ReviewNature ecology & evolution2020
Open Science principles for accelerating trait-based science across the Tree of Life.
Review in Nature ecology & evolution, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 60 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
60 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A roadmap to define and select aquatic biological traits at different scales of analysis.Scientific reports · 2023Pooled it
- Bridging data silos to holistically model plant macrophenology.The New phytologist · 2026Review
- How does plant diversity drive productivity in China's drylands: Through complementary or mass ratio effects?Plant diversity · 2026Article
- A Neuro-Symbolic Bioinformatics Framework for Unlocking Chordate Physiological Dark Data and Validating Allometric Scaling.Biology · 2026Article
- Beyond pollination syndromes? Reflections on the classifications of Federico Delpino.Annals of botany · 2026Article
- Gaps in trait data and conservation impediments from the Raunkiæran shortfall in a megadiverse nation.iScience · 2025Article
- Plant traits and associated ecological data from Afromontane grasslands of Maloti-Drakensberg, South Africa.Scientific data · 2025Article
- Extending mammal specimens with their essential phenotypic traits.Journal of mammalogy · 2025Article
- Future of coral bleaching research.Bioscience · 2025Article
- Estimating Rooting Depth From Herbarium Specimens Might Be More Accurate Than Using Large Trait Databases.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Article
- Transcriptomic Temperature Stress Responses Show Differentiation Between Biomes for Diverse Plants.Genome biology and evolution · 2025Article
- Towards Greater Standardisation in Benthic Trait Research to Support Application to Environmental Management.Ecology and evolution · 2025Review
- Integrating animal tracking and trait data to facilitate global ecological discoveries.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- The Octocoral Trait Database: a global database of trait information for octocoral species.Scientific data · 2025Article
- Towards Context-Rich Automated Biodiversity Assessments: Deriving AI-Powered Insights from Camera Trap Data.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Toward a Functional Trait Approach to Bee Ecology.Ecology and evolution · 2024Review
- The AusTraits plant dictionary.Scientific data · 2024Article
- A slow-fast trait continuum at the whole community level in relation to land-use intensification.Nature communications · 2024Article
- DEBBIES Dataset to study Life Histories across Ectotherms.Scientific data · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
57 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Synthesizing trait observations and knowledge across the Tree of Life remains a grand challenge for biodiversity science. Species traits are widely used in ecological and evolutionary science, and new data and methods have proliferated rapidly. Yet accessing and integrating disparate data sources remains a considerable challenge, slowing progress toward a global synthesis to integrate trait data across organisms. Trait science needs a vision for achieving global integration across all organisms. Here, we outline how the adoption of key Open Science principles-open data, open source and open methods-is transforming trait science, increasing transparency, democratizing access and accelerating global synthesis. To enhance widespread adoption of these principles, we introduce the Open Traits Network (OTN), a global, decentralized community welcoming all researchers and institutions pursuing the collaborative goal of standardizing and integrating trait data across organisms. We demonstrate how adherence to Open Science principles is key to the OTN community and outline five activities that can accelerate the synthesis of trait data across the Tree of Life, thereby facilitating rapid advances to address scientific inquiries and environmental issues. Lessons learned along the path to a global synthesis of trait data will provide a framework for addressing similarly complex data science and informatics challenges.
Indexed as
Identifiers
32066887What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.