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本稿はコミュニカティブ・コンピタンスの構成要素の中で従来もっとも軽視されてきた、ストラテジック・コンピタンスに焦点をあて、スターリング大学での調査結果 に基づいてその意義と教授上の含意を考えた。調査項目は次の通りである。 1. ストラテジーの存在を明確にし意識的に授業に取り入れる以前と以後の学習者のコミュニケーション運用方の比較。 2. 日本語ネイティブスピーカーと学習者のコミニュケーション・ストラテジーの使い方の比較。 これらの調査によって以下の結論が得られた。 1. ストラテジーのタイプの選択は、文法の正確さと同様に重要である。 2. 学習者はその好みによってストラテジーのタイプの選択をするのではなく、言語運用能力の拘束を受けてその選択および実行をする。 3. 意識的にストラテジーを教授することによって日本語ネイティブスピーカーと学習者のコミュニケーション・ストラテジーのタイプの選択の相違の幅が狭められる。 また、コミュニケーション・ストラテジーの存在を学習者に再認識させ、意識的に授業に取り入れることで、学習ストラテジーの改善につながった。このことは今後ストラテジー教授と学習ストラテジーとの相互関係に焦点をあてた研究の必要性を示唆するものでもある。, This paper attempts to verify the significance of communication strategies in language classes, the most neglected component of communicative competence, and account for their teaching implications based on data collected at Stirling University. Tasks were assigned to learners of Japanese and native speakers of Japanese to see their strategy types. Based on the data obtained from the tasks, the following comparisons are made: 1.Communication strategies by the learners immediately after being taught through the audio-lingual approach and by the same learners six months later, after having been encouraged to use communication strategies in class.2.Communication strategies by the L1 speakers and by the L2 learners. And the following noteworthy points are drawn from the analysis of the data. The choice of the strategy types is as important as grammatical accuracy. What determines the learner's choice of strategies is not his preference, but is more likely to be his linguistic constraints. Variability between the learner's choice of strategy types and those of L1 speakers narrowed after conscious teaching of communication strategies in class. 3.EE In addition, conscious teaching of communication strategies changed the learners' attitudes toward their language learning. It suggests the necessity of further research focusing on the correlation between communication strategies and learning strategies.

英語圏で行なわれた教材に関する2つのアンケート(英国、ニュージーランド)の結果 にもとづき、教材の見直しの必要性を指摘。特に、タスクの質、量の充実と教師の自己研修の一助となるような教材作りに焦点をあてる。 現在広く用いられている教材のタスク(＜アクティビティ)について考察し、今後改善されるべき点を以下のように指摘。 1.学習者に発話の必要性を感じさせているのか？2.学習者にタスクの問題を解決しなければならない必然性があるのか？3.学習者にロールの役割をする必要性があるのか？4.警察官やホテルの受付などのロールは学習者に適切なのか？どれだけ現実にそういうことが起こりうるのか？また、同じ言語材料を目的とするような、2種のタスクを比較し、‘～ごっこ’に留まりやすく、スクリプトがあらかじめ設定され、学習者自身の経験が取り上げられにくいロールプレイの問題点を提示した。‘Meaningfulness’と‘communicative’の定義を再確認したうえで、学習者自身を題材とし学習者の考えや判断を最大限に取り入れられるような意味のあるタスクについて考察した。最後に意識的な文法や文体の教授、学習の必要性についても言及し、効果 的な学習者中心の教授法、教材開発を訴えた。, Based on two surveys implemented in English-speaking countries (U.K. and New Zealand) concerning teaching materials, the authors point out that there is a great demand for supplementary materials which enable the teacher to further his/her personal teaching techniques. First, activities and tasks of some popular textbooks are observed and a comparison is made of what teachers need with what the textbooks offer, and how the gap can be narrowed is discussed. Secondly, the importance of "process" as the central priority, which should be taken into consideration when designing activities, in teaching/learning the language, is stressed. Then, four criteria are established in order to evaluate activities. These are: 1.Do the learners have a real need to act their roles?2.Are the learners practically solving their problems or merely taking their assigned Parts?3.Do they use the language because they need to or just because they are assigned the role?4.How likely is it that they will become policemen, hotel receptionist, attendants at rental shops and so forth?And also two types of tasks are presented comparatively to uncover problematic features. The definitions of "meaningfulness" and "communicative" are discussed. Learner-centered teaching where the learner's decision-making and experience are primarily taken into account, and meaningful tasks are sought. Finally, it is pointed out that formal teaching which aims at the learner's conscious learning cannot be ignored in order to consolidate what the learner has learnt and to increase the efficiency of language teaching and learning.

