Data from: The travel speeds of large animals are limited by their heat-dissipation capacities

Purpose

This is an extension of the travel speed dataset published by Dyer et al. 2023 in PLOS Biology that includes additional metadata. Data follow the same aggregation to species level by grouping records across unique combinations of study and species while preserving variation across important categorical covariates (listed below). 

Scripts

• scripts/modelling/fit_model.R: Fits mechanistic locomotion models to aggregated data using RStan. Plots predictions and outputs parameter estimates of competing models.

Data Columns

Each heading below describes a column of the travel speed dataset.

move_speed_ref: Unique reference number for each study reporting animal travel speed. The corresponding references are contained within the supplementary reference list file.

move_mass_ref: Unique reference number for each study reporting animal body mass. The corresponding references are contained within the supplementary reference list file.

scientific_name: Scientific name of the species according to the taxonomy of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (accessed via GBIF.org during 2022). A small number of studies that report only the genus name or common name of the species are reported in our dataset as Genus sp. (e.g. Gazella sp.). One study, which estimated the travel speed and body mass of an unknown species of mouse via camera traps, is reported in our dataset as Amazon mouse sp.

move_movement_mode: Categorical value indicating whether the reported travel speed corresponds to an animal engaged in flying, running, or swimming. This allows species to be accommodated that are capable of multi-modal locomotion (e.g. northern elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris).

taxon_group: Categorical value indicating membership to one of eight animal groups (amphibian, arthropod, cnidarian, bird, fish, mammal, mollusc, reptile).

thermo_reg: Categorical value indicating thermoregulatory strategy, i.e. the contribution of metabolic heat production to the maintenance of core body temperature during rest:
- ectotherm: negligible contribution, body temperature matches ambient temperature
- mesotherm: weak contribution with partial thermal stability, as in tunas, lamnid sharks, and leatherback sea turtles
- endotherm: strong contribution with metabolic stability even when ambient temperatures are significantly below body temperature

move_medium: Categorical value indicating whether the animal’s travel speed was measured during locomotion within the terrestrial realm (air) or aquatic realm (water).

move_speed_method: Categorical value indicating whether travel speed was estimated directly (i.e. instantaneously via direct observation in real-time, animal-attached speedometer, or video recording) or indirectly from higher-resolution telemetry data (i.e. from changes in an animal’s spatial coordinates at intervals < 30 minutes apart).

move_study_condition: Categorical value indicating whether travel speed was estimated under natural field conditions or under a controlled laboratory setting such as within an aquarium or mesocosm. Travel speeds of the smallest animals (e.g. arthropods) can only feasibly be estimated within a controlled setting.

move_avgspeed_value: Categorical value indicating whether average travel speed was reported as a mean or median within the original study.

move_bodymass_kg: Continuous value indicating the average adult body mass (units: kilograms) of the species. In cases where the study’s reference numbers move_speed_ref and move_mass_ref differ, we referred to secondary literature sources to assign the average adult body mass of the species. In cases where only body length was given, we used published allometric equations to estimate the wet body mass.

move_avgspeed_ms: Continuous value indicating the average (geometric mean) travel speed (units: metres per second) of the species reported within the study.

move_speed_source: Categorical value indicating the sampling level at which travel speed measurements were reported within the study.
- indv: travel speed reported from an individual animal. - avgs: travel speed reported as an average (mean or median) across multiple individuals from the same species.

move_individuals_n: Integer value indicating the number of individual animals from which travel speed measurements were obtained within the study.

move_measurements_n: Integer value indicating the number of travel speed measurements taken across individuals within the study. This value can exceed move_individuals_n when repeated measurements were made from the same individuals.

move_ygeo_min: Continuous value indicating the minimum reported latitude (decimal degrees) of the study location(s).

move_ygeo_max: Continuous value indicating the maximum reported latitude (decimal degrees) of the study location(s).

move_xgeo_min: Continuous value indicating the minimum reported longitude (decimal degrees) of the study location(s).

move_xgeo_max: Continuous value indicating the maximum reported longitude (decimal degrees) of the study location(s).

move_date_min: Earliest reported date of data collection within the study (format: YYYY-MM-DD).

move_date_max: Latest reported date of data collection within the study (format: YYYY-MM-DD).

move_study_country: Country in which the study was conducted.

move_study_location: A description of the study location.

Version Notes

This updated version of the travel speed dataset extends the aggregated dataset published in  
Dyer et al. 2023, PLOS Biology through the inclusion of additional metadata fields.
Metadata follow the same aggregation to species level by grouping records across unique combinations of study and species while preserving variation across important categorical covariates (listed above).