Carnivore guild utilization of hunter-provided food sources in boreal forest
Cite this dataset
Wikenros, Camilla et al. (2024). Carnivore guild utilization of hunter-provided food sources in boreal forest [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.44j0zpcn1
Abstract
Scavenging is an alternative foraging strategy to predation for many carnivore species, as they shift between predation and scavenging in response to changes in resource availability. The use of carrion may lead to interspecific competition and is thus influenced by a risk–reward trade-off to balance coexistence with guild-members, where smaller species are expected to be more vigilant due to their vulnerability to larger competitors. We used cameras to investigate the utilization of viscera from the annual moose Alces alces hunt by four sympatric carnivore species: wolf Canis lupus, wolverine Gulo gulo, red fox Vulpes vulpes and pine marten Martes martes in south-central Scandinavia, in relation to body size and habitat. Red foxes had highest probability of visiting viscera sites in both open and forested habitats. Visits by both red foxes and pine martens were longer in open habitats, while number of visits or activity did not differ between habitats. For pine martens, the probability of visiting viscera sites was twice as high in forest compared to open habitat; consequently, red foxes showed the highest overall use of viscera. Red foxes were most vigilant, especially in open habitat, whereas wolverines and pine martens spent a higher proportion of time feeding. Increased vigilance of red foxes facilitates extended resources use in open habitat, while for pine martens, the risk–reward decision occurs before leaving forest cover and entering open habitats. Viscera were not used to a large extent by wolves or wolverines. Wolves are generally less prone to scavenging and wolverines probably use other food resources, more suitable for caching. Overall, competition did not prevent use of viscera, probably due to small-scale temporal segregation and limited use by the larger carnivores. Consequently, this pulse of human-subsidized food resources before winter may have important implications for the smaller facultative scavengers.
README: Carnivore guild utilization of hunter-provided food sources in boreal forest
The data set contains 4 separate csv files used for Wikenros et al. Carnivore guild utilization of hunter-provided food sources in boreal forest
Data1_Carnivore guild utilization of hunter-provided food sources in boreal forest.csv
Data set used for the analysis of probability of visit to gut pile sites for wolves, wolverine, red fox and pine marten. For details regarding the analysis see Analysis A in Supporting information, Appendix 2 in the study
Variables
camera.id: gut pile site identity. Repeated 4 times, once per species
active: days camera at gut pile site was active, maximum 28 days from deployment.
wolf: “dummy variable” for wolf (e.g., 1 - the presence information at the cameras are for wolf, 0 - the presence information at the cameras are for other species)
wolverine: “dummy variable” for wolf (e.g., 1 - the presence information at the cameras are for wolverine, 0 - the presence information at the cameras are for other species)
red.fox: “dummy variable” for wolf (e.g., 1 - the presence information at the cameras are for red fox, 0 - the presence information at the cameras are for other species)
pine.marten: “dummy variable” for wolf (e.g., 1 - the presence information at the cameras are for pine marten, 0 - the presence information at the cameras are for other species)
presence: the species in question had visited the gut pile within 28 days of deployment (1), no visit from the species in question
habitat: habitat at the gut pile site (forest/open)
Data2_Carnivore guild utilization of hunter-provided food sources in boreal forest.csv
Data set used for the analysis of number of visits to gut pile sites for wolves, wolverine, red fox and pine marten. For details regarding the analysis see Analysis B in Supporting information, Appendix 2 in the study
Variables
camera.id: gut pile site identity
n.visit: number of visits at the gut pile site
active: days camera at gut pile site was active, maximum 28 days from deployment.
wolf: gut pile sites visited by wolf
wolverine: gut pile sites visited by wolverine
red.fox: gut pile sites visited by red fox
pine.marten: gut pile sites visited by pine marten
habitat: habitat at the gut pile site (forest/open)
Data3_Carnivore guild utilization of hunter-provided food sources in boreal forest.csv
Data set used for the analysis of visit length for wolves, wolverine, red fox and pine marten, and for proportion of vigilant/feeding behavior for wolverine, red fox and pine marten at gut pile sites. For details regarding the analysis see Analysis C and D in Supporting information, Appendix 2 in the study
Variables
camera.id: gut pile site identity
habitat: habitat at the gut pile site (forest/open)
species: species for each visit
feeding: proportion of time during the visit the individual spent foraging (for visits constituted by >1 photo for wolverine, red fox and pine marten)
vigilance: proportion of time during the visit the individual spent vigilant (for visits constituted by >1 photo for wolverine, red fox and pine marten)
active: days camera at gut pile site was active, maximum 28 days from deployment.
duration.visit: length of visit (min)
no.photos: number of photos constituting the visit
Data4_Carnivore guild utilization of hunter-provided food sources in boreal forest.csv
Five-minute time laps photos used for the analysis of temporal activity pattern for wolves, wolverine, red fox and pine marten at gut pile sites.
Variables
camera.id: gut pile site identity
habitat: habitat at the gut pile site (forest/open)
species: species for each visit
date: date for photo
time: time for photo
Funding
Interreg Sweden-Norway
Hedmark County Municipality
Swedish Research Council for Environment Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning, Award: 2016-01038
Swedish Research Council for Environment Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning, Award: 2016-00924
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
Stiftelsen Världsnaturfonden WWF
Marie-Claire Cronstedts Stiftelse
Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences
Våler, Åsnes, and Trysil Municipalities