The Scottish Executive decided that a Fast Track approach to the children's hearings system would be introduced in early 2003 on a pilot basis in selected parts of Scotland. The aim was to improve practice and outcomes with respect to the ways that the hearings system and associated services dealt with young people who persistently offend. Particular objectives were to: • reduce the time taken both overall and at each stage of decision-making • promote more comprehensive assessments which include appraisals of offending risk • ensure that all young people who persistently offend and who require an appropriate programme have access to one • reduce re-offending rates as a result of the concerted efforts made in such cases.

More than three quarters of the Earth's land surface is connected to the ocean by rivers. This natural connection between land and ocean by rivers, estuaries and deltas, as well as coastal seas, is essential for humankind in providing key ecosystem services (incl. food and water). However, the quantity and quality of water and sediment transported along the river-sea continuum is changing fundamentally with implications for the structure and functioning of associated ecosystems that are in turn affecting the continued provision of ecosystems services. DANUBIUS-RI, the International Centre for Advanced Studies on River-Sea Systems, is a distributed research infrastructure (RI) integrating studies of rivers and their catchments, transitional waters, such as estuaries, deltas and lagoons, and their adjacent coastal seas (i.e. River-Sea Systems). DANUBIUS-RI’s vision is to achieve healthy River-Sea Systems and advance their sustainable management in order to live within the planet’s ecological limits by 2050. DANUBIUS-RI’s mission is to facilitate excellent research from the river source to the sea by (1) providing access to state-of-the art facilities, methods and tools, as well as samples and data; (2) bringing together relevant expertise to advance process and system understanding and to enhance stakeholder engagement; and (3) enabling the development of integrated management and policy-making in River-Sea Systems. DANUBIUS-RI’s mission-oriented, integrated, interdisciplinary and participatory approach seeks to change the process and system understanding of River-Sea Systems and their respective management.DANUBIUS-RI’s Science & Innovation Agenda is guiding the RI’s evolution as it progresses from preparation through implementation to operation. It describes DANUBIUS-RI’s vision, mission and approach, and provides a scientific framework for the RI’s design and highlights the research priorities for the first five years. The framework includes interrelated key challenges in River-Sea Systems, such as global change including climate change and extreme events, changes in hydromorphology, the quantity and quality of water and sediment across the river-sea continuum as well as the structure and functioning of associated ecosystems. DANUBIUS-RI’s research priorities are in line with forthcoming missions of Horizon Europe, which have been applied to River-Sea Systems (1): “Achieving healthy inland, transitional and coastal waters” including the research priorities (a) Water Quantity, (b) Sediment Balance, (c) Nutrients and Pollutants, (d) Biodiversity, (e) Ecosystem Services; and (2): “Adapting to Climate Change: Enhancing Resilience of River-Sea Systems” including the research priorities (f) Climate Change, (g) Extreme Events.In 2016, the European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) included DANUBIUS-RI in its roadmap highlighting the need for a research infrastructure at the freshwater-marine interface. The Horizon 2020 project DANUBIUS-PP (Preparatory Phase) has built the scientific, legal and financial foundation to enable DANUBIUS-RI to proceed to implementation (www.danubius-pp.eu.

