GENERAL INFORMATION 1. Title of Dataset: Soay sheep grazing on St Kilda 2. Author Information A. Principal Investigator Contact Information Name: M.J. Crawley Institution: Imperial College London Address: Silwood Park, Ascot, UK, SL5 7PY Email: n.crawley@imperial.ac.uk B. Associate or Co-investigator Contact Information Name: Institution: Address: Email: C. Alternate Contact Information Name: J. Pemberton Institution: Edinburgh University Address: Email: J.Pemberton@ed.ac.uk 3. Date of data collection: 1993 to 2017 4. Geographic location of data collection latitude, longitude: Hirta, St Kilda, 57 48 N, -8 34 W 5. Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the data: NERC SHARING/ACCESS INFORMATION 1. Licenses/restrictions placed on the data: none 2. Links to publications that cite or use the data: Journal of Ecology 3. Links to other publicly accessible locations of the data: NA 4. Links/relationships to ancillary data sets: NA 5. Was data derived from another source? yes/no No A. If yes, list source(s): 6. Recommended citation for this dataset: Crawley, M.J. et. al. (2022) The dynamics of vegetation grazed by a food-limited population of Soay sheep on St Kilda. Journal of Ecology DATA & FILE OVERVIEW 1. File List: Fig2.csv Fig3.csv Fig4.csv Fig5.csv Fig6.csv Fig7.csv Fig8.csv Fig9.csv Fig10.csv biomass.csv age structure of study population.csv sppdata.csv delta and winter wet.csv delta with temperature.csv flower.stem.density.csv tussock.gap.cover.csv gap.and.tussock.mass.csv sward height means pre 1994.csv sward height.csv live biomass across communities.csv Fig SD2.csv Fig SD6.csv Fig SD10.csv Fig SD11.csv Fig SD12.csv Fig SD13.csv Fig SD15.csv Fig SD16.csv Fig SD17.csv Table SD5a.csv Table SD5b.csv Table SD6.csv 2. Relationship between files, if important: NA 3. Additional related data collected that was not included in the current data package: none 4. Are there multiple versions of the dataset? No METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION 1. Description of methods used for collection/generation of data: Field work on St Kilda in March and August each year from 1993-2017 2. Methods for processing the data: NA 3. Instrument- or software-specific information needed to interpret the data: NA 4. Standards and calibration information, if appropriate: NA 5. Environmental/experimental conditions: Ambient field conditions in March and August 6. Describe any quality-assurance procedures performed on the data: Multiple rounds of checking in the Soay Sheep Database on the served called Hebrides (Edinburgh University) 7. People involved with sample collection, processing, analysis and/or submission: Crawley, M.J., Pakeman, R.J., Albon, S.D., Pilkington, J.G., Stevenson, I.R., Morrissey, M.B., Jones, O.R., Allan, E., Bento, A., Hipperson, H., Asefa, G. and Pemberton, J.M. DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Fig2.csv 1. Number of variables: 2 2. Number of cases/rows: 36 3. Variable List: year referred to as t N whole island sheep count N(t) 4. Missing data codes: none 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Fig3.csv 1. Number of variables: 6 2. Number of cases/rows: 25 3. Variable List: year sheep whole island sheep count tussAug tussock cover (%) in August(t) tussMar tussock cover (%) in March(t+1) gapAug gap cover (%) in August(t) gapMar gap cover (%) in March(t+1) 4. Missing data codes: NA 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Fig4.csv 1. Number of variables: 13 2. Number of cases/rows: 25 3. Variable List: total biomass inclucing bryophytes and dead organic matter in 20/20cm quadrats year gA Holcus/Agrostis grassland in August(t) gM Holcus/Agrostis grassland in March(t+1) htA tall Heather in August(t) htM tall Heather in March(t+1) hsA short Heather in August(t) hsM short Heather in March(t+1) nA Nardus grassland in August(t) nM Nardus grassland in March(t+1) pA Plantago sward in August(t) pM Plantago sward in March(t+1) wA Wet Heath