Dataset for: Warmer ambient temperatures reduce protein intake by a mammalian folivore

The interplay between ambient temperature and nutrition in wild herbivores is frequently overlooked, despite the fundamental importance of food. We tested whether different ambient temperatures (10˚C, 18˚C, and 26˚C) influenced the intake of protein by a marsupial herbivore, the common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula). At each temperature, possums were offered a choice of two foods containing different amounts of protein (57% vs 8%) for one week. Animals mixed a diet with a lower proportion of protein to non-protein (P:NP, 0.20) when held at 26˚C compared to that at both 10˚C and 18˚C (0.22). Since detoxification of plant secondary metabolites imposes a protein cost on animals, we then studied whether addition of the monoterpene 1,8-cineole to the food changed the effect of ambient temperature (10˚C and 26˚C) on food choice. Cineole reduced food intake but also removed the effect of temperature on P:NP ratio and instead animals opted for a diet with higher P:NP (0.19 with cineol..., These data were collected using twelve adult male common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) which were caught in wire cage traps on the Australian National University campus (Canberra, 35.2809° S, 149.1300° E) in November 2016. The possums were housed inside constant temperature rooms (at 10, 18, or 26 °C ± 2°C) with a 12:12 h light cycle and offered artificial diets prepared daily (composition is described in the uploaded dataset). Food was offered at 1630 h and refusals were collected at 0900 h daily. Dry matter intake (DMI) of the two diets was measured by drying a subsample of the food offered at 80 °C and subtracting the dry mass of all food refusals. In addition, we calculated the daily grams of protein (P) and “non-protein” (NP; sum of fats and non-structural carbohydrates) ingested across 7 days for each possum for each temperature. Possums were weighed weekly. 
The first experiment tested whether possums balanced macronutrients differently depending on the ambient temper..., , # Macronutrient\_Temperature Experiments

1. Title of Dataset: Warmer ambient temperatures reduce protein intake by a mammalian folivore

[Access this dataset on Dryad](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.ttdz08m47)

2. Principal investigator:
Phillipa K Beale
Australian National University
[e-mail]

Co-authors: Ben D Moore, William J Foley, Karen J Marsh

## Summary of dataset collection:

These data were collected using twelve adult male common brushtail possums (*Trichosurus* *vulpecula*) which were caught on the Australian National University campus (Canberra, 35.2809° S, 149.1300° E) in November 2016.

The possums were housed inside constant temperature rooms (at 10, 18, or 26 °C ± 2°C) with a 12:12 h light cycle and offered artificial diets prepared daily (composition is described in the uploaded dataset). Food was offered at 1630 h and refusals were collected at 0900 h daily. Dry matter intake (DMI) of the two diets was measured by drying a subsample of the ...