The contribution of landscape features, climate and topography in shaping taxonomical and functional diversity of avian communities in a heterogeneous Alpine region.

Understanding the effects of landscape composition and configuration, climate, and topography on bird diversity is necessary to identify distribution drivers, potential impacts of land use changes, and future conservation strategies. We surveyed bird communities in a study area located in the Central Alps (Autonomous Province of South Tyrol, northeast Italy), by means of point counts and investigated taxonomic and functional diversity at two spatial scales along gradients of land use/land cover (LULC) intensity and elevation. We also explored how environmental variables influence bird traits and red-list categories. Models combining drivers of different types were highly supported, pointing towards synergetic effects of different types of environmental variables on bird communities. The model containing only LULC compositional variables was the most supported one among the single-group models: LULC composition plays a crucial role in shaping local biodiversity and hence bird communities, even across broad landscape gradients. Particularly relevant were wetlands, open habitats, agricultural mosaics made up of small habitat patches and settlements, ecotonal and structural elements in agricultural settings, and continuous forests. To conserve bird diversity in the Alps, planning and management practices promoting and maintaining small fields, structural elements, and a mosaic of different LULC types should be supported, while preserving continuous forests at the same time. Additionally, pastures, extensively used meadows, and wetlands are key to conservation. These strategies might mitigate the impacts of global change on bird diversity in the Alps and in other European mountain areas.

OpenMICE: an open spatial and temporal data set of small mammals in south-central Italy based on owl pellet data.

The use of database technologies as a tool for implementing data for quantitative ecological studies and biodiversity conservation planning has recently attracted the attention of the biological community. Despite the fact that the number of biodiversity data sets is quickly rising, online databases of small mammals are still scarce, especially for Mediterranean ecosystems. We implemented the first standardized and accessible georeferenced European database of small mammal occurrences, abundances, and functional traits. Data derived from owl pellets was obtained from different sources, including original field surveys, publications, gray literature, existing databases, and museum collections. The OpenMICE database covers the years 1972 to 2017 and includes nearly 50,000 individuals from 23 species (13 Rodentia and 10 Eulipotyphla) at 190 sites in south-central Italy. Our specific goals in compiling this data set were as follows: (1) to make data that is usually accessible to a restricted audience widely available; (2) to identify the gaps in knowledge about small mammal communities and guide future sampling and conservation efforts; and (3) to gain a first insight into small mammal diversity and abundance in the study area. The potential applications of our spatial relational database are many, from individual-based to community-based models as potential indicators of environmental changes at different geographical scales. Given the long-term support for data storage, the OpenMICE database could be further expanded to include other geographical contexts and implemented with new information and traits. We would appreciate that researchers cite this paper if using all or part of the data set. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data. We intend to keep it up to date as novel studies become available (see Data Availability).