Data for: Tolerance of high temperature and associated effects on reproduction in euedaphic Collembola

<p>Tropical and mid-latitude terrestrial ectotherms are more vulnerable to global warming than species from high latitudes. However, thermal tolerance studies from these regions still lack soil invertebrates. We chose six euedaphic species of Collembola (of the genera <em>Onychiurus</em> and <em>Protaphorura</em>) sampled across latitudes ranging from 31°N to 64°N and first determined their upper thermal limit (UTL) by static assays. Based on their upper thermal limit, we exposed them to temperatures 32 ℃ to 36 ℃ depending on the species for 1-2 hours, which was expected to result in heat-induced injuries equivalent to 5% to 30% mortality within each species. Survivors from this series of increasing heat injuries were used to determine the time to first oviposition, and the number of eggs produced following heat exposure.</p> <p class="content">We found the upper thermal limit positively correlates to the soil temperature of the sampling site. Species have different UTL₆₀ indicating they have different tolerance to high temperatures. The species order from most heat tolerance to least was <em>O. yodai</em> &gt; <em>P. fimata</em> &gt; <em>P. armata</em> ≈ <em>P. tricampata</em> &gt; <em>P. macfadyeni </em>&gt; <em>P. pseudovanderdrifti</em>. Heat stress inflicted on survivors can prolong the time to regain reproduction in all species, and two species showed reduced egg production. The most heat-tolerant species did not have advantages over the least heat-tolerant species under a sublethal heat exposure scheme (where predicted survival was less than 30%) in terms of their recovery of reproduction. We provided evidence for a potential long-term effect of high temperature on euedaphic species of Collembola and highlighted the need for further studies on the effects of global warming on soil living organisms.</p>