DOI: 10.5061/dryad.rjdfn2zq6
title: Data from: Activity patterns during the mating season predict sex-biased infections in an emerging fungal disease

description: Mating dynamics can govern species impacts from rapid global change by
 influencing population rates of growth and adaptation, as well as
 individual traits that affect mortality risks from novel pressures. Here,
 we examined sex differences in the activity of Myotis lucifugus during
 their mating season, which coincides with exposure to the lethal fungal
 pathogen (Pseudogymnoascus destructans) that causes white-nose syndrome.
 We expected differences in activity between sexes to modify seasonal P.
 destructans dynamics as the pathogen can replicate only at the cool
 temperatures at which bats hibernate. We used passive antenna systems
 installed at the entrances of hibernacula and PIT tags to characterize
 activity patterns of bats. We also measured pathogen loads on bats during
 the autumn mating and early hibernation periods to assess how infection
 changed according to host phenology. We found that females spent fewer
 days active during autumn, arrived after males, and were primarily active
 on the warmest nights. Males remained highly active throughout the mating
 season and later in autumn than females. Importantly, differences in
 phenology corresponded to higher pathogen loads on females during early
 hibernation as male activity, and thus warm body temperatures, inhibit
 pathogen growth. Differences in activity between sexes and in the
 transition from swarm to hibernation likely reflect males maximizing their
 mating opportunities while females conserve energy to meet the cost of
 spring migration and reproduction. More broadly, our results show how
 activity during the mating season and phenology can contribute to
 sex-biased impacts of a novel disease and highlight the value of
 understanding species’ mating systems to anticipate the impacts of
 environmental change.
description: # Data from: Activity patterns during the mating season predict sex-biased
 infections in an emerging fungal disease ## Description of the data and
 file structure The datasets contain field-collected activity and infection
 data from bats impacted by white-nose syndrome. ## Description of the data
 and file structure ### Data files used in the manuscript include: *
 df1.activity_rev1.csv contains activity data during the mating season *
 df2.infection_rev1.csv contains infection data ### Variables: Explanation
 of the columns found in the data files are provided below as ‘column name:
 applicable data frames, description:' * pit_id: df1.activity,
 Individual PIT tag ID * wyear2: df1.activity and df2.activity, Year of
 data collection * pid.wy2: df1.activity, Combined PIT tag ID and year *
 sex: df1.activity and df2.infection, Sex categorized by external
 morphology * M = male * F = female * age: df1.activity, Age; all adults
 (A) * init.det: df1.activity, Bat detected for the first time (=1) or
 previously detected (=0) * last.det: df1.activity, Bat detected for the
 last time (=1) or detected on subsequent nights (=0) * bat.pdate:
 df1.activity, Monthly date units adjusted for nocturnal cycles;
 substracted one day for activity that occurred between 12AM–7AM. * Date
 transformations were also used for mindate and maxdate below. *
 bat.pdate2: df1.activity, Monthly date units as in ‘bat.pdate’ above, then
 scaled to start at 0. * mindate: df1.activity, First date (transformed as
 in bat.pdate) of detection * mindate2: df1.activity, First date
 (transformed as in bat.pdate2) of detection * maxdate: df1.activity, Last
 date (transformed as in bat.pdate) of detection * maxdate2: df1.activity,
 Last date (transformed as in bat.pdate2) of detection * detect:
 df1.activity, Bat not detected (=0) or detected (=1) in a night * isa:
 df1.activity, Number of date intervals (3-day bins) since first detection,
 * NA = not applicable, assigned to avoid duplicate interval designations
 across days occurring within the same interval or on dates bats were not
 detected * wy2s.tag: df1.activity, Years since bat was tagged * lead.tmin:
 df1.activity, Minimum temperature of the next date (degrees Celsius) *
 bat.tavg: df1.activity, Mid-point environmental temperature (degrees
 Celsius) * totnt.dets: df1.activity, Total number of detections in a night
 by bat, * NA = not applicable for nights when the bats were not detected *
 n.dates_cm: df1.activity, Cumulative number of dates a bat was detected *
 site: df1.activity, Site name * site.wy2: df1.activity and df2.infection,
 Combined site and year column * mass: df1.activity, Mass of bats at
 capture (grams) * NA = not available for bats that returned from a
 previous year * lgdL2: df2.infection, log10(quantity of fungal DNA) in
 positive samples * NA = fungal load data not available because bats were
 not infected or they were infected at levels below the limit of detection
 * samp.seas: df2.infection, Season of sample collection; * pre.hib =
 autumn swarm * h.earl = early hibernation * pdate2: df2.infection, Same as
 bat.pdate above * med.maxdate: df2.infection, Median last date
 (transformed as in bat.pdate) of activity by site, year, sex * NA = not
 available in first year of PIT tag system deployment or where last date of
 activity could not be assigned (not detected &gt;=2 dates or juveniles) *
 mean.maxdate: df2.infection, Mean last date (transformed as in bat.pdate)
 of activity by site, year, sex * NA = not available in first year of PIT
 tag system deployment or where last date of activity could not be assigned
 (not detected &gt;=2 dates or juveniles) * maxdate: df2.infection,
 Individual last date (transformed as in bat.pdate) of activity * NA = not
 available in first year of PIT tag system deployment or where last date of
 activity could not be determined (not detected &gt;=2 dates or juveniles)
 * maxdate2: df2.infection, Individual last date (transformed as in
 bat.pdate2) of activity * NA = not available in first year of PIT tag
 system deployment or where last date of activity could not be determined
 (not detected &gt;=2 dates or juveniles)