A universal insect trait tool (ITT, v1.0) for statistical analysis and evaluation of biodiversity research data

Abstract

We present a unique data set of trait information for 586 insect families in Central Europe, covering the largest known part of described species (over 34,000 species). Life history information and major functional traits were evaluated with fuzzy coding and weighted according to the number of known species in Germany. An overall analysis of the German insect fauna is given and the data set is exemplarily applied to metabarcoding results of malaise trap samples. Due to the high functional and taxonomic diversity in insects, further developments and refinements of traits to be included will be an ongoing process with advancements of upcoming database versions to be subsequently published.