Data from: Temperament, state-dependent behaviors, and their interplay in large herbivores: Lessons from a long-term study on mule deer, elk, and bighorn sheep
Data files
Nov 21, 2024 version files 133.63 KB
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01.1_basic_data_exploration.R
12.55 KB
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01.2_exploring_kicks_by_fat.R
3.52 KB
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02.1_initial_lms.R
6.24 KB
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02.2_initial_rptR.R
10.21 KB
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03.1_final_lms.R
8.09 KB
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03.2_final_rptR.R
11.35 KB
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DataPull_BehavioralSyndromes_for_Dryad.rds
74.91 KB
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README.md
6.76 KB
Abstract
Behavioral consistency and plasticity can both benefit fitness. Consistency in behavior within a specific context or situation, which we refer to as temperament, promotes adaptive responses to stimuli. Behavioral plasticity, however, allows for state-dependent responses, ensuring that behavior is a function of energetics and other internal and external conditions. Physiological state, in this context representing the nutritional dynamics of animals, exerts profound and wide-ranging influences on behaviors. Nevertheless, temperament and nutritional state may act in concert to shape behavioral responses to stimuli. Using a long-term dataset on capture of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), elk (Cervus canadensis), and bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), we evaluated the degree to which temperament or energetic state was related to behavioral response exhibited during handling. We used the repeatability in the rate of kicks during multiple capture events across time to determine whether behavior was associated with temperament or state, and evaluated the relative contribution of nutritional condition, age, and number of times captured. Repeatability in this context means that a behavior is considered repeatable when the same individual consistently responds in a similar manner when exposed to the same circumstances (here capture) on multiple occasions. Kicks per minute were highly repeatable for bighorn sheep and mule deer, but not repeatable in elk. State-dependent factors (e.g., body fat) explained little variance in the rate of kicks during capture. Behavioral consistency in bighorn sheep and mule deer indicated that temperament was an underlying mechanism of response to handling. Behavior in elk, however, was not associated with temperament or state. Temperament differences among species were consistent with variation in behavioral plasticity evident in each species, with bighorn sheep and mule deer being more behaviorally rigid than elk. Our results underscore the importance of caution when extending behavioral findings to closely related species, given the observed inconsistencies. Last, our findings contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms that drive behavioral responses to stimuli.
Data
The input data for all scripts is the included .rsd file DataPull_BehavioralSyndromes_for_Dryad
The fields in this data file are as follows (with data type indicated in parentheses unit alos included where relevant):
CaptureDate (Date: YYYY-MM-DD) = Date object indicating the year, month, and day when an animal was captured
ProcessingStartTime (POSIXct: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS) = Date time object indicating when an animal arrived at a processing location (Note: date portion is not reflective of when an animal was captured and is not used as such. This is simply an artifact of conversion to POSIXct type)
ProcessingEndTime (POSIXct: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS) = Date time object indicating when an animal was released after processing (Note: date portion is not reflective of when an animal was captured and is not used as such. This is simply an artifact of conversion to POSIXct type)
HandlingTime_min (numeric, minutes) = Difference in ProcessingStartTime and ProcessingEndTime in minutes
Kicks (integer) = Number of kicks recorded during the processing of an animal, NA = not applicable (e.g., not part of data collection protocol at the time) or not available (e.g., not recorded)
Vocalizations (integer) = Number of vocalizations recorded during the processing of an animal, NA = not applicable (e.g., not part of data collection protocol at the time) or not available (e.g., not recorded)
IFBFat (numeric, percentage points) = Estimated ingesta-free body fat based on standardized approaches for mule deer, elk, and bighorn sheep (mule deer and elk: Cook et al. 2007, Cook et al. 2010, bighorn sheep: Stephenson et al. 2020), NA = not available (e.g., equipment failure or otherwise not recorded)
