DOI: 10.5061/dryad.c04k521
title: Data from: Canopy tree preference by insectivorous birds in shade-coffee farms: implications for migratory bird conservation

description: Land converted to coffee agriculture occupies &gt;5 million hectares
 of what was once prime overwintering natural habitat in the American
 Neotropics for migrating birds. When tree canopy is retained or restored
 (i.e. shade-grown), coffee farms can serve as habitat refuge for wildlife.
 Yet few studies have examined whether canopy tree identity impacts habitat
 quality for biodiversity. Specifically, whether or not certain tree
 species are disproportionately important for foraging insectivorous birds
 remains unclear. In this study, we quantified bird foraging activity on 22
 tree species in two Latin American Bird Friendly© coffee farms.
 Specifically, we conducted timed observations on focal trees to determine
 1) tree preferences, 2) foraging bird abundance, 3) foraging time, and 4)
 species richness of birds using each canopy tree species. We found that
 birds did not forage randomly, and instead exhibited preferences for
 particular native tree species. Nitrogen-fixing Fabaceae were consistently
 used more frequently, supported more resident and migratory birds for
 longer periods of time, and supported more bird species than trees in
 other families. We posit that the potential mechanism contributing to tree
 preferences is the increase in insect abundance and diversity that provide
 high quality food for insectivores but do not present pest problems for
 coffee. Thus, tree species that support insects may provide multiple
 benefits for farmers in the form of bottom-up soil fertilization and
 top-down pest control. This study provides evidence that agroforestry land
 can be improved for birds of conservation concern by prioritizing canopy
 tree species that help birds and farm productivity.
description: Foraging bird abundance
 on canopy trees within shade-coffee farmsAbundance of foraging
 birds of each species for each observation period. country: country data
 was collected in (Nicaragua or Colombia); year: year data was collected
 (2015 or 2016); observer: observer initials; date_format: date of
 observation; juldate: julian calendar date; observation_num: observation
 number; treeID_format: individual code to identify trees; observationID:
 unique identifier; treesp: tree species common name (see paper for species
 names); time_format: time of observation; bird_sp: bird species common
 name (Colombia) or code (Nicaragua); num_birds: count of individuals;
 migratory_insectivore: binary dummy variable for primarily insectivorous
 migratory species; notes: miscellaneous notes; canopy_volume: canopy
 volume (meters cubed); scale_volume: scaled canopy volume with mean
 zerobothcountries_data_format_19feb2019_abundance_format.csvbothcountries_data_format_19feb2019_foragingtime_formatForaging times of individual birds on trees. country: country data was collected in (Nicaragua or Colombia); year: year data was collected (2015 or 2016); treesp: common name of tree species (see paper for species names); treeID: unique identifier for individual focal trees; bird.sp: common name (Colombia) or code (Nicaragua) for bird species observed); migratory_insectivore: binary dummy variable indicating if bird species was a primarily insectivorous migratory bird; total_sec: total number of seconds observed foraging in the focal tree; vol: canopy volume of the focal tree (meters cubed); prop_sec: proportion of the total observation period (600 seconds) that the individual bird was observed foraging; scale_vol: scaled canopy volume with mean zero.bothcountries_species_richness_longformatNumber of individuals for each bird species on all trees observed including zeros. country: country tree was observed in (Nicaragua or Colombia); year: year of observation (2016); treesp: common name of tree species observed (see paper for species names); bird_sp: common name (Colombia) or code (Nicaragua) for each bird species observed; count: number of individuals observed (including zeros if never observed foraging in a tree species).