Find research datasets worth reusing
Search datasets from major research repositories and use ShareScore to quickly assess how well each record supports discovery, access, and reuse.
508
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.9.0
Dataset results
508 results for “Ecosystem functions”
Low redundancy and complementarity shape ecosystem functioning in a low-diversity ecosystem
<p>Data used in the publication of "Low redundancy and complementarity shape ecosystem functioning in a low-diversity ecosystem" in the Journal of Animal Ecology.</p>
Fig. 1 in The importance of isolated patches for maintaining local bird biodiversity and ecosystem function: a case study from the Pernambuco Center of Endemism, Northeast Brazil
Fig. 1. Rarefaction curve based at Mata do Cedro abundance and richness, state of Alagoas, Brazil.
Fig. 2 in The importance of isolated patches for maintaining local bird biodiversity and ecosystem function: a case study from the Pernambuco Center of Endemism, Northeast Brazil
Fig. 2. Functional dendrogram of species of birds found at Mata do Cedro, state of Alagoas, Brazil.
Data from: Plant diversity and density predict belowground diversity and function in an early successional alpine ecosystem
Despite decades of interest, few studies have provided evidence supporting theoretical expectations for coupled relationships between aboveground and belowground diversity and ecosystem functioning in non-manipulated naturalecosystems. We characterized plant species richness and density, soil bacterial, fungal and eukaryotic species richness and phylogenetic diversity (using 16S, ITS, and 18S gene sequencing), and ecosystem function (levels of soil C and N, and rates of microbial enzyme activities) along a natural gradient in plant richness and density in high-elevation, C-deficient soils to examine the coupling between above- and belowground systems. Overall, we observed a strong positive relationship between aboveground (plant richness and density) and belowground (bacteria, fungi, and non-fungal eukaryotes) richness. In addition to the correlations between plants and soil communities, C and N pools, and rates of enzyme activities increased as plant and soil communities became richer and more diverse. Our results suggest that the theoretically expected positive correlation between above- and belowground communities does exist in natural systems, but may be undetectable in late successional ecosystems due to the buildup of legacy organic matter that results in extremely complex belowground communities. In contrast, microbial communities in early successional systems, such as the system described here, are more directly dependent on contemporary inputs from plants and therefore are strongly correlated with plant diversity and density.
Indicative distribution map for Ecosystem Functional Group T3.4 Young rocky pavements, lava flows and screes
<p>This archive contains indicative distribution maps and profiles for <strong>T3.4 Young rocky pavements, lava flows and screes</strong>, a ecosystem functional group (EFG, level 3) of the <a href="https://global-ecosystems.org/">IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology</a> (v2.0). Please refer to Keith <em>et al.</em> (2020) for details.</p> <p>The descriptive profiles provide brief summaries of key ecological traits and processes, maps are indicative of global distribution patterns, and are not intended to represent fine-scale patterns. The maps show areas of the world containing major (value of 1, coloured red) or minor occurrences (value of 2, coloured yellow) of each ecosystem functional group. Minor occurrences are areas where an ecosystem functional group is scattered in patches within matrices of other ecosystem functional groups or where they occur in substantial areas, but only within a segment of a larger region. Given bounds of resolution and accuracy of source data, the maps should be used to query which EFG are likely to occur within areas, rather than which occur at particular point locations. Detailed methods and references for the maps are included in the profile (xml format).</p>
Indicative distribution map for Ecosystem Functional Group T1.2 Tropical/Subtropical dry forests and thickets
<p>This archive contains indicative distribution maps and profiles for <strong>T1.2 Tropical/Subtropical dry forests and thickets</strong>, a ecosystem functional group (EFG, level 3) of the <a href="https://global-ecosystems.org/">IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology</a> (v2.0). Please refer to Keith <em>et al.</em> (2020) for details.</p> <p>The descriptive profiles provide brief summaries of key ecological traits and processes, maps are indicative of global distribution patterns, and are not intended to represent fine-scale patterns. The maps show areas of the world containing major (value of 1, coloured red) or minor occurrences (value of 2, coloured yellow) of each ecosystem functional group. Minor occurrences are areas where an ecosystem functional group is scattered in patches within matrices of other ecosystem functional groups or where they occur in substantial areas, but only within a segment of a larger region. Given bounds of resolution and accuracy of source data, the maps should be used to query which EFG are likely to occur within areas, rather than which occur at particular point locations. Detailed methods and references for the maps are included in the profile (xml format).</p>
Data from: Environmental context determines pollution impacts on ecosystem functioning
