Resource availability alters breeding strategies in a small mammal community

Following a resource pulse, animals may finance reproduction by consuming concurrently available resources (income breeding) or by storing resources for future reproduction (capital breeding). Understanding how these reproductive strategies are used is important for determining the ecological mechanisms that structure the timing of reproduction and that drive interannual population fluctuations in animals. We gathered a reproductive dataset for five small mammal species over a 12-year period in Northeastern USA during which six masting events of American beech (Fagus grandifolia) and eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) occurred. Masting created alternate years where seeds were either available late (masting year) or early (cached from the previous year) in the breeding season. The small mammal species differed in reliance on seeds and overwintering strategies. We quantified the diet using stable isotopes and recorded reproduction timing, proportion breeding, and litter size in females an..., , , # Resource availability alters breeding strategies in a small mammal community

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.nvx0k6f0t](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.nvx0k6f0t)

## **List of Data Files**

Beech_Hemlock_Bartlett_m2.csv

Food_All.csv

Isotope_2013_2015.csv

Isotope_2014_2015.csv

Mixing_model_output.csv

Small_mammal_data_Final.csv

## **List of R Scripts**

Figure_1_Seed_fall.R

Mixing_Model_Scripts.R

Figure_2_niche_diet_season.R

Figure_3_EMB_Pscars.R

Figure_4_Probability_reproduction.R

Figure_5_Proportion_breeding.R

Figure_6_lact_Timing.R

## **Descriptions of Data Files and R Code**

##### **Beech\_Hemlock\_Bartlett\_m2.csv**

American beech and eastern hemlock seedfall was measured from seed baskets at Bartlett Experimental Forest. Column headers are as follows.

* **Grid:** Sampling grid that seeds were collected on (1 - 12).
* **Station:** Station that seeds were collected on (ranges between 1 – 64).
* **Month:** Month that seeds were collected.
* **Day:** Day that seeds wer...