Data and code from: Vegetation structure and morphology shape the functional diversity of understory bird communities during tropical forest succession, northwest Ecuador
Data files
Sep 22, 2026 version files 44.04 KB
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abundance_matrix.csv
4.96 KB
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AllTraits_birds_2026.csv
5.80 KB
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env_var.csv
2.10 KB
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OIKOS_FTRAIT.R
26.61 KB
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README.md
4.56 KB
Abstract
This dataset contains bird community, functional trait, and forest structure data collected across 20 plots representing four habitat types along a forest regeneration gradient in the FCAT Reserve in Ecuador: highly impacted early successional habitat (HIE), low impact early successional habitat (LIE), mid-successional secondary forest (SEC), and old-growth Chocó rainforest (OG). Bird abundance data were collected using standardized mist-netting surveys conducted during the dry seasons of 2022 and 2023, resulting in 2,400 total mist-netting hours. The dataset includes species-level bird abundance records and associated functional traits, including hand-wing index, beak length and width, tarsus length, tail length, and body mass. Trait data were obtained from a publicly available global bird trait dataset and processed to generate body-size-corrected morphological variables. The dataset also includes taxonomic diversity metrics, functional diversity and redundancy metrics, and plot-level environmental variables derived from drone-based LiDAR, including canopy height, canopy cover at 10 and 20 m, maximum canopy height, and elevation.
These data can be reused to examine relationships among forest regeneration, vegetation structure, bird community composition, taxonomic diversity, and functional diversity in a tropical forest landscape. The standardized sampling design and combination of community, trait, and remotely sensed environmental data provide opportunities for comparative analyses of avian responses to habitat disturbance and forest succession. Bird capture and banding were conducted under authorization from Ecuador’s Ministerio del Ambiente, Agua y Transición Ecológica (MAATE), permit MAATE-ARSFC-2022-2589. Researchers reusing the dataset should follow applicable requirements associated with the original permit and ensure that any individual-level or location-specific information is handled in accordance with relevant ethical and data-use considerations.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.95x69p921
Description of the data and file structure
Data were collected to characterize bird communities and forest structure across a gradient of forest regeneration in the FCAT Reserve, Ecuador. Sampling included 20 plots distributed among four habitat categories: highly impacted early successional habitat, low impact early successional habitat, mid-successional secondary forest, and old-growth Chocó rainforest. Understory birds were sampled using standardized mist-netting during the dry seasons of 2022 and 2023, with 120 mist-netting hours completed at each plot. Captured birds were identified, individually banded, and released at the point of capture. Species-level functional traits were obtained from a publicly available bird trait database. Forest structure and environmental conditions were characterized using drone-based LiDAR data, including canopy height, canopy cover at multiple heights, maximum canopy height, and elevation. These data were combined to characterize taxonomic and functional patterns in bird communities across forest regeneration stages.
Files and variables
File: AllTraits_birds_2026.csv
Description: traits were gathered from the publicly available AVONET data set and then scaled using the log/mass ratio
Variables
- Code: four-digit code unique to each individual bird species name
- Scientific Name: scientific name of each bird species
- HWI: hand/wing ratio (mm)
- Beak.length: length of beak (mm)
- Beak.width: width of beak (mm)
- Tarsus: length of tarsus (mm)
- Tail.length: length of tail (mm)
- Mass: mass of bird (g)
File: abundance_matrix.csv
Description: abundance matrix of species composition across habitats
Variables
- species: four letter code of species
File: env_var.csv
Description: environmental variables derived from LiDAR-drone imagery taken at site
Variables
- rep: replicate for each successional habitat
- plot: specific plot type of successional habitat (HIE: high impact, LIE: low impact, SEC: secondary forest, OG: old growth forest)
- Management: specific type of successional habitat, where low impact represents LIE, high impact represents HIE, secondary forest (SEC), and old growth forest (OG).
- Elevation: calculated from LiDAR DEM Model (m)
- Longitude: longitude of plot location
- Latitude: latitude of plot location
- Easting: the eastward-measured horizontal distance (the x-coordinate) of each point/coordinate
- Northing: the northward-measured horizontal distance (the y-coordinate) of each point/coordinate
- canopyheight: overall canopy height of coordinate (m)
- cover10m: canopy cover at 10m height
- cover20m: canopy cover at 20m height
- maxheight: max canopy height for plot
File: OIKOS_FTRAIT.R
Description: R-code for calculations used in manuscript.
Code/software
The dataset consists primarily of tabular data that can be viewed using common spreadsheet or text-editing software. Statistical analyses and diversity calculations were conducted in R (R Core Team, 2022). The R workflow used the packages iNEXT (Chao et al., 2014) for taxonomic diversity, rarefaction, and extrapolation analyses, and FD (Laliberté et al., 2014) for functional diversity metrics. Additional R packages may be required to reproduce analyses included with the data and code files; package versions are provided in the accompanying R scripts or session information.
Environmental data derived from drone-based LiDAR were processed using QGIS, an open-source geographic information system. QGIS was used to process raster and LiDAR-derived data, calculate elevation and canopy height, and quantify canopy cover and canopy openness around sampling plots. The specific QGIS version and processing workflow are documented in the accompanying files where applicable.
The R scripts contain the workflow used to import and organize bird abundance and functional trait data, calculate taxonomic and functional diversity metrics, and prepare environmental variables for analysis. Users wishing to reproduce the analyses should use the software versions and package information documented with the deposited code.
Access information
Other publicly accessible locations of the data:
- NA
Data was derived from the following sources:
- NA