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1. SAviTraits 1.0: Seasonally varying dietary attributes for birds

   https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13738  

   Murphy, Stephen J.; Bellvé, André M.; Miyajima, Reymond J.; Sebunia, Natalie A.; Lynch, Molly M.; Jetz, Walter; Jarzyna, Marta A. (October 2023, Global Ecology and Biogeography)

   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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2. Evolutionary history and environmental variability structure contemporary tropical vertebrate communities

   https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13829  

   Hsieh, Chia; Gorczynski, Daniel; Bitariho, Robert; Espinosa, Santiago; Johnson, Steig; Lima, Marcela_Guimarães Moreira; Rovero, Francesco; Salvador, Julia; Santos, Fernanda; Sheil, Douglas; et al (May 2024, Global Ecology and Biogeography)

   Abstract AimTropical regions harbour over half of the world's mammals and birds, but how their communities have assembled over evolutionary timescales remains unclear. To compare eco‐evolutionary assembly processes between tropical mammals and birds, we tested how hypotheses concerning niche conservatism, environmental stability, environmental heterogeneity and time‐for‐speciation relate to tropical vertebrate community phylogenetic and functional structure. LocationTropical rainforests worldwide. Time periodPresent. Major taxa studiedGround‐dwelling and ground‐visiting mammals and birds. MethodsWe used in situ observations of species identified from systematic camera trap sampling as realized communities from 15 protected tropical rainforests in four tropical regions worldwide. We quantified standardized phylogenetic and functional structure for each community and estimated the multi‐trait phylogenetic signal (PS) in ecological strategies for the four regional species pools of mammals and birds. Using linear regression models, we test three non‐mutually exclusive hypotheses by comparing the relative importance of colonization time, palaeo‐environmental changes in temperature and land cover since 3.3 Mya, contemporary seasonality in temperature and productivity and environmental heterogeneity for predicting community phylogenetic and functional structure. ResultsPhylogenetic and functional structure showed non‐significant yet varying tendencies towards clustering or dispersion in all communities. Mammals had stronger multi‐trait PS in ecological strategies than birds (mean PS: mammal = 0.62, bird = 0.43). Distinct dominant processes were identified for mammal and bird communities. For mammals, colonization time and elevation range significantly predicted phylogenetic clustering and functional dispersion tendencies respectively. For birds, elevation range and contemporary temperature seasonality significantly predicted phylogenetic and functional clustering tendencies, respectively, while habitat diversity significantly predicted functional dispersion tendencies. Main conclusionsOur results reveal different eco‐evolutionary assembly processes structuring contemporary tropical mammal and bird communities over evolutionary timescales that have shaped tropical diversity. Our study identified marked differences among taxonomic groups in the relative importance of historical colonization and sensitivity to environmental change. 

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3. Investigating the Biotic and Abiotic Drivers of Body Size Disparity in Communities of Non‐Volant Terrestrial Mammals

   https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13913  

   Gearty, William; Uricchio, Lawrence H; Lyons, S Kathleen (December 2024, Global Ecology and Biogeography)

   ABSTRACT AimThe species that compose local communities possess unique sets of functional and ecological traits that can be used as indicators of biotic and abiotic variation across space and time. Body size is a particularly relevant trait because species with different body sizes typically have different life history strategies and occupy distinct niches. Here we used the body sizes of non‐volant (i.e., non‐flying) terrestrial mammals to quantify and compare the body size disparity of mammal communities across the globe. LocationGlobal. Time PeriodPresent. Major Taxa StudiedNon‐volant terrestrial mammals. MethodsWe used IUCN range maps of 3982 terrestrial mammals to identify 1876 communities. We then combined diet data with data on climate, elevation and anthropogenic pressures to evaluate these variables' relative importance on the observed body size dispersion of these communities and its deviation from a null model. ResultsDispersion for these communities is significantly greater than expected in 54% of communities and significantly less than expected in 30% of communities. The number of very large species, continent, range sizes, diet disparity and annual temperature collectively explain > 50% of the variation in observed dispersion, whereas continent, the number of very large species, and precipitation collectively explain > 30% of the deviation from the null model. Main ConclusionsClimate and elevation have minimal predictive power, suggesting that biotic factors may be more important for explaining community body size distributions. However, continent is consistently a strong predictor of dispersion, likely due to it capturing the combined effects of climate, size‐selective human‐induced extinctions and more. Overall, our results are consistent with several plausible explanations, including, but not limited to, competitive exclusion, unequal distribution of resources, within‐community environmental heterogeneity, habitat filtering and ecosystem engineering. Further work focusing on other confounding variables, at finer spatial scales and/or within more causal frameworks is required to better understand the driver(s) of these patterns. 

