Establishing macroecological trait datasets: digitalization, extrapolation, and validation of diet preferences in terrestrial mammals worldwide

Ecological trait data are essential for understanding the broad-scale distribution of biodiversity and its response to global change. For animals, diet represents a fundamental aspect of species’ evolutionary adaptations, ecological and functional roles, and trophic interactions. However, the importance of diet for macroevolutionary and macroecological dynamics remains little explored, partly because of the lack of comprehensive trait datasets. We compiled and evaluated a comprehensive global dataset of diet preferences of mammals (“MammalDIET”). Diet information was digitized from two global and cladewide data sources and errors of data entry by multiple data recorders were assessed. We then developed a hierarchical extrapolation procedure to fill-in diet information for species with missing information. Missing data were extrapolated with information from other taxonomic levels (genus, other species within the same genus, or family) and this extrapolation was subsequently validated bo...

生态功能性状数据对于解析生物多样性的大范围分布格局及其对全球变化的响应至关重要。对于动物而言，食性是物种演化适应、生态与功能角色以及营养相互作用的核心特征之一。然而，食性在宏观演化与宏观生态动态中的重要性仍鲜有探讨，这在一定程度上缘于缺乏全面的性状数据集。我们整理并评估了一套全面的全球哺乳动物食性偏好数据集——「MammalDIET」。该数据集的食性信息源自两个全球性支系范围的数据来源，并对多名数据录入人员的数据录入误差进行了评估。随后，我们开发了层级外推流程，以补全存在缺失食性信息的物种的数据。缺失数据通过其他分类学层级（属、同属内其他物种或科）的信息进行外推，并对该外推过程进行了验证……