MOBS 1.0: A Database of Interspecific Variation in Marine Organismal Body Sizes

IF 6.3 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Global Ecology and Biogeography Pub Date : 2025-06-04 DOI:10.1111/geb.70062

Craig R. McClain, Noel A. Heim, Matthew L. Knope, Pedro M. Monarrez, Jonathan L. Payne, Isaac Trindade Santos, Thomas J. Webb

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Motivation

Body size is a fundamental trait influencing an organism's life history, ecology, physiology and evolutionary dynamics. While extensive body-size databases exist for terrestrial vertebrates, equivalent datasets for marine animals are lacking, even though they include a much larger number of species. This data gap hinders comparative and macroecological analyses that rely on body-size data to uncover evolutionary and ecological patterns and processes in marine ecosystems. The Marine Organismal Body Size (MOBS) Database aims to address this deficit by providing standardised body-size data for marine animals, enabling deeper investigations into marine biodiversity and informing conservation and ecological theory.

Main Types of Variables Contained

The MOBS Database includes maximum linear dimensions of marine animals, specifically height, length, width and diameter. Additional fields include species taxonomy (linked to AphiaIDs in the World Register of Marine Species), notes about measurements and data sources.

Spatial Location and Grain

The dataset is global in scope, encompassing marine species across all oceanic regions, but does not itself contain geographic data. Integrations with databases like the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS) can yield spatially resolved analyses.

Time Period and Grain

Modern, extant species.

Major Taxa and Level of Measurement

MOBS focuses on marine animals (kingdom Animalia), covering 30 marine phyla. The database currently contains data for 85,204 species (40.4% of valid marine animal species in WoRMS), with seven phyla surpassing 75% coverage. Measurements are reported at the species level, with some records including multiple observations to account for intraspecific variations.

Software Format

The MOBS Database is available in csv format and is hosted on GitHub for public access (https://github.com/crmcclain/MOBS_OPEN).

查看原文本刊更多论文

MOBS 1.0：海洋生物体型的种间变异数据库

体型是影响生物生命史、生态学、生理学和进化动力学的基本特征。虽然存在广泛的陆地脊椎动物体型数据库，但海洋动物的等效数据集却缺乏，尽管它们包括的物种数量要多得多。这种数据差距阻碍了依靠体型数据来揭示海洋生态系统的进化和生态模式和进程的比较和宏观生态分析。海洋生物体型数据库（MOBS）旨在通过提供海洋动物的标准化体型数据来解决这一缺陷，从而能够更深入地研究海洋生物多样性，并为保护和生态理论提供信息。MOBS数据库包括海洋动物的最大线性尺寸，特别是高度、长度、宽度和直径。其他领域包括物种分类学（与《世界海洋物种名录》中的蚜虫相关）、测量记录和数据来源。该数据集是全球范围的，涵盖了所有海洋区域的海洋物种，但本身不包含地理数据。与海洋生物多样性信息系统（OBIS）等数据库的集成可以产生空间解析分析。年代和谷物现代现存品种。主要分类群和测量水平MOBS侧重于海洋动物（动物界），涵盖30个海洋门。该数据库目前包含85,204种（占WoRMS有效海洋动物物种的40.4%）的数据，其中7门的覆盖率超过75%。在物种水平上报告了测量结果，其中一些记录包括多种观察结果，以解释种内变化。软件格式MOBS数据库以csv格式提供，并托管在GitHub上供公众访问（https://github.com/crmcclain/MOBS_OPEN）。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Global Ecology and Biogeography 环境科学-生态学

CiteScore

12.10

自引率

3.10%

发文量

170

审稿时长

3 months

期刊介绍： Global Ecology and Biogeography (GEB) welcomes papers that investigate broad-scale (in space, time and/or taxonomy), general patterns in the organization of ecological systems and assemblages, and the processes that underlie them. In particular, GEB welcomes studies that use macroecological methods, comparative analyses, meta-analyses, reviews, spatial analyses and modelling to arrive at general, conceptual conclusions. Studies in GEB need not be global in spatial extent, but the conclusions and implications of the study must be relevant to ecologists and biogeographers globally, rather than being limited to local areas, or specific taxa. Similarly, GEB is not limited to spatial studies; we are equally interested in the general patterns of nature through time, among taxa (e.g., body sizes, dispersal abilities), through the course of evolution, etc. Further, GEB welcomes papers that investigate general impacts of human activities on ecological systems in accordance with the above criteria.