ReadMe for K.W. Burke, A.F. Groulx and P.R. Martin. The Competitive exclusion – tolerance rule explains habitat partitioning among co-occurring species of burying beetles This readme file describes the variables in the files 'transect.data.csv', 'competition.data.csv' and 'transplant.data.csv' that formed the basis for the above manuscript. The format is comma delimited (csv). The file corresponds to the R code analysis also archived with this file. For any further queries please contact: Kevin Burke (12kwb@queensu.ca) or Paul Martin (pm45@queensu.ca) ############################################### transect.data.csv obs = observation number, corresponding to the row of data species = Nicrophorus species that bred or attempted to bred on the carcass; either Nicrophorus orbicollis (orbicollis) or Nicrophorus hebes (hebes) site = location of the transect (corresponds to the short form of land tract names from the Queen's University Biological Station with numbers added at the end) habitat = habitat in which the mouse carcass was placed; either forest or wetland brood.mass = mass of the entire brood when collected, in grams; see Methods for details num.offspring = number of offspring in brood when collected; see Methods for details outcome = outcome of the experiment from the perspective of Nicrophorus; either disturbed (e.g., disturbed by vertebrate scavengers), abandoned (breeding attempted by Nicrophorus, but eventually the carcass was abandoned before the young were fully grown), or success (Nicrophorus successfully bred on the carcass) ############################################### competition.data.csv block = paired block of trials, run simultaneously, consisting of N. orbicollis alone, N. hebes alone, and N. orbicollis + N. hebes together treatment = alone (single beetle in container with mouse carcass) or together (two beetles - one orbicollis, one hebes - in container with single mouse carcass) end.trial.date = date when the trial was completed orb.sex = sex of the Nicrophorus orbicollis involved in the experiment (male, female) heb.sex = sex of the Nicrophorus hebes involved in the experiment (male, female) orb.dist = distance between N. orbicollis and the mouse carcass at the end of the trial, measured in cm heb.dist = distance between N. hebes and the mouse carcass at the end of the trial, measured in cm orb.mouse.mass = mass of the mouse carcass used in N. orbicollis trial in grams (note: in together trials, same mouse as for N. hebes) heb.mouse.mass = mass of the mouse carcass used in N. hebes trial in grams (note: in together trials, same mouse as for N. orbicollis) orb.fur.area.removed.cm.2 = area of the mouse carcass cleaned of fur (cm2), an index of breeding activity (note: in together trials, same value as for N. hebes - we could not differentiate which beetle(s) were responsible for the fur removal) heb.fur.area.removed.cm.2 = area of the mouse carcass cleaned of fur (cm2), an index of breeding activity (note: in together trials, same value as for N. orbicollis - we could not differentiate which beetle(s) were responsible for the fur removal) orb.mass = mass of the focal Nicrophorus orbicollis at the start of the experiment in grams, where mass (g) = weight of the beetle (g) x [10g / weight of the 10g standard (g)] heb.mass = mass of the focal Nicrophorus hebes at the start of the experiment in grams, where mass (g) = weight of the beetle (g) x [10g / weight of the 10g standard (g)] ln.dist = ln((orb.dist + 1)/(heb.dist + 1)) ln.mass = ln((orb.mass)/(heb.mass)) notes = any additional notes on the experiment (e.g., injury, death of a beetle) ############################################### transplant.data.csv obs = observation number, corresponding to the row of data year = the year that the experiment was conducted site = location of the transect (corresponds to the short form of land tract names from the Queen's University Biological Station with numbers added at the end; 2022 also correspond to the names of marshes) treatment = competitive treatment; either 'alone', where only one beetle pair was included within the enclosure, or 'together', where one pair of N. orbicollis and one pair of N. hebes were included within the enclosure habitat = habitat in which the enclosure with the mouse carcass was placed; either forest or wetland species = the focal species that corresponds to the treatment, habitat, and reproductive data; either Nicrophorus orbicollis (orbicollis) or Nicrophorus hebes (hebes) brood.mass = mass of the entire brood when collected, in grams; see Methods for details num.offspring = number of offspring in brood when collected; see Methods for details outcome = outcome of the experiment from the perspective of Nicrophorus; either failed (we had no evidence that Nicrophorus attempted to breed on the carcass; e.g. when a vertebrate scavenger removed the carcass, or the carcass decomposed where it was initially placed), abandoned (breeding attempted by Nicrophorus (including the initial stages), but eventually the carcass was abandoned before the young were fully grown), or success (Nicrophorus successfully bred on the carcass) depth.cm = the depth at which the carcass had been buried (the distance from the ground surface to the bottom of the brood chamber in cm) ############################################### ###############################################