Tadpole stable isotope data (N and C) from Comoé National Park, Ivory Coast, before and after defaunation

<b>Data collection.</b><b> </b>Tadpoles were collected in two temporary ponds in Comoé National Park, Ivory Coast: Pond A (8.7259 N, 3.8425 W) and Pond H (8.7552 N, 3.7771 W). Data collection took place before (1995 and 1996) and after (2014, 2018, and 2019) two consecutive civil wars, which resulted in the loss of large mammalian herbivores. Tadpoles were euthanized in a chlorobutanol solution, fixed in 4% formaldehyde upon collection, and subsequently transferred to 75% ethanol for long-term preservation. <b>Stable isotope analysis.</b><b> </b>Stable isotope analysis and concentration measurements of nitrogen and carbon were performed simultaneously with a THERMO/Finnigan MAT V isotope ratio mass spectrometer, coupled to a THERMO Flash EA 1112 elemental analyzer via a THERMO/Fisher Conflo IV-interface in the stable isotope laboratory of the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin. Stable isotope ratios are expressed in the conventional delta notation (δ¹³C / δ¹⁵N) relative to atmospheric nitrogen (Mariotti 1983) and VPDB (Vienna PeeDee Belemnite standard).<b>Data analysis.</b><b> </b>We used mixed-effects models (GLMMs) to estimate post-war changes in δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C at each pond, averaging across anuran taxa. Sampling period (BW, AW) and pond site (A, H) were fixed effects, with genus as a random effect. Unequal residual variance across predictors was corrected using observation-level weights inversely proportional to group-specific variance. We then fitted separate linear models (LMs) for taxa with sufficient samples to assess taxon-specific isotopic responses, including body size as a covariate. Finally, we examined interannual isotopic variation to distinguish directional changes from natural fluctuations. Model selection used likelihood ratio tests and AIC, and fixed-effect significance was assessed with Wald tests (α = 0.05).<b> </b>The corresponding code for the analysis can be found under item "analysis_isotopes.R".