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Marine Species Traits



The importance of describing species patterns and the underlying processes explaining these patterns is essential to assess the status and future evolution of marine ecosystems. This requires biological information on functional and structural species traits such as feeding ecology, body size, reproduction, life history, etc.

Basic trait information was already being collected within the World Register of Marine Species. Within the EMODnet Biology project and as a component of the LifeWatch Species Information Backbone, this initiative is taken one step further. Now, information on a whole range of traits is being collected and made available through this thematic traits portal.

Three main types of traits are documented:
  • biological and ecological traits-specific characteristics of a taxon (e.g. body size or feeding type)
  • taxonomic traits (e.g. paraphyletic groups)
  • human-defined traits (e.g. Red List species)


How to use and cite:

Unless otherwise stated, these web pages and associated information are free to use on condition that they are cited (CC-BY). We do not permit the re-distribution of the entire database unless by prior written agreement.

The database as a whole is to be cited as follows:

Marine Species Traits editorial board (2024). Marine Species Traits. Accessed at http://www.marinespecies.org/traits on 2024-03-19. doi:10.14284/580