<p><span>Global change assessments have typically ignored synthetic chemical pollution, despite the rapid increase of </span><span>pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and industrial chemicals in the environment.</span> <span>Part of the problem reflects the multifarious origins of these micropollutants, which can derive from urban and agricultural sources. Understanding how micropollutants harm ecosystems is a major scientific challenge due to asymmetries of stress across trophic levels and </span><span>ecological surprises generated by multiple</span><span> drivers interacting in human-impacted landscapes. We used field assays above and below municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in 60 sampling locations across 20 Swiss streams to test how micropollutants and nutrients originating from WWTPs affect two trophic levels (microbes and detritivores) and their role in leaf litter processing. Wastewater impacts were asymmetric across trophic levels, with the detritivore contribution declining relative to microbial-driven decomposition. The strength of negative impacts was context-dependent, peaking at sites with the highest upstream abundances of detritivorous invertebrates. Diffuse pollution from intensive agriculture and wastewater-born micropollutants contributed to reduced litter processing rates, including indirect effects apparently mediated through negative influences of insecticides on detritivores. Asymmetries in stress responses across trophic levels can introduce quantitative changes in consumer-resource dynamics and leaf litter processing. </span><span>This means functional redundancies at different trophic levels are insufficient to compensate for biodiversity losses, causing environmental stressors such as chemical pollutants to have pervasive ecosystem-level impacts. </span></p>
The diversity of mycorrhiza-associated fungi and trees shape subtropical mountain forest ecosystem functioning
<p><span><strong>Aim</strong>: </span><span>Mycorrhiza play key roles in ecosystem structure and functioning in forests. However, how different mycorrhizal types influence mountain forest biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships is largely unknown. We evaluate how the diversity of distinct mycorrhiza-associated fungi and trees shape forest carbon storage along elevational gradients.</span></p> <p><span><strong>Location</strong>:</span><span> Gaoligong Mountains within Hengduan Mountains, Southwest China. </span></p> <p><span><strong>Taxon</strong>: </span><span>Seed plants and mycorrhizal fungi.</span></p> <p><span><strong>Methods</strong>: </span><span>We used the data from 31 subtropical forest plots along elevational gradients on two aspects (east and west) of the mountain. We quantified species richness of trees and symbiotic fungi and assigned both to their mycorrhizal type (arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM), ectomycorrhiza (EcM) and ericoid mycorrhiza (ErM)). We then examined the diversity effects of mycorrhiza-associated fungi and trees on above-ground carbon stored in trees and organic carbon stored in soils. </span></p> <p><span><strong>Results</strong>:</span><span> Species richness was highest for AM trees (79.5%), followed by ErM trees (13.4%) and then EcM trees (7.1%). Species richness of AM-associated trees and fungi decreased with increasing elevation, while ErM-associated trees and fungi showed an opposite trend. EcM-associated diversity followed a hump-shaped relationship with elevation. Positive relationships between diversity and above-ground carbon were detected in all three mycorrhizal associations, but despite low species number, canopy-dominating EcM trees comprised 64.4% of the amount of above-ground carbon. Furthermore, community-weighted means of height exhibited positive correlations with forest above-ground carbon, indicating that positive selection effects occur. Soil organic carbon was positively related to EcM-associated fungi diversity, above-ground carbon mass and soil nitrogen availability, with the latter having the strongest direct effects. </span></p> <p><span><strong>Main</strong> <strong>conclusions</strong>: </span><span>The distributions of forest biodiversity and carbon storage can be modulated by distinct mycorrhizal fungi and trees. Moreover, future global changes (e.g., climate warming, intensifying nitrogen deposition) could alter the mycorrhizal-mediated biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships in mountain forests.</span></p>
Resource modification by ecosystem engineers generates hotspots of stream community assembly and ecosystem function
<p>Ecosystem engineers can generate hotspots of ecological structure and function by facilitating the aggregation of both resources and consumers. However, nearly all examples of such engineered hotspots come from long-lived foundation species, such as marine and freshwater mussels, intertidal cordgrasses, and alpine cushion plants, with less attention given to small-bodied, and short-lived taxa. Insects often have rapid life cycles and high population densities and are among the most diverse and ubiquitous animals on earth. Although these taxa have the potential to generate hotspots and heterogeneity comparable to that of foundation species, few studies have examined this possibility. We conducted a mesocosm experiment to examine the degree to which a stream insect ecosystem engineer, the net-spinning caddisfly (Tricoptera:Hydropsychidae), creates hotspots of ecosystem function by facilitating invertebrate community assembly. Our experiment used two treatments: (1) stream benthic habitat with patches of caddisfly engineers present and (2) a control treatment with no caddisflies present. We show that compared to controls, caddisflies increased local resource availability, measured as particulate organic matter (POM) by 43%, ecosystem respiration (ER) by 70%, and invertebrate density, biomass and richness by 96%, 244%, and 72%, respectively. These changes resulted in increased spatial variation of POM by 25%, invertebrate density by 76%, and ER by 29% compared to controls, indicating a strong effect of caddisflies on ecological heterogeneity. We found a positive relationship between invertebrate density and ammonium concentration in the caddisfly treatment, but no such relationship in the control, indicating that either caddisflies themselves or the invertebrate aggregations they create increased nutrient availability. When accounting for the amount of POM, caddisfly treatments increased invertebrate density by 48% and richness by 40% compared to controls, suggesting that caddisflies may also enhance the nutritional quality of resources for the invertebrate assemblage. The caddisfly treatment also increased the rate of ecosystem respiration as a function of increasing POM compared to the control. Our study demonstrates that insect ecosystem engineers can generate heterogeneity by concentrating local resources and consumers, with consequences for carbon and nutrient cycling.</p>
