Study rat ecology using dark fiber sensing

# Publicly available data to study rat ecology using dark fiber sensing This dataset aims to support the research presented in: **"Uncovering cryptic rat ecology via dark fiber traps"** Dark fiber distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) was deployed along 20 km of unused fiber optic cable spanning diverse habitats in Yudu County, China. Recordings were made from June 26 to August 3, 2021 at: | Parameter | Value |<br> | :-------------- | :---: |<br> | Gauge length | 10m |<br> | Channel spacing | 10m |<br> | Sampling rate | 500Hz | Data from 810 meters of fiber in an inaccessible mountain tunnel detected rat activity. Data files are provided in the following formats: ## DAS data Saved as ***.npz*** files with names in YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS format. Each file contains: - data: Phase difference measured by the DAS system<br> - timestamp: Date and time (UTC+8) of each sample<br> - distance_along_tunnel: Distance along the cable from the tunnel entrance **Key files:** - 20210804_042600.npz contains data used for Figure 2<br> - 20210724_220726.npz contains data used for Figure 3 ## Figures Corresponding .jpg figures with same filenames. ## Movies Movie S1: Video of a wild rat entering Qiaotou Tunnel via drain. ## Metadata files Data S1: Excel sheets with metadata on rat activity events.<br> Data S2: Processed data at 1-hour resolution with meteorological data.<br> Data S3: Data used to create specific figures. **Please contact the authors for:** - Detailed descriptions of each data file<br> - Assistance accessing or interpreting the data<br> - Information regarding data storage sizes (from 100s MB to several GB) The aim is to make this dataset as useful, understandable and reusable as possible for future rat ecology research. Please provide feedback to improve the documentation!