Quantifying the relative predation pressure on bumblebee nests by the European badger (Meles meles) using artificial nests (dataset)

Abstract

Data was collected from 19th July to the 16th August 2017 at Woodchester Park and Boundary Court in Gloucestershire. Artificial nests containing 7g of commercial Bombus terrestris audax were buried at each sett for three nights; 10 on the surface, 10 underground and in most cases 10 empty pots. Transects were set up in a woodland habitat and a grassland habitat near to each sett. After three nights the number of pots which had been dug up were recorded and all pots were removed. 7 of the setts which were located at Woodchester Park have data for the number of badgers trapped during 2016. Badger activity was also recorded using two camera traps placed along the transect, but this was not a complete detection method as it did not cover the entire transect. Analysis was done using the statistical software R. through converting the excel file to a .csv file. The file contains two tabs, one with the data and a second with the column descriptions