Background: Arapaima gigas (Schinz, 1822) is the largest freshwater scaled fish in the world, and an emerging species for tropical aquaculture development. Conservation of the species, and the expansion of aquaculture requires the development of genetic tools to study polymorphism, differentiation, and stock structure. This study aimed to investigate genomic polymorphism through ddRAD sequencing, in order to identify a panel of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and to simultaneously assess genetic diversity and structure in wild (from rivers Amazon, Solimões, Tocantins and Araguaia) and captive populations. Results: Compared to many other teleosts, the degree of polymorphism in A. gigas was low with only 2.3% of identified RAD-tags (135 bases long) containing SNPs. A panel of 393 informative SNPs was identified and screened across the five populations. Higher genetic diversity indices (number of polymorphic loci and private alleles, Shannon?s Index and HO) were found in populations from the Amazon and Solimões, intermediate levels in Tocantins and Captive, and very low levels in the Araguaia population. These results likely reflect larger population sizes from less urbanized environments in the Amazon basin compared to Araguaia. Populations were significantly differentiated with pairwise FST values ranging from 0.086 (Amazon × Solimões) to 0.556 (Amazon × Araguaia). Mean pairwise relatedness among individuals was significant in all populations (P < 0.01), reflecting a degree of inbreeding possibly due to severe depletion of natural stocks, the species sedentary behaviour and possible sampling biases. Although Mantel test was not significant (P = 0.104; R2 = 0.65), Bayesian analysis in STRUCTURE and discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) showed populations of Amazon and Solimões to be genetically differentiated from Araguaia, with Tocantins comprising individuals from both identified stocks. Conclusions: This relatively rapid genotyping by sequencing approach proved to be successful in delineating arapaima stocks. The approach and / or SNP panels identified should prove valuable for more detailed genetic studies of arapaima populations, including the elucidation of the genetic status of described discrete morphotypes and aid in delivery of conservation programs to maintain genetic diversity in reservoirs across the Amazon region. Made available in DSpace on 2019-02-02T23:30:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CNPASA2019bmcgenetics.pdf: 1798542 bytes, checksum: 978ae6a34bd5f90bccc338c1b3ad1d10 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2019-01-31

International audience

International audience; Aquatic plants fulfil a wide range of ecological roles, and make a substantial contribution to the structure, function and service provision of aquatic ecosystems. Given their well-documented importance in aquatic ecosystems, research into aquatic plants contin- ues to blossom. The 14th International Symposium on Aquatic Plants, held in Edinburgh in September 2015, brought together 120 delegates from 28 countries and six continents. This special issue of Hydrobiologia includes a select number of papers on aspects of aquatic plants, covering a wide range of species, systems and issues. In this paper, we present an overview of current trends and future directions in aquatic plant research in the early twenty first century. Our understanding of aquatic plant biology, the range of scientific issues being addressed and the range of techniques available to researchers have all arguably never been greater; however, substantial challenges exist to the conservation and management of both aquatic plants and the ecosystems in which they are found. The range of countries and continents represented by conference delegates and authors of papers in the special issue illustrates the global relevance of aquatic plant research in the early twenty first century but also the many challenges that this burgeoning scientific discipline must address.

Climate change is a major threat to global biodiversity that will produce a range of new selection pressures. Understanding species responses to climate change requires an interdisciplinary perspective, combining ecological, molecular and environmental approaches. We propose an applied integrated framework to identify populations under threat from climate change based on their extent of exposure, inherent sensitivity due to adaptive and neutral genetic variation and range shift potential. We consider intraspecific vulnerability and population-level responses, an important but often neglected conservation research priority. We demonstrate how this framework can be applied to vertebrates with limited dispersal abilities using empirical data for the bat Plecotus austriacus. We use ecological niche modelling and environmental dissimilarity analysis to locate areas at high risk of exposure to future changes. Combining outlier tests with genotype–environment association analysis, we identify potential climate-adaptive SNPs in our genomic data set and differences in the frequency of adaptive and neutral variation between populations. We assess landscape connectivity and show that changing environmental suitability may limit the future movement of individuals, thus affecting both the ability of populations to shift their distribution to climatically suitable areas and the probability of evolutionary rescue through the spread of adaptive genetic variation among populations. Therefore, a better understanding of movement ecology and landscape connectivity is needed for predicting population persistence under climate change. Our study highlights the importance of incorporating genomic data to determine sensitivity, adaptive potential and range shift potential, instead of relying solely on exposure to guide species vulnerability assessments and conservation planning.

