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Evidence of Mammalian Carnivores at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area, Western Mojave Desert, USA, between 1989 and 2012.

Metadata Updated: July 6, 2024

During a multi-year demographic study of Agassiz’s desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area (Natural Area), in the western Mojave Desert, USA, we recorded evidence of evidence of mesocarnivores that commonly prey on desert tortoises on a 7.77 square-kilometer study area. The study area included land inside and outside the fenced boundary of the Natural Area. We recorded locations, condition and recency of sign, and type of sign present at burrows, dens, and den complexes used by desert kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis), coyotes (Canis latrans), American badgers (Taxidea taxus), and bobcats (Lynx rufus). We also recorded scat piles by species using them, amount, and relative ages of the scats. Scats were checked for evidence of desert tortoise remains. Observations of live mesocarnivores were noted also. We compared differences in predator pressure inside and outside the boundary fence of the Natural Area and whether mesocarnivores were a driver for changes in tortoise demography.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Created Date June 1, 2023
Metadata Updated Date July 6, 2024

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI EDI

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date June 1, 2023
Metadata Updated Date July 6, 2024
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
@Id http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/c18f964a4d85fa5e52877e20fb6df985
Identifier USGS:60b9467cd34e86b9388aa1b3
Data Last Modified 20210827
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://datainventory.doi.gov/data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id e2011857-d2de-48ae-acd7-a3df4512a8f5
Harvest Source Id 52bfcc16-6e15-478f-809a-b1bc76f1aeda
Harvest Source Title DOI EDI
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial -117.9514,35.1691,-117.8429,35.3329
Publisher Hierarchy White House > U.S. Department of the Interior > U.S. Geological Survey
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash fad16fb6524c2771b5093c8252e2f01cd00e81222b45d191653b023bf6bb91f1
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -117.9514, 35.1691, -117.9514, 35.3329, -117.8429, 35.3329, -117.8429, 35.1691, -117.9514, 35.1691}

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