Readme file to the capture_data.csv data file

18/08/2014

This table represents the raw data collected from Myotis daubentonii bats, captured between 2010 and 2012 at the Chamberonne river on the campus of the University of Lausanne. All measurements except on the malaria-parasites were done upon capture. 
Each line is a single bat. Though a few bats appear multiple times in the table, all complete entries are on unique individuals (preventing psuedoreplication).

Column definitions:

ring		The unique identifying code of the bat, as written on its ring. One capture session was with unringed bats, these were numbered 1-11 instead.
Capture_Date	The date of capture in yyyy-mm-dd. All capture were performed between 20:00 and 01:00 the next morning.
sex		The sex of the bat: M=male, F=female.
age		The age of the bat: A=adult, SA=subadult. A few times age was not noted down or unclear, which is indicated by NA.
length		The forearm length of the bat, in millimeters.
weight		The weight of the bat, in grams.
nyct_nr		The number of bat flies collected from the bat. These were always identified as Nycteribia kolenatii. 
all_nycts	If true, all bat flies were collected from the bat and therefore a reliable infestation count could be made. If false, the value under 'nyct_nr' may be incomplete and therefore reliable.
spint_nr	The number of Spinturnix spp. individuals counted on the wing and tail membranes upon capture.
test_malaria	Bats were tested for infection with malaria parasites using the PCR protocol by Megali et al. (Mol. Ecol. 2011) as mentioned in the article. P=positive, N=negative. Bats not tested (because e.g too little blood collection) are noted with NA.
gametocyte_nr	The parasitemia of the bat: the number of P. murinus gametocytes counted in a blood smear in 15 minutes, as a measure of infection intensity.