Parental investment in Arapaima gigas includes nest building and guarding, followed by a care provision when a cephalic fluid is released from the parents' head to the offspring. This fluid has presumably important functions for the offspring but so far its composition has not been characterised. In this study the proteome and peptidome of the cephalic secretion was studied in parental and non-parental fish using capillary electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry (CE-MS) and GeLC-MS/MS analyses. Multiple comparisons revealed 28 peptides were significantly different between males and parental males (PC-males), 126 between females and parental females (PC-females), 51 between males and females and 9 between PC-males and PC-females. Identification revealed peptides were produced in the inner ear (pcdh15b), eyes (tetraspanin and ppp2r3a), central nervous system (otud4, ribeye a, tjp1b and syn1) among others. A total of 422 proteins were also identified and gene ontology analysis revealed 28 secreted extracellular proteins. From these, 2 hormones (prolactin and stanniocalcin) and 12 proteins associated to immunological processes (serotransferrin, α-1-antitrypsin homolog, apolipoprotein A-I, and others) were identified. This study provides novel biochemical data on the lateral line fluid which will enable future hypotheses-driven experiments to better understand the physiological roles of the lateral line in chemical communication. Made available in DSpace on 2017-10-28T23:13:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CNPASA2017plos.pdf: 6615081 bytes, checksum: 5b4346a70e2c175296d1aac3fed12435 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-10-27

Made available in DSpace on 2020-12-12T02:27:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2019-10-01 Investigating the timing of key phenological events across environments with variable seasonality is crucial to understand the drivers of ecosystem dynamics. Leaf production in the tropics is mainly constrained by water and light availability. Identifying the factors regulating leaf phenology patterns allows efficiently forecasting of climate change impacts. We conducted a novel phenological monitoring study across four Neotropical vegetation sites using leaf phenology time series obtained from digital repeated photographs (phenocameras). Seasonality differed among sites, from very seasonally dry climate in the caatinga dry scrubland with an eight-month long dry season to the less restrictive Cerrado vegetation with a six-month dry season. To unravel the main drivers of leaf phenology and understand how they influence seasonal dynamics (represented by the green color channel (Gcc) vegetation index), we applied Generalized Additive Mixed Models (GAMMs) to estimate the growing seasons, using water deficit and day length as covariates. Our results indicated that plant-water relationships are more important in the caatinga, while light (measured as day-length) was more relevant in explaining leafing patterns in Cerrado communities. Leafing behaviors and predictor-response relationships (distinct smooth functions) were more variable at the less seasonal Cerrado sites, suggesting that different life-forms (grasses, herbs, shrubs, and trees) are capable of overcoming drought through specific phenological strategies and associated functional traits, such as deep root systems in trees. Laborat'rio de Fenologia Instituto de Bioci'ncias Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp) Institute of Computing University of Campinas Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Stirling Instituto de Astronomia Geof'sica e Ci'ncias Atmosf'ricas Universidade de S'o Paulo Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecu'ria Embrapa Semi'rido Laborat'rio de Fenologia Instituto de Bioci'ncias Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)

