AVOTREX: A Global Dataset of Extinct Birds and Their Traits

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  • AVOTREX a global dataset of extinct birds and their traits

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    Embargo ends: 24/10/25

DOI

  • Ferran Sayol
    Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF)
  • Joseph P. Wayman
    University of Birmingham
  • Paul Dufour
    University of Montpellier
  • Thomas E. Martin
  • Julian P. Hume
    Natural History Museum, Tring
  • Maria Wagner Jørgensen
    University of Birmingham
  • Natàlia Martínez-Rubio
    Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF)
  • Ariadna Sanglas
    Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF)
  • Filipa C. Soares
    Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris
  • Rob Cooke
    Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford
  • Chase D. Mendenhall
    Slippery Rock University
  • Jay R. Margolis
    Virginia Tech, Blacksburg
  • Juan Carlos Illera
    University of Oviedo
  • Rhys Lemoine
    University of Gothenburg
  • Eva Benavides
    University of Birmingham
  • Oriol Lapiedra
    Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF)
  • Kostas A. Triantis
    National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
  • Alex L. Pigot
    University College London
  • Joseph A. Tobias
    Imperial College London
  • Søren Faurby
    University of Gothenburg
  • Thomas J. Matthews
    University of Birmingham
ABSTRACT Motivation Human activities have been reshaping the natural world for tens of thousands of years, leading to the extinction of hundreds of bird species. Past research has provided evidence of extinction selectivity towards certain groups of species, but trait information is lacking for the majority of clades, especially for prehistoric extinctions identified only through subfossil remains. This incomplete knowledge potentially obscures the structure of natural communities, undermining our ability to infer changes in biodiversity across space and time, including trends in functional and phylogenetic diversity. Biases in currently available trait data also limit our ability to identify drivers and processes of extinction. Here we present AVOTREX, an open-access database of species traits for all birds known to have gone extinct in the last 130,000?years. This database provides detailed morphological information for 610 extinct species, along with a pipeline to build phylogenetic trees that include these extinct species. Main Types of Variables Contained For each extinct bird species, we provide information on the taxonomy, geographic location, and period of extinction. We also present data on island endemicity, flight ability, and body mass, as well as standard measurements of external (matching the AVONET database of extant birds) and skeletal morphology from museum specimens where available. To ensure comprehensive morphological data coverage, we estimate all missing morphological measurements using a data imputation technique based on machine learning. Finally, we provide an R package to graft all extinct species onto a global phylogeny of extant species (BirdTree). Spatial Location and Grain Global. Time Period and Grain All known globally extinct bird species from 130,000?years ago up until 2024. Major Taxa and Level of Measurement Birds (Class Aves), species level. Software Format Spreadsheets (.csv) stored in Dryad.

Keywords

  • avian, biodiversity loss, body size, extinction, flight ability, functional traits, morphology, phylogeny
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)e13927
JournalGlobal Ecology and Biogeography
Volume33
Issue number12
Early online date24 Oct 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2024
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