ATLANTIC MAMMAL TRAITS: a data set of morphological traits of mammals in the Atlantic Forest of South America

Abstract

Abstract. Measures of traits are the basis of functional biological diversity. Numerous works consider mean species-level measures of traits while ignoring individual variance within species. However, there is a large amount of variation within species and it is increasingly apparent that it is important to consider trait variation not only between species, but also within species. Mammals are an interesting group for investigating trait-based approaches because they play diverse and important ecological functions (e.g., pollination, seed dispersal, predation, grazing) that are correlated with functional traits. Here we compile a data set comprising morphological and life history information of 279 mammal species from 39,850 individuals of 388 populations ranging from À5.83 to À29.75 decimal degrees of latitude and À34.82 to À56.73 decimal degrees of longitude in the Atlantic forest of South America. We present trait information from 16,840 individuals of 181 species of non-volant mammals (Rodentia, Didelphimorphia, Carnivora, Primates, Cingulata, Artiodactyla, Pilosa, Lagomorpha, Perissodactyla) and from 23,010 individuals of 98 species of volant mammals (Chiroptera). The traits reported include body mass, age, sex, reproductive stage, as well as the geographic coordinates of sampling for all taxa. Moreover, we gathered information on forearm length for bats and body length and tail length for rodents and marsupials. No copyright restrictions are associated with the use of this data set. Please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data.

The imprints left by historical contingency on marsupials' life‐history traits

“…Adult body mass data were obtained from Elton Traits (Wilman et al ., ) with additional values available for two New World species (i.e. Cryptonanus chacoensis and Didelphis albiventris ) included from the Atlantics mammal dataset (Gonçalves et al ., ).…”

“…Population variability, population density and dispersal ability traits are directly linked to species' body size (Cardillo & Bromham, 2001). Most extant marsupials of the New World are relatively small, with body masses ranging from 7 g to 2.2 kg (Wilman et al, 2014;Gonc ßalves et al, 2018). The largest species belong to a single clade (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae), whereas most variation on the body is scattered among other clades (Amador & Giannini, 2016).…”

Prey choice of the common vampire bat on introduced species in an Atlantic forest land-bridge island

“…The percentage of capture of common vampire bats on Anchieta Island was calculated by dividing the number of total common vampire bat mist-netted by the effort (m 2 h) multiplied by 100. We used data from Bovendorp and Galetti (2007) to estimate the potential prey density on the island, and to estimate prey biomass, we used body mass data from Gonçalves et al (2018).…”

“…Supporting Information S1. Introduced species and current population size and density of mammals [adapted from (Bovendorp and Galetti, 2007)] on the Anchieta island and their respective biomass [body mass according to Gonçalves et al (2018)].…”

Trait variation and trait stability in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) inhabiting ecologically distinct habitats in northeastern Brazil

“…Compared with the CAT, the AF is characterized by high animal and plant species diversity, an emergent canopy, reduced seasonality in fruit production, and receives up to 2,000 mm of rainfall per year (Santos et al, ). Currently, 24 primate species are reported to inhabit this biome (we note, that the northern Atlantic Forest and the southern Atlantic Forest represent two distinct areas of mammalian endemism; Costa, Leite, Fonseca, & Fonseca, ; Gonçalves et al, ). In contrast, CAT is characterized by an extended hot and dry season lasting from 5 to 11 months per year resulting in a dense herbaceous layer, an attenuated canopy, succulent, deciduous, and drought‐resistant plant species, fruit scarcity, and reduced biodiversity (Araújo, Castro, & Alburquerque, ).…”