Data for: Predation and biophysical context control long-term carcass nutrient inputs in an Andean ecosystem
Data files
Dec 19, 2023 version files 85.83 KB
Abstract
Animal carcass decomposition is an often-overlooked component of nutrient cycles. The importance of carcass decomposition for increasing nutrient availability has been demonstrated in several ecosystems, but impacts in arid lands are poorly understood. In a protected high desert landscape in Argentina, puma predation of vicuñas is a main driver of carcass distribution. Here, we sampled puma kill sites across three habitats (plains, canyons, and meadows) to evaluate the impacts of vicuña carcass and stomach decomposition on soil and plant nutrients up to 5 years after carcass deposition. Soil beneath both carcasses and stomachs had significantly higher soil nutrient content than adjacent reference sites in arid, nutrient-poor plains and canyons, but not in moist, nutrient-rich meadows. Stomachs had greater effects on soil nutrients than carcasses. However, we did detect higher plant N concentrations at kill sites. The biogeochemical effects of puma kills persisted for several years and increased over time, indicating that kills do not create ephemeral nutrient pulses, but can have lasting effects on the distribution of soil nutrients. Comparison to broader spatial patterns of predation risk reveals that puma predation of vicuñas is more likely in nutrient-rich sites, but carcasses have the greatest effects on soil nutrients in nutrient-poor environments, such that carcasses increase localized heterogeneity by generating nutrient hotspots in less productive environments. Predation and carcass decomposition may thus be important overlooked factors influencing ecosystem functioning in arid environments.
README: Data for “Predation and biophysical context control long-term carcass nutrient inputs in an Andean ecosystem”, by Monk, J.D., E. Donadio, J.A. Smith, P.L. Perrig, A.D. Middleton and O.J. Schmitz, 2023
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.kkwh70s8t
Data collected in San Guillermo National Park (SGNP), Argentina, from 2014-2019
Description of the data and file structure
FILES:
Monk_carcass_plant_data.csv
Monk_carcass_soil_data.csv
Monk_nutrient_risk_spatial_data.csv
Monk_carcass_plant_data.csv Dataset used for analyzing plant nutrient data at puma kill sites
* sample_type: Type of sample (i.e. plant, soil)
* treatment: treatment at sampling location (carcass = beneath a camelid carcass, stomach = beneath excised camelid stomach contents, ref = reference location 6m from carcass at kill site)
* latitude: latitude of kill site
* longitude: longitude of kill site
* carcass_id: ID of kill site
* habitat: Habitat of kill site (Plain = open plains refuge habitat, nutrient-poor, sparsely vegetated; Canyon = rocky canyons and mountain slopes, high-predation risk habitat, nutrient-poor, sparsely vegetated; Meadow = heavily vegetated wet meadow, nutrient-rich, high-predation risk habitat)
* d15N: δ¹⁵N values of samples
* d13C: δ¹³C values of samples
* percentN: % Nitrogen of samples, expressed on a scale from 0 to 1
* percentC: % Carbon of samples, expressed on a scale from 0 to 1
* CtoN: carbon to nitrogen ratio of samples
Monk_carcass_soil_data.csv Dataset used for analyzing soil nutrient data at puma kill sites
* sample_type: Type of sample (i.e. plant, soil)
* treatment: treatment at sampling location (carcass = beneath a camelid carcass, stomach = beneath excised camelid stomach contents, ref = reference location 6m from carcass at kill site)
* latitude: latitude of kill site
* longitude: longitude of kill site
* carcass_id: ID of kill site
* habitat: Habitat of kill site (Plain = open plains refuge habitat, nutrient-poor, sparsely vegetated; Canyon = rocky canyons and mountain slopes, high-predation risk habitat, nutrient-poor, sparsely vegetated; Meadow = heavily vegetated wet meadow, nutrient-rich, high-predation risk habitat)
* grav_moisture: air-dried moisture content of soil [(wet mass soil - dry mass soil)/(dry mass soil)]
* temp: soil temperature (celsius)
* d15N: δ¹⁵N values of samples
* d13C: δ¹³C values of samples
* percentN: % Nitrogen of samples, expressed on a scale from 0 to 1
* percentC: % Carbon of samples, expressed on a scale from 0 to 1
* CtoN: carbon to nitrogen ratio of samples
* Fe: iron concentration of sample [mg/kg]
* Ca: calcium concentration of sample [mg/kg]
* K: potassium concentration of sample [mg/kg]
* Mg: magnesium concentration of sample [mg/kg]
* Mn: manganese concentration of sample [mg/kg]
* B: boron concentration of sample [mg/kg]
* Na: sodium concentration of sample [mg/kg]
* Zn: zinc concentration of sample [mg/kg]
* P: phosphorus concentration of sample [mg/kg]
* carcass_age: time since kill date/carcass deposition (in years)
Monk_nutrient_risk_spatial_data.csv Dataset used for analyzing the spatial correlation between soil nitrogen and puma predation risk in San Guillermo National Park
* percentN: % Nitrogen of soil, expressed on a scale from 0 to 1
* habitat: Habitat of sample (Plain = open plains refuge habitat, nutrient-poor, sparsely vegetated; Canyon = rocky canyons and mountain slopes, high-predation risk habitat, nutrient-poor, sparsely vegetated; Meadow = heavily vegetated wet meadow, nutrient-rich, high-predation risk habitat)
* longitude: longitude of sampling location (combination of reference locations at kill sites and random points across the landscape)
* latitude: latitude of sampling location (combination of reference locations at kill sites and random points across the landscape)
* riskvalue: probability of puma kill site selection (on a scale from 0 to 1) derived from a resource selection function of predicted kill sites applied to the study area (from Smith et al. 2020, Ecology).