DOI: 10.5061/dryad.r2280gbrc
title: Data from: Thermal imaging demonstrates physiological responses to grooming interactions and audience effects in wild baboons

description: This dataset comprises 1,583 thermal observations of wild chacma baboons
 (Papio ursinus) in Namibia, collected during grooming, foraging, and
 resting behaviours. Observations include metadata on date, troop,
 environmental temperature, individual identity, behavioural context,
 audience composition, number of repeated images in a session under the
 same condition, and nasal temperature measurements extracted from infrared
 thermal images. Data were collected under natural conditions and processed
 using ThermoView Pro software, with images manually annotated for quality.
 Of the 1,626 original images captured, 43 were excluded due to
 environmental confounds (e.g., direct sun, wind) or data scarcity based on
 age group (e.g., infants). The dataset is structured at the
 session-observation level and includes repeated measures across
 individuals. It supports research on social physiology, emotional proxies
 in animals, audience effects, and the application of non-invasive thermal
 imaging in behavioural ecology. Ethical approval and research permit were
 obtained from the UK and Namibian authorities, and all data were collected
 via non-invasive methods. The dataset offers strong reuse potential for
 studies of primate behaviour, physiology, and socioecological dynamics in
 wild populations.
description: # Data from: Thermal imaging demonstrates physiological responses to
 grooming interactions and audience effects in wild baboons Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.r2280gbrc](10.5061/dryad.r2280gbrc) ## Description of the
 data and file structure This dataset includes 1,583 observations of wild
 chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) collected using infrared thermal imaging
 between May and July 2023 at Tsaobis Nature Park, Namibia. The dataset
 accompanies the manuscript: "Thermal imaging demonstrates
 physiological responses to grooming interactions and audience effects in
 wild baboons" (Jao et al., 2024). A total of 1,626 thermal images
 were originally collected. Of those, 43 images were excluded due to
 environmental confounds (e.g., direct sun, wind) or data scarcity based on
 age group (e.g., infants). The remaining 1,583 observations comprise the
 cleaned and analysis-ready dataset. Each row corresponds to one
 observation and includes contextual metadata such as date, troop,
 environmental temperature, focal activity, grooming role, partner
 identity, audience composition, number of repeated images in a session
 under the same condition, and infrared nasal temperature measurements
 extracted from thermal images. ## Data collection Each entry represents a
 unique image. Images were captured using an RS PRO Thermal Imaging Camera,
 and nasal temperatures were extracted manually using ThermoView Pro
 software. Observations were conducted in shaded conditions whenever
 possible and were discarded if strong wind or direct sun exposure was
 present. ## Files and description #### File: Jao_et_al_data_analyses.R
 **Description:** R code used to analyse the thermal imaging data in line
 with the study's aims. #### File: Jao_thermal_data.txt
 **Description:** Data used in the publication. ##### Variables *
 Individual: A code for the individual whose image was taken * Troop: The
 troop to which the baboon belonged (two levels: J, L) * Instance: The
 grouping variable for multiple images that were taken of one individual
 (referred to as 'Session' in the paper) * Env_Temp: The ambient
 temperature in degrees Celsius at the time the image was taken *
 Activity1: General activity state (three levels: Rest, Forage, Groom) *
 Activity3: Activity state specifying grooming given or received as
 separate states (four levels: Rest, Forage, Groom_giver, Groom_receiver) *
 Position: Where Activity1 is Grooming, this variable specifies whether
 they were the giver or receiver (two levels: Giver, Receiver; non-grooming
 denoted by NA) * Partner: A code for the partner of the groomer, where
 Activity1 is Grooming (non-grooming denoted by NA) * Repeat: A value for
 the count of images taken in one instance.  * Nose_Temp: The temperature
 in degrees Celsius for the region of interest for each image. * Sex: the
 sex of the Individual (F = female, M = male) * Age_Group: The age class of
 the individual (three levels: Juvenile, Subadult, Adult) * Rel_rank: The
 relative rank of the Individual standardised between 0 (lowest rank) and 1
 (highest rank)  * Audience_Num: The count of the number of individuals in
 the audience of the Individual photographed (within 5 m) *
 Max_Audience_Rank: The relative rank (ranging from 0 to 1) of the
 highest-ranking individual in the audience. NA if audience is 0. *
 Audience_Bond: The average of the bond to the individuals in the audience.
 0 if there is no audience.  ## Methods summary: \- Study site: Tsaobis
 Nature Park, Namibia. \- Equipment: RS PRO Thermal Imaging Camera (384—288
 px), emissivity set at 0.95. \- Nasal temperature extraction: Manual
 delineation of nasal area using ThermoView Pro software. \- Conditions:
 Only shaded, low-wind conditions used for imaging; sessions with poor
 lighting or disrupted behaviour were excluded. \- Social and rank data:
 Merged from long-term project records and ad libitum observations. \-
 Behavioural definitions: Grooming: Fur manipulation. Foraging: Searching
 for and consuming food. Resting: Inactive but alert (eyes open). \-
 Audience data: Count of individuals within 5 m of focal subject. ## Reuse
 potential: This dataset can be used for: \- Comparative studies on thermal
 physiology and behaviour. \- Analyses of emotion proxies in non-human
 primates. \- Investigating audience effects and social context in wild
 animal behaviour. \- Validation of thermal imaging as a tool in field
 ecology and animal welfare studies. ## Code/software Data are analysed in
 R and the code is included.