DOI: 10.5061/dryad.8931zcrqh
title: Data from: Ecological release and insular shifts in avian morphological traits in the Caribbean

description: We compared support for 3 hypotheses that might explain observed
 morphological variation among islands of 4 1.70 species of Caribbean land
 birds: ecological release from competition and predation pressure,
 predation pressure from 1 novel predator species (small Indian mongoose,
 Herpestes auropunctatus), and climate. We measured wing chord, tarsus
 length, bill length, and mass of Bananaquits (Coereba flaveola),
 Black-faced Grassquits (Tiaris bicolor), Lesser Antillean Bullfinches
 (Loxigilla noctis), and Common Ground Doves (Columbina passerina) in
 Grenada, 2015–2017, and combined these measures with data from 23 other
 Caribbean islands collated from academic papers and researchers, for a
 total sample size of 6,518 individuals. We found the strongest support for
 the ecological release hypothesis, but each of our hypotheses received
 some support, suggesting that ecological release from competition,
 predation pressure from mongoose, and climate may all interact to
 influence morphological adaptations of birds to local conditions in the
 Caribbean.
description: Individuals aged using a cycle-based aging system (see Wolfe et
 al. 2010 for details).
description: # Data from: Ecological release and insular shifts in avian morphological
 traits in the Caribbean
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.8931zcrqh](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.8931zcrqh) ## Description of the data and file structure **Grenada_2015_TO_2017_avian_morphology.csv** 1. Date of data collection: 2015-11-17 to 2017-03-01 2. Geographic location of data collection: Grenada, 12.1186°N, 61.6898°W 3. Design: There were no experimental conditions in this study. We used mist nets to capture land birds, and banded and measured them, over 3 visits to Grenada from November 2015 to March 2017. We sampled birds at 4 sites in mid-elevation habitats typical of Grenada, including home gardens, mixed orchards (e.g., Citrus spp., Persea americana, Musa spp., Mangifera spp.), mixed species forests (semi-deciduous and evergreen broadleaf), and cocoa plantations (Theobroma cacao). These sites were situated within an elevational range of 30–200 m, and due to this relatively small elevational gradient, we did not anticipate significant morphological differences related to adaptations to elevation. ### Data Specific Information 1\. Number of variables: 12 2\. Number of cases/rows: 452 3\. Variable List: **date**: YYYY-MM-DD **species**: * BANA: bananaquit * BFGR: black-faced grassquit * LANB: Lesser Antillean bullfinch * COGD: common ground-dove **band_number**: unique number on band for each individual **cycle_age**: (see Wolf et al 2019 for description) * U: Unknown * F: First molt cycle * S: Second molt cycle * D: Definitive molt cycle **mass** (grams): measured using a digital scale (accurate to 0.1 g) **sex**: * M: male * F: female * U: unknown **wing_chord** (mm): unflattened using wing chord ruler **tarsus** (mm): minimum tarsus measured from the interstitial notch of intertarsal joint to the first complete scut of the                         middle phalange with toes folder down using calipers (accurate to 0.1 mm) **tail** (mm): using backside of wingchord ruler (accurate to 1 mm) **bill length** (mm): measured from distal nare to bill tip (accurate to 0.1 g) **year**: (YYYY) **location** 4\. Missing data codes: NA = not applicable - data not collected