Perceived predation risk affects mammal behavior at Amazonian mineral licks

Mineral licks are critical resources for herbivores in Amazonia and other tropical regions which may be deficient in dietary minerals or consuming alkaloid-laced leaves which may cause gastrointestinal issues. However, mineral licks are also important locations for predators, including human hunters. Animals visiting mineral licks must balance the benefits of relief of physiological stressors with the risk of predation, and they may employ behavioral adaptations to do so. We used camera trap data on six large-bodied mammal species at 52 mineral licks in the same watershed in the Peruvian Amazon to assess how mineral licks contribute to visiting species’ perception of risk. We tested the effects of a range of covariates including direct and indirect measures of risk, habitat characteristics, and soil properties on visit duration, a behavioral adaptation species may use to mitigate risk, in a generalized linear mixed-effects modeling framework. Tapirs, collared peccaries, and paca minimiz..., , , # Perceived predation risk affects mammal behavior at Amazonian mineral licks

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sqv9s4ndg](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.sqv9s4ndg)

## Description of the data and file structure

This data was collected using camera trapping and soil sampling at mineral licks in the Sucusari River basin in the Peruvian Amazon, northeast of city of Iquitos in the Loreto Department. Camera trapping was conducted at 52 mineral licks on a rotation for about one year. Soil samples were collected at these same mineral licks and analyzed for their soil content. 

Full methods of soil sampling can be found here:

Griffiths, B. M., Jin, Y., Griffiths, L. G., & Gilmore, M. P. (2023). Physical, landscape, and chemical properties of Amazonian interior forest mineral licks. *Environmental Geochemistry and Health*, *45*(6), 3263–3276.

Full methods of camera trapping can be found in the associated manuscript, or here:

Griffiths, B. M., Hansbrough, G., Griffiths, L. G., Valderrama, ...