Data from: The effects of tourist and boat traffic on parrot geophagy in lowland Peru

Ecotourism generates important revenue in many developing economies, but poorly regulated ecotourism can threaten the long-term viability of key biological re-sources. We determined the effects of tourism, boat traffic, and natural disturbances on parrot geophagy (soil consumption) across seven riverine claylicks in the low-lands of Madre de Dios, Peru. Claylick use significantly decreased when visitors did not follow good practice guidelines and tourist numbers exceeded the capacity of the observation blinds. Otherwise, tourist presence and natural disturbance did not have a significant effect. However, large macaws, particularly red-and-green macaws (Ara chloropterus), avoided visiting claylicks during periods of peak tourist num-bers. Where parrots had multiple geophagy sites to choose from, they preferred sites further from tourist groups. The effect of boat disturbance was greatest on a narrow river with infrequent boat events. On a wider river with heavier traffic, boat disturb-ance had less of an effect and this effect was inversely proportional to the distance of boats from the claylick. Where visitors followed good-practice tourism guide-lines, they had a low overall negative effect on parrot geophagy. We recommend that visitors respect the claylick observation guidelines to minimize anthropogenic dis-turbance on parrots and maintain these sites for the benefit of wildlife and humans alike.