Find research datasets worth reusing
Search datasets from major research repositories and use ShareScore to quickly assess how well each record supports discovery, access, and reuse.
155
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.9.0
Dataset results
155 results for “large herbivores”
Data from: Density-dependent resource partitioning of temperate large herbivore populations under rewilding
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Stay home, stay safe: site familiarity reduces predation risk in a large herbivore in two contrasting study sites
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: On the spatial clustering of behavioural phenotypes: Matching movement tactics with landscape structure in a large herbivore
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Overabundant populations of large wild herbivores disrupt plant-pollinator networks in a Mediterranean ecosystem
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Ecosystem-wide responses to fire and large mammal herbivores in an African savanna
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Age specific impacts of vegetation functional traits on gastro-intestinal nematode parasite burdens in a large herbivore
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Large scale variation in birth timing and synchrony of a large herbivore along the latitudinal and altitudinal gradients
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data for: Horizontal viewsheds of large herbivores as a function of woodland structure
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Plant aboveground biomass data: Herbivore Effects on a Large, Unmanipulated Area
The purpose of this experiment was to measure herbivore effects over a large area that had not been manipulated rather than the 4 by 4 meter treatment I plots in E008 and E009. None of the plots in this experiment received any nutrients. Otherwise, the construction of this experiment is identical to E008 and E009.
Gopher mounds: Herbivore Effects on a Large, Unmanipulated Area
The purpose of this experiment was to measure herbivore effects over a large area that had not been manipulated rather than the 4 by 4 meter treatment I plots in E008 and E009. None of the plots in this experiment received any nutrients. Otherwise, the construction of this experiment is identical to E008 and E009.
Grasshopper data: Herbivore Effects on a Large, Unmanipulated Area
The purpose of this experiment was to measure herbivore effects over a large area that had not been manipulated rather than the 4 by 4 meter treatment I plots in E008 and E009. None of the plots in this experiment received any nutrients. Otherwise, the construction of this experiment is identical to E008 and E009.
Grasshopper individual characteristics: Herbivore Effects on a Large, Unmanipulated Area
The purpose of this experiment was to measure herbivore effects over a large area that had not been manipulated rather than the 4 by 4 meter treatment I plots in E008 and E009. None of the plots in this experiment received any nutrients. Otherwise, the construction of this experiment is identical to E008 and E009.
Percent light penetration: Herbivore Effects on a Large, Unmanipulated Area
The purpose of this experiment was to measure herbivore effects over a large area that had not been manipulated rather than the 4 by 4 meter treatment I plots in E008 and E009. None of the plots in this experiment received any nutrients. Otherwise, the construction of this experiment is identical to E008 and E009.
Small mammal abundance: Herbivore Effects on a Large, Unmanipulated Area
The purpose of this experiment was to measure herbivore effects over a large area that had not been manipulated rather than the 4 by 4 meter treatment I plots in E008 and E009. None of the plots in this experiment received any nutrients. Otherwise, the construction of this experiment is identical to E008 and E009.
Soil nitrogen: Herbivore Effects on a Large, Unmanipulated Area
The purpose of this experiment was to measure herbivore effects over a large area that had not been manipulated rather than the 4 by 4 meter treatment I plots in E008 and E009. None of the plots in this experiment received any nutrients. Otherwise, the construction of this experiment is identical to E008 and E009.
Large mammalian herbivores contribute to conspecific negative density dependence in a temperate forest
<p>1. The Janzen-Connell Hypothesis (JCH) predicts that density-responsive and host-specific natural enemies limit the population sizes of abundant species. Importantly, these interactions help to maintain local community diversity through time. While ample evidence exists for the demographic predictions of the JCH, it remains unclear which natural enemies drive these dynamics across different plant communities.</p> <p>2. While large mammalian herbivores are often assumed to lack the specialized diet needed to drive Janzen-Connell effects, they do show a degree of host-preference that could drive density-dependent plant demography. However, the potential role of large mammalian herbivores in Janzen-Connell interactions has only rarely been investigated.</p> <p>3. Using 204 seedling transects (1 x 10 m) at 51 sites across a 900-hectare forested reserve in southwestern Pennsylvania (USA), we examined the role that large mammals play in driving conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) in temperate tree seedlings. Individual fences were erected around half of the transects (N=102) to exclude large mammals, and were paired with adjacent unfenced transects. Within transects, a total of ~15,000 individual seedlings were monitored over three growing seasons.</p> <p>4. Demographic neighborhood models were constructed to examine the influence of neighborhood composition and density on seedling survival and growth. An interaction term between conspecific neighbor density and fencing treatment was included to test the hypothesis that large herbivores cause CNDD.</p> <p>5. We found that seedling survival was influenced by both conspecific neighbor density and fencing. CNDD was strongest when large mammals were allowed access to seedlings, and these results were driven by two abundant taxa (Prunus serotina and Fraxinus spp). Despite evidence that large mammals mediate CNDD, we found no effect of fencing on rarified species richness or evenness in seedling transects during the study.</p> <p>6. Synthesis: Debate regarding the role of large herbivores in fostering the diversity and stability of forest communities continues. Our results indicate that large mammalian herbivores can cause CNDD in some temperate tree species, but whether they help to promote community diversity over time remains unclear. Further research is needed to assess the role of large mammalian herbivores in driving conspecific negative density dependence in plant communities.</p>
Data from: The nutritional balancing act of a large herbivore: an experiment with captive moose (Alces alces L)
The nutrient balancing hypothesis proposes that, when sufficient food is available, the primary goal of animal diet selection is to obtain a nutritionally balanced diet. This hypothesis can be tested using the Geometric Framework for nutrition (GF). The GF enables researchers to study patterns of nutrient intake (e.g. macronutrients; protein, carbohydrates, fat), interactions between the different nutrients, and how an animal resolves the potential conflict between over-eating one or more nutrients and under-eating others during periods of dietary imbalance. Using the moose (Alces alces L.), a model species in the development of herbivore foraging theory, we conducted a feeding experiment guided by the GF, combining continuous observations of six captive moose with analysis of the macronutritional composition of foods. We identified the moose's self-selected macronutrient target by allowing them to compose a diet by mixing two nutritionally complementary pellet types plus limited access to Salix browse. Such periods of free choice were intermixed with periods when they were restricted to one of the two pellet types plus Salix browse. Our observations of food intake by moose given free choice lend support to the nutrient balancing hypothesis, as the moose combined the foods in specific proportions that provided a particular ratio and amount of macronutrients. When restricted to either of two diets comprising a single pellet type, the moose i) maintained a relatively stable intake of non-protein energy while allowing protein intakes to vary with food composition, and ii) increased their intake of the food item that most closely resembled the self-selected macronutrient intake from the free choice periods, namely Salix browse. We place our results in the context of the nutritional strategy of the moose, ruminant physiology and the categorization of food quality.
