TY - GEN A1 - Pekár, Stano A1 - Wolff, Jonas O. A1 - Černecká, Ľudmila A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Mammola, Stefano A1 - Lowe, Elizabeth C. A1 - Fukushima, Caroline S. A1 - Herberstein, Marie E. A1 - Kučera, Adam A1 - Buzatto, Bruno A. T1 - The World Spider Trait database: a centralized global open repository for curated data on spider traits T2 - Database N2 - Spiders are a highly diversified group of arthropods and play an important role in terrestrial ecosystems as ubiquitous predators, which makes them a suitable group to test a variety of eco-evolutionary hypotheses. For this purpose, knowledge of a diverse range of species traits is required. Until now, data on spider traits have been scattered across thousands of publications produced for over two centuries and written in diverse languages. To facilitate access to such data, we developed an online database for archiving and accessing spider traits at a global scale. The database has been designed to accommodate a great variety of traits (e.g. ecological, behavioural and morphological) measured at individual, species or higher taxonomic levels. Records are accompanied by extensive metadata (e.g. location and method). The database is curated by an expert team, regularly updated and open to any user. A future goal of the growing database is to include all published and unpublished data on spider traits provided by experts worldwide and to facilitate broad cross-taxon assays in functional ecology and comparative biology. Y1 - 2021 UR - https://spidertraits.sci.muni.cz/ U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/database/baab064 SN - 1758-0463 IS - 2021 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Lowe, Elizabeth C. A1 - Wolff, Jonas O. A1 - Aceves-Aparicio, Alfonso A1 - Birkhofer, Klaus A1 - Branco, Vasco V. T1 - Towards establishment of a centralized spider traits database T2 - The Journal of Arachnology N2 - A main goal of ecological and evolutionary biology is understanding and predicting interactions between populations and both abiotic and biotic environments, the spatial and temporal variation of these interactions, and the effects on population dynamics and performance. Trait-based approaches can help to model these interactions and generate a comprehensive understanding of ecosystem functioning. A central tool is the collation of databases that include species trait information. Such centralized databases have been set up for a number of organismal groups but is lacking for one of the most important groups of predators in terrestrial ecosystems – spiders. Here we promote the collation of an open spider traits database, integrated into the global Open Traits Network. We explore the current collation of spider data and cover the logistics of setting up a global database, including which traits to include, the source of data, how to input data, database governance, geographic cover, accessibility, quality control and how to make the database sustainable long-term. Finally, we explore the scope of research questions that could be investigated using a global spider traits database. KW - functional diversity KW - Phentotypic traits KW - functional ecology Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1636/0161-8202-48.2.103 SN - 0161-8202 VL - 48 IS - 2 SP - 103 EP - 109 ER -