Effects of resource availability and interspecific interactions on Arctic and red foxes' winter use of ungulate carrion in the Fennoscandian low-Arctic tundra

In the Arctic tundra, predators face recurrent periods of food scarcity and often turn to ungulate carcasses as an alternative food source. As important and localized resource patches, carrion promotes co-occurrence of different individuals, and its use by predators is likely to be affected by interspecific competition. We studied how interspecific competition and resource availability impact winter use of carrion by Arctic and red foxes in low Arctic Fennoscandia. We predicted that presence of red foxes limits Arctic foxes’ use of carrion, and that competition depends on the availability of other resources. We monitored Arctic and red fox presence at supplied carrion using camera traps. From 2006 to 2021, between 16 and 20 cameras were active for two months in late winter (288 camera-winters). Using a multi-species dynamic occupancy model at a week-to-week scale, we evaluated use of carrion by foxes while accounting for the presence of competitors, rodent availability and supplemental ..., COAT is a project aiming to give robust documentation and predictions on climate change impacts on biodiversity, natural resources and ecosystem processes in the Norwegian Arctic, as a basis for management interventions and adaptations. This dataset is obtained from a camera trap survey conducted on Varanger Peninsula, Northern Norway between 2006 and 2021.
Each year, between 16 and 20 camera traps were active taking photos every 10 min for two months in late winter. We used several camera models with different fields of view (Camtrak; Reconyx Rapidfire, Hyperfire and Hyperfire 2). The cameras were painted in white, modified to have a flat front keeping snow from accumulating and powered by external batteries placed in a waterproof contained under the snow. Pictures were visually inspected and presence of species was recorded. Pictures with bad visibility were excluded. To estimate use of carrion, a block of ca 15 kg of frozen reindeer slaughtering remains (originally produced as dog fo..., , # Effects of resource availability and interspecific interactions on Arctic and red foxes' winter use of ungulate carrion in the Fennoscandian low-Arctic tundra

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.41ns1rnnn](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.41ns1rnnn)

This dataset is related to a two species occupancy study accessible on [https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11150](https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11150).

## Origin of the data

A raw and regularly uptadet version of the camera trap dataset is accessible on COAT data portal [https://data.coat.no/dataset/v_scavengers_cameratraps_v1](https://data.coat.no/dataset/v_scavengers_cameratraps_v1).

COAT is a project aiming to give robust documentation and predictions on climate change impacts on biodiversity, natural resources and ecosystem processes in the Norwegian Arctic, as a basis for management interventions and adaptations.

## Description of the data and file structure

This repository contains two main datasets, located in two different folders:

* **...