in August(t) wM Wet Heath in March(t+1) 4. Missing data codes: NA 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Fig5.csv 1. Number of variables: 12 2. Number of cases/rows: 25 3. Variable List: year sheep whole island sheep count in August(t) MarDOM Dead Organic Matter in March(t+1) g/20x20cm MarBryo Bryophtes in March(t+1) g/20x20cm MarGrass Grassin March(t+1) g/20x20cm MarHerb Herbs in March(t+1) g/20x20cm MarTotal total dry mass in March(t+1) g/20x20cm AugDOM Dead Organic Matter in August(t) g/20x20cm AugBryo Bryophytes in August(t) g/20x20cm AugGrass Grassin August(t) g/20x20cm AugHerb Herbs in August(t) g/20x20cm AugTotal total dry mass in August(t) g/20x20cm 4. Missing data codes: NA 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Fig6.csv 1. Number of variables: 9 2. Number of cases/rows: 18 3. Variable List: year GMM dry mass (g/20x20cm) above ground net production from Gun Meadow in March MFM dry mass (g/20x20cm) above ground net production from Mid Fields in March WMM dry mass (g/20x20cm) above ground net production from West Meadow in March SCM dry mass (g/20x20cm) above ground net production from St Columba in March GMA dry mass (g/20x20cm) above ground net production from Gun Meadow in August MFA dry mass (g/20x20cm) above ground net production from Mid Fields in August WMA dry mass (g/20x20cm) above ground net production from West Meadow in August SCA dry mass (g/20x20cm) above ground net production from St Columba in August 4. Missing data codes: NA 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Fig7.csv 1. Number of variables: 7 2. Number of cases/rows: 17 3. Variable List: year p1 productivity period 1 March(t) to August(t) mean for Mid Fields and West Meadow p2 productivity period 2 August(t) to Marcht(t+1) mean for Mid Fields and West Meadow p3 productivity period 3 March(t) to August(t) mean for Mid Fields and West Meadow delta change in log sheep population size from August(t) to August(t+1) sheep population size in August(t) wet tota winter rainfall (mm) in Jan, Feb and March in year t+1 4. Missing data codes: none 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Fig8.csv 1. Number of variables: 14 2. Number of cases/rows: 4 3. Variable List: season March or August location grazed sward or ungrazed cleit roof DOM Dead Organic Matter g/20x20cm bryophytes g/20x20cm Festuca g/20x20cm Agrostis g/20x20cm Poa g/20x20cm Rumex g/20x20cm Achillea g/20x20cm Arrhenatherum g/20x20cm Cerastium g/20x20cm Angelica g/20x20cm Holcus g/20x20cm Anthoxanthum g/20x20cm 4. Missing data codes: none 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Fig9.csv 1. Number of variables: 4 2. Number of cases/rows: 17 3. Variable List: year Holcus/Agrostis mean pluck-down g/20x20cm from Mid Fields and West Meadow GM mean pluck-down g/20x20cm from Gun Meadow StC mean pluck-down g/20x20cm from St Columba 4. Missing data codes: NA 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Fig10.csv 1. Number of variables: 5 2. Number of cases/rows: 25 3. Variable List: year tall Calluna biomass (green + woody) g/20x20cm in tall heather short Calluna biomass (green + woody) g/20x20cm in short heather N sheep population in August(t) diff difference in green Calluna biomass between August(t) and March(t+1) g/20x20cm summed over all 5 Calluna locations 4. Missing data codes: n 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: biomass.csv 1. Number of variables: 95 2. Number of cases/rows: 1445 3. Variable List: Date day/month/year Transect A, B, C, D or E (see Fig. 1) Position 1 or 2 (between the sea and The Street), 3 or 4 (between The Street and the Head Dyke), 5 or 6 (uphill from Head Dyke) veg plant community: g = Holcus/Agrostis grassland, h = heather, p = Plantago Sward, n = Nardus grassland, w = Wet Heath heather tall (B6, D5 or D6) or short (B5 or C5) communities dominated by heather nSpecies total sdpecies richness from an area of 40x20cm (1 20x20cm gap and 1 20x20 cm tussock) TotMass