Vicuna antipredator diel movement drives spatial nutrient subsidies in a high Andean ecosystem

Large animals could be important drivers of spatial nutrient subsidies when they ingest resources in some habitats and release them in others, even moving nutrients against elevational gradients. In high Andean deserts, vicuñas (Vicugna vicugna) move daily between nutrient-rich wet meadows, where there is abundant water and forage but high risk of predation by pumas (Puma concolor), and nutrient-poor open plains with lower risk of predation. In all habitats, vicuñas defecate and urinate in communal latrines. We investigated how these latrines impacted soil and plant nutrient concentrations across three habitats in the Andean ecosystem (meadows, plains, and canyons), and used stable isotope analysis to explore the source of fecal nutrients in latrines. Latrine soils had higher concentrations of nitrogen, carbon, and other nutrients than did non-latrine soils across all habitats. These inputs corresponded with an increase in plant quality (lower C:N) at latrine sites in plains and canyons..., , , # Vicuña antipredator diel movement drives spatial nutrient subsidies in a high Andean ecosystem

Data for “Vicuña anti predator diet movement drives spatial nutrient subsidies in a high Andean ecosystem”, by Monk, J.D., E. Donadio, P.F. Gregorio, and O.J. Schmitz, 2023

Julia D. Monk

Yale University

University of California - Berkeley

Data collected in San Guillermo National Park (SGNP), Argentina, in 2020

## Description of the data and file structure

**FILES:**

Monk_isotope_data.xlsx

Monk_latrine_counts.xlsx

Monk_latrine_cover.xlsx

Monk_latrine_diameter.xlsx

Monk_plant_nutrient_data.xlsx

Monk_soil_nutrient_data.xlsx

***Monk_isotope_data.xlsx*** Dataset used for analyzing vicuña feces and plant material C and N isotopes for stable isotope mixing models

*Tab: Mixes (Vicuña feces)*

habitat: Habitat of latrine site (Plains = open plains refuge habitat, nutrient-poor, sparsely vegetated; Canyons = rocky canyons and mountain slopes, high-predation risk habitat, nutrient-...