DOI: 10.5061/dryad.78sr6
title: Data from: Spatial scaling of functional structure in bird and mammal assemblages

description: Differences in trait composition, or functional structure, of assemblages
 across spatial scales may stem from the ability to tolerate local
 conditions (environmental filters) and from assembly rules (biological
 filters). However, disentangling their respective roles has proven
 difficult, and limited generalities have emerged from research on the
 spatial scaling of functional structure. Here we quantify differences in
 trait composition among 679 spatially nested (i.e., paired regional pool
 and local community) bird and mammal assemblages worldwide. Among the
 regional pool, we identify species with trait combinations within the
 range observed locally as the ecological species pool. The ecological
 species pool has a trait structure that is generally different from that
 of the regional pool, consistent with the operation of environmental
 filters. In contrast, local species trait structure generally shows little
 difference from that of the ecological pool. We find notable deviations
 from expectations based on equiprobable draws from the ecological pool.
 However, these deviations vary little across scales and broad
 environmental gradients. For mammals, but not birds, this is consistent
 with assembly rules. Thus, by conceptualizing ecological pools, we
 demonstrate that functional structure is jointly determined by processes
 causing both low and high functional differences between scales and are
 able to quantify their relative importance.
description: The biological inventory
 assemblages, along with summary statistics and trait
 valuesThe biological inventory
 assemblages, along with summary statistics such as their area, richness
 and trait values [mean(variance)]. All inventories were originally based
 on Meese (2005). For both birds and mammals we use five similar trait
 categories: diet, body size, activity time and two measures of foraging
 niche. Assemblage mean mass is based on log transformed data. Diet include
 estimates of the proportional use of each of seven dietary categories for
 mammals (seeds, fleshy fruits, nectar and pollen, other plant material,
 invertebrates, fish, vertebrates) and eight dietary categories for birds
 (seeds, fleshy fruits, nectar and pollen, other plant material,
 invertebrates, fish, carrion, other vertebrates. For birds the first
 foraging niche trait reflects proportional use of each of seven foraging
 categories (in water below surface of water, in water on surface,
 terrestrial ground-level, understory, mid-canopy, upper canopy, aerial).
 The second foraging niche trait separates species according to their broad
 habitat affinity to freshwater or terrestrial. Values for diet and, for
 birds, the first foraging trait are based on proportional use x 10. For
 mammals, the first foraging niche trait include foraging height categories
 on an ordinal scale (1 – fully arboreal, 2- scansorial, 3 - terrestrial).
 The second mammalins forgaing niche trait is the degree to which a species
 is fossorial on an ordinal scale (1 – not fossorial, 2- semi fossorial, 3
 - fully fossorial). ). Activity time included five ordinal variables (1 -
 nocturnal, 2- nocturnal and crepuscular, 3- crepuscular or cathemeral, 4-
 diurnal and crepuscular, 5- diurnal). Note that not all assemblages were
 used for both taxa.Dryad.xlsx