total dry mass g per 20x20cm AchMil Achillea millefolium g dry mass per 20x20cm (all the following are species names; see below for codes) AgrCan AgrSpp AgrSto AirPra AnaTen AngSyl AntOdo ArmMar ArrEla BelPer BleSpi BryopX bryophytes (all species combined) CalVul total Calluna vulgaris CalVulOld woody Calluna vulgaris CalVulYng green Calluna vulgaris CarEch CarPul CarSpp CerFon ClaSpp DacMac DanDec DeadOM Dead Organic Matter (all vascular plant species combined) DesFle DroRot EmpNigNig EquSpp EriAng EriCin EriCinOld woody Erica cinerea EriCinYng green Erica cinerea EupSpp FesOvi FesRub FesViv GalSax GenCam GrassX unsorted grass HerbsX unsorted herbs HolLan HydVul HypPul IriPse JunArt JunEff JunSqu LeoAut LolPer LuzMul MolCae MonFon NarOss NarStr NarStrDead Nardus stricta dead leaves NarStrLive Nardus stricta green leaves OphVul PedSyl PelHor PinVul PlaCor PlaLan PlaMar PoaPra PoaSpp PolSer PotEre PruVul PteAqu RanAcr RanFic RanRep RumAce SagPro SalRep SelSel SteMed SucPra TarOff ThyPol TriCes TriRep VacMyr VerOff VioPal VioRiv live total mass - Dead Organic Matter - bryophytes - woody Calluna - woody Erica grass sum of platable grasses AntOdo AgrCap FesRub HolLan PoaHum LolPer DanDec FesViv DesFle 4. Missing data codes: blanks mean 0 g 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: age structure of study population.csv 1. Number of variables: 4 2. Number of cases/rows: 32 3. Variable List: Year lamb young of the year, born in April(t) yearling animals born in April(t-1) adult animals born in April(t-2) or earlier Numers from the study population in Village Bay, aggregated over multiple census each spring, summer and autumn. 4. Missing data codes: none 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: sppdata.csv 1. Number of variables: 68 2. Number of cases/rows: 30 3. Variable List: This data frame is used in the multivariate analyses of plant communitiy composition in Supplementary A AchMil mean dry mass (averaged over 25 years) in each of the 30 sampling locations (Transects A-E and Poositions 1-6) Agrostis AirPra AnaTen AngSyl AntOdo ArmMar ArrEla BelPer BleSpi BryopX Calluna Carex CerFon ClaSpp DacMac DanDec DeadOM DesFle DroRot EquSpp EriAng Erica EupSpp FesOvi FesRub FesViv GalSax GenCam HolLan HydVul HypPul JunArt JunEff LeoAut LolPer LuzMul MolCae MonFon NarOss Nardus OphVul PedSyl PelHor PinVul PlaCor PlaLan PlaMar Poa PolSer PotEre PruVul PteAqu RanAcr RanFic RanRep RumAce SagPro SalRep SelSel SteMed SucPra TarOff ThyPol TriCes TriRep VioPal VioRiv The codes for the species names are explained in Table SB2 in Supplementary Information 4. Missing data codes: none 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: delta and winter wet.csv 1. Number of variables: 4 2. Number of cases/rows: 32 3. Variable List: year t delta log population changefrom tear t to year t+1 wet total rainfall (mm) in Jan, Feb and Mar in year t+1 sheep whole island count in August(t) 4. Missing data codes: none 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: delta with temperature.csv 1. Number of variables: 6 2. Number of cases/rows: 33 3. Variable List: year sheep whole island count from August(t) delta log population change between year(t) and year(t+1) wintermin average daily minimum for January, February and March(t+1) RGP aveage daily temperture during the Rapid Growth Phase for April, May and June(t+1) early earliness of spring as assessed by average temperature in February and March(t+1) 4. Missing data codes: NA 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: flower.stem.density.csv 1. Number of variables: 6 2. Number of cases/rows: 25747 3. Variable List: Date day/month/year Transect A, B, C, D or E (see Fig. 1) Zone 1 = between the sea and The Street, 2 = between The Streat and Head Dyke, 3 = uphill from the Head Dyke Replicate 1-30 SpCode species code (see Supplementary Table B2) FlCount the number of flowering stems counted in 40x40cm quadrat (there may be multiple