Data from: Predicting life history responses to global warming in insects: Which temperature and photoperiod should be used?
Data files
Jan 16, 2026 version files 45.80 KB
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lestes24_data.xlsx
38.08 KB
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lestes24_R_script.R
4.49 KB
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README.md
3.24 KB
Abstract
This dataset contains experimental data used to evaluate how different combinations of temperature and photoperiod influence developmental timing, growth rate, mass, and synchrony in the damselfly Lestes sponsa. The data were generated from six experimental treatments representing constant and seasonally varying thermal and photoperiodic regimes under ambient and warming scenarios. Each file includes individual-level measures of developmental time, growth rate, larval mass, and survival, along with treatment identifiers and metadata describing experimental conditions. These data can be reused for meta-analyses on insect thermal responses, photoperiodism, or life-history plasticity, and for modelling temperature–photoperiod interactions under climate change. All individuals were laboratory-reared under controlled conditions, and no ethical or legal restrictions apply to the use of these data.
Dataset for “Predicting life history responses to global warming in insects: which temperature and photoperiod should be used?”
- Dataset description
This dataset contains experimental data used to investigate how combinations of temperature and photoperiod affect development, growth, and survival in the damselfly Lestes sponsa. The experiment included six thermal–photoperiodic treatments representing constant and seasonally varying regimes under ambient and warming conditions.
All data are provided in a single Excel file "lestes24_data.xlsx" with two sheets:
Life_history_until_F0 – individual-level life-history data (hatching to F-0 instar).
Survival_to_F0 – group-level survival data to the F-0 instar.
- Sheet descriptions
Sheet 1: Life_history_until_F0
- id - Unique identifier for each individual.
- group - Experimental treatment group (see treatment codes below).
- data.hatch - Date of hatching (DD-MM-YYYY).
- date.F0 - Date when the individual reached the final instar (F-0).
- dev.time - Total development time (days from hatching to F-0).
- week - Week number in which the individual reached the F-0 instar.
- sex - Biological sex of the individual (M = male, F = female).
- mass - Larval wet mass (mg) measured at the F-0 instar.
- growth - Growth rate (mg/day), calculated as mass divided by development time.
Sheet 2: Survival_to_F0
- group - Experimental treatment group (see codes below).
- survival - Number of individuals surviving to the F-0 instar in each treatment group.
- Experimental design overview
- Species: Lestes sponsa (Odonata: Lestidae)
- Experimental factors:
- Temperature: constant or seasonally varying (ambient and warming scenarios)
- Photoperiod: constant or seasonally varying
- Duration: from egg hatching to F-0 instar
- Measured traits: development time, larval mass, growth rate, and survival
- Treatment group codes
Code Temperature regime Photoperiod regime Description- cc Constant temperature Constant photoperiod Baseline constant conditions
- cwc Constant warming Constant photoperiod Warming under constant light regime
- ss Seasonal temperature Seasonal photoperiod Ambient seasonal variation
- sws Seasonal warming Seasonal photoperiod Warming with seasonal cues
- cs Constant temperature Seasonal photoperiod Seasonal light only
- sc Seasonal temperature Constant photoperiod Seasonal temperature only
- File format and software
- File format: Microsoft Excel (.xlsx)
- Sheets: “Life_history_until_F0” and “Survival_to_F0”
- Compatible software: Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice Calc, R, or Python (e.g., with readxl or openpyxl libraries).
- No specialized software is required.
- Ethical and legal considerations
- All individuals were laboratory-reared from field-collected Lestes sponsa adults. No ethical or legal restrictions apply to the use of these data.
- R code availability
- The R scripts "lestes24_R_script.R" used for statistical analyses and figure generation are included as supplementary files in this Dryad repository. Each script is annotated and corresponds to analyses described in the manuscript sections “2.5 Statistical analyses” and “3 Results.”