Data from: Revisiting the functional response in habitat selection for large herbivores: a matter of spatial variation in resource distribution?
Most habitats are distributed heterogeneously in space, forcing animals to move according to both habitat characteristics and their needs for energy and safety. Animal space use should therefore vary according to habitat characteristics, a process known as the "functional response" in habitat selection. This response has often been tested vis-à-vis the proportion of a habitat category within areas available to individuals. Measuring sought-after resources in landscape where they are continuously distributed is a challenge and we posit here that both the mean availability of a resource and its spatial variation should be measured. Accordingly, we tested for a functional response in habitat selection according to these two descriptors of the resource available for a mountain herbivore. We hypothesized that selection should decrease with mean value of resources available and increase with its spatial variation. Based on GPS data from 50 chamois females and data on the actual foodscape (i.e. distribution of edible-only biomass in the landscape), we estimated individual selection ratio (during summer months) for biomass at the home range level, comparing edible biomass in individual home ranges and the mean and standard deviation of edible biomass in their available range. Chamois being a group-living species, available accessible ranges were shared by several individuals that formed socio-spatial groups (clusters) in the population. As expected, selection ratios increased with the standard deviation of edible resources in each cluster, but unlike our prediction, was unrelated to its mean. Selection of areas richer in resources hence did not fade away when more resources were available on average, a result that may be explained by the need for this capital breeder species to accumulate fat-reserve at a high rate during summer months. Low spatial variation could limit the selection of chamois, which highlights the importance of resource distribution in the process of habitat selection.
Data from: Extreme precipitation variability, forage quality and large herbivore diet selection in arid environments
Nutritional ecology forms the interface between environmental variability and large herbivore behaviour, life history characteristics, and population dynamics. Forage conditions in arid and semi-arid regions are driven by unpredictable spatial and temporal patterns in rainfall. Diet selection by herbivores should be directed towards overcoming the most pressing nutritional limitation (i.e. energy, protein [nitrogen, N], moisture) within the constraints imposed by temporal and spatial variability in forage conditions. We investigated the influence of precipitation-induced shifts in forage nutritional quality and subsequent large herbivore responses across widely varying precipitation conditions in an arid environment. Specifically, we assessed seasonal changes in diet breadth and forage selection of adult female desert bighorn sheep Ovis canadensis mexicana in relation to potential nutritional limitations in forage N, moisture and energy content (as proxied by dry matter digestibility, DMD). Succulents were consistently high in moisture but low in N and grasses were low in N and moisture until the wet period. Nitrogen and moisture content of shrubs and forbs varied among seasons and climatic periods, whereas trees had consistently high N and moderate moisture levels. Shrubs, trees and succulents composed most of the seasonal sheep diets but had little variation in DMD. Across all seasons during drought and during summer with average precipitation, forages selected by sheep were higher in N and moisture than that of available forage. Differences in DMD between sheep diets and available forage were minor. Diet breadth was lowest during drought and increased with precipitation, reflecting a reliance on few key forage species during drought. Overall, forage selection was more strongly associated with N and moisture content than energy content. Our study demonstrates that unlike north-temperate ungulates which are generally reported to be energy-limited, N and moisture may be more nutritionally limiting for desert ungulates than digestible energy.
Data from: Numbers and population trends of large herbivores in Mole National Park, Ghana
<p>Mole National Park (MNP) is Ghana's oldest and largest wildlife preserve. Eight large herbivores were counted in four different seasons in 2013/2014 on transects covering 4.7% of the park to estimate their population sizes and trends after changes in park management; all species were more abundant than previously reported. Averaging counts across seasons, and including all age classes, gave an estimated population of 1595 elephants, which is likely to be a substantial proportion of the west African elephant population. Kob were the most abundant herbivore, with an estimated population of 9092, followed by bushbuck (6758), warthog (6247) and hartebeest (6039). Roan, buffalo and waterbuck population estimates were 4382, 4272 and 4140 respectively. The impact of widespread burning on herbivore populations is currently unknown, but probably helps maintain both numbers and diversity. While all herbivore populations were higher than previously estimated, it was hard to determine the extent of recent increases due to methodological limitations of earlier aerial surveys. However, the distribution of large herbivores seems to be little changed, suggesting that both numbers and distribution are still limited by poaching and seasonal water availability.</p>
ScienceDex guides
Understand access before you commit
These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.