species counts in the same quadrat) NoFlowers = 0 for all species 4. Missing data codes: none NoFlowers means a count of 0 for every species 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: tussock.gap.cover.csv 1. Number of variables: 8 2. Number of cases/rows: 1466 3. Variable List: veg plant community type: g = Holcus/Agrostis, h = heather, n = Nardus, p = Plantago Sward, w = Wet Heath Date day/Month/year Transect A, B, C, D or E Position 1 or 2 between the sea and The Street, 3 or 4 between The Street and the Head Dyke, 5 or 6 = uphill from the Head Dyke Gap the recorded number of gaps Tussock the recorded number of tussocks Indeterminate the recorded number of indeterminates sum 30 records per location (except in Aug 1993 when it was 12 records per location) 4. Missing data codes: none 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: gap.and.tussock.mass.csv 1. Number of variables: 79 2. Number of cases/rows: 2888 3. Variable List: veg plant community: g = Holcus/Agrostis, h = heather, n = Nardus, p = Plantago sward, w = Wet Heath Date day/Month/year Transect A-E Position 1-6 Sward G = gap or T = Tussock TotMass total dry matter g/20x20cm species species richness of vascular plants from an area of 20x20cm (c.f. species in biomass samples, above) AchMil species codes (see above) dry mass g/20x20cm Agrostis predominantly Agrostis capillaris but combined with A. stolonifera and A. vinealis AirPra AnaTen AngSyl AntOdo ArmMar ArrEla BelPer BleSpi BryopX bryophytes all species combined Calluna Carex all sedge species combined CerFon ClaSpp DacMac DanDec DeadOM Dead Organic Matter dry mass g/20x20cm DesFle DroRot EquSpp EriAng Erica green and woody mass combined EupSpp FesOvi FesRub FesViv GalSax GenCam GrassX unsorted grasses HerbsX unsorted herbs HolLan HydVul HypPul IriPse JunArt JunEff JunSqu LeoAut LolPer LuzMul MolCae MonFon NarOss Nardus OphVul PedSyl PelHor PinVul PlaCor PlaLan PlaMar Poa Poa humilis (recorded as Poa sp. until 2004, subseqently Poa pratensis) PolSer PotEre PruVul PteAqu RanAcr RanFic RanRep RumAce SagPro SalRep SelSel SteMed SucPra TarOff ThyPol TriCes TriRep Viopal VioRiv 4. Missing data codes: n 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: sward height means pre 1994.csv 1. Number of variables: 3 2. Number of cases/rows: 4 3. Variable List: Year March mean sward height (cm) in Holcus/Agrostis grassland in March August mean sward height (cm) in Holcus/Agrostis grassland in August 4. Missing data codes: none 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: sward.height.csv 1. Number of variables: 5 2. Number of cases/rows: 38260 3. Variable List: Date day/month/year Transect A-E Position 1-6 Location 1-25 until 2017, 20 subsequently Height individual sward height measured to nearest 0.5 cm, with samples spaced 10cm apart on a linear transect 4. Missing data codes: none 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Fig SD2.csv 1. Number of variables: 5 2. Number of cases/rows: 25 3. Variable List: year t ht8 mean sward height in Holcus/Agrostis grassland (cm) in August(t) ht3 mean sward height in Holcus/Agrostis grassland (cm) in March(t+1) sheep whole island population count in August(t) delta log population change August(t) to August(t+1) 4. Missing data codes: none 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Fig.SD6.csv 1. Number of variables: 7 2. Number of cases/rows: 25 3. Variable List: yearMar t+1 gapMar mean cover (score out of 30) of gaps in March(t+1) tussMar mean cover (score out of 30) of tussocks in March(t+1) yearAug t gapAug mean cover (score out of 30) of gaps in August(t) tussAug mean cover (score out of 30) of tussocks in August(t) sheep whole island population count in August(t) 4. Missing data codes: NA 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Fig. SD10 1. Number of variables: 3 2. Number of cases/rows: 25 3. Variable List: year t Ranunculus acris mean dry mass g/20x20cm sheep whole island count in