Functional traits offer a rich quantitative framework for developing and testing theories in evolutionary biology, ecology and ecosystem science. However, the potential of functional traits to drive theoretical advances and refine models of global change can only be fully realised when species-level information is complete. Here we present the AVONET dataset containing comprehensive functional trait data for all birds, including six ecological variables, 11 continuous morphological traits, and information on range size and location. Raw morphological measurements are presented from 90,020 individuals of 11,009 extant bird species sampled from 181 countries. These data are also summarised as species averages in three taxonomic formats, allowing integration with a global phylogeny, geographical range maps, IUCN Red List data and the eBird citizen science database. The AVONET dataset provides the most detailed picture of continuous trait variation for any major radiation of organisms, offering a global template for testing hypotheses and exploring the evolutionary origins, structure and functioning of biodiversity.

Mobbing represents a well‐known anti‐predatory behavior, where potential prey display aggressively against a predator. Despite considerable experimental and descriptive work, no models predict species participation in mobbing assemblages. Here, we aimed to understand why some bird species engage in this behavior, while others do not, and what factors can be used to predict mobbing engagement within an avian community. We investigated whether certain functional traits, such as body size, foraging guild, foraging mode, and strata, as well species abundance and evolutionary relatedness, are important mobbing predictors. To address these goals, we simulated the presence of the Ferruginous Pygmy‐Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum) by broadcasting its voice in 230 experiments conducted in 115 points, systematically distributed in a dry forest of northeastern Brazil. We compared these results to 162 avian surveys (point counts) conducted in the same area. Our avian surveys detected 108 bird species (local avian community), whereas our playback experiments attracted 72 species (mobbing assemblage). In general, small, canopy insectivorous or frugivorous birds dominated the mobs. The best mobbing predictors were body mass and guild, whereas species abundance, foraging mode, and strata were not retained in the best models. We found a strong phylogenetic component in body mass and mobbing propensity (almost 90% of the species and individuals participating in the mobs were passerines). At the community level, we found significant differences in the functional and phylogenetic structure of the mobbing assemblage in relation to the avian community. Our results suggest that mobbing behavior is tightly associated with predation risk and the capacity of individual species to find and detect predators, and that functional and phylogenetic features can predict species participation in this complex animal behavior.

Summary The carrasco is a dense, shrubby vegetation type that covers the higher parts of table-top mountains in north-eastern Brazil. The vegetation of this phytophysiognomy is often considered to have biogeographical and ecological affinities with the cerrado of Central Brazil, but the biogeographical affinities of its avifauna remain unclear. In recent years, deforestation due to local economic activities has been particularly severe in some carrasco-dominated landscapes. In 2013, we initiated avian surveys at the Fazenda Pau D‘Arco, a privately owned property located on top of the Araripe Plateau, to evaluate the effects of a legal forest management program on the avifauna. Here, we present the results of four years of avian inventories to: i) characterize a well-preserved patch of carrasco vegetation; ii) assess avian biogeographical affinities of this vegetation type; iii) identify associations between managed/unmanaged areas and bird species; and iv) provide baseline data for future avian monitoring studies. Using different survey methods, we provide a list of 148 bird species, including several dry-forest specialists and caatinga endemics. Biogeographically, the avifauna of the carrasco represents a subsample of the Caatinga dry forest, lacking cerrado elements. Forest management significantly affected the distribution of several bird species in the study area. We found that 1/5 of the species (24) recorded during our standardized surveys were significantly associated with either unmanaged (14 species) or managed (10 species) areas. Species such as the Ceará Leaftosser Sclerurus cearensis, a globally vulnerable species, have only been detected in non-managed areas and therefore can be negatively affected by the management program. We also present data on 16 avian taxa with ecological and conservation concerns. By presenting a fairly complete and documented list of the avifauna, we characterize the carrasco avifauna and offer the tools to evaluate the effects of forest management on this poorly known vegetation type.

The conversion of tropical habitats has dramatic implications on biodiversity and represents one of the greatest conservation challenges of our time. Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests (SDTF), which are disjointly distributed throughout the Neotropics, are especially susceptible to human activities. The Caatinga Dry Forest, located in the semi-arid interior of northeastern Brazil, represents not only the largest and most biologically diverse nucleus of SDTF, but also the world’s most densely populated semi-arid region, with ever-growing pressure on its natural resources. To prevent illegal logging, conservation agencies looked at forest management, where an area is divided in smaller stands which are gradually logged and allowed to regrow for a period of time, when a new cutting cycle should reinitiate. The impacts of these management schemes on biodiversity, however, remain largely untested. We conducted standardized avian surveys to evaluate the effects of forest management on the avian community at a 1,670 ha privately owned property located on the Chapada do Araripe, northeastern Brazil. This area was divided in 22 forest stands, half of which had already been logged at the time of our sampling, creating a gradient of logged and natural forests and an 11-yr chrono-sequence of forest regeneration. Our results show that logged areas present fewer individuals, fewer species, and different avian assemblages than unlogged forests. Such differences are mostly driven by forest-dependent species, which were overwhelmingly affected by forest management. Our results show that although logged forests tend to recover its height after a decade, they do not recover the originally forest cover, measured by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index. Likewise, decade-long recovering stands continue to show lower species richness, lower bird abundance, and different avian composition than unlogged forests. We identified a set of bird species that are more affected by forest management (ecological losers) and a group of birds that apparently benefit from the referred changes in land use (ecological winners). We conclude that completely managing an entire area may cause the extirpation of several forest-dependent species. We therefore suggest keeping logged and unlogged plots intermingled, to avoid local extinctions and the complete modification of the original avifauna.

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