Sent are three .csv files that have all of the information from the mammal captures and drag sampling parts of the project. AntTickR5 is a cleaned up version of the master file for the mammal captures. FireAntMammR2Fixed is all of the information from the mammal captures displayed as totals for each plot each trapping session with information on the traps set out and tripped traps (closed traps with no mammal in them). TickDrag shows the (few) results from drag sampling. AntTickR5 - take note that several blanks may be found in some fields. This is due to some captures not being fully processed and checked only for ticks to save time due to excessive captures. Following are short descriptions of what can be found in each column: Date - the date that the mammal was captured and processed. Dates range from June 2013 until September 2014. Year - the year that the mammal was captured Season - the season that the mammal was captured (following the designations of June, July, and August for summer, September, October, and November for fall, December, January, and February for winter, and March, April, and May for spring) PlotID - the site were the mammal was captured. The site is either APC (Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge) or GRR (private ranch in Goliad County) LabelID - the ID for any vials for that particular mammal. It is a unique ID for each particular capture. Follows the designation of Site YYMMDD## (e.g. APC 13062601 for the first processed capture of that trap day) Transect - the plot that the mammal was caught on. Each site has four transects (T1, T2, UT1, UT2) with T representing treated plots and UT representing untreated, or control, plot. Treatment - designates the mammal as being caught on a treated or untreated plot. TrapID - The particular trap that the mammal was caught in. Each plot had three parallel line transects (usually A, B, and C) with 20 traps on each one. As such, the trap ID is composed of the transect letter and the trap number (from 1 through 20). At times, the trap ID was unable to be ascertained and is given as the transect letter and a question mark. Weight - the weight of the captured mammal in grams. Calculated by weighing the mammal in a bag and then weighing the bag. ScientificName - the scientific name of the captured mammal (includes Sigmodon hispidus, Baiomys taylori, Reithrodontomys fulvescens, Chaetodipus hispidus, Peromyscus leucopus, Cryptotis parva, Perognathus merriami, Oryzomys palustris, and one unknown mammal). The one unknown mammal was a fire ant mortality that was only a pile of fur and some bones. Sex - the sex of the captured mammal. Male is designated as M and female is designated as F. In a few cases (designated as NA), the sex could not be determined. In the event that this field is left blank, the captured mammal was likely only checked for ticks before being released (too many mammals captured that day to fully process all of them). Recapture - indicates whether the mammal was captured before (Y) or not (N). In some events, the technicians were unsure of the status due to the appearance of holes that resembled ear biopsies or a lost ear tag (Y?). In my experience, most of these designations are really cases of N, and conservatively should be regarded as such. NDRecapture - indicates whether the mammal was captured the day before (Y) or not (N). DateLastCaught - if possible, gives the date of the last capture for a given recaptured mammal. EarTagNumber - all species (except for Baiomys taylori, Cryptotis parva, and Perognathus merriami) were given an ear tag with an almost unique number. Some of the numbers were reused at times, but in these events, the sex or species of the mammal was different. LREarTag - indicates if the ear tag was placed in the mammal's left or right ear. Can assist in differentiating ear tag numbers at times. TickPresence - indicates if the mammal had ticks (1) or if no ticks were found (0). TotalTicks - gives the total number of ticks found on the mammal (ranges from 0 to 18). TickSpecies - if a tick was found, this column designates what species was found (Amblyomma maculatum or Ixodes scapularis). LifeStage - gives the breakdown of the various life stages each tick was found at (LL for larval and NN for nymphal). Mortality - indicates if the captured mammal was deceased for some reason FireAntMammR2Fixed Date - the date that the traps were picked up Month - an abbreviated form of the month being trapped MonthN - the month in numerical form Season - the season being trapped (following the designations of June, July, and August for summer, September, October, and November for fall, December, January, and February for winter, and March, April, and May for spring) Year - the year being trapped Site - the site that was being trapped that day (APC - Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge; GRR - private ranch in Goliad County) Transect - the plot that the row contains information for (one of T1, T2, UT1, or UT2). T represents plots treated for fire ants and UT represents control plots. Treatment - designates if row is about information from a plot that is Treated for fire ants or Untreated TotalTraps - the number of traps set out on the plot. The number is usually 60 as each plot is composed of three line transects of 20 traps each. Tripped - the number of traps that were closed at some point during the night, but did not have a mammal (thus removing themselves from being able to catch a mammal) ETNTotal - a measure of estimated trap nights for the plot. Each trap set out adds one trap night to the total. Estimated trap nights adjust for tripped traps by assuming that they closed sometime during the night and thus are only worth half of a trap night. Captures - the total number of captures from that plot ProportionCaptures - total captures divided by the estimated trap nights Recaptures - the total number of recaptured mammals captured from this trapping event NumberSigmodon - the total number of Sigmodon hispidus captured from this plot PropSig - the number of Sigmodon hispidus captured divided by the estimated trap nights NumberBaio - the total number of Baiomys taylori captured from this plot NumberReithro - the total number of Reithrodontomys fulvescens captured from this plot NumberTicks - the total number of ticks found on all captured mammals on this plot PropTicks - not filled in yet. You could either calculate the number of ticks divided by the total mammal captures or ticks divided by the estimated trap nights or whatever else. NumberParasitized - the number of mammals found with ticks on this plot PropParasitized - the number of mammals with ticks divided by the estimated trap nights TickDrag Date - the date that the drag sampling was performed. Several of the trapping sessions will not have drag sampling records due to unfortunate weather conditions. Site - the site that the drag sampling was performed at (APC - Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge; GRR - private ranch in Goliad County) Transect - Often given as a number. I honestly have no idea what many of the July and some of the August 2013 numbers mean. Starting September 2013 the transect is either given as the trapping transect or more frequently as 1 and 2 (meaning between transect A and B or B and C, respectively). Tech - the technician(s) doing the drag sampling Start - the start time of the drag sampling Stop - the stop time of the drag sampling Duration - the total time in minutes covered from start to stop Distance - the distance covered by drag sampling in meters DragTicks - the total number of ticks found on the drag cloth during drag sampling TechTicks - the total number of ticks found on the technician while checking the drag cloth while drag sampling TotalTicks - the total number of ticks (both drag sampled and technician ticks) found while drag sampling Weather - Usually a comment on the temperature and overall type of weather experienced while drag sampling Comments - various comments about the habitat and drag sampling experience if given