August(t) 4. Missing data codes: none 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Fig SD11 1. Number of variables: 2 2. Number of cases/rows: 25 3. Variable List: year t species vascular plant species richness in tall heather (mean of B6, D5 and D6 in August(t)) 4. Missing data codes: none 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Fig SD12 1. Number of variables: 7 2. Number of cases/rows: 25 3. Variable List: sheep whole island population count in August(t) year t w mean vascular plant species richness in Wet Heath p mean vascular plant species richness in Plantago Sward n mean vascular plant species richness in Nardus grassland h mean vascular plant species richness in heather g mean vascular plant species richness in Holcus/Agrostis grassland 4. Missing data codes: 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Fig SD13 1. Number of variables: 3 2. Number of cases/rows: 14 3. Variable List: location location within Holcus/Agrostis grassland (A1-4, B1-4, C1-4, E1-2) species mean species richness in August over the period 1993-2017 in 40x20cm (1 gap and 1 tussock) live total live biomass g/20x20cm 4. Missing data codes: none 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Fig SD15 1. Number of variables: 2. Number of cases/rows: 3. Variable List: year t ht8 mean sward height in Holcus/Agrostis grassland in August(t) ht3 mean sward height in Holcus/Agrostis grassland in March(t+1) 4. Missing data codes: none 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: FigSD16 1. Number of variables: 4 2. Number of cases/rows: 35 3. Variable List: year t meadows mean dry mass (g/20x20cm) of pluck-down in Mid fields and West Meadow combined gun mean dry mass (g/20x20cm) of pluck-down in Gun Meadow StC mean dry mass (g/20x20cm) of pluck-down in St Columba 4. Missing data codes: NA 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Fig SD17 1. Number of variables: 2. Number of cases/rows: 32 3. Variable List: year t sheep whole island population count in August(t) delta log population change from August(t) to August(t+1) wet total winter rainfall (mm) over Jan-Mar(t+1) 4. Missing data codes: none 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Table SD5a 1. Number of variables: 18 2. Number of cases/rows: 25 3. Variable List: year t sheep whole island population count in August(t) RanAcr species codes (see above): g/20x20cm in Holcus/Agrostis grassland in August(t) FesRub PlaLan LeoAut AntOdo LolPer AgrCap RumAce PoaHum CerFon HolLan TriRep VioRiv GalSax SagPro LuzMul 4. Missing data codes: none 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Table SD5b 1. Number of variables: 2. Number of cases/rows: 24 3. Variable List: year t+1 sheep whole island population count in August(t) AgrCap species codes (see above): g/20x20cm in Holcus/Agrostis grassland in March(t+1) AntOdo CerFon FesRub GalSax HolLan MonFon PlaLan PoaHum RanAcr FicVer RumAce SagPro TriRep 4. Missing data codes: NA 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: 1. Number of variables: 2. Number of cases/rows: 3. Variable List: 4. Missing data codes: 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: Table SD6 Flower counts and sheep numbers: an example dataframe for Ranunculus acris. Other data extracted from flower.stem.density.csv 1. Number of variables: 8 2. Number of cases/rows: 24 3. Variable List: year t sheep whole island population count in August(t) lag1 whole island population count in August(t-1) lag2 whole island population count in August(t-2) z1 Zone 1 total (Sea to Street) flowering stems in 30 replicate quadrats of 40x40cm z2 Zone 2 total (Street to Head Dyke) flowering stems in 30 replicate quadrats of 40x40cm z3 Zone 3 total (above Head Dyke) flowering stems in 30 replicate quadrats of 40x40cm RanAcr total of Ranunculus acris flowering stems across all zones (n = 90) 4. Missing data codes: NA with some other species 5. Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: none