DOI: 10.5061/dryad.fttdz094g
title: Data from: Population estimate and spatial distribution of capybaras in Lake Paranoá, Brasília, Brazil

description: The capybara is the largest living rodent, attracting attention due to its
 large size, its formation of large herds, and because it is commonly seen
 in urban environments. Thus, understanding the dynamics of capybara
 populations living in urban environments is relevant, especially given the
 conflicts observed between the species and humans in these environments.
 Here, we investigated the hypothesis of overpopulation of the capybara in
 Lago Paranoá, a lake in a large neotropical city, Brasília, Brazil. To do
 this, we investigated their spatial distribution at the site and estimated
 the capybara population using a variation of the mark-recapture method and
 compared it to known population estimates for the species. We found that
 the capybaras in our study area mainly form small flocks of 1 to 9 animals
 and occupy almost the entire shore of Lake Paranoá. We estimated the
 occurrence of 0.30 to 0.52 ind./ha (average = 0.41 ind./ha), demonstrating
 that the number of capybaras in our region is small when compared to
 capybara counts in other regions (range 0.075 - 6.44 ind./ha).
 Furthermore, we found that although the capybara population fluctuates
 throughout the year, it appears to be stable, not supporting our initial
 hypothesis. Urban areas can provide habitat for some species, which may
 help offset negative effects of losses of unmanaged habitats; however,
 this raises the possibility of wildlife-human conflicts
description: # Population estimate and spatial distribution of capybaras in Lake
 Paranoá, Brasília, Brazil Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.fttdz094g](10.5061/dryad.fttdz094g) ## Description of the
 data and file structure Over a year (10/2021 - 09/2022), the shore of Lake
 Paranoá was covered with the help of a *voadeira* (aluminum boat with an
 outboard motor) at a speed of around 20 km/h and approximately 30 m from
 the shore (Figure 2). The same route was covered every month for 12
 months. We standardized the counts for the afternoon, after 4 pm, based on
 the literature, which reports greater activity of the species at dusk and
 dawn (Moreira et al., 2013c). Due to the large expanse of the shore of
 Lake Paranoá, complete monitoring took place over four sampling days,
 totaling around 8 hours of sampling per month. Counts were carried out on
 consecutive days whenever possible, except in cases of adverse weather
 conditions. When activities were canceled, the count was restarted on the
 next day with suitable conditions (to assess the capybara count days along
 with the number of capybaras sighted at each site, see Table S1). This
 division was aimed at homogeneity in the observation schedule, with as few
 interruptions as possible, reducing the influence of weather conditions on
 the results of the counts. Two simultaneous counts were carried out
 independently by two different observers (Mourão & Campos, 1995). In
 addition, to ensure independence in the counts, the two observers were
 positioned at opposite ends of the boat (bow/pop, Figure 2) ### Files and
 variables #### File:
 Santos\_et\_al.\_-\_Population\_estimate\_and\_spatial\_distribution\_of\_capybaras\_in\_Lake\_Paranoá\_\_Brasília\_\_Brazil.csv **Description:**  ##### Variables * Date: Transection date * Observer_1: number of capybara observed by the first observer * Observer_2: number of capybara observed by the second observer * Latitude: Latitudinal coordinate * Longitude: Longitudinal coordinate