Data from: Cross-taxa generalities in the relationship between population abundance and ambient temperatures

Identifying patterns in the effects of temperature on species' population abundances could help develop a general framework for predicting the consequences of climate change across different communities and realms. We used long-term population time series data from terrestrial, freshwater, and marine species communities within central Europe to compare the effects of temperature on abundance across a broad range of taxonomic groups. We asked whether there was an average relationship between temperatures in different seasons and annual abundances of species in a community, and whether species attributes (temperature range of distribution, range size, habitat breadth, dispersal ability, body size, and lifespan) explained interspecific variation in the relationship between temperature and abundance. We found that, on average, warmer winter temperatures were associated with greater abundances in terrestrial communities (ground beetles, spiders, and birds) but not always in aquatic communities (freshwater and marine invertebrates and fish). The abundances of species with large geographical ranges, larger body sizes, and longer lifespans tended to be less related to temperature. Our results suggest that climate change may have, in general, positive effects on species’ abundances within many terrestrial communities in central Europe while the effects are less predictable in aquatic communities.

探明温度对物种种群丰度的影响模式，可为构建通用框架以预测不同群落与生物域内气候变化的影响后果提供支撑。本研究采用中欧地区陆生、淡水及海洋物种种群的长期时序监测数据，对广泛分类群中温度对种群丰度的影响展开对比分析。我们旨在探究两个核心问题：其一，群落内不同季节的温度与物种种群年丰度之间是否存在普遍关联；其二，物种属性（分布温度范围、分布区大小、生境广度、扩散能力、体型大小及寿命）能否解释温度与丰度关联的种间差异。研究结果显示，平均而言，冬季温度升高与陆生群落（步甲、蜘蛛及鸟类）的种群丰度提升呈正相关，但这一规律在水生群落（淡水与海洋无脊椎动物、鱼类）中并非普遍存在。本研究结果表明，总体而言，气候变化或可对中欧多数陆生群落的物种种群丰度产生积极影响，而其在水生群落中的影响则更难预测。