10.5061/DRYAD.W3R2280RK
Sultaire, Sean
0000-0002-1474-0187
Michigan State University
Data from: Spatial variation in bioclimatic relationships for a
snow-adapted species along a discontinuous southern range boundary
Dryad
dataset
2021
FOS: Biological sciences
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
https://ror.org/00t10qd56
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
https://ror.org/03nmkqc55
2021-09-20T00:00:00Z
2021-09-20T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.3104
https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2016-0180
406185 bytes
4
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Documenting variation in the relationship between climate variables and
species occurence at range boundaries can help reveal how species will
respond to global climate change. We collected snowshoe hare (Lepus
americanus) presence-absence data from snow-track surveys conducted in the
U.S. states of Michigan and Wisconsin in winters from 2012-2014 at their
southern range boundary in the region. A series of 125m transects were
walked at each site within a week of fresh snowfall, and the presence or
absence of snowshoe hare tracks on each transect was recorded. Data set
also includes the variables mean 5-year snow cover duration, mean 5-year
maximum temperature, and percentage forest cover at each site. Each
variable was used in data analysis for the related paper to relate
snowshoe hare occurrence to climate and land cover variables at the
southern edge of their distribution. Snowshoe hares in the region occur in
areas with longer snow cover duration and lower maximum temperatures but
these relationships vary across the study area such that maximum
temperature was positively correlated with snowshoe hare occurrence in the
northern portion of the study area (Upper Peninsula of Michigan).
Sites were selected based off historical locations of snowshoe hares from
a peer-reviewed manusript in Wisconsin, or hunter surveys in Michigan.
Snow tracking surveys were performed at sites during winters 2012-13 and
2013-2014. A series of 125m transects were walked and we recoreded whether
snowshoe hare tracks were present on each transect (Counts column).
Locations denoted 'mesh' in the Spp column are the nodes of the
triangulated mesh used in the spatial SDM.