DOI: 10.5061/dryad.0gb5mkm6v
title: Data from: Influences of ski-runs, meadow management and climate on the occupancy of reptiles and amphibians in a high-altitude environment of Italy

description: Alpine ecosystems harbour a rich and highly-specialized biodiversity which
 is particularly susceptible to anthropogenic disturbances such as habitat
 loss and fragmentation as well as to climate change. Combined with other
 forms of land-use conversion, construction and maintenance of ski resorts
 can have severe consequences on alpine biodiversity. In this study, we
 show how one amphibian and two reptile species, namely Rana temporaria,
 Zootoca vivipara and Vipera berus, respond to such impacts by means of a
 multi-season occupancy analysis. We found all three species both in and
 outside ski-runs, showing that these habitats do not necessarily preclude
 their occurrence. Contrarily, this is influenced more by microhabitat
 availability, such as ground vegetation, humid areas, and rock cover,
 rather than by macro-characteristics like elevation or habitat type.
 Moreover, we found a climatic influence on the year-to-year occupancy
 change of the species, with activity-months conditions being more relevant
 than overwintering ones. Our results demonstrate how, in the specific case
 of reptiles and amphibians, ski resorts do not necessarily limit species’
 occurrence and that a mild series of management actions might secure the
 species’ persistence in the area.
description: README for Influences of winter tourism, land management and climate on
 the population ecology of reptiles and amphibians in a high-altitude
 environment by Michele Chiacchio, Dennis Rdder, Klaus Henle and Annegret
 Grimm-Seyfarth 2023-08-09 This readme file describes the data files and
 supplementary files accompanying the above publication. For any further
 queries please contact
 [michele.chiacchio@ufz.de](mailto:michele.chiacchio@ufz.de) The Excel-file
 contains the following tables: 1\) "RT", "ZV",
 "VB" Presence/absence data and environmental variables for *Rana
 temporaria*, *Zootoca vivipara* and *Vipera berus*, respectively. The
 column names of the tables are as follows: plot- Plot identification name
 days.x [columns 2-37] - daily presence/absence value for each species (1
 if present, 0 if absent, "NA" if no data are available). First
 four digits indicate years of survey (2018-2021), digits following periods
 the day of survey (1-9) habitat - Main habitat found on plot. 1: ski-run,
 2: disturbed meadow, 3: pastural meadow, 4: alpine meadow humid - humid
 spot density water - distance from the nearest permanent water source (m)
 ecotone - distance from the nearest ecotone (m) rock - rock density bush
 [columns 43-46] - yearly average bush density. Final two digits indicate
 year of survey (2018-2021) log [[columns 47-50] - yearly average log
 density. Final two digits indicate year of survey (2018-2021) veg
 [[columns 51-54] - yearly average ground-vegetation height (cm). Final two
 digits indicate year of survey (2018-2021) sprR [[columns 55-58] - total
 precipitation from the previous spring (May-July). Final two digits
 indicate year of survey (2018-2021) sumR [[columns 59-62] - total
 precipitation from the previous summer (August-September). Final two
 digits indicate year of survey (2018-2021) winT [[columns 63-66] - average
 temperatures from the recently terminated winter (October-April). Final
 two digits indicate year of survey (2018-2021) date [columns 67-102] -
 Julian date. First four digits indicate years of survey (2018-2021),
 digits following periods the day of survey (1-9) sincerain [columns
 103-138] - number of days since the last precipitation. First four digits
 indicate years of survey (2018-2021), digits following periods the day of
 survey (1-9) air [[columns 139-174] - daily average air temperature. First
 four digits indicate years of survey (2018-2021), digits following periods
 the day of survey (1-9) hour [[columns 175-210] -Morning time slot during
 which survey was conducted. First four digits indicate years of survey
 (2018-2021), digits following periods the day of survey (1-9) grazers
 [[columns 211-246] - daily presence/absence of grazing species. First four
 digits indicate years of survey (2018-2021), digits following periods the
 day of survey (1-9)