Counterintuitive scaling between population abundance and local density: implications for modelling transmission of infectious diseases in bat populations

Raw data are available from the Dryad Dataset (https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.g4f4qrfqv). The data provided here are the processed density and abundance values (response/dependent variables), and roost features (predictor/independent variables) calculated from raw data, used in the manuscript 'Counterintuitive scaling between population abundance and local density: implications for modelling transmission of infectious diseases in bat populations' The file provided (merged.data.csv) contains all levels of data (roost-level, subplot-level, tree-level). Rows are individual trees (tree.accession) measured per site*month (site.accession). Individual trees per site*month are replicated for each species roosting in the tree (species - BFF = black flying-fox, GHFF = grey-headed flying-fox, LRFF = little red flying-fox, all=all species combined). Data from higher nested levels (e.g. roost-level) are replicated for each lower nested level (e.g. tree-level). Data are: - site.code - the roost (DAVO=Avondale, DBUR=Burleigh, DCAN=Canungra, DCLU=Clunes, DLIS=Lismore, DRED=Redcliffe, DSUN=Sunnybank, DTOW=Toowoomba) - session - session number (1=August 2018, 2=September 2018, 3=October 2018, and so on) - site.accession - the unique roost*session ID number (DAVO=Avondale, DBUR=Burleigh, DCAN=Canungra, DCLU=Clunes, DLIS=Lismore, DRED=Redcliffe, DSUN=Sunnybank, DTOW=Toowoomba) - subplot - the subplot number (1-10) - rep - unique site.accession*subplot ID number - species - BFF=black flying-fox, GHFF=grey-headed flying-fox, LRFF=little red flying-fox - Plot.Abundance - total subplot abundance estimated from index abundance values (recorded for all trees) [subplot-level predictor/independent variable] - density - subplot density estimated from total subplot abundance (above) divided by subplot area [“subplot-level density”] - Plot.Available.Trees - the number of midstory, canopy and overstory trees per subplot - Plot.Prop.Trees.Occupied - the proportion of trees occupied per subplot [subplot-level predictor/independent variable] - Plot.Kernel.Density - the kernel density estimate of bats per subplot [“subplot-level kernel density”]. Estimated with zero kernel values (i.e. blank space) removed - Ntrees - total number of tagged trees in subplot - a.can - number of tagged trees within subplot with tallest height above the canopy - b.can - number of tagged trees within subplot with tallest height below the canopy - can - number of tagged trees within subplot with tallest height at the canopy - E-OG - tally of crown classes within subplot, of tagged trees (D=dominant, C=co-dominant, I=intermediate, CI=co-dominant but below canopy, S=suppressed, E=emergent, OG=open) - roost.type - urban (if within the limits of a major urban area) or rural (if outside the limits of a major urban area) - see map figure in manuscript - core.periph - whether subplot was occupied >80% of surveys where bats were present at the roost (core) or <80% (peripheral) - see definition and justification in manuscript - NN.distance - the average distance between trees per subplot (i.e. nearest neighbors) - plotID- unique site*subplot ID number - Roost.Area - the total area (meters squared) of the roost per roost, calculated from the roost perimeter [roost-level predictor/independent variable] - roost.perimeter- the total perimeter (meters of the roost per roost, calculated from the roost perimeter - Roost.Available.Trees - a count of all tagged midstory, canopy and overstory trees within the roost - Roost.Index.Abundance - an estimate of roost abundance per roost. Index categories were as follows: 1 = 1-499 bats; 2 = 500-2,499 bats; 3 = 2,500 - 4,999 bats; 4 = 5,000 - 9,999 bats; 5 = 10,000 - 15,999 bats; 6 = 16,000 - 49,999 bats; and 7 = > 50,000 bat [roost-level predictor/independent variable] - Roost.Abundance - the abundance estimate of the roost per roost, estimated from direct census counts or taken from council estimates - tree.accession - unique tree ID. Name is structured as DAVO(site) 01(plot number) 001(tree number) - Tree.Abundance.all - an estimate of abundance per tree, from index abundance values for all trees [response/dependent variable: 'tree-level abundance'] - Tree.Preference.all - indicates tree preference for roosting: whether a tree is occupied =>80% of surveys (core trees=1) or less (peripheral trees=0) per tree [tree-level predictor/independent variable] - Tree.Occupancy.all - indicates tree preference for roosting: is the proportion of times a tree is occupied across the survey per tree. This is calculated for surveys when bats are present, only - Tree.Abundance.subset - a direct count of abundance per tree, from a subset of trees (N=6 per plot + zero values) - max - maximum roosting height of bat species (meters), measured for a subset of trees only - min - minimum roosting height of bat species (meters), measured for a subset of trees only - Tree.Height.Range.subset - the difference between the highest and lowest bat per tree, taken for a subset of trees only - value_dirichlet - the calculated crown area (meters squared) - Tree.Density.subset - the density of bats per tree, estimated as the total count by the height range and crown area, for a subset of trees only [response/dependent variable: 'tree-level 3-D density'] - Plot.Density.Trees - the density of midstory, canopy and overstory trees per subplot [subplot-level predictor/independent variable] - Roost.Density.Trees - the density of tagged midstory, canopy and overstory trees per roost [roost-level predictor/independent variable]