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4. Relatedness, trait evolution, and climatic niche divergence in mammalian island endemics

   https://doi.org/10.1002/oik.11102  

   Shipley, Benjamin R; Shah, Neha; McGuire, Jenny L (August 2025, Oikos)

   Island mammals have influenced ecological and evolutionary theory since Darwin, and many of them provide textbook examples of the dramatic morphological evolution that often occurs in island communities. However, patterns of evolution in the climatic niches of island mammals have yet to be fully explored. Several hypotheses explaining niche divergence in island species have been introduced, linking niche evolution to increased competition among closely related or sympatric species, and as a by‐product of morphological evolution or geographical patterns. Here, we evaluate these hypotheses using closely related species pairs (sister taxa). We characterized the climatic niches of island endemic species and their closest relatives and calculated two metrics of niche divergence between the species (niche overlap and centroid distance). We compared these metrics between island endemics that have island‐dwelling sister taxa and those that have mainland‐dwelling sister taxa. We then related the degree of niche divergence to phylogenetic relatedness between the sister taxa, sympatry, morphological trait differences and island characteristics (isolation, size, age). Overall, despite significant niche divergence across species pairs, we found little evidence that competition or biotic interactions drive large‐scale climatic niche evolution in island mammals. Niche divergence in island‐endemic mammals is not driven by sympatry with their closest relatives, nor is it linked to phylogenetic relatedness. Furthermore, the phenotypic evolution of island‐endemic species does not lead to corresponding evolution in climatic niches. Instead, abiotic, geographical patterns appear to drive niche divergence in these species. Sister taxa that were more geographically isolated from each other had significantly lower niche overlaps. Island‐endemic mammals that live in montane regions likewise diverged from their closest relatives. These results suggest that competition between related species on islands may lead to niche partitioning only on local scales and that niche evolution in island‐endemic mammals may occur primarily in response to geographical patterns. 

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5. FloraTraiter: Automated parsing of traits from descriptive biodiversity literature

   https://doi.org/10.1002/aps3.11563  

   Folk, Ryan A; Guralnick, Robert P; LaFrance, Raphael T (January 2024, Applications in Plant Sciences)

   Abstract PremisePlant trait data are essential for quantifying biodiversity and function across Earth, but these data are challenging to acquire for large studies. Diverse strategies are needed, including the liberation of heritage data locked within specialist literature such as floras and taxonomic monographs. Here we report FloraTraiter, a novel approach using rule‐based natural language processing (NLP) to parse computable trait data from biodiversity literature. MethodsFloraTraiter was implemented through collaborative work between programmers and botanical experts and customized for both online floras and scanned literature. We report a strategy spanning optical character recognition, recognition of taxa, iterative building of traits, and establishing linkages among all of these, as well as curational tools and code for turning these results into standard morphological matrices. ResultsOver 95% of treatment content was successfully parsed for traits with <1% error. Data for more than 700 taxa are reported, including a demonstration of common downstream uses. ConclusionsWe identify strategies, applications, tips, and challenges that we hope will facilitate future similar efforts to produce large open‐source trait data sets for broad community reuse. Largely automated tools like FloraTraiter will be an important addition to the toolkit for assembling trait data at scale. 

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