DOI: 10.5061/dryad.6wwpzgnch
title: Data from: Bird species with similar effect traits maintain the temporal stability of community functions under disturbances of tropical cyclones

description: Climate change is altering the frequency and intensity of extreme climatic
 events such as tropical cyclones, raising concerns about ecological
 stability under such disturbances. This study examined how functional
 richness and redundancy influence the stability of two key ecological
 functions—insect predation and seed dispersal—in forest bird communities
 with contrasting histories of cyclone exposure. Using total biomass of
 insectivores and frugivores as functional indicators, we found that the
 stability of insect predation increased with redundancy in effect traits,
 whereas the stability of seed dispersal was associated with redundancy in
 both effect and response traits. In forests frequently exposed to
 cyclones, both functional groups occupied a smaller overall trait space,
 while frugivores showed greater trait similarity among individuals. These
 results suggest that stability in insect predation and seed dispersal
 under cyclone disturbances largely stems from the abundance of species
 performing similar functional roles. High cyclone frequency appears to
 exclude species with extreme traits and concentrate functional space
 around a few dominant species with convergent traits. Because such
 convergence buffers cyclone impacts, the loss of even a few redundant
 species could increase functional uniqueness and, consequently, reduce the
 functional stability of forest bird communities.
description: # Data from: Bird species with similar effect traits maintain the temporal
 stability of community functions under disturbances of tropical cyclones
 Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.6wwpzgnch](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.6wwpzgnch) ##
 Description of the data and file structure In 2021 and 2022, we sampled
 transects at high-cyclone-frequency and low-cyclone-frequency sites. One
 sample was composed of three replicated surveys of each transect within a
 site, and the total number of individuals of each species detected was
 summed for each survey. We then calculated temporal stability and
 functional diversity along each transect per year, based on functional
 traits from the published dataset. ### Files and variables #### File:
 Appendix_1.pdf **Description:** The diet composition of common species
 recorded along all the survey transects in the subtropical evergreen
 forest, South China #### File: Appendix_2.csv **Description:** Temporal
 stability and functional diversity along each transect per year #####
 Variables | Column | Explanation | | :---------------- |
 :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Func | Focal community functions, "insect" is insect predation and "seed" is seed dispersal | | Year | Year of surveys | | Cfreq | Cyclone frequency of transects | | Transect | Transect id | | bm\_mean | Mean of biomass (g) | | bm\_sd | Standard deviation of biomass (g) | | ST | Temporal stability | | FRic\_effe\_group | Functional richness of effect traits of species within focal functional groups | | FRed\_effe\_group | Functional redundancy of effect traits of species within focal functional groups | | FRic\_resp\_group | Functional richness of response traits of species within focal functional groups | | FRed\_resp\_group | Functional redundancy of response traits of species within focal functional groups | | FRic\_effe\_comm | Functional richness of effect traits of all common species | | FRed\_effe\_comm | Functional redundancy of effect traits of all common species | | FRic\_resp\_comm | Functional richness of response traits of all common species | | FRed\_resp\_comm | Functional redundancy of response traits of all common species | ## Code/software All data were analyzed using the open-source software R version 4.4.0.