DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.11179647
title: Effects of nest-site availability on male-male competition and associated costs of nest site maintenance and paternal care in a resource-defense species

description: Effects of nest-site availability on male-male competition and associated costs of nest site maintenance and paternal care in a resource-defense species

This repository contains the .csv files used for the statistical analyses of the study "Effects of nest-site availability on male-male competition and associated costs of nest site maintenance and paternal care in a resource-defense species". In case of questions, please email Laís A. Grossel: laisgrossel@gmail.com

Data files and structure

We have files for the analysis with field and experimental data.

With the file field.csv we tested the probability of males obtaining a nest and receiving eggs from females. In this file, we have the headers:



maleID: identity of males in the field

DSW: dorsal scute width, in mm

mass: to the nearest 0.001 g

nest_possession: with 2 levels: 0 if the male did not possess a nest and 1 if the male possessed a nest

nest_opening: in cm

parental_status: with 3 levels: 0 if the male did not have a nest, 1: if the male had a nest but no eggs, and 2: if the male had a nest and eggs


With the file experiment_nests.csv we tested predictions related with the nest possession. In this file, we have the headers:



terrariaID: identity of the 14 terraria (containing 4 or 8 nests)

exp_group: experimental group, with 2 levels of nests availability: low (4 nests per terraria) and high (8 nests per terraria)

nestID: identity of the nests

occupation: if the nest was once occupied during the experiment, with 2 levels: 0 if it was never occupied and 1 if it was occupied at least once

occupied_scans: number of scans with any male inside the nest

vacant_scans: number of scans without any male inside the nest

total_scans: total number of observation scans 

owners: number of different owners of the nest (at least 6 consecutive scans)

turnover: if there was at least a substitution of the nest owner without figths, with 2 levels: 0 if there was not any substitution and 1 if there was a substitution

turnovers_number: number of substitutions of the nest owner without figths

takeover: if there was at least a takeover attempt of the nest after figths, with 2 levels: 0 if there was not any attempt and 1 if there was an attempt

takeovers_number: number of takeover attempts of the nest after figths

fight: if there was at least a figth inside or close to the nest, with 2 levels: 0 if there was not any figth and 1 if there was a figth

fights_number: number of figths inside or close to the nest

canibalism: if there was at least a cannibalism event inside the nest, 2 levels: 0 if there was not any cannibalism event and 1 if there was a cannibalism event

canibalism_number: number of cannibalism events (= number of eggs cannibalized) inside the nest


With the file experiment_males.csv we tested predictions related to the males owners. In this file, we have the headers:



terrariaID: identity of the 14 terraria (containing 4 or 8 nests)

exp_group: experimental group, with 2 levels of nests availability: low (4 nests per terraria) and high (8 nests per terraria)

maleID: identitity of the males

DSW: dorsal scute width, in mm

nest_possession: with 2 levels: 0 if the male never possessed a nest during the experiment and 1 if the male possessed a nest at least once (6 consecutive scans)

nestID: identity of the nest possessed by the male

inside_scans: number of scans with the male inside his nest

outside_scans: number of scans with the male outside his nest

total_scans: total number of scans in which the male was the owner of the nest

takeover: if the male suffered a takeover attempt of his nest, with 2 levels: 0 if the male did not suffer any attempt and 1 if the male suffered an attempt

eggs: if the male received eggs from a female, with 2 levels: 0 if the male did not receive eggs and 1 if the male received eggs

eggs_number: number of eggs received 

cannibalism: if the owner male cannibalized the eggs inside the nest, 2 levels: 0 if the male did not cannibalize eggs and 1 if the male cannibalized eggs

cannibalism_number: number of eggs cannibalized by the owner male 


With the file fights-takeovers.csv we tested predictions related with nest takeovers. In this file, we have the headers:



terrariaID: identity of the 14 terraria (containing 4 or 8 nests)

exp_group: experimental group, with 2 levels of nests availability: low (4 nests per terraria) and high (8 nests per terraria)

nestID: identity of the nest possessed by the male

focalID: identitity of the focal males (the owner nest)

DSW: dorsal scute width, in mm

fight: if the male was involved in at least a figth, with 2 levels: 0 if the male was not involved in any figth and 1 if the male was involved in a figth

takeover: if the male suffered a takeover attempt of his nest, with 2 levels: 0 if the male did not suffer any attempt and 1 if the male suffered an attempt. Obs: the nest takeover always happens after a fight. If there was a takeover, then there was a fight too.

res_focal: result of the figth or takeover for the focal male, with 2 levels: 0 if the focal male did not lose the figth or the nest and 1 if the focal male lost the figth or the nest

intruderID: identity of the intruder male involved in the figth or the takeover with the owner male

intruder_DSL: dorsal scute width of the intruder male, in mm

dyad: identity of the two individuals involved in the figth or takeover (owner male and intruder male)

DSW_difference: difference between the dorsal scute width of the dyad (focal male minus intruder male)