Perceived predation risk affects mammal behavior at Amazonian mineral licks
Data files
Jan 31, 2025 version files 983.14 KB
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README.md
3.90 KB
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Vigilance_Data.csv
979.24 KB
Abstract
Mineral licks are critical resources for herbivores in Amazonia and other tropical regions which may be deficient in dietary minerals or consuming alkaloid-laced leaves which may cause gastrointestinal issues. However, mineral licks are also important locations for predators, including human hunters. Animals visiting mineral licks must balance the benefits of relief of physiological stressors with the risk of predation, and they may employ behavioral adaptations to do so. We used camera trap data on six large-bodied mammal species at 52 mineral licks in the same watershed in the Peruvian Amazon to assess how mineral licks contribute to visiting species’ perception of risk. We tested the effects of a range of covariates including direct and indirect measures of risk, habitat characteristics, and soil properties on visit duration, a behavioral adaptation species may use to mitigate risk, in a generalized linear mixed-effects modeling framework. Tapirs, collared peccaries, and paca minimized visit duration in risky licks, while howler monkeys, red brocket deer, and black agoutis had higher visit duration in risky licks, potentially due to increased vigilance and reduced feeding efficiency. The strong relationships between risk and behavior across species demonstrates the ecological value of mineral licks for both predators and prey, as prey must seek mineral licks but at great cost. Conserving mineral licks in landscapes may be a critical component to the conservation of both herbivores and carnivores in Amazonia, and for food security of local people.
README: Perceived predation risk affects mammal behavior at Amazonian mineral licks
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sqv9s4ndg
Description of the data and file structure
This data was collected using camera trapping and soil sampling at mineral licks in the Sucusari River basin in the Peruvian Amazon, northeast of city of Iquitos in the Loreto Department. Camera trapping was conducted at 52 mineral licks on a rotation for about one year. Soil samples were collected at these same mineral licks and analyzed for their soil content.
Full methods of soil sampling can be found here:
Griffiths, B. M., Jin, Y., Griffiths, L. G., & Gilmore, M. P. (2023). Physical, landscape, and chemical properties of Amazonian interior forest mineral licks. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 45(6), 3263–3276.
Full methods of camera trapping can be found in the associated manuscript, or here:
Griffiths, B. M., Hansbrough, G., Griffiths, L. G., Valderrama, D., & Gilmore, M. P. (2024). Drivers of geophagy of large-bodied amazonian herbivorous and frugivorous mammals. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 1–10.
Files and variables
File: Vigilance_Data.csv
Description: All data needed to assess vigilance at mineral licks.
Variables
- Lick: Name of the mineral lick
- Survey: Camera trapping rotation the lick was trapped for for that sample
- Species: Species recorded in this visitation event
- DateTime: Date and time of the visitation event
- Individuals: Number of individuals present of the species in the visitation event
- VisitDate: Date of the visitation event, extracted from DateTime
- Longitude: Longitude of the lick, decimal degrees
- Latitude: Latitude of the lick, decimal degrees
- Elevation: Elevation extracted from DEM, m
- Slope: Slope extracted from DEM, degrees
- Rough: Surface roughness extracted from DEM, m
- Wetlands: 0/1 whether the lick is located in a wetland
- DistAcc: Distance from the closest major hunting access point, km
- DistComm: Distance from the community, km
- LickSize: Estimate of lick area, sq. m
- NumKillsInArea: Density of kills in the raster cell, # killed in 1 sq km around lick
- B: Soluble B concentration of consumed soil at mineral lick, ppm
- Ca.Exch: Exchangeable Ca concentration of consumed soil at mineral lick, meq/100g dry soil
- P.Free: Free P concentration of consumed soil at mineral lick, ppm
- K.Exch: Exchangeable K concentration of consumed soil at mineral lick, meq/100g dry soil
- N: Total N concentration of consumed soil at mineral lick, %
- Al: Exchangeable Al concentration of consumed soil at mineral lick, meq/100g dry soil
- Cu: Cu concentration of consumed soil at mineral lick, ppm
- Fe: Fe concentration of consumed soil at mineral lick, ppm
- Mn: Mn concentration of consumed soil at mineral lick, ppm
- Zn: Zn concentration of consumed soil at mineral lick, ppm
- Clay: Clay fraction of consumed soil at mineral lick, %
- Na.Exch: Exchangeable Na concentration of consumed soil at mineral lick, meq/100g dry soil
- pH: pH of consumed soil at mineral lick, ppm
- Mg.Exch: Exchangeable Mg concentration of consumed soil at mineral lick, meq/100g dry soil
- DurationMin: Duration of visit, min
- Month: Month of the visit, extracted from VisitDate
- MoonBright: Brightness of the moon during visit, % of full
- DurationMinInteger: Duration of visit, min (integer)
Code/software
None
Access information
Other publicly accessible locations of the data: