AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds.
Tobias JA., Sheard C., Pigot AL., Devenish AJM., Yang J., Sayol F., Neate-Clegg MHC., Alioravainen N., Weeks TL., Barber RA., Walkden PA., MacGregor HEA., Jones SEI., Vincent C., Phillips AG., Marples NM., Montaño-Centellas FA., Leandro-Silva V., Claramunt S., Darski B., Freeman BG., Bregman TP., Cooney CR., Hughes EC., Capp EJR., Varley ZK., Friedman NR., Korntheuer H., Corrales-Vargas A., Trisos CH., Weeks BC., Hanz DM., Töpfer T., Bravo GA., Remeš V., Nowak L., Carneiro LS., Moncada R AJ., Matysioková B., Baldassarre DT., Martínez-Salinas A., Wolfe JD., Chapman PM., Daly BG., Sorensen MC., Neu A., Ford MA., Mayhew RJ., Fabio Silveira L., Kelly DJ., Annorbah NND., Pollock HS., Grabowska-Zhang AM., McEntee JP., Carlos T Gonzalez J., Meneses CG., Muñoz MC., Powell LL., Jamie GA., Matthews TJ., Johnson O., Brito GRR., Zyskowski K., Crates R., Harvey MG., Jurado Zevallos M., Hosner PA., Bradfer-Lawrence T., Maley JM., Stiles FG., Lima HS., Provost KL., Chibesa M., Mashao M., Howard JT., Mlamba E., Chua MAH., Li B., Gómez MI., García NC., Päckert M., Fuchs J., Ali JR., Derryberry EP., Carlson ML., Urriza RC., Brzeski KE., Prawiradilaga DM., Rayner MJ., Miller ET., Bowie RCK., Lafontaine R-M., Scofield RP., Lou Y., Somarathna L., Lepage D., Illif M., Neuschulz EL., Templin M., Dehling DM., Cooper JC., Pauwels OSG., Analuddin K., Fjeldså J., Seddon N., Sweet PR., DeClerck FAJ., Naka LN., Brawn JD., Aleixo A., Böhning-Gaese K., Rahbek C., Fritz SA., Thomas GH., Schleuning M.
Functional traits offer a rich quantitative framework for developing and testing theories in evolutionary biology, ecology and ecosystem science. However, the potential of functional traits to drive theoretical advances and refine models of global change can only be fully realised when species-level information is complete. Here we present the AVONET dataset containing comprehensive functional trait data for all birds, including six ecological variables, 11 continuous morphological traits, and information on range size and location. Raw morphological measurements are presented from 90,020 individuals of 11,009 extant bird species sampled from 181 countries. These data are also summarised as species averages in three taxonomic formats, allowing integration with a global phylogeny, geographical range maps, IUCN Red List data and the eBird citizen science database. The AVONET dataset provides the most detailed picture of continuous trait variation for any major radiation of organisms, offering a global template for testing hypotheses and exploring the evolutionary origins, structure and functioning of biodiversity.