This one file dataset contains the information on the Long-haired rats (<i>Rattus villosissimus</i>) used in this study, i.e. data that was collected between October 2011 and May 2013. It contains the exact date (Date) for when a rat was released (Trip_type Release, Trip_number 0) or trapped (Trip_type = Seasonal Trapping, Trip >/= 1) in each of the two enclosures (Enclosure = Enclosure I or Enclosure II), as well as the treatments (Treatment regarding the access of cats into the enclosure: high_fence (no access for cats) or low_fence (access for cats), including information on a rats gender (Sex = M (for male) or F (for female), a rats weight (Animal_weight measured in g), body condition (Body_condition theoretically ranging from 1 (emaciated) to 5 (obese), but only categories 2 (underconditioned), 3 (well-conditioned) and 4 (overconditioned) were scored) and individual identification (PIT.ID) as well as whether they had been recaptured (New_firsttripcap_recap indicating whether the animal was new= released/ caught the very first time, was a firsttripcap = captured before, but first captured during a trapping session, or a recap = recaptured during the same trip).

A fox control program has been in place in Booderee National Park since 1999 with baiting occurring twice a year. From 2003 onwards baiting has been intensified, with baiting occurring once a month. Since 2003 monitoring has been undertaken to track trends in distribution and abundance of small-medium sized mammal species, in response to fox control. The dataset contains data on mammal species and numbers trapped in Booderee National Park, as well as a record of sex, weight, pes length, and presence of pouch young.

The qualities of these data include: (i) sound experimental design to detect a change between confounding factors, (ii) large sample size, (iii) microchipped animals, (iv) validated heamatological processing on the wild Australian lizard Tiliqua rugosa involving a collaboration between wildlife ecologists and veterinary scientists. Its reuse potential may involve a comparative analysis of body size, haematological parameters with other long-lived, medium-sized lizards, ectoparasite studies (Aponomma hydrosauri, Amblyomma libatum) for different host populations, and background justification for ecotoxicological (pesticide) studies in farmland. Using a using a multivariate, one-way nested Type I PERMANCOVA (analysis of covariance) design, body size, blood samples and ectoparasite presence was collected on a total of 119 animals from two different populations in southern Australia. One population was from an intensively managed cropping environment and one was from an adjacent a less intensively managed grazing environment. This study took place in extensive rangelands and the fragmented landscapes of the South Australian Murray Mallee cereal cropland in southern Australia. Adult and juvenile T. rugosa were captured for sampling at one rangeland (baseline) site and three severely modified (severe) landscape-scaled sites (LS1, LS2, LS3) over a large area (68 km × 84 km or 571,200 ha) across the croplands. Two animal sampling designs were used to collect data on physiological health (Design 1: Baseline vs Severe and Design 2 - Severe only). Data collected: Record No., Animal No., Treatment, Habitat Type, Landscape No., Connectivity Class, Age Class, Linear Body Size Index (LBSI), Heterophil (H) Field of View, Heterophil per microlitre, Total White Blood Cell Count, Absolute Heterophil Count, % Heterophil Count, Absolute Lymphocyte (L) Count, % Lymphocytes, H:L Ratio (Absolute), H:L Ratio (%), Absolute Monocytes, % Monocytes , Absolute Other Granulocytes , % Other Granulocytes, % Polychromasia, Snout-Vent Length (mm), Total No. Ectoparasites per Animal.