Abstract
Motivation Population trend information is an ‘Essential Biodiversity Variable’ for monitoring change in biodiversity over time. Here, we present a global dataset of 1122 population trends describing changes in abundance over time in large mammals from the Order Carnivora – some of the world’s most charismatic and functionally important fauna.
Main types of variables included Key data fields for each record: species, coordinates, trend timeframe, methods of data collection and analysis, and population timeseries or summarised trend value. Population trend values are reported using quantitative metrics in 75% of records that collectively represent more than 6500 population estimates. The remaining records qualitatively describe population change (e.g. increase).
Spatial location and grain Records represent locations across the globe (latitude: -51.0 to 80.0; longitude: -166.0 to 166.0) with more trends found within the northern temperate zone.
Time period and grain Records span from 1726 to 2017, with 92% of trends starting after 1950.
Major taxa and level of measurement We conducted a semi-systematic search for population trend data in 87 species from four families in the order Carnivora: Canidae, Felidae, Hyaenidae and Ursidae. We compiled data for 50 of the 87 species.
Software format .csv
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.