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Abstract The impacts of urbanization on bird biodiversity depend on human–environment interactions that drive land management. Although a commonly studied group, less attention has been given to public perceptions of birds close to home, which can capture people's direct, everyday experiences with urban biodiversity. Here, we used ecological and social survey data collected in the metropolitan region of Phoenix, Arizona, USA, to determine how species traits are related to people's perceptions of local bird communities. We used a trait‐based approach to classify birds by attributes that may influence human–bird interactions, including color, size, foraging strata, diet, song, and cultural niche space based on popularity and geographic specificity. Our classification scheme using hierarchical clustering identified four trait categories, labeled as Metropolitan (gray, loud, seedeaters foraging low to ground), Familiar (yellow/brown generalist species commonly present in suburban areas), Distinctive (species with distinguishing appearance and song), and Hummingbird (hummingbird species, small and colorful). Strongly held beliefs about positive or negative traits were also more consistent than ambivalent ones. The belief that birds were colorful and unique to the regional desert environment was particularly important in fortifying perceptions. People largely perceived hummingbird species and birds with distinctive traits positively. Similarly, urban‐dwelling birds from the metropolitan trait group were related to negative perceptions, probably due to human–wildlife conflict. Differences arose across sociodemographics (including income, age, education, and Hispanic/Latinx identity), but explained a relatively low amount of variation in perceptions compared with the bird traits present in the neighborhood. Our results highlight how distinctive aesthetics, especially color and song, as well as traits related to foraging and diet drive perceptions. Increasing people's direct experiences with iconic species tied to the region and species with distinguishing attributes has the potential to improve public perceptions and strengthen support for broader conservation initiatives in and beyond urban ecosystems.
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SAviTraits 1.0: Seasonally varying dietary attributes for birds
Abstract MotivationTrait‐based studies remain limited by the quality and scope of the underlying trait data available. Most of the existing trait databases treat species traits as fixed across time, with any potential temporal variation in the measured traits being unavailable. This is despite the fact that many species are well known to show plasticity in their trait characteristics over the course of the year. This data paper describes a compilation of species‐specific dietary preferences and their known intra‐annual variation for over 10,000 of the world's extant bird species (SAviTraits 1.0). Information on dietary preferences was obtained from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Birds of the World (BOW) online database. Textual descriptions of species' dietary preferences were translated into semi‐quantitative information denoting the proportion of dietary categories utilized by each species. Temporal variation in dietary attributes was captured at a monthly temporal resolution. We describe the methods for data discovery and translation and present tools for summarizing the annual variability of avian dietary preferences. Altogether, we were able to document a seasonal variability in dietary attributes for a total of 1031 species (ca. 10%). For the remaining species, the dietary attributes were either temporally stationary or the information on temporal variability of the diet was not available. Main Types of Variable ContainedTemporally‐varying dietary traits for birds. Spatial Location and GrainN/A. Time Period and GrainVariation in diet was captured at a monthly temporal resolution. Major Taxa and Level of MeasurementBirds, species level. Software Format.csv/.rds
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- Award ID(s):
- 1926598
- PAR ID:
- 10441398
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Global Ecology and Biogeography
- ISSN:
- 1466-822X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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