Afforestation and abandonment of semi-natural grasslands lead to biodiversity loss and a decline in ecosystem services and functions
<p>1. During the past century, semi-natural grasslands, once widespread throughout Europe, have largely been converted into intensively managed agricultural areas, abandoned or afforested. These large-scale land-use changes have already resulted in considerable biodiversity loss but can also lead to a decline in ecosystem service provision and ecosystem multifunctionality.</p> <p>2. We assessed the impact of afforestation and abandonment of semi-natural grasslands on the supply of ecosystem services in Western Estonia. We compared a wide array of services provided by open grasslands, abandoned grasslands, and afforested grasslands. Additionally, we analysed the impact of land-use change and species richness on ecosystem multifunctionality.</p> <p>3. Significant declines in the supply of pollination service, natural pest regulation, forage production, soil quality, wild food, and cultural appreciation of landscape were detected as a result of overgrowing or afforestation.</p> <p>4. There was a significant positive relationship between species richness and ecosystem multifunctionality, i.e. more biodiverse grasslands were able to support more services at a higher capacity.</p> <p>5. Results show that both grassland degradation due to abandonment, as well as grassland afforestation, have significant negative impacts on biodiversity, on the supply of multiple important ecosystem services and on the ecosystem multifunctionality.</p> <p>6. Synthesis and applications. Temperate semi-natural grasslands have high biodiversity and capacity to deliver multiple important ecosystem services simultaneously. Conservation and restoration of grassland habitats must be considered as an important part of sustainable landscape planning.</p>
Ecosystem stability is determined by plant defense functional traits and population stability under mowing in a semi-arid temperate steppe
<ol> <li><span>As a common grassland management practice in many high-latitude regions worldwide, mowing has great impacts on grassland functioning and stability. Species richness, species asynchrony and species stability have been suggested as central in responses to environmental change. Mowing can evoke plant defense systems due to physical damages to plants. However, no studies have comprehensively evaluated the role of plant defense functional traits, species richness, species asynchrony and stability in ecosystem functioning under mowing regimes across time-scales. </span></li> <li> <span>In the present study, we set up short-term (4-years) and long-term (16-years) mowing experiments with three stubble heights (control, 10 cm, 2 cm) in a temperate steppe of Inner Mongolia. We investigated the effects of mowing-induced changes in distribution metrics associated with plant defense traits, i.e. mean, variance, skewness and kurtosis of trait distribution, on ecosystem stability of grassland communities using structural equation modeling.</span> </li> <li><span>We found that grassland ecosystem stability was enhanced by increasing mowing duration and decreasing stubble height. Mowing-induced increases in abundance and diversity of plant defense traits contributed to greater ecosystem stability by enhancing species asynchrony and population stability. Moreover, we found that mowing enhanced the abundance and diversity of plant defense traits of dominant species and contributed to population stability and species asynchrony, thus enhancing temporal stability of grassland ecosystems. </span></li> <li><span>These results demonstrate the important roles of plant defense traits in maintaining stability of grasslands under mowing, and highlight that, in addition to species richness, asynchrony and population stability, plant functional defense trait act in stabilizing ecosystem functions under human-induced environmental changes.</span></li> </ol>
Data from: Quantifying interspecific and intraspecific diversity effects on ecosystem functioning
<p>Rapid environmental changes result in massive biodiversity loss with detrimental consequences for the functioning of ecosystems. Recent studies suggest that intraspecific diversity can contribute to ecosystem functioning to an extent comparable to contributions of interspecific diversity. Knowledge of the relative importance of these two sources of biodiversity is essential for predicting ecosystem consequences of biodiversity loss and will aid prioritization of conservation targets and implementation of management measures. However, our quantitative insights into how interspecific and intraspecific biodiversity loss affects ecosystem functioning, and how the effects of these two sources of biodiversity loss on ecosystem functioning can be compared are still very limited. To facilitate this goal, we extend the interspecific Price partitioning method originally introduced by J. Fox in 2006, previously used to quantify species loss and gain effects on ecosystem functioning, to also account for the effects of intraspecific diversity loss and gain on ecosystem function. Using this extended version can provide the quantitative information required for answering research questions addressing correlations between interspecific and intraspecific diversity effects on ecosystem function, identifying interspecific and intraspecific groups with large effects, and assessing whether intraspecific diversity can compensate for losses in interspecific diversity. Applying this method to carefully designed experiments will provide additional insights into how biodiversity loss at different ecological levels contributes to and changes ecosystem functioning.