DOI: 10.5061/dryad.v6581
title: Data from: Ungulate distributions in a rangeland with competitors, predators, and pastoralists

description: African rangelands support diverse ungulate communities whose member
 species exhibit unique combinations of body morphology and behaviour that
 have evolved over millions of years to limit the effects of competition
 and predation on fitness, and more recently, to cope with people and
 livestock. The mechanisms by which native ungulates cope with the combined
 effects of competition, predation and human disturbance are poorly
 understood. Addressing this knowledge gap will help guide management and
 conservation plans for large mammal communities outside of strictly
 protected areas. We conducted animal counts on line transects and used a
 spatially explicit distance sampling model to test the influence of
 bottom–up effects (vegetation), top–down effects from African lion
 Panthera leo and spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta and human disturbance
 (livestock density, occupied human settlements) on native ungulate
 densities and distributions across a multiple-use rangeland in Kenya. We
 examined five species that varied in body morphology and foraging
 strategy, including two large-bodied grazers (zebra Equus quagga;
 wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus), two medium-bodied, mixed-feeders
 (Grant's gazelle Nanger granti; impala Aepyceros melampus) and one
 very large-bodied browser (giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi).
 Densities and distributions of all species varied across available
 land-use types, with bottom–up effects (vegetation) and human disturbance
 having the strongest overall effects. Responses varied by ungulate
 foraging strategy. Distributions of grazers and the browser (giraffe)
 changed seasonally, while distributions of mixed-feeders and a grazer
 (zebra) changed diurnally. At broad spatial scales, ungulates did not
 respond to long-term variation in predation risk though they have been
 shown to respond behaviourally to short-term variation in risk. Synthesis
 and applications. Our results revealed that native ungulates in this
 multiple-use rangeland occur at densities comparable to many flagship
 protected area populations. We attribute observed densities to spatial
 heterogeneity across this landscape that included variation in human land
 use (community conservation area, seasonal settlements and livestock
 grazing, permanent settlements) and vegetation (grassland, bushland,
 woodland) that changed through time (seasonally, diurnally). This
 variation allowed ungulates to carve out ecological niches while reducing
 exposure to the potential limiting effects of competition and human
 disturbance. For some species, securing access to forage resources and
 avoiding human disturbance may be associated with costs through increased
 risk of predation. Our research reveals the trade-offs native ungulates
 make to cope with changes in forage availability, human disturbance and
 predation risk, providing important insights to help guide native ungulate
 conservation efforts in multiple-use rangelands.
description: Schuette_kenyan_ungulate_distance_dataAll data were collected in Olkiramatian and Shompole Maasai Group Ranches in the southern Rift Valley of Kenya from 2008 - 2010. All column headings in the data file are defined in the 'Notes' field in this Excel workbook. Details on survey methods are included in the manuscript. Additional details are available upon request.