predictions about the requirements for relative wing size at high elevations are generalizable beyond birds, we conducted macroecological analyses on the altitudinal characteristics of 302 Nearctic dragonfly species.
Consistent with the biomechanical and aerobic hypotheses, species with relatively larger wings live at higher elevations and have wider elevation bread..., ,

明确哪些性状可支撑物种在高海拔环境中生存，对于解析塑造山地生物多样性的核心驱动力至关重要。
对于诸多依靠飞行实现运动的动物类群而言，长期存在的假说认为：相对体型拥有更大翅膀的物种，更易在高海拔环境中存续——这是因为相较于躯体的翅部尺寸更大时，可产生更强升力，同时降低维持飞行状态的有氧代谢消耗。尽管这些生物力学与生理学层面的预测在鸟类类群中获得了部分支持，但其他飞行类群在高海拔区域往往拥有更小的翅部，甚至完全丧失飞行能力。
为验证高海拔环境下相对翅部尺寸的相关预测是否可推广至鸟类以外的类群，我们针对302种新北区蜻蜓的海拔分布特征开展了宏观生态学分析。
研究结果与生物力学及有氧代谢假说一致：翅部相对尺寸更大的物种，其分布海拔更高，且拥有更宽的海拔分布幅……