Data from: Under the snow: a new camera trap opens the white box of subnivean ecology ...

• Main Authors: Soininen, Eeva M., Jensvoll, Ingrid, Killengreen, Siw T., Ims, Rolf A.
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2016
• Subjects: Microtus oeconomus; Sorex araneus; Mustela erminea; mustelid; Rodent; shrew; snow pack; Subarctic; Tundra
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.9fg6p; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.9fg6p

Snow covers the ground over large parts of the world for a substantial portion of the year. Yet very few methods are available to quantify biotic variables below the snow, with most studies of subnivean ecological processes relying on comparisons of data before and after the snow cover season. We developed a camera trap prototype to quantify subnivean small mammal activity. The trap consists of a camera that is attached facing downward from the ceiling of a box, which is designed to function as a snow-free tunnel. We tested it by placing nine traps with passive infrared sensors in a subarctic habitat where snow cover lasted for about 6 months. The traps were functional for the whole winter, permitting continuous data collection of site-specific presence and temporal activity patterns of all three small mammal species present (the insectivorous common shrew, Sorex araneus, the herbivorous tundra vole, Microtus oeconomus, and the carnivorous stoat, Mustela erminea) as well as abiotic conditions ... : camera trap dataA dataset of collected by nine below-snow camera traps. See metadata file for detailed description.snow cover camera trapsRecords of snow cover at camera trap locations. See metadata file for more detailed description. ...