Past agricultural land use affects multiple facets of ungulate antipredator behavior
Data files
May 26, 2021 version files 24.46 KB
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Cover.csv
260 B
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Deer_activity_vigilance.csv
9.86 KB
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README.docx
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Abstract
This study was conducted at the Savannah River Site (SRS; Aiken, SC). Sites that were farmland in 1951 were classified as “post-agricultural woodlands,” and sites that were forested were classified as “nonagricultural woodlands.” The number of fires since 1991 was determined from annual fire records, and sites were characterized as low (five or less burns) or high (more than five burns) fire frequency. Sites were not burned the year of the study. At each of our 24 sites, we deployed an unbaited, motion-activated camera trap between June 8 and July 9 in 2018 for a total trapping period of 33 days. For every photo capturing deer activity during an independent foraging bout, the observer recorded the date and time, the sex of the individual, whether or not it was in a group, group size, and if the individual was foraging (1) or being vigilant (0) as a binomial variable. If the individual’s head was up in a non-feeding posture, then the photo was classified as vigilant, and if the individual’s head was down in a feeding posture, then the photo was classified as foraging. We characterized independent foraging bouts as any sequence of deer photos of the same sex captured within 30 minutes at a site. Vertical vegetation cover was measured by a single observer using a density board that estimated percent visibility across 1 x 1 foot quadrats. The density board was placed 15-m from the observer standing at the camera-trap station. The observer took four measurements (one in each cardinal direction from the station) at each site.