The study was funded by a St Leonard College Inter-University scholarship awarded to JC and KZ, the Swiss National Science Foundation awarded to KZ (310030_185324), and individual grants from Swiss universities and St Leonard Santander Mobility awarded to AS. Audience effects are key in studies of animal social cognition and are typically investigated during directed social interactions. Male chimpanzees regularly perform aggressive displays in the presence of others, often targeting a specific group member, and combine this agonistic behaviour with acoustic signals. Here, we were interested in whether the production and structure of pant hoots, a long-distance signal, were influenced by audience composition (i.e., presence and absence of specific individuals). We investigated pant hoots produced during displays by adult and sub-adult males of Budongo Forest, Uganda. We found that males overall called more often when their preferred social partners and females were absent from the party, as well as when more dominant males were present. We then separately analysed the four phases of pant hoots - introduction, build-up, climax, and let-down - and found that audience composition and social context could often explain the presence or absence of each phase. In addition, displays were often accompanied by drumming, especially by older males and when male audiences were small. Our study adds to the growing body of literature on audience effects and other social factors and shows their impact on the structure of a sophisticated vocal sequence, which enhances the communicative capacity in a species with limited vocal control. Publisher PDF

International audience; We consider search spaces associated with neural network channel configuration. Architectures and their accuracy are visualised using low-dimensional Euclidean embedding (LDEE). Optimisation dynamics are captured using local optima networks (LONs). LONs are a compression of a fitness landscape: the nodes are local optima and the edges are search transitions between them. Several neural architecture search algorithms are tested on the search space and we discover that iterated local search (ILS) is a competitive algorithm for neural channel configuration. We additionally implement a landscape-aware ILS which performs well. Observations from the search and landscape space analyses bring visual clarity and insight to the science of neural network channel design: the results indicate that a high number of channels, kept constant throughout the network, is beneficial.

We consider statistical randomness in the construction of local optima networks (LONs) and conduct a preliminary and exploratory study into this. LONs capture a fitness landscape into network format: the nodes are local optima, and edges are heuristic search transitions between them. Problem instances from the benchmark quadratic assignment problem library are used in the analysis. LONs are constructed using an iterated local search (ILS) and several different random seeds. Metrics are computed from the networks and visualised to assess the effect of randomness. Algorithm performance models for ILS runtime are built using metrics of LONs constructed using different seeds and the results compared. The results show that some LON metrics seem consistent across seeds, while others vary substantially. Additionally, the quality of algorithm performance models using LON metrics as predictors can differ depending on randomness. Finally, LON metrics associated with separate seeds can lead to different algorithm configuration recommendations for the same instance.

I defend the claim that knowledge of logical truths does not depend on experience, that it is a priori knowledge. In chapter I, I introduce and clarify the idea of a priori knowledge, and in chapter II, I respond to a widespread objection to it derived from Quine’s critique of analyticity. In chapter III, I distinguish between two approaches to developing an account of a priori knowledge, one that ties apriority to the cognitive abilities of knowers and another that ties it to features of truths known. I motivate the second approach over the first. In chapter IV, I sketch an outline of how the second approach could lead to an account of the apriority of logical knowledge. In the final three chapters, I develop an account which follows the outline. In chapter V, I introduce the Fregean idea of logic as a study of the laws of truth which I spell out with the help of the semantic conception of truth developed by Tarski. In chapter VI, I defend an idea found in Wittgenstein’s Tractatus that the signs for logical operations cannot be construed as having objects corresponding to them. The defence proceeds via a defence of Frege’s Context Principle. A consequence of the Tractarian idea is that logical truths are not expressions of thought, that they are truths without a truth-condition. In the last chapter, I spell out the epistemic implications of this idea, that an understanding of truth is accompanied by knowledge of every logical truth and that any acquisition of knowledge by experience therefore presupposes logical knowledge, meaning that logical knowledge itself cannot depend on experience or any other means of learning.

