Indirect effects of higher mean air temperature related to climate change on major life-history traits in a pulsed-resource consumer

Climate change is directly and indirectly affecting species. The degree of these effect types differs by species and context, with indirect effects likely to be stronger for consumers of pulsed resources. Here, we investigated how higher mean air temperature related to climate change affects masting, and in parallel, how this change affects life-history traits in edible dormice (Glis glis). We analysed 17 years of capture-recapture data from 2,530 individuals. We collected air temperature and, as a measure of seed production, pollen data from European beech (Fagus sylvatica). Our results show that increasing mean air temperature was associated with a shift in beech pollen production, leading to a biannual mast cycle in recent years, with alteration of years with very high and very low seed availability. The changed cycle in mast events resulted in a significant reduction in overall yearling survival in dormice, while overall adult survival remained stable. In parallel, both age classes ..., , , # Indirect effects of higher mean air temperature related to climate change on major life-history traits in a pulsed-resource consumer

[https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-37071-3](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-37071-3)

## Description of the data and file structure

This README file was generated on 2026-01-01 by Lukas Hochleitner

## General information

### Dataset title

Indirect effects of climate change on major life-history traits in a pulsed-resource consumer

### Contributors

* Lukas Hochleitner, University of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology

* Shane Morris, University of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology

* Maximilian Bastl, Medical University of Vienna, Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology

* Thomas Ruf, University of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology

*..., , **Changes after Feb 23, 2026:** Some lines in the files \"Effects_of_soil_temperature.csv\", \"Environmental_characteristics_I.csv\" and \"Environmental_characteristics_II.csv\" were converted to date format during the uploading process. These errors were corrected.
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