Relative abundance of tundra bird and mammal species encountered daily on Bylot Island, Nunavut, Canada

Many vertebrate species in tundra communities occur in low abundance but may play an important role in terrestrial food webs. Although estimates of their absolute abundance may not be possible to obtain because of logistic constraints, our understanding of trophic interactions can be enhanced by assessing their relative abundance. This archive contains the relative abundance of species recorded on Bylot Island defined as the number of individuals seen per hour spent in the field per observer. Each observer records daily the animal species encountered in the field and the number of individuals observed. To correct for any potential biases the activities and mode of transportation of observers is also recorded.