Dataset for: Long-term tracking reveals variable partial migration and nomadism in an Endangered bustard

Dataset Description This dataset accompanies the article “Long-term tracking reveals variable partial migration and nomadism in an Endangered bustard” (Dobson et al. 2025, Ostrich). It contains GPS tracking data from six Ludwig’s Bustards (Neotis ludwigii) monitored across semi-arid shrublands in southern Africa over periods of up to 12.7 years. The dataset includes: Individual-level GPS fixes with date, time, and location. The data were collected to investigate space use, nomadism, and facultative partial migration in this Endangered species. Description of fields in attached files ID – Unique identifier for each tracked individual bustard. date – Calendar date of the GPS fix (DD/MM/YYYY). Date.Time – Unix timestamp (seconds since 1 January 1970, UTC) corresponding to the time of the GPS fix. Latitude.N. – Latitude coordinate (decimal degrees, negative values indicate southern hemisphere). Longitude.E. – Longitude coordinate (decimal degrees, positive values indicate eastern hemisphere). Notes Each record represents the first GPS fix of the day for a tracked individual. These daily fixes were extracted from the original tracking dataset, which contained irregular intervals of fixes, as described in the associated paper. This processed dataset provides one location per bird per day, allowing consistent temporal comparisons of movement patterns across individuals and years. Acknowledgements — We thank Ben Dilley, Delia Davies and Ross Wheeler for invaluable assistance with catching bustards, and the many other people who provided advice on catching and tagging. Andrew Jenkins was instrumental in setting up the project, and we also thank the four landowners who allowed captures on their properties. The source of the data is acknowledged as the Endangered Wildlife Trust and ESKOM, both of whom kindly facilitated this work in the early days. Funding — This project was supported financially and logistically by Eskom, Endangered Wildlife Trust, Mazda Wildlife Fund, Abax Foundation, Mohammed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, FitzPatrick DST/NRF Centre of Excellence and the University of Cape Town (UCT). This research was supported by the Leeds-York-Hull Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) Panorama (NE/S007458/1). Permits — Bustards were caught and tagged under permits issued by the University of Cape Town Animal Ethics Committee (2009/V20/JS, R2010/V6/JS, 2011/V1/JS-R and 2011V19R/ JS), CapeNature (CapeNature #0035-AAA007-00053) and the Northern Cape Department of Environment and Nature Conservation (FAUNA 853/2009, FAUNA 817/2010 and FAUNA 1025/2011).数据集描述 本数据集配套发表于论文《长期追踪揭示濒危鸨类的可变部分迁徙与游荡行为》（原文标题：Long-term tracking reveals variable partial migration and nomadism in an Endangered bustard；Dobson等，2025，《Ostrich》）。本数据集包含6只路德鸨（Ludwig’s Bustard，学名*Neotis ludwigii*）的GPS追踪数据，这些个体在南非半干旱灌丛地带被监测的最长时长可达12.7年。 本数据集涵盖： 包含日期、时间与位置信息的个体级GPS定位点数据。 本次数据采集旨在探究该濒危物种的空间利用模式、游荡行为以及兼性部分迁徙行为。 附件文件字段说明： - ID：每只被追踪鸨类个体的唯一标识符。 - date：GPS定位点对应的公历日期，格式为DD/MM/YYYY。 - Date.Time：对应GPS定位时刻的Unix时间戳，单位为秒，以1970年1月1日UTC时间为基准。 - Latitude.N.：纬度坐标，单位为十进制度，负值代表南半球。 - Longitude.E.：经度坐标，单位为十进制度，正值代表东半球。 备注： 1. 每条记录对应一只被追踪个体当日的首个GPS定位点。 2. 此类每日定位点均提取自原始追踪数据集，原始数据集的定位间隔并不固定，相关细节详见配套论文。 3. 本处理后数据集为每只鸟类每日提供一条定位记录，可实现不同个体与不同年份间移动模式的一致性时间维度对比。 致谢： 感谢本·迪利（Ben Dilley）、迪莉娅·戴维斯（Delia Davies）与罗斯·惠勒（Ross Wheeler）在鸨类捕捉工作中提供的宝贵协助，同时感谢众多为捕捉与佩戴追踪设备提供建议的人士。安德鲁·詹金斯（Andrew Jenkins）为项目筹备提供了关键支持，此外我们感谢四位允许在其土地上开展捕捉工作的土地所有者。本数据来源为濒危野生动物信托基金（Endangered Wildlife Trust）与ESKOM公司，二者均在项目初期为本次工作提供了便利。 经费支持： 本项目获得了ESKOM公司、濒危野生动物信托基金（Endangered Wildlife Trust）、马自达野生动物基金（Mazda Wildlife Fund）、Abax基金会、穆罕默德·本·扎耶德物种保护基金、FitzPatrick DST/NRF卓越中心以及开普敦大学（University of Cape Town，UCT）的经费与后勤支持。本研究获得利兹-约克-赫尔自然环境研究委员会（Natural Environment Research Council，NERC）博士生培训合作项目（Doctoral Training Partnership，DTP）Panorama（项目编号NE/S007458/1）的资助。 伦理与许可： 鸨类的捕捉与佩戴追踪设备工作均获得了以下机构颁发的许可：开普敦大学动物伦理委员会（许可编号：2009/V20/JS、R2010/V6/JS、2011/V1/JS-R及2011V19R/JS）、CapeNature机构（许可编号：CapeNature #0035-AAA007-00053）以及北开普省环境与自然保护部门（许可编号：FAUNA 853/2009、FAUNA 817/2010及FAUNA 1025/2011）。