Data from: Fear of feces? Trade-offs between disease risk and foraging drive animal activity around raccoon latrines
| Main Authors: | Weinstein, Sara B., Moura, Chad W., Mendez, Jon Francis, Lafferty, Kevin D. |
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| Format: | info dataset Journal |
| Terbitan: |
, 2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: |
https://zenodo.org/record/4945442 |
Daftar Isi:
- Fear of predation alters prey behavior, which can indirectly alter entire landscapes. A parasite-induced ecology of fear might also exist if animals avoid parasite-contaminated resources when infection costs outweigh foraging benefits. To investigate whether animals avoid parasite contaminated sites, and if such avoidance balances disease costs and foraging gains, we monitored animal behavior at raccoon latrines — sites that concentrate both seeds and pathogenic parasite eggs. Using wildlife cameras, we documented over 40 potentially susceptible vertebrate species in latrines and adjacent habitat. Latrine contact rates reflected background activity, diet preferences and disease risk. Disease-tolerant raccoons and rats displayed significant site attraction, while susceptible birds and small mammals avoided these high-risk sites. This suggests that parasites, like predators, might create a landscape of fear for vulnerable hosts. Such non-consumptive parasite effects could alter disease transmission, population dynamics, and even ecosystem structure.
- Latrine_CamerasWe monitored animal activity at Coal Oil Point Reserve in Santa Barbara County, California using wildlife camera traps. We set camera traps (Moultrie models: MFH-DGS-M80XT, MCG-12594, MCG-12631) at raccoon latrines and latrine-adjacent habitat to examine wildlife contact rates with raccoon latrines and exposure risk to the raccoon parasite, Baylisascaris procyonis. We mapped latrines and then monitored animal behavior at latrines and paired latrine-adjacent sites from December 2012 through April 2015. We identified vertebrate animals in camera trap photos and recorded when animals were in contact with or foraging in latrines. The "latrine cameras" data set includes three sheets with (1) set data for each camera deployment, (2) animal observations from each camera, and (3) latrine habitat surveys. Field attributes for each sheet are described in the "Metadata ReadMe" file. Contact S. Weinstein for access to original camera trap photos.Funding provided by: National Science FoundationCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001Award Number: 1144085