Consistent covariation of dispersal, life history and thermal niches across terrestrial arthropods

Arthropods, as ectotherms, are experiencing global declines, with many species facing the need to either acclimate or disperse in response to climate change. To generate general insights into such responses, a framework integrating traits on life history, dispersal and thermal niche is currently lacking. In light of this, understanding to which degree these traits covary and are organised into syndromes are key to improve distribution forecasting under climate change. We quantified life history, dispersal and thermal range covariation among 4000 Western European arthropod species spanning eight orders, considering phylogenetic relationships to account for shared ancestry. We demonstrate the existence of two independent axes of life history variation: the fast-slow continuum and the reproductive strategy axis. Notably, species at the fast end of the continuum tend to have higher dispersal capacities and broader thermal niches than slower species. The resulting syndromes were surprisingly consistent across orders, indicating a relatively uniform pattern of trait covariations across arthropod groups. These trait combinations, which generally enhance range-shifting potential, point to the emergence of two distinct groups of arthropods: those well-suited and those less equipped to mitigate the effects of future climate change.