This code is related to the investigation of species traits as a guidance for moth conservation in the highly anthropogenic European region of Flanders (northern part of Belgium) based on Multi-Species Change Indices (MSCIs). Abstract Insects appear to decline rapidly in recent decades. This so-called sixth mass extinction garnered significant media attention, raising public awareness. Macro-moths—a species-rich and ecologically diverse insect group—face severe declines, particularly in urbanised and intensively farmed areas. Flanders is a highly anthropogenic region, serving as a case study where the impact on macro-moths of stressors like intensive agriculture, industrialization and urbanization has been quantified through a recently compiled Red List. Here, for 717 macro-moth species, we calculated relative changes in distribution area between a reference period (1980-2012) and the subsequent period (2013-2022). By correlating these species-specific trends with ten key ecological and life-history traits, ... : Order of execution Follow the steps below to run the scripts in a logical order.You can skip any steps if desired, each script will create the necessary folders and download the necessary data from zenodo each time if required.Open the R project file `macro-moths-msci.Rproj` before opening any scripts such that the relative paths in the scripts work properly. Step 1: data_preparation.Rmd You can only run this script if you have the raw data at your disposal. If not, you can skip this step. Create a folder `data/raw` where you store the raw data.By running this script, you will merge the raw datasets in a single intermediate dataset.This dataset is then stored in `data/intermediate` which is created by the script if it does not exist yet. Step 2: data_exploration.Rmd In this script, data exploration is performed.In the end, a final dataset is written out for further analyses.This dataset is then stored in `data/processed` which is created by the script if it does not exist yet. Step 3: ...