The use of functional information in the form of species traits plays an important role in explaining biodiversity patterns and responses to environmental changes. Although relationships between species composition, their traits, and the environment have been extensively studied on a case-by-case basis, results are variable, and it remains unclear how generalizable these relationships are across ecosystems, taxa and spatial scales. To address this gap, we collated 80 datasets from trait-based studies into a global database for metaCommunity Ecology: Species, Traits, Environment and Space; "CESTES". Each dataset includes four matrices: species community abundances or presences/absences across multiple sites, species trait information, environmental variables and spatial coordinates of the sampling sites. The CESTES database is a live database: it will be maintained and expanded in the future as new datasets become available. By its harmonized structure, and the diversity of ecosystem types, taxonomic groups, and spatial scales it covers, the CESTES database provides an important opportunity for synthetic trait-based research in community ecology.

Anses Laboratoire de la Santé des Végétaux Unité Entomologie et Plantes Invasives Montferrier sur Lez France

ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville QLD 4811 Australia

Biodiversity Department of Biology Lund University Sölvegatan 37 SE 223 62 Lund Sweden

Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project National Institute for Amazonian Research and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute 69011 970 Manaus Brazil

Biology Centre CAS Czech Academy of Sciences Institute of Entomology Branisovska 31 370 05 Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic

Biometris Wageningen University and Research Droevendaalsesteeg 1 6708 PB Wageningen The Netherlands

CEFE UMR 5175 CNRS Université de Montpellier Université Paul Valéry Montpellier EPHE 1919 route de Mende F 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5 France

Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle CNRS Sorbonne Université Paris France

Centre for Ecology Evolution and Environmental Changes University of Lisbon 1749 016 Lisbon Portugal

Centre for Ecosystems Society and Biosecurity Forest Research Alice Holt Lodge Farnham Surrey GU10 4LH UK

Centro de Biologia Aquática Escola de Ciências Agrárias e Biológicas Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Goiás Campus 2 Av Engler s n Jd Mariliza Goiânia Goiás CEP 74885460 Brazil

CFE Centre for Functional Ecology Science for People and the Planet Department of Life Sciences University of Coimbra 3000 456 Coimbra Portugal

CNRS and Université Paul Sabatier Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique UMR 5174 Bât 4R1 118 Route de Narbonne F 31062 Toulouse cedex 9 France

corvus Lüchow 2 D 17179 Altkalen Germany

CREAF Cerdanyola del Vallés 08193 Spain UAB Cerdanyola del Vallés 08193 Spain

Departamento de Biologia Universidade Estadual de Goiás Campus Palmeiras de Goiás Palmeiras de Goiás Goiás Brazil

Departamento de Ecología e Hidrología Facultad de Biología Universidad de Murcia 30100 Murcia Spain

Department of Biological Sciences Macquarie University Sydney NSW 2109 Australia

Department of Biology and CESAM University of Aveiro Campus de Santiago 3810 193 Aveiro Portugal

Department of Biology Ecological Synthesis and Biodiversity Conservation Lab Federal Rural University of Pernambuco Rio de Janeiro Brazil

Department of Biology Lund University Sölvegatan 37 SE 223 62 Lund Sweden

Department of Biology The University of Western Ontario London Ontario Canada

Department of Computer Science Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg 06099 Halle Salle Germany

Department of Ecological Humanities Providence University 200 Sec 7 Taiwan Boulevard Shalu Dist Taichung 43301 Taiwan

Department of Ecology Environment and Evolution and Centre for Future Landscapes La Trobe University Melbourne Victoria 3086 Australia

Department of Ecology Federal University of Rio de Janeiro 21941 902 Rio de Janeiro Brazil

Department of Environmental and Forest Biology State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry 1 Forestry Dr Syracuse New York NY 13210 USA

Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies University of Zürich Winterthurerstrasse 190 8057 Zurich Switzerland

Department of Geobotany and Plant Ecology University of Lodz Banacha 12 16 90 237 Łódź Poland

Department of Life Sciences Natural History Museum Cromwell Road London SW7 5BD UK

Department of Migration and Immuno ecology Max Planck Institute for Ornithology 78315 Radolfzell Germany

Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science Lund University Sölvegatan 37 SE 223 62 Lund Sweden

Division of Conservation Biology Institute of Ecology and Evolution University of Bern 3012 Bern Switzerland

Dynafor INRA INPT Univ Toulouse Auzeville France

Eawag Swiss Federal Institute of Water Science and Technology Uberlandstrasse 133 8600 Dubendorf Switzerland

Ecology and Conservation Biology Institute for Plant Sciences University of Regensburg D 93040 Regensburg Germany

