ECOLOGY Correction for “Animal body size distribution influences the ratios of nutrients supplied to plants,” by Elizabeth le Roux, Laura S. van Veenhuisen, Graham I. H. Kerley, and Joris P. G. M. Cromsigt, which was first published August 24, 2020; 10.1073/pnas.2003269117 (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 117, 22256–22263).
The authors note that, “The Materials and Methods section should have indicated that the fecal nutrient dataset obtained from ref. 32, used to validate the dataset collected for this study, was supplemented with data from Grant et al. (1). The combined dataset used for validation did not contain a fecal nutrient estimate for white rhino. In the article, we validated our calculations of the total input of fecal nitrogen and phosphorus by replacing our measurements of fecal nutrients with this combined dataset. However, in the dung accumulation over a 10-mo period, only one single bolus of white rhino dung was recorded on one of the 15 monitored plots. Because the validation dataset did not have an estimate of fecal nutrients for white rhino, and due to the very low quantity of white rhino dung recorded over the study period, we used fecal nutrient estimates of elephant to approximate the fecal nutrient contribution of white rhino. Although we expect elephant fecal content to differ somewhat from that of white rhino, the substitution is justifiable and unlikely to influence the results because of the very low quantity of white rhino dung recorded.
“The omission of the above information resulted in the inclusion of an erroneous data point for white rhino in the dataset. After correcting the erroneous entry for the white rhino, the statement on page 22259, left column, first full paragraph, line 6, ‘Although we were unable to evaluate the changes in fecal N and P for mixed feeders (as the dataset from ref. 32 only contained two mixed feeders), the relationship between grazer fecal N and P with body size remained the same’ is no longer supported. There was no significant relationship between fecal phosphorus content and body size without the data point for white rhino.
“However, the data collected in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park for this study (which contains an estimate for white rhino fecal nutrients) did show a significant relationship between fecal phosphorus and body size, as reported in the article. As such, our results and conclusions remain unchanged.
“The data point has been removed from the dataset stored on the Mendeley data repository (DOI: 10.17632/jwc4rr6kwr.4).”
1. C. C. Grant, H. H. Meissner, W. A. Schultheiss, The nutritive value of veld as indicated by faecal phosphorus and nitrogen and its relation to the condition and movement of prominent ruminants during the 1992-1993 drought in the Kruger National Park. Koedoe 38, 17–31 (1995).