DOI: 10.5061/dryad.p8cz8wb2p
title: Data from: Urbanization filters megacolorful, small-bodied, and diet-specialist species in tropical bird assemblages

description: The colorfulness of bird plumage plays a crucial role in intraspecific
 (e.g., sexual display) and interspecific ecological interactions (e.g.,
 camouflage and predation). Functional traits like diet, body size, and
 sexual dichromatism are among the primary predictors of plumage
 colorfulness in passerine (Passeriformes) birds. Consequently, passerine
 plumage colorfulness and functional traits associated with it (i.e., diet,
 body size, and sexual dichromatism) can affect the success of individuals
 in novel environments, such as urban settings. However, our understanding
 of the impact of urbanization on the functional traits of birds,
 especially in tropical regions, is limited. To address this gap, we
 analyzed whether urban environments serve as environmental filters for
 plumage colorfulness, diet, body size, and sexual dichromatism in
 passerine bird assemblages across the biomes of Brazil, the world's
 largest tropical country. Using generalized linear and generalized linear
 mixed models that incorporate bird checklists, functional traits,
 urbanization, biomes, and sampling effort, we show that urbanization
 increases the proportion of omnivores, proportion of larger species, and
 average sexual dichromatism in bird assemblages. While the average
 colorfulness of bird assemblages did not change with increasing
 urbanization, a negative correlation between the presence of megacolorful
 birds (i.e., the 5% most colorful species) and urbanization was detected,
 particularly in biomes with high urban concentrations, such as the
 Atlantic Forest and the Caatinga. This suggests that urban environments
 can be unsuitable for the most colorful tropical bird species. Our study
 additionally shows that factors like body size, diet, and sexual
 dichromatism play a mediating role in the urban filtering process. Our
 analyses provide insights into how urban environments act as environmental
 filters and can help to better understand the consequences of urbanization
 for tropical biodiversity.
description: We integrated bird checklists from a large-scale citizen science
 project comprehensive functional trait data from novel databases, and
 harmonized land cover information across different biomes to generate grid
 cell assemblages throughout Brazil.  For methodological
 details, see:  Nascimento et al. 2025. Urbanization filters megacolorful,
 small-bodied, and diet-specialist species in tropical bird assemblages.
 Global Change Biology (DOI: 10.1111/gcb.70263).
description: # Urbanization filters megacolorful, small-bodied, and diet-specialist
 species in tropical bird assemblages *Global Change Biology* (DOI:
 10.1111/gcb.70263). #### **CODE** The folder **LucasNascimento_GCB_025**
 contains the code used to generate the main results. It is organized into
 four subfolders: * `1_DATA`: Contains the datasets for Brazil as a whole
 and for each biome individually (described below). * `2_SCRIPTS`: Includes
 three subfolders with code for the following analyses: (1) functional
 trait models, (2) colourfulness models, and (3) structural equation model.
 Scripts in subfolders 1 and 2 are organized for Brazil and each biome
 individually. The script in subfolder 3 is for Brazil.  * `3_OUTPUTS`:
 Stores the model outputs used to generate the figures. * `4_FIGURES`:
 Contains the code to generate Figures 4–6. Final figure editing was
 performed in Inkscape. See Methods for more details. #### **AVAILABLE DATA
 FILES** * data_BRAZIL: Dataset for all of Brazil * data_ATLANTIC: Dataset
 for the Atlantic Forest biome * data_CERRADO: Dataset for the Cerrado
 biome * data_PAMPA: Dataset for the Pampa biome * data_AMAZON: Dataset for
 the Amazon biome * data_CAATINGA: Dataset for the Caatinga biome ####
 **FOR ALL DATASETS:** **ROWS** * Each row represents a unique passerine
 cell assemblage. **COLUMNS** * Each column corresponds to a variable
 describing that assemblage. #### **VARIABLES (Columns):** * `cell`: Unique
 identifier of the passerine cell assemblage. * `x`: Longitude coordinate
 (in the World Geodetic System 1984 — WGS 84, EPSG:4326). * `y`: Latitude
 coordinate (in the World Geodetic System 1984 — WGS 84, EPSG:4326). *
 `biome`: Biome classification; cerrado, mata_atlantica (Atlantic Forest),
 pampa, amazonia, or caatinga. * `brasil_coverage_2021`: Land use and land
 cover identifier from MapBiomas (see Methods). * `lulc`: Land use and land
 cover categories from MapBiomas (see Methods). * `urban`: Categorical
 classification indicating whether the cell is urban or non urban. *
 `prop_urban_buf_500`: Proportion of urban cells within a 250-meter radius
 buffer around the cell assemblage (see Methods). * `n_checklist`: Number
 of bird checklists (sampling effort). * `n_species`: Number of bird
 species recorded in the cell assemblage. --- * `mean_LociUVS`: Mean
 LociUVS value among species in the cell. * `median_LociUVS`: Median
 LociUVS value. * `min_LociUVS`: Minimum LociUVS value. * `max_LociUVS`:
 Maximum LociUVS value. * `var_LociUVS`: Variance of LociUVS values. *
 `percentil_95`: 95th percentile LociUVS value. * `cv_LociUVS`: Coefficient
 of variation of LociUVS values. * `range_LociUVS`: Range of LociUVS values
 (max − min). --- * `mean_dichromatism`: Mean dichromatism value among
 species in the cell. * `median_dichromatism`: Median dichromatism value. *
 `min_dichromatism`: Minimum dichromatism value. * `max_dichromatism`:
 Maximum dichromatism value. * `var_dichromatism`: Variance of dichromatism
 values. --- * `mean_body_mass`: Mean body mass (in grams). *
 `median_body_mass`: Median body mass (in grams). * `min_body_mass`:
 Minimum body mass (in grams). * `max_body_mass`: Maximum body mass (in
 grams). * `var_body_mass`: Variance of body mass (in grams). --- *
 `count_megacolorful`: Number of megacolorful species. * `count_smaller`:
 Number of small-bodied species. * `count_medium`: Number of medium-bodied
 species. * `count_larger`: Number of large-bodied species. *
 `count_specialized`: Number of diet-specialist species. *
 `count_omnivore`: Number of omnivorous species. --- *
 `presence_megacolorful`: Presence (1) or absence (0) of megacolorful
 species based on 95th percentile LociUVS threshold. * `pres_mega_perc_95`:
 Presence (1) or absence (0) of megacolorful species based on 95th
 percentile LociUVS threshold. * `pres_mega_perc_90`: Presence (1) or
 absence (0) of megacolorful species based on 90th percentile LociUVS
 threshold. * `pres_mega_perc_85`: Presence (1) or absence (0) of
 megacolorful species based on 85th percentile LociUVS threshold. *
 `pres_mega_perc_80`: Presence (1) or absence (0) of megacolorful species
 based on 80th percentile LociUVS threshold. * `pres_mega_perc_75`:
 Presence (1) or absence (0) of megacolorful species based on 75th
 percentile LociUVS threshold. --- * `prop_smaller`: Proportion of
 small-bodied species. * `prop_medium`: Proportion of medium-bodied
 species. * `prop_larger`: Proportion of large-bodied species. *
 `prop_specialized`: Proportion of diet-specialist species. *
 `prop_omnivore`: Proportion of omnivorous species. --- *
 `urbanization_cat2`: Urbanization category with two levels (see Methods).
 * `urbanization_cat3`: Urbanization category with three levels (see
 Methods). * `urbanization_cat4`: Urbanization category with four levels
 (see Methods).