Fecal biomarkers in soils record landscape-scale wild herbivore abundance

In Earth history, our understanding of how large-bodied herbivores shape a variety of ecosystem processes is limited by the quality of paleoecological proxies for herbivore composition and abundance. Fecal stanols are lipids that can be produced by microbes within animal digestive systems and that could remedy this dearth of proxies.  We use two multi-decadal herbivore exclosures in Kruger National Park, South Africa, to constrain whether and how biomarker signatures preserve signals of herbivore abundance. Soil samples and dung counts were collected along transects across crest, mid-slope, and sodic sites inside and outside exclosures. Soils were analyzed for steroid (sterols and stanols) concentrations and distributions. We found that stanol concentrations were significantly greater in sodic soils outside exclosures, where herbivore dung densities were greatest. By contrast, sterol concentrations did not differ between treatments. Ratios of stanol isomers to sterols, which accoun..., , , # Data from: Fecal biomarkers in soils record landscape-scale wild herbivore abundance

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5x69p8dfw](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5x69p8dfw)

## Description of the data and file structure

Methods are described in detail in the manuscript. Here we present herbivore dung count data and fecal steroid concentration data from herbivore exclusion experiments in Kruger National Park (South Africa). 

### Files and variables

#### File: KNP.HEX.sample.metadata.csv

**Description:** Metadata associated with soil samples collected

##### Variables

* Sample.name: Name of soil sample collected 
* Experiment: Name of experiment NKH stands for Nkhuhlu, and HLG stands for Hlangwini
* Treatment: If the sample was collected from an enclosure (EX) where no herbivores were present or a control where herbivores were present (CON)
* Soil.Profile: Where the transect was located in the cateanal profile, the crest, mid slope (mid), or sodic zone (sod)
* Soil.Depth: The depth the...,

在地球历史研究中，我们对大型草食动物如何塑造多种生态系统过程的认知，受限于草食动物组成与丰度相关古生态代用指标（paleoecological proxies）的质量。粪便甾烷醇（fecal stanols）是一类可由动物消化系统内的微生物产生的脂质（lipids），有望填补这一代用指标的空白。本研究依托南非克鲁格国家公园（Kruger National Park）内两处数十年尺度的草食动物围栏排除区（herbivore exclosures），验证生物标志物特征（biomarker signatures）能否保留草食动物丰度信号，以及其保留方式。研究沿样带（transects）在围栏内外的山脊、坡中部与盐碱化位点（sodic sites）采集土壤样本并开展粪便计数。对土壤样品的类固醇（steroid）、甾醇（sterols）与甾烷醇（stanols）浓度及分布进行分析后发现，围栏外的盐碱化土壤中甾烷醇浓度显著更高，对应区域的草食动物粪便密度也最大。与之相比，不同处理组的甾醇浓度并无显著差异。甾烷醇异构体与甾醇的比值，该指标可用于……

# 数据集来源：《土壤中的粪便生物标志物记录景观尺度野生草食动物丰度》
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5x69p8dfw

## 数据与文件结构说明
本研究的方法已在论文中详细阐述。本次公开的数据集包含南非克鲁格国家公园草食动物围栏排除实验中的草食动物粪便计数数据与粪便类固醇浓度数据。

### 文件与变量
#### 文件：KNP.HEX.sample.metadata.csv
**描述：** 所采集土壤样本的关联元数据

##### 变量
* 样本名称（Sample.name）：所采集土壤样本的名称
* 实验名称（Experiment）：实验的名称，其中NKH代表恩库呼鲁（Nkhuhlu），HLG代表赫兰圭尼（Hlangwini）
* 处理组别（Treatment）：样本采集自无草食动物存在的围栏区域（EX，即排除组），还是有草食动物存在的对照区域（CON，即对照组）
* 土壤剖面位置（Soil.Profile）：样带所在的剖面类型，包括山脊（crest）、坡中部（mid-slope，缩写mid）或盐碱化带（sodic zone，缩写sod）
* 土壤深度（Soil.Depth）：采样的土壤深度……