Food resources and diet composition of highland rodents across different elevations and seasons in the Andes Mountains of Argentina

Abstract

This dataset contains records of food availability and diet of rodents in habitats at different elevations (1700 m, 2300 m, 3100 m above sea level) and seasons (winter and summer) in the Manzano Histórico-Portillo de Piuquenes Reserve, Mendoza, Argentina. Regarding food availability, the dataset includes information on plant richness, diversity, and cover, as well as arthropod morphospecies richness, diversity, and abundance. Additionally, it provides details on the dietary composition of each rodent species across elevations and seasons. At a coarse scale, the dataset presents the frequency of consumption of trophic items grouped into three categories based on their nutritional quality: vegetative parts (leaves and herbaceous stalks, lower nutritional quality), seeds (intermediate quality), and arthropods (high quality). At a fine scale, the dietary composition identifies the genus (and in most cases the species) of all plant items consumed.