Data from: Latitudinal patterns of phenology and age-specific thermal performance across six Coenagrion damselfly species ...

• Main Authors: Nilsson-Örtman, Viktor, Stoks, Robby, Block, Marjan De, Johansson, Frank
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2014
• Subjects: Coenagrionidae; Coenagrion mercuriale; growth rate; Coenagrion armatum; life-history; Coenagrion ornatum; developmental plasticity; thermal variability; Coenagrion pulchellum; Coenagrion hastulatum; Coenagrion caerulescens; Coenagrion scitulum; Coenagrion hylas; Coenagrion puella; Coenagrion lunulatum; Coenagrion johanssoni; Coenagrion intermedium; Coenagrion syriacum; optimality theory; Acclimatization
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1q389; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.1q389

Using a combination of computer simulations and laboratory experiments we test if the thermal sensitivity of growth rates change during ontogeny in damselfly larvae and if these changes can be predicted based on the natural progression of average temperature or thermal variability in the field. The laboratory experiment included replicated species from Southern, Central and Northern Europe. Although annual fluctuations in temperature represent a key characteristic of temperate environments, few studies of thermal performance have considered the ecological importance of the studied traits within a seasonal context. Instead, thermal performance is assumed to remain constant throughout ontogeny and reflect selection acting over the whole life cycle. The laboratory experiment revealed considerable variation among species in the strength and direction of ontogenetic performance shifts. In four species from Southern and Central Europe, reaction norms were steepest during early ontogeny, becoming less steep during ... : Changes in temperature-specific growth rates across ontogeny in damselfly larvaeGrowth rates ("gr") of larvae of six species of damselflies reared in the laboratory at three or four temperatures ("temp"). Growth rates represent size-corrected relative growth rates (in the unit off mm increase in headwidth/day; the size-correction was done using Equation 8 in the corresponding article) estimated during early (day 0-42), intermediate (day 42-84) and late ontogeny (day 84-126)("period").NilssonOrtman_RGRdata.xlsxPhenological data on the start and end of the flight season of European damselfliesData on the day of the year when the flight season of 15 European species of damselfies start ("Spring") and end ("Fall") based on literature records. Literature refererence IDs ("Ref") correspond to numbers used in Appendix B of the corresponding article and the records are graded from 1 to 4 based on their quality ("Quality"), with 4 being the most reliable.Phenologydata.xlsx ...