Density-dependent resource partitioning of temperate large herbivore populations under rewilding

In tropical grazer assemblies with abundant large predators, smaller herbivores have been shown to be limited by predation and food quality, while the larger species are regulated by food abundance. Much less is known on herbivore resource partitioning in temperate grazing ecosystems, where humans are typically the regulators. In the Oostvaardersplassen ecosystem in The Netherlands, a unique multispecies assemblage of cattle, horses, red deer and geese developed after initial introduction of a few individuals in 1983. During the first 35 years, this herbivore assemblage without predation or human regulation gradually changed into increasing dominance of the smaller herbivore species. Carrying capacity was reached around 2008, after which numbers started fluctuating depending on winter conditions. A population crash, especially of red deer, in winter 2018 led to heavy societal debate around animal welfare, after which active population regulation was introduced. This suggests strong nich..., Dung samples were collected across the grassland part of the OVP, with collections divided in three sub-areas (see Suppl. Figure 1A) during November 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 for the four main herbivore species, i.e., cattle, horse, red deer and geese (Barnacle geese and Greylag geese combined as the species were not identified from the dung shape). Per species and year, 15 scat samples were collected (5 per sub-area, Suppl. Figure 1A), leading to a total of 60 scat per year. Samples were spaced by at least 10 m to reduce the chance of re-sampling the same individual, and GPS coordinates were taken for each sample. Only freshly deposited dung samples were collected, and samples were then stored in dried silica beads at room temperature, in order to dry and preserve them, without need for freezing, until DNA extraction could be done at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
DNA extraction
We used between 0.5 and 1 g of dry dung as the starting point for the extraction. Extractions were..., , # Density-dependent resource partitioning of temperate large herbivore populations under rewilding

This README file was generated on 2024-02-07 by Eduard Mas-Carrió

GENERAL INFORMATION

1\. Title of Dataset: Data from: Density-dependent resource partitioning of temperate large herbivore populations under trophic rewilding

2\. Author Information

Eduard Mas-Carrió1*, Perry Cornelissen2,5, Han Olff3,† and Luca Fumagalli1,4,†

1\)Laboratory for Conservation Biology, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Biophore, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.

2\)State Forestry Service, Amersfoort, The Netherlands. In

3\)Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.

4\)Swiss Human Institute of Forensic Taphonomy, University Centre of Legal Medicine Lausanne-Geneva, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Ch. de la Vulliette 4, 1000 Lausanne 25, Switzerland.

5\)Institute for Biodive...