Data from: Demographic, behavioral, and ecological data from a long-term field study of wild baboons in Amboseli, Kenya
Data files
Oct 30, 2025 version files 787.18 KB
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hydroyear_grp_comp_activity_diet.csv
54.94 KB
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hydroyear_weather_data.csv
1.62 KB
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monthly_activity_diet_weather.csv
134.83 KB
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monthly_grp_comp_activity_diet.csv
526.99 KB
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README.md
1.49 KB
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social_group_history.csv
1.63 KB
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table_descriptions.xlsx
65.48 KB
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weather_station_locations.csv
205 B
Jan 12, 2026 version files 2.30 MB
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detailed_diet.csv
1.50 MB
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hydroyear_grp_comp_activity_diet.csv
54.94 KB
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hydroyear_weather_data.csv
1.62 KB
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monthly_activity_diet_weather.csv
134.83 KB
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monthly_grp_comp_activity_diet.csv
531.94 KB
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README.md
1.49 KB
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social_group_history.csv
1.63 KB
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table_descriptions.xlsx
66.88 KB
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weather_station_locations.csv
205 B
Abstract
Long-term data sets on individually recognized animals and their environments are critical to understanding animal behavior, evolution, and ecology. However, they are resource- and time-intensive and seldom made publicly available. The Amboseli Baboon Research Project (ABRP) is one of the longest-running studies of a wild mammal population in the world and has collected extensive data on the baboon population of the Amboseli ecosystem in Kenya since 1971. Here, we describe four ABRP data sets newly available to the evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, and primatology communities: (1) the sizes and demographic compositions of 21 social groups from 1971-2023; (2) the activity budgets of adult females and immatures from 1984-2023; (3) behavioral data on diet for adult females and immatures from 1984-2023; and (4) weather data, including precipitation from 1976-2023 and temperature from 1976-2022. Data are aggregated annually and monthly to enable cross-data set analyses. These data offer a rare longitudinal perspective on behavioral and ecological change in a wild mammal population.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.wwpzgmszf
Description of the data and file structure
Long-term data sets on individually recognized animals and their environments are critical to understanding animal behavior, evolution, and ecology. However, they are resource- and time-intensive and seldom made publicly available. The Amboseli Baboon Research Project (ABRP) is one of the longest-running studies of a wild mammal population in the world and has collected extensive data on the baboon population of the Amboseli ecosystem in Kenya since 1971. Here, we describe four ABRP data sets newly available to the evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, and primatology communities: (1) the sizes and demographic compositions of 21 social groups from 1971-2023; (2) the activity budgets of adult females and immatures from 1984-2023; (3) behavioral data on diet for adult females and immatures from 1984-2023; and (4) weather data, including precipitation from 1976-2023 and temperature from 1976-2022. Data are aggregated annually and monthly to enable cross-data set analyses. These data offer a rare longitudinal perspective on behavioral and ecological change in a wild mammal population.
Files and variables
See file "table_descriptions.xlsx" for full README info and description of included .csv files.
Changes after Oct 30, 2025:
- Updated monthly_grp_comp_activity_diet.csv to include a column specifying the number of unique individuals who collected behavioral data from each group during each month
- Added detailed_diet.csv to provide more detailed information on the diet items consumed by each group during each month of observation
- Change "unclassified" diet items to "not recorded" across
- Updated table_descriptions.xlsx to include the additional "observer_count" column in monthly_grp_comp_activity_diet.csv and descriptions of all columns in detailed_diet.csv
