DOI: 10.5061/dryad.2h1q2
title: Data from: Network analyses support the role of prey preferences in shaping resource use patterns within five animal populations

description: Individual variation is an inherent aspect of animal populations and
 understanding the mechanisms shaping resource use patterns within
 populations is crucial to comprehend how individuals partition resources.
 Theory predicts that differences in prey preferences among consumers
 and/or differences in the likelihood of adding new resources to their
 diets are key mechanisms underlying intrapopulation variation in resource
 use. We developed network models based on optimal diet theory that
 simulate how individuals consume resources under varying scenarios of
 individual variation in prey preferences and in the willingness of
 consuming alternate resources. We then investigated how the structure of
 individual–resource networks generated under each model compared to the
 structure of observed networks representing five classical examples of
 individual diet variation. Our results support the notion that, for the
 studied populations, individual variation in prey preferences is the major
 factor explaining patterns in individual–resource networks. In contrast,
 variation in the willingness of adding prey does not seem to play an
 important role in shaping patterns of resource use. Individual differences
 in prey preferences in the studied populations may be generated by complex
 behavioral rules related to cognitive constraints and experience. Our
 approach provides a pathway for mapping foraging models into network
 patterns, which may allow determining the possible mechanisms leading to
 variation in resource use within populations.
description: Individual networks of
 resource use from five animal populationsThe dataset includes
 five interaction networks from three animal species. The data comprises
 qualitative information on individual patterns of resource use from each
 animal species. Individuals are depicted in rows and resources in columns.
 Pinaroloxias inornata (Passeriformes, Thraupidae) is a finch from the Coco
 Island, Costa Rica. This data was originally published by Werner and
 Sherry (1987). The Pinaroloxias network comprised 21 sampled individuals
 that used 7 different feeding strategies to acquire resources. Feeding
 strategies are described in the spreadsheet. The second and third sheets
 comprise information on feeding interaction from the marine snail Nucella
 emarginata (Neogastropoda, Muricidae) from two different localities in
 central California. These two data sets were originally published by West
 (1986). In site A, 20 individuals were sampled and consumed 7 resources.
 In site B, 31 individuals were sampled and consumed 3 resources. The
 fourth and fifth sheets describe the feeding interactions from two
 populations of the marine snail Vasula melones from Panama. These dataset
 was originally published by West (1988). In site A, 42 individuals were
 sampled and consumed 8 resources, whereas in site B, 21 individuals were
 sampled and consumed 14 resources. Resources are described within each
 spreadsheet. For further information regarding data collection from any of
 the study systems we refer readers to the original articles. References:
 Werner, T. K. and Sherry, T. W. 1987. Behavioral feeding specialization in
 Pinaroloxias inornata, the “Darwin’s finch” of Cocos Island, Costa Rica. –
 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 84: 5506–5510; West, L.
 1986. Interindividual Variation in Prey Selection by the Snail Nucella (=
 Thais) Emarginata. - Ecology 67: 798; West, L. 1988. Prey Selection by the
 Tropical Snail Thais Melones: A Study of Interindividual Variation. -
 Ecology 69: 1839;Binary_Networks_resource_use_Oikos.xlsx