International audience; Aim: The mosaic of savannas that persists in the forest-dominant Congo Basin is thought to be palaeoclimatic relics, but past biogeographical processes that have formed and maintained these systems are poorly understood. Here, we explored the post-Pleistocene biogeography of Gabon's savannas using termites as biological indicators to understand historical and mechanistic factors influencing present-day termite communities in the country's extant savannas. Location Gabon, Central Africa. Taxon Blattodea: Termitoidae. Methods Using standardised transect methods, we sampled termite communities in four disjunct modern savanna areas of Gabon: the centre (Lopé), the southeast (Batéké) and the south (Mayombe North and South). Termites at Lopé were collected in three habitats (annually burned savannas, savannas with a depressed fire regime and forest). We used DNA barcoding of the COII region to identify termite species and compared abundance, species richness and community composition across areas and habitats. Results Community composition differed greatly between Lopé and both Batéké and Mayombe savannas with Lopé being exceptionally depauperate and lacking characteristic savanna species. Within Lopé, termite abundance and diversity was highest in forests and lowest in annually burned savannas, with a gradual change in species composition across the forest–savanna gradient associated with fire history. Main Conclusions The absence of savanna typical species in Lopé savannas challenges current assumptions that these savannas were linked to the south/southeastern savannas during the Pleistocene and suggests a different evolutionary history. Lopé savannas may instead have opened as an isolated grassland and never have been contiguous with neighbouring savannas, or were isolated soon after forest expansion began and have now lost savanna-typical species. Furthermore, the patterns of termite community composition in fire suppressed savannas support a hypothesis of rapid change driven by fire frequency where either fire suppression or infrequent burning over 23 years has meant savannas have become ecologically much more forest-like.

International audience; La notion d’environnement nocturne émerge à la suite de la requalification de la lumière artificielle nocturne en pollution lumineuse. Elle entend caractériser les systèmes humains et non humains fonctionnellement liés à l’obscurité. Contrairement à la notion de pollution lumineuse, elle oblige à penser conjointement les multiples enjeux du couple lumière artificielle/obscurité. En l’inscrivant dans le cadre d’analyse des systèmes socio-écologiques, nous faisons de l’environnement nocturne un objet de recherche à part entière apte à structurer une interdisciplinarité entre sciences de la nature et sciences humaines et sociales. C’est sur le territoire réunionnais que nous mettons cet objet relationnel à l’épreuve du monde réel, dans une démarche transdisciplinaire menée avec une multiplicité d’acteurs autour des enjeux d’aménagement que soulève la volonté de préservation holistique de la ressource obscurité. Du savoir à l’action, de la construction d’un objet de recherche à l’installation d’un dispositif collaboratif dédié à la production de connaissances scientifiques situées sur l’environnement nocturne et à l’accompagnement des acteurs locaux dans leurs démarches de préservation et de valorisation de l’obscurité, il s’agira bien sûr de rendre compte et discuter d’un processus de recherche hybride qui puise sa vitalité dans une interdisciplinarité radicale. Mais il s’agira également de témoigner de certaines difficultés que des différences de conceptions et de pratiques professionnelles peuvent poser dans la symétrisation des relations entre scientifiques et non scientifiques, entre chercheurs et autres acteurs sociaux.

International audience; The harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), is native to Asia but has been intentionally introduced to many countries as a biological control agent of pest insects. In numerous countries, however, it has been introduced unintentionally. The dramatic spread of H. axyridis within many countries has been met with considerable trepidation. It is a generalist top predator, able to thrive in many habitats and across wide climatic conditions. It poses a threat to biodiversity, particularly aphidophagous insects, through competition and predation, and in many countries adverse effects have been reported on other species, particularly coccinellids. However, the patterns are not consistent around the world and seem to be affected by many factors including landscape and climate. Research on H. axyridis has provided detailed insights into invasion biology from broad patterns and processes to approaches in surveillance and monitoring. An impressive number of studies on this alien species have provided mechanistic evidence alongside models explaining large-scale patterns and processes. The involvement of citizens in monitoring this species in a number of countries around the world is inspiring and has provided data on scales that would be otherwise unachievable. Harmonia axyridis has successfully been used as a model invasive alien species and has been the inspiration for global collaborations at various scales. There is considerable scope to expand the research and associated collaborations, particularly to increase the breadth of parallel studies conducted in the native and invaded regions. Indeed a qualitative comparison of biological traits across the native and invaded range suggests that there are differences which ultimately could influence the population dynamics of this invader. Here we provide an overview of the invasion history and ecology of H. axyridis globally with consideration of future research perspectives. We reflect broadly on the contributions of such research to our understanding of invasion biology while also informing policy and people.

