[Access this dataset on Dryad: DOI:10.5061/dryad.5dv41nsgv]

This dataset compiles data collected through camera trap monitoring of 64 Caiman latirostris nests over four nesting seasons (2018–2022) in Santa Fe, Argentina. The study aimed to assess vertebrate species richness, interactions, and visitation frequency across different habitat types and levels of anthropogenic disturbance. The dataset includes metadata on species detections, derived measures of species richness, and interaction metrics such as the Interaction Strength Index (ISI). A total of 100 vertebrate species were recorded visiting caiman nests, of which 62 were found to interact effectively with them, providing insight into the ecological role of these animal-built structures.

Description of the data and file structure

The analyses were performed using RStudio software. First, metadata were extracted from the photos obtained through camera trapping, based on the information provided by the images (date and time) and the species labels previously assigned using Digikam software. The table "1. record_species_all" contains the metadata extracted from the photos obtained during the monitoring of caiman nests.
Additionally, using the collected information, the table "2. species_richness" was created. This table contains the data analyzed using the script called "3. script_SpeciesRichness" to determine the importance of anthropization, nesting season, and nesting habitat type in shaping the vertebrate species richness at caiman nests. This table includes the following variables: Station, Season, Site, FLII (anthropization index), Nesting Environment Type (marsh, forest, savanna), and Species Richness (number of species).
Third, using the table "record_species_all", a new table was created for each nest in the required format to determine independent records per species, following the methodology (script and structure) proposed by Camargo-Sanabria AA and Delgado-Martínez CM (2019): “Interacciones Fruto-Mamífero: data.table, tidyverse, reshape2, and dplyr” (Chapter 12, pp. 207–224, in Mandujano, S., & Pérez-Solano, L.A. [Eds.], Fototrampeo en R: organización y análisis de datos, Volume I. Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, Ver., Mexico. ISBN: 978-607-7579-90-8; digital version available at: https://github.com/SMandujanoR/Foto-trampeo-R-Vol_I).
The necessary tables to calculate the Interaction Strength Index (ISI) for each species at each nest, along with the resulting data, are included in the repository folder titled "ISI." This folder contains one subfolder for each camera trap station, and each subfolder includes the following files: base_analizada, base_trabajo, duration_result, EM_station, FC_result, IFI_mean_stand, Mode_indiv_result, and Species_time. To ensure compatibility with the functions developed by Camargo-Sanabria and Delgado-Martínez (2019), the variable names in the tables exactly match those used in their scripts. For instance, “SpeciesTree” actually refers to “SpeciesNest”, which in this study corresponds to "caiman".
Below is a detailed description of the contents of each document included in this repository:

The table “1._record_species_all.csv” (record_species_all) includes the following variables:

• Station: Sampling station name (code used to identify each nest).
• Species: Scientific name of the observed species (e.g., Hymenops perspicillatus).
• DateTimeOriginal: Combined date and time. Format: dd/mm/yyyy hh:mm:ss.
• Date (Date): Detection date. Format: dd/mm/yyyy.
• Time (Time): Detection time. Format: hh:mm:ss.
• metadata_NestEnviron: Nesting Environment Type (marsh, forest, savanna).
• metadata_Site: Study areas (Alejandra, Cacique Ariacaiquín, Santurce, Huanqueros, Calchaquí).
• metadata_FLII: Forest Landscape Integrity Index (FLII), an index used to classify the study sites according to their level of anthropogenic disturbance. Unit: integer.

The table “2_ species_richness.csv” (species richness) includes the following variables:

• Station: Sampling station name (code used to identify each nest).
• Season (Season): Monitoring season, usually covering two consecutive years. Format: “YYYY_YY” (e.g., 2018_19 indicates the season started in 2018 and ended in 2019).
• Site: Study areas (Alejandra, Cacique Ariacaiquín, Santurce, Huanqueros, Calchaquí).
• FLII: Forest Landscape Integrity Index (FLII), an index used to classify the study sites according to their level of anthropogenic disturbance. Unit: integer.
• NestEnviron: Nesting Environment Type (marsh, forest, savanna).
• SppRichness: Scientific name of the observed species (e.g., Hymenops perspicillatus).

3._script_SpeciesRichness.R:
This is the script used to determine the importance of anthropization, nesting season, and nesting habitat type in shaping the vertebrate species richness at caiman nests.

"ISI":
This folder contains one subfolder for each camera trap station, and each subfolder includes the following files: base_analizada, base_trabajo, duration_result, EM_station, FC_result, IFI_mean_stand, Mode_indiv_result, and Species_time. The following is a description of the files mentioned.

The table “base_trabajo” (working_dataset) includes the following variables:

• CaptureID (Capture ID): Unique identifier for the capture or detection event. Unit: integer.
• SpeciesTree (Species Tree): This field only contains “caiman”. It is not used in the analysis but remains in the table to support understanding of the dataset structure provided by Camargo-Sanabria and Delgado Martínez (2019).
• StationID (Station ID): Sampling station name (code used to identify each nest).
• Clase (Class): Taxonomic class of the organism (e.g., Birds).
• Orden (Order): Taxonomic order of the organism (e.g., Passeriformes).
• SpeciesID (Species ID): Scientific name of the observed species (e.g., Hymenops perspicillatus).
• Individuals (Individuals): Number of individuals recorded in the event. Unit: integer.
• Date (Date): Detection date. Format: dd/mm/yyyy.
• Time (Time): Detection time. Format: hh:mm:ss.

The table “species_times” includes the following variables:

• Var1 (Structure type): Refers to the structure where the interaction was recorded. In this case, only “caiman” appears, indicating caiman nests.
• Var2 (Species ID): Scientific name of the species observed (e.g., Hymenops perspicillatus, Salvator merianae).
• TiempoIndep (Independence Time): Minimum time required between consecutive records of the same species for them to be considered independent events. Unit: minutes.

The table “Duration_result” includes the following variables:

• StationID (Station ID): Name of the sampling station (code used to identify each nest). Unit: integer
• SpeciesID (Species ID): Scientific name of the observed species (e.g., Hymenops perspicillatus).
• mean_duration (Mean duration): Average time the species remained at the station or nest. Unit: minutes.

The table “EM_station” includes the following variables:

• Season (Season): Monitoring season, usually covering two consecutive years. Format: “YYYY_YY” (e.g., 2018_19 indicates the season started in 2018 and ended in 2019).
• Inicio (Start Date): Date when the monitoring period began at a station. Format: DD-MMM-YY (e.g., 23-dic-18 for December 23, 2018). Unit: date.
• SpeciesTree (Species Tree): This field only contains “caiman”. It is not used in the analysis but remains in the table to support understanding of the dataset structure provided by Camargo-Sanabria and Delgado Martínez (2019).
• StationID (Station ID): Sampling station name (code used to identify each nest).
• Coord_X (X Coordinate): Easting coordinate of the station in a projected coordinate system (e.g., UTM Zone 17N). Unit: meters.
• Coord_Y (Y Coordinate): Northing coordinate of the station in a projected coordinate system (e.g., UTM Zone 17N). Unit: meters.
• Fin (End Date): Date when the monitoring period ended at a station. Format: DD-MMM-YY (e.g., 15-abr-19 for April 15, 2019). Unit: date.
  Dias (Days): Total number of days between the start date (Inicio) and end date (Fin) of monitoring. Unit: integer.

The table “base_analizada” (analyzed_dataset) contains the same information as “base_trabajo” (working_dataset), with the addition of the following variables:

• Time2 (DateTime combined): en
• Independ (Independent Event): Indicates whether the event was considered independent (TRUE) or not (FALSE).

The table “FC_result” includes the following variables:

• StationID (Station ID): Sampling station name (code used to identify each nest).
• SpeciesID (Species ID): Scientific name of the observed species (e.g., Hymenops perspicillatus).
  FC (Capture Frequency): A rate that expresses the number of independent events weighted by sampling effort (number of events / sampling effort in camera trap days * 100). These values are obtained using the code provided by Camargo-Sanabria and Delgado Martínez (2019).
  Unit: rate.

The table “mode_indiv_result” includes the following variables:

• StationID (Station ID): Sampling station name (code used to identify each nest).
• SpeciesID (Species ID): Scientific name of the observed species (e.g., Hymenops perspicillatus).
• mode_individuals (Mode): Mode of the number of individuals of each species observed at the nest. These values are obtained using the code provided by Camargo-Sanabria and Delgado Martínez (2019). Unit: integer.

Additionally, access to photo sequences showing vertebrate activity at caiman nests is provided under the name "Supplementary Material 4."

Sharing/Access information

These data are available in this Dryad repository:DOI:10.5061/dryad.5dv41nsgv

Code/Software

The scripts used and the code based on Camargo-Sanabria and Delgado Martínez (2019) are described earlier in the "Description of the data and file structure" section.