DOI: 10.5061/dryad.41ns1rngj
title: Data on bird communities and vegetation in relation to altitude and habitat alteration in the Kalakad - Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India

description: The dataset contains data on bird communities and habitat collected
 between 1997 and 1999 from Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu,
 India, related to the following two publications: Raman, T. R. S., Joshi,
 N. V. & Sukumar, R. 2005. Tropical rainforest bird community
 structure in relation to altitude, tree species composition, and null
 models in the Western Ghats, India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History
 Society 102: 145-157.
 https://archive.org/details/journalofbomb10222005bomb/page/145/mode/2up
 Raman, T. R. S. & Sukumar, R. 2002. Responses of tropical
 rainforest birds to abandoned plantations, edges, and logged forest in the
 Western Ghats, India. Animal Conservation 5: 201-216.
 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1367943002002251 GEOGRAPHICAL AREA:
 Kalakad-Mundathurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), 895 km² sanctuary located
 between 8°25′ to 8°53′ N and 77°10′ to 77°35′ E in Tamil Nadu state in the
 Western Ghats mountain range of India. TAXONOMIC SCOPE: Birds, trees
 Supplementary information The Appendix of Raman and Sukumar (2002) is
 included in the dataset as an open document format word (ODT) file. Three
 Tables from Raman et al. (2005) are included in the dataset as an open
 document format worksheet (ODS) file.
description: Bird data are from 5-minute variable radius point count surveys
 along points distributed along 21 transects (14 in rainforests and 7 in
 plantations or plantation-rainforest edges). The methods for bird and
 vegetation/habitat sampling are as described in the above publications and
 in this doctoral thesis: Raman, T. R. S. 2001. Community ecology and
 conservation of mid-elevation tropical rainforest bird communities in the
 southern Western Ghats, India. PhD thesis, Indian Institute of Science,
 Bangalore. Further details are available in the usage
 notes below, reproduced from the README.TXT file.
description: Besides the README.TXT file, Besides this file (README.TXT), it
 contains the following comma-delimited text files with data in columns as
 explained below.<br><br><strong>1) 01_Transects.csv:
 </strong>This file contains details of transect in mature
 rainforests and plantations and plantation-forest edges<br>TNo:
 Unique ID number or name of a 600 m long line transect<br>Tcode:
 Code used for transect in related publications: A to N in Raman et al.
 (2005), others in Raman and Sukumar 2002.<br>Type: Description of
 type of site<br>Refer: Indicated whether data from this transect was
 used in either of the two publications or both<br>LatitudeN:
 Approximate latitude in decimal degrees North of the midpoint of the
 transect<br>LongitudeE: Approximate longitude in decimal degrees
 East of the midpoint of the transect<br>AltimeterAvg: Average of
 altimeter readings (in metres above sea level) taken at 25 points spaced
 at 25 intervals along the transect <br>LocationDetails: Description
 of location<br><br><strong>2) 02_KMTRBIRD.csv:
 </strong>This file contains the data on birds from 5 minute variable
 radius point count surveys<br>TNo: Unique ID number or name of a 600
 m long line transect<br>Date: Date of survey of the specified
 point<br>StTime: Start time of the point count<br>Pt: ID of
 the surveyed point along the 600 m long transect. Most transects started
 at A1 and had points marked every 25 m in 100 m chunks: A1...A4, B1...B4,
 ... upto F1...F4, after which it ended with X at the 600 m point. Alphabet
 codes may vary on longer trails and in some trails the numbers 1-25 were
 used to mark the points.  <br>Time: Specific time of
 observation<br>Spcode: Code used for bird species
 name<br>Species: English common name (India) of the bird species as
 used in the Ebird India portal in 2022.<br>No: Number of individuals
 detected<br>RD: Radial distance of the detected bird from the centre
 of the point in metres in the following radial distance classes: 0: 0-5 m;
 5: 5-10 m, 10: 10-15 m, 15: 15-20 m; 20: 20-30 m; 30: 30-40 m; 40: 40-50