Ecology and Evolution Research Centre School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences UNSW Sydney Sydney New South Wales 2052 Australia

Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Acton ACT 2601 Australia

Gerencia de Planificación y Gestión Hídrica TRAGSATEC C Valentín Beato 6 28037 Madrid Spain

German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Deutscher Platz 5E 04103 Leipzig Germany

Granollers Museum of Natural Sciences 08402 Granollers Catalonia Spain

Grup de Recerca Freshwater Ecology Hydrology and Management Diagonal 643 08028 Barcelona Catalonia Spain

Institut de recherche en biologie végétale Montréal Québec Canada

Institute of Environmental Protection and Engineering University of Bielsko Biala Willowa 2 43 309 Bielsko Biała Poland

Institute of Environmental Sciences Environmental Biology Department Leiden University Einsteinweg 2 2333 CC Leiden The Netherlands

Institute of Evolutionary Biology Passeig Maritim Barceloneta 37 08003 Barcelona Spain

Institute of Geology Tallinn University of Technology Ehitajate tee 5 19086 Tallinn Estonia

Institute of Parasitology and Institute of Zoology Slovak Acad Sci Loffl erova 10 SK 04001 Kosice Slovakia

Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology Ural Branch Russian Academy of Sciences Eighth March Street 202 Yekaterinburg 620144 Russia

Instituto EPOMEX Universidad Autónoma de Campeche Av Héroe de Nacozari No 480 Campus 6 de Investigación UAC San Francisco de Campeche 24020 Campeche México

Istanbul Technical University Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences Istanbul 34469 Turkey

Laboratório de Biodiversidade Programa de Pós Graduação em Sociedade Tecnologia e Meio Ambiente UniEVANGÉLICA Avenida Universitária km 3 5 Cidade Universitária Anápolis Goiás CEP 75083 515 Brazil

MARBEC Univ Montpellier CNRS Ifremer IRD Montpellier France

Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research Ben Gurion University of the Negev Sede Boqer Campus Midreshet Ben Gurion 8499000 Israel

National Ecological Observatory Network 1685 38th Street Suite 100 Boulder CO 80301 USA

Naturalis Biodiversity Center Marine Biodiversity Vondellaan 55 2332 AA Leiden The Netherlands

OBG Part of Ramboll 400 Andrews St Suite 710 Rochester NY 14604 USA

Programa de Pós Graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais Núcleo de Pesquisas em Limnologia Ictiologia Universidade Estadual de Maringá Av Colombo 5790 CEP 87020 900 Maringá PR Brazil

Pyrenean Institute of Ecology Avda Montanana 1005 zaragoza Spain

Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences Vautierstraat 29 1000 Brussels Belgium

School of Biological Sciences University of Southampton Highfield Campus Southampton SO17 1BJ UK

School of Environment and Life Sciences University of Salford M5 4WT Salford UK

School of Geography and Environmental Science University of Southampton Highfield Campus Southampton SO17 1BJ UK

The James Hutton Institute Craigiebuckler Aberdeen AB15 8QH UK

The soil conservation service of Iceland Gunnarsholt 851 Hella Iceland

Tropical Island Sustainable Development Research Center National Penghu University of Science and Technology 300 Liu Ho Rd Magong City Penghu 880 Taiwan

UMR 5023 LEHNA Université Lyon 1 Université Lyon Villeurbanne France

Unité Écologie et Modèles pour l'Halieutique IFREMER Rue de l'île d'Yeu B P 21105 44311 Nantes Cedex 03 France

Univ Grenoble Alpes Univ Savoie Mont Blanc CNRS LECA F 38000 Grenoble France

Universidade Estadual de Goiás Campus de Ciências Exatas e Tecnológicas Henrique Santillo BR 153 No 3105 Fazenda Barreiro do Meio 75132400 Anápolis GO Brazil

University of Applied Sciences HTW Dresden Pillnitzer Platz 2 D 01326 Dresden Germany

University of Colorado Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology UCB 334 University of Colorado Boulder CO 80309 USA

University of Connecticut 75 N Eagleville Road Unit 3043 Storrs CT 06269 USA

University of Ghent Department of Biology K L Ledeganckstraat 35 9000 Ghent Belgium

University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice Faculty of Science Branisovska 1760 370 05 Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic

Wageningen Environmental Research Wageningen University and Research Droevendaalsesteeg 3 3 A 6708 PB Wageningen The Netherlands

Zoology University of New England Armidale NSW 2351 Australia

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Distance decay 2.0 - A global synthesis of taxonomic and functional turnover in ecological communities

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