Statistical analyses for: Contrasting effects of body condition on ectoparasite abundance in a social bat: differential roles of season and host sex
Description
Statistical analyses (R scripts) and dataset for the manuscript entitled: Contrasting effects of body condition on ectoparasite abundance in a social bat: differential roles of season and host sex. Each row in the database represents an individual bat, while each column contains specific data as described in the headers. Hypotheses of these analyses: We hypothesized that males and females allocate resources differently for parasite defense based on their life-cycle stages, leading to seasonal changes in parasite infestation. Females are expected to have higher parasite levels during the maternity period, while males may experience a peak in parasites during the mating season (autumn) due to reduced antiparasitic defenses. Host condition is predicted to have the greatest impact on parasite abundance during the most critical periods, such as the maternity period for females and the swarming period for males.