 m; 50: &gt;50 m)<br>HSF: Code indicating H = heard; S = seen; F
 = flying under the canopy (UC) or less than 5 m over the canopy
 (OC)<br>Remark: Notes and remarks (includes some codes: *: in mixed
 species flock; E: detected within the point sampling area while entering; 
 X: detected within point sampling area while leaving;  diff/DIFF/DF:
 different detection from conspecific; detected on the same point; GP:
 flock; CC: counter-calling individuals)
 <br><br><strong>3) 03_Birdnames.csv: </strong>This
 file contains bird species codes and matching common and scientific
 names<br>Spcode: Code used for bird species name<br>Species:
 English common name (India) of the bird species as used in the Ebird India
 portal in 2022.<br>ScientificName: Scientific name of bird species
 (following the Clements classification) as used in the Ebird India portal
 (https://ebird.org/india)<br><br><strong>4)
 04_KMTRPCQs.csv: </strong>This file contains data from point-centred
 quarter (PCQ) data. Thirteen PCQ plots, with successive plots spaced 50 m
 apart along the central trail or transect, were measured in each site,
 giving a sample of 52 trees per site. The plot centres were located about
 10 m off the trail into the forest interior. PCQ plots were not measured
 in 3 transects where data from 5 m radius plots were used for trees: T10,
 T12, and P6. Data on species and GBH of 4 trees from 13 circular plots
 along these transects are included in this file. For circular plot data
 see treeplots.csv<br>TNo: Unique ID number or name of a 600 m long
 line transect<br>Pt: ID of the surveyed point along the 600 m long
 transect (note: PCQ point was located in the forest/plantation 10 m away
 from trail alternating to the left or right of the transect).
 <br>TreeNo: Number indicating 1-4 trees recorded at each
 point-centred quarter (PCQ) point<br>TreeSpp: Tree species code
 name<br>GBH: Girth at breast height (1.5 m) of tree in
 centimetres<br>Distance: Distance in metres of the centre of tree
 trunk from the PCQ sampling point (NA = Not
 Available)<br><br><strong>5) 05_Treenames.csv:
 </strong>This file contains codes and scientific names of tree
 species<br>TreeCode: Code for tree
 species<br>TreeScientificName: Scientific name of tree
 species<br>Notes: Notes, if any (NA = Not
 available)<br><br><strong>6)
 06_Habitat.csv:</strong> This file contains the main habitat data.
 Densities and basal areas of trees greater than 30 cm girth at breast
 height (GBH at 1.5 m) were estimated using the point-centred quarter
 method (PCQ). Thirteen PCQ plots, with successive plots spaced 50 m apart
 along the central trail or transect, were measured in each site, giving a
 sample of 52 trees per site. The plot centres were located about 10 m off
 the trail into the forest interior. At each of the 13 PCQ plots, 2 m
 radius plots were laid around the centre point to enumerate shrubs, bamboo
 culms, and cardamom clumps. In addition, the number of cane (Calamus sp.)
 plants was counted within a 5 m radius. Altitude, canopy and leaf litter
 variables were measured at 25 points, evenly spaced 25 m apart along the
 trail or transect in each site. (NOTE: PCQ plots were not measured in 3
 transects where data from 5 m radius plots were used for trees: T10, T12,
 and P6. Data on species and GBH of 4 trees from 13 circular plots along
 these transects are included in this file. For circular plot data see
 treeplots.csv).<br>TNo: Unique ID number or name of a 600 m long
 line transect<br>Pt: ID of the surveyed point along the 600 m long
 transect (Note that habitat measurements were taken . <br>Altitude:
 Altitude reading taken by the point measured using a handheld altimeter in
 metres<br>CHT: Canopy height in metres measured by the point using
 an optical rangefinder<br>CRNK: Canopy rank measured by the point
 as: 0 = no canopy overhead, open to sky; 1 = canopy overhead with branches
 not touching and sky visible in between; 2 = canopy overlapping overhead
 but with sky visible; 3 = canopy overlapping and closed overhead with sky
 not visible through the leaves <br>CCOV: Percentage canopy cover
 (closure) measured by the point using a spherical
 densiometer<br>LITT: Leaf litter depth in centimetres (to nearest
 0.5 cm) measured near the point using a wooden probe <br>VSTR:
 Number of vertical layers of foliage in eight vertical layers (= sum of
 next 8 columns)<br>0-1m: Foliage presence (1) or absence (0) in this
 vertical height interval in metres (within an imaginary vertical tube of
 0.5 m radius around the observer)<br>1-2m: Foliage presence (1) or
 absence (0) in this vertical height interval in metres (within an
 imaginary vertical tube of 0.5 m radius around the
 observer)<br>2-4m: Foliage presence (1) or absence (0) in this
 vertical height interval in metres (within an imaginary vertical tube of
 0.5 m radius around the observer)<br>4-8m: Foliage presence (1) or
 absence (0) in this vertical height interval in metres (within an
 imaginary vertical tube of 0.5 m radius around the
 observer)<br>8-16m :Foliage presence (1) or absence (0) in this
 vertical height interval in metres (within an imaginary vertical tube of
 0.5 m radius around the observer)<br>16-24m :Foliage presence (1) or
 absence (0) in this vertical height interval in metres (within an
 imaginary vertical tube of 0.5 m radius around the
 observer)<br>24-32m :Foliage presence (1) or absence (0) in this
 vertical height interval in metres (within an imaginary vertical tube of
 0.5 m radius around the observer)<br>32+m: Foliage presence (1) or
 absence (0) in this vertical height interval in metres (within an
 imaginary vertical tube of 0.5 m radius around the observer)<br>SHR:
 Number of shrubs in 2 m radius plot sampled about 10 m away from the trail
 (13 such plots in total at points spaced 50 m apart along the trail). (NA
 = Not Available)<br>CANE: Number of Calamus cane stems in 5 m radius
 plot sampled about 10 m away from the trail (13 such plots in total at
 points spaced 50 m apart along the trail). (NA = Not
 Available)<br>BAMB: Number of bamboo culms in 2 m radius plot
 sampled about 10 m away from the trail (13 such plots in total at points
 spaced 50 m apart along the trail). (NA = Not Available)<br>CARD:
 Number of cardamom clumps in 2 m radius plot sampled about 10 m away from
 the trail (13 such plots in total at points spaced 50 m apart along the
 trail). (NA = Not Available)<br><br><strong>7)
 07_treeplots.csv: </strong>This file  contains data from 5 m radius
 circular plots along 3 transects<br>TNo: Unique ID number or name of
 a 600 m long line transect<br>Plot: Plot number<br>Ntrees:
 Number of tree stems within the 5 m radius plot<br>Basalsqcm: Total
 basal area of all trees in the plot in square centimetres<br>BASA:
 Basal area of trees in cm^2/m^2 = m^2/
 ha<br><br><strong>8) 08_VegSummary.csv:
 </strong>This file contains averages of estimated habitat variables
 and number of resident bird species in the transects. Note: these numbers
 correspond to the analysis as it appeared in the publications in 2002 and
 2005 (based on hand-calculated figures), but the values may vary slightly
 when computed from this dataset which was re-entered in electronic form in
 2022.<br>Tno: Unique ID number or name of a 600 m long line
 transect<br>Tcode: Code used for transect in related publications: A
 to N in Raman et al. (2005), others in Raman and Sukumar
 2002.<br>Type: Description of type of site<br>AltimeterAvg:
 Average of altimeter readings (in metres above sea level) taken at 25
 points spaced at 25 intervals along the transect <br>CHT: Average
 canopy height in metres<br>CRNK: Average canopy rank<br>CCOV:
 Average canopy cover (canopy closure %)<br>LITT: Average leaf litter
 depth (cm0<br>VSTR: Average number of layers with foliage or
 vertical stratification <br>HHET: Horizontal heterogeneity
 (estimated as the CV of vertical stratification)<br>SHR: Average
 shrub density (numbers of stems per 2 m radius plot) <br>CANE:
 Average cane density (numbers of stems per 5 m radius plot)<br>BAMB:
 Average cane density (numbers of stems per 5 m radius plot)<br>TDEN:
 Average tree density (trees/hectare) estimated from point-centred quarter
 (PCQ) data <br>BASA: Basal area of trees (sq. m/ ha) estimated from
 PCQ data<br>TSPR: Number of tree species<br>CARD: Average
 cardamom density (numbers of clumps per 2 m radius plot) <br>CHET:
 Canopy heterogeneity (CV of canopy cover?) <br>resbsr: Number of
 resident bird species recorded along the transect