DOI: 10.5061/dryad.6t1g1jxbh
title: Capture rates of birds in the high Andes of Ecuador

description: There is a long history of using birds as indicators of pervasive
 environmental threats. In the High Andes, birds face potential threats
 from global climate change and from the impacts of land use changes
 associated with logging, grazing, fire, and agricultural expansion. We use
 an 11-year constant effort, avian mist netting data set from two protected
 areas in the High Andes of Azuay province, Ecuador, to explore how
 environmental change is affecting resident bird species in high-elevation
 habitats. We estimated a statistically significant mean decrease of 2.8%
 in capture rate across years for the full species assemblage and across
 all habitats. Species-specific capture rates across habitats declined for
 29 of the 38 species that met our inclusion criteria. When species were
 grouped by diet, body size, primary habitat occupied, or habitat breadth,
 capture rates did not change differently among ecological groups of birds.
 Although we cannot identify the mechanisms behind the decline, the broad
 nature of the decline suggests that human-induced environmental changes,
 including warming, altered rainfall patterns, and intensification of land
 use, could be acting in combination, resulting in a decline in the
 populations of many bird species in the region’s protected areas. This
 study highlights how events occurring outside of protected areas may
 affect resident bird species in these high-elevation habitats.
description: Our study was conducted in the Llaviuco Valley (02.840° S,
 79.160° W) of Cajas National Park, and the adjacent 2700 ha Mazán Reserve
 (02.870° S, 79.120° W) in the High Andes of Azuay province, Ecuador.
 Sample sites were placed in three unique habitats. These included: (1)
 native forest (MASE) in the Mazán Reserve; (2) non-native forest (MAIN)
 also in the Mazán Reserve; and (3) shrubland (LLAV) in the Llaviuco
 Valley. In 2006, we established a “long-term” bird-monitoring program
 using standardized methods of constant effort mist netting. Each of our
 three sites was sampled three times annually (2006–2016) to cover the
 rainfall seasonality of the study area; we sampled during the main rainy
 season (21 March–6 May), the dry season (19 July–9 September), and the
 secondary rainy season (30 October–20 December). At each of the three
 sites, we captured birds by dispersing 20 mist-nets (12 x 3 m, 30 mm mesh)
 throughout a selected habitat, with individual nets placed along or
 perpendicular to narrow paths, or in small gaps in understory
 vegetation.
description: # Capture rates of birds in the high Andes of Ecuador Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.6t1g1jxbh](10.5061/dryad.6t1g1jxbh) ## Description of the
 data and file structure The data set contains the raw number of capture
 birds in three different habitat types. Each of our three habitat types
 was sampled three times annually (2006–2016). ### Files and variables ####
 File: Data_set.csv **Description:**  ##### Variables * year: Year of the
 capture * session: three sampling periods per year. Sampling period 1:
 (within 21 March–6 May), Sampling period 2 (19 July–9 September), and
 Sampling period 3 (30 October–20 December). * Location: SHRUB = Shrubland;
 NATIVE = Native forest; MIXED = Non native forest * N: Number of
 individuals captured * Species: Species names #### File: Metadata.csv
 **Description:** Metadata for the Data_set.csv ##### Variables * Year:
 Year of the capture * Session: Three sampling session per year * Location:
 Habitat type where the capture ocurred * N: Number of captures per species
 * Species: Species name in English and Scientific ## Code/software csv
 format can be open in different software ## Access information Data was
 derived from the following sources: *
 https://doi.org/10.1093/ornithology/ukaf030 * Article Title: Decline in
 capture rates of birds in the high Andes of Ecuador suggest broad scale
 anthropogenic impacts to protected areas