DOI: 10.5061/dryad.1g1jwsv9t
title: Impact of wildlife culling on the physiological stress and space use of a social herbivore

description: Wildlife culling is a widely used but often contentious management tool
 for controlling overabundant species. While previous research suggests
 that behavioural responses of eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus)
 to culling are relatively minor, physiological measures can offer
 additional insight into how animals perceive such events. In this study,
 we assessed changes in faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM)
 concentrations to evaluate the physiological response of kangaroos to a
 conservation cull in the Australian Capital Territory. We collected faecal
 samples immediately before (n = 255) and after (n = 171) the cull and
 analysed FGM levels alongside patterns of space use inferred from
 GPS-located faeces. Post-cull FGM concentrations were 29% lower than
 pre-cull levels, suggesting a subdued physiological response inconsistent
 with what might be expected following a major predation-like event.
 Additionally, kangaroos were found to graze further from refuge sites
 after the cull, further indicating reduced stress or increased perceived
 safety. Our findings align with previous behavioural data and suggest that
 the culling operation had minimal negative impact on the remaining
 individuals. This study highlights the value of incorporating
 physiological metrics into wildlife assessments and demonstrates the
 importance of multi-faceted approaches in evaluating the outcomes of
 wildlife management interventions.
description: # Impact of wildlife culling on the physiological stress and space use of
 a social herbivore Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.1g1jwsv9t](10.5061/dryad.1g1jwsv9t) ## Description of the
 data and file structure This is data used in the analyses for the paper
 'Impact of wildlife culling on the physiological stress and space use
 of a social herbivore'. Data was collected in Canberra, Australian
 Capital Territory (ACT), between May and August 2023. ### Files and
 variables ### File: Campbell_etal_data_faeces.xlsx ### Sheet 1: FGM *
 Site: the location the faeces was collected. * Cull_control: whether the
 site was a treatment (cull) or control sites. * Pre_post: whether the
 faecal sample was collected before the cull (pre) or after the cull
 (post). * Cull_size: the percentage of the original population culled. *
 Habitat: whether the site was completely surrounded by trees (closed) or
 an open area with fewer trees (open). * Ave_mob: average mob size in the
 session the faeces were collected in. * FGM: faecal glucocorticoid
 metabolites (ng/g). * Date: the date the sample was collected. # Sheet 2:
 Distance * Site: the location the faeces was collected. * Date: the date
 the sample was collected. * Cull_control: whether the site was a treatment
 (cull) or control sites. * Pre_post: whether the faecal sample was
 observed before the cull (pre) or after the cull (post). * Distance_m: the
 distance (in meters) from the sample to the nearest refuge (tree line). *
 Cull_size: the percentage of the original population culled. * Max_mob:
 the maximum mob size in the session the faeces were observed. * Max_pop:
 the maximum population size in the session the faeces were observed. #
 Sheet 3: Clumping * Site: the location the faeces was collected. *
 Cull_control: whether the site was a treatment (cull) or control sites. *
 Pre_post: whether the faecal sample was observed before the cull (pre) or
 after the cull (post). * Ave_mob: average mob size in the session that the
 faeces were observed. * Max_mob: the maximum mob size in the session the
 faeces were observed. * r_meters: the minimum clustering radius of faeces
 (in meters). ## Code/software All statistical analyses were performed
 using Rstudio and the packages jtools, dplyr version, lme4, glmmTMB,
 spatstat and dbmss. ## Access information All data was collected by the
 authors of this study. Please feel free to contact us with any questions
 regarding this data.