Functional traits of Andean rodents (morphological, behavioral, and ecological) and their phylogenetic signal

Abstract

To evaluate the functional diversity of Andean rodents, we compiled natural history information from published sources and expert consultations, following approaches commonly applied to rodent community studies. The functional traits analyzed included morphological measurements (head–body length, tail length, hindfoot length, ear length, and body mass), behavioral traits (activity period: diurnal or nocturnal; diet composition: seeds, leaves, fruits, roots, insects, omnivory), and ecological traits (saxicolous, arboreal, scansorial, cursorial, subterranean, fossorial, semi-fossorial, and semi-aquatic). These data will be used to examine alpha functional diversity and the phylogenetic signal of traits, based on a time-calibrated phylogeny derived from the TimeTree of Life Project.