Behavior and diet data collected from i) GPS video camera collars and ii) fecal samples collected from individuals from the Fortymile Caribou Herd

Summer diets are crucial for large herbivores in the subarctic and are affected by weather, harassment from insects and a variety of environmental changes linked to climate. Yet understanding foraging behavior and diet of large herbivores is challenging in the subarctic because of their remote ranges. We used GPS video-camera collars to observe behaviors and summer diets of the migratory Fortymile Caribou Herd (Rangifer tarandus granti) across Alaska, USA and the Yukon, Canada. First, we characterized caribou behavior. Second, we tested if videos could be used to quantify changes in the probability of eating events. Third, we estimated summer diets at the finest taxonomic resolution possible through videos. Finally, we compared summer diet estimates from video collars to microhistological analysis of fecal pellets. We classified 18,134 videos from 30 female caribou over two summers (2018 – 2019). Caribou behaviors included eating (mean = 43.5%), ruminating (25.6%), travelling (14.0%), s...夏季日粮对亚北极地区的大型草食动物至关重要，其受到天气状况、昆虫侵扰以及诸多与气候相关的环境变化的影响。然而，由于亚北极地区大型草食动物的活动范围极为偏远，探究其觅食行为与日粮组成极具挑战性。本研究采用GPS影像项圈（GPS video-camera collars），对美国阿拉斯加州与加拿大育空地区的迁徙性四十英里驯鹿群（Rangifer tarandus granti）的行为模式及夏季日粮展开观测。首先，我们对驯鹿的行为进行了分类表征；其次，验证了是否可通过影像量化进食事件发生概率的变化；第三，借助影像以尽可能精细的分类学分辨率估算夏季日粮组成；最后，将影像项圈获取的夏季日粮估算结果与粪便颗粒的显微组织学分析结果进行了对比。本研究在两个夏季（2018年至2019年）期间，共对30头雌性驯鹿的18,134段影像完成了分类标注。驯鹿的行为类型包括进食（占比均值43.5%）、反刍（25.6%）、移动（14.0%）以及……