DOI: 10.5061/dryad.vr15t
title: Data from: Community-wide mesocarnivore response to partial ungulate migration

description: Mesocarnivores increase in number and geographic range in human-disturbed
 ecosystems with cascading negative impact on biodiversity. To mitigate
 such impacts it is essential to identify the proximate causes of such
 mesocarnivore releases. Here we assess to what extent increased partial
 migration in semi-domesticated tundra reindeer induce a response in boreal
 and arctic mesocarnivores. We used a large-scale and multi-year
 quasi-experimental study design with camera traps deployed on coastal
 tundra peninsulas in northern Norway to estimate area occupancy of the
 whole carnivore community. These peninsulas represent summer pastures for
 separate semi-domestic reindeer herds that, owing to different degrees of
 partial migration, now display spatially and temporally variable densities
 of year-round resident reindeer. We estimated resident reindeer density by
 means of aerial surveys. Area occupancy of all the recorded carnivore
 species increased strongly when resident reindeer densities exceeded 1.5
 deer km-2. Most of the increasing carnivore species were typical boreal
 forest species, implying range expansions into tundra when provided with
 stable food resources (prey and carrion) in terms of resident reindeer.
 Synthesis and applications. We found that boreal mesocarnivores, known to
 negatively impact the productivity of reindeer and arctic wildlife of
 conservation concern, steeply increased in tundra areas with many
 year-round resident reindeer due to increased partial migration. To avoid
 such negative impacts, actions should be taken to minimize residency in
 tundra reindeer.
description: Species Detection
 Histories PorsangerSværholt 2009Presence/Absence data
 per day per site.EcoFinnOccTables09.RDataSpecies Detection Histories PorsangerSværholt 2010Presence/Absence data per day per site.EcoFinnOccTables10.RDataSpecies Detection Histories PorsangerSværholt 2011Presence/Absence data per day per site.EcoFinnOccTables11.RDataSpecies Detection Histories VarangerNordkinn 2009Presence/Absence data per day per site.EcoFinnOccTablesV09.RDataSpecies Detection Histories VarangerNordkinn 2010Presence/Absence data per day per site.EcoFinnOccTablesV10.RDataSpecies Detection Histories VarangerNordkinn 2011Presence/Absence data per day per site.EcoFinnOccTablesV11.RDataBait Covariate VarangerNordkinn 2010Covariate for detection indicating the days since bait was either put out or replaced (i.e. 0,1,2,3,...).BaitCoVarV10X.RDataBait Covariate VarangerNordkinn 2009Covariate for detection indicating the days since bait was either put out or replaced (i.e. 0,1,2,3,...).BaitCoVarV09X.RDataBait Covariate VarangerNordkinn 2011Covariate for detection indicating the days since bait was either put out or replaced (i.e. 0,1,2,3,...).BaitCoVarV11X.RDataReindeer Counts for each study block and yearContains Block ID, Surveyed area and Reindeer Count for each year in each block.ReindeerCounts-BlockYear.txtSite (1st dimension) And Species (3rd dimension) Sequence in the Species Detection History TablesSite names and species names for the 1st and 3rd dimension, respectively, of the Presence/Absence data arrays, per year and study blocks. Important to be able to assign the correct reindeer abundance to the respective study blocks and for interpreting estimates for the respective species in the carnivore community.Site And Species Sequence in OccTable.txt