Data from: What’s on the menu? Examining native apex- and invasive meso-predator diets to understand impacts on ecosystems
Data files
Apr 02, 2025 version files 74.27 KB
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ESO-24-09-171_Archived_Data.xlsx
72.78 KB
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README.md
1.48 KB
Abstract
In Australia, populations of a native, terrestrial apex predator, the dingo Canis dingo/C. familiaris, introduced invasive subordinate mesopredators, the European red fox Vulpes vulpes and feral cat Felis catus, which co-occur, but there is limited understanding of their relative impacts on native and invasive prey in different ecosystems. We collected scats from each predator across a ~10,000 km2 semi-arid mallee environment, and used macroscopic scat analysis to identify prey species making up the diet of the three predator species. The archived dataset is the raw diet results of all scats collected as part of this study.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.mgqnk999c
Description of the data and file structure
Prey Items tab:
The archived dataset contains the raw diet results of all predator scats collected as part of this study. In the spreadsheet, each scat has been assigned a unique ID, listed in the “ID” column (column A), and identified as a specific predator (feral cat Felis catus, European fox Vulpes vulpes, or dingo Canis dingo) in the “Predator” column (B). Column headings for columns C – AL list all prey species/categories identified across all scats. Cells in columns C – AL contain the estimated percent each prey species/category contributed to the total volume of each scat (i.e. cells containing a value of 100 indicate 100% of the scat volume was made up of that specific prey species/category).
Metadata tab:
Column A = unique scat ID correlating to data in the Prey Items tab
Column B = Y coordinates where scat was located
Column C = X coordinates where scat was located
Column D = Predator species
Note: Due to cultural and conservation sensitives, GPS coordiinates of dingo scat locations will only be available on reasonable request to the corresponding author.
Corresponding author details:
Rachel T Mason - rachel.mason@research.deakin.edu.au