Premise of the study Microsatellite markers were developed using second-generation sequencing in Solanum rostratum as a tool to study the reproductive biology and genetic structure of this invasive species. Methods and results Thirteen microsatellites were successfully discovered and amplified in a single multiplexed PCR. All loci showed genetic variation in S. rostratum. Cross-amplification in five closely related taxa was successful for a subset of loci. Conclusions The set of 13 microsatellite markers developed here provides a time-effective and cost-effective genetic tool to study the reproductive biology of S. rostratum. The demonstrated transferability of the PCR multiplex to related taxa also highlights its usefulness for evolutionary studies across Solanum sect. Androceras.

Funding Information: We are especially thankful to Rob G. Bijlsma who generously shared with us his extensive dataset from the Sahel region. We are also thankful to Afan Ajang, Linn M. Bjørvik, Tamuka Chapata, Wouter van Dongen, Patrick Guay, Lenka Harmáčková, Lukasz Jankowiak, Jan van der Kamp, Lennox Kirao, Jakub Kosicki, Philista Malaki, Pretty Maoko, John Mchetto, Grayson Mwakalebe, Organisation for Tropical Studies (South Africa), Diogo Samia, Trine Hay Setsaas, Libor Vaicenbacher and Leo Zwarts for their help with data collection. MW is thankful to Allison Piper, and a Deakin University Faculty of Science, Engineering and the Built Environment National and International Research Collaboration Grant in Kenya and BEACH (Beach Ecology and Conservation Hub; Venus Bay) in Australia. In Kenya, field data collection was approved by National Commission for Science Technology and Innovation no. NACOSTI/P14/4653/660 to M.W. and P.M. and no. NACOSTI/P18/52438/25493 to MW, Kenya Wildlife Service no KWS/BRP/5001 to M.W. A Rocha Kenya and the National Museum of Kenya supported and helped conduct fieldwork in Kenya. In South Africa, the University of Cape Town Science Faculty Animal Ethics Committee (2015/V11/SC) to S.J.C., Northern Cape Department of Environment and Nature Conservation (FAUNA 1489/2015) to P.P. In Brazil, we worked on private lands where no permits were required. In Australia, research was approved by the Deakin University (B32/2012, B11/2015, B10/2018), the Charles Darwin University Animal Ethics (A11013), the Macquarie University Animal Research Committee (99021), the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (#FA/000379/00/SA), and the Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife (41035 and 55233). This study was financially supported by the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town (grant to S.J.C.), The Leventis Foundation through the A.P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute, Jos Nigeria (grant to B.D.A.B.), by a fellowship of the Fulbright (Slovakia) programme to P.M. for a visit to the University of California, Los Angeles. Animal tolerance towards humans can be a key factor facilitating wildlife–human coexistence, yet traits predicting its direction and magnitude across tropical animals are poorly known. Using 10,249 observations for 842 bird species inhabiting open tropical ecosystems in Africa, South America, and Australia, we find that avian tolerance towards humans was lower (i.e., escape distance was longer) in rural rather than urban populations and in populations exposed to lower human disturbance (measured as human footprint index). In addition, larger species and species with larger clutches and enhanced flight ability are less tolerant to human approaches and escape distances increase when birds were approached during the wet season compared to the dry season and from longer starting distances. Identification of key factors affecting animal tolerance towards humans across large spatial and taxonomic scales may help us to better understand and predict the patterns of species distributions in the Anthropocene.