AmbientTemp (numeric, Fahrenheit) = Temperature recorded at the location where an animal was processed during the time of processing, NA = not applicable (e.g., not part of data collection protocol at the time) or not available (e.g., not recorded)
Pregnant (logical) = Pregnancy status based on ultrasonography 0 = no fetus detected, 1 = fetus detected, NA = not applicable (e.g., fall capture) or not available (e.g., equipment failure)
Lactation (numeric, 0-1, 0 = empty udder, 1 = full udder) = Lactation status based on udder palpation, NA = not applicable (e.g., spring capture) or not available (e.g., not recorded)
NumCaps (numeric) = Number of times an animal was captured including the current capture event
Age (numeric, years) = Animal age at the time of the given capture event based on horn annuli in bighorn sheep (Geist 1966), cementum annuli from an incisiform canine in deer (Swift et al., 2002), and cementum annuli from a vestigial canine in elk during the first capture for each individual. NA = not available (e.g., samples pending at time of analysis, not record)
Species (character) = Species classification
Release_Hes (logical) = Description of animal behavior upon release after processing was completed 0 = Animal did not hesitate before fleeing or 1 = Animal did hesitate before fleeing
Release_Kick (logical) = Description of animal behavior upon release after processing was completed 0 = Animal did not kick before fleeing or 1 = Animal did kick before fleeing
Walk (logical) = Description of animal behavior upon release after processing was completed 0 = Animal did not walk while fleeing or 1 = Animal did walk while fleeing
Trot (logical) = Description of animal behavior upon release after processing was completed 0 = Animal did not trot while fleeing or 1 = Animal did tro while fleeing
Run (logical) = Description of animal behavior upon release after processing was completed 0 = Animal did not run while fleeing or 1 = Animal did run while fleeing
Stot (logical) = Description of animal behavior upon release after processing was completed 0 = Animal did not stot while fleeing or 1 = Animal did stot while fleeing
CoolingAdmin (logical) = Description of animal processing 0 = no cooling administered during handling 1 = Some form of cooling administered during handling, NA = not available (e.g., not recorded)
DataRecorder (character) = Primary individual responsible for recording data during the given capture event
DataRecorder2 (character) = Secondary individual responsible for recording data during the given capture event. NA = not applicable (e.g., no secondary recorded need) or not available (e.g., not recorded)
DataRecorder3 (character) = Tertiary individual responsible for recording data during the given capture event. NA = not applicable (e.g., no ertiary recorded need) or not available (e.g., not recorded)
Mass_kg (numeric, kilograms) = Animal mass at the time of capture recorded on a platform scale. NA = not available (e.g., not recorded, equipment failure)
InitialRectalTemp_F (numeric, Fahrenheit) = Rectal temperature of an animal within 5 minutes of the start of processing. NA = not available (e.g., not recorded, equipment failure)
Herd (character) = Subspecies grouping based on capture location and primary location where animals reside
Panting (logical) = Description of animal behavior during processing 0 = Animal did not pant during processing, 1 = Animal did pant during processing, NA = not applicable (e.g., not part of data collection protocol at the time) or not available (e.g., not recorded)
ToothPull (logical) = Description of animal processing 0 = A tooth was not pulled from the animal or 1 = A tooth was pulled from the animal
KicksPerMin (numeric) = Description of animal behavior during processing corrected for time spent processing, NA = not applicable (e.g., not part of data collection protocol at the time) or not available (e.g., not recorded)
AID (integer) = Unique identifier for each individual. This ID does not change during the lifetime of an individual.
Scripts
01.1_basic_data_exploration
This script will take formatted data and calculate basic summary statistics and initial testing of repeatability models
01.2_exploring_kicks_by_fat
This script will take formatted data and run basic linear models explore potential relationships in the data
02.1_initial_lms
This script will take formatted data and run initial species specific linear models
02.2_initial_rptR
This script will take formatted data and run initial species specific rptR models
03.1_final_lms
This script will take formatted data and run final species specific linear models
03.2_final_rptR
This script will take formatted data and run final species specific rptR models
R Details
This codes was written using R version 4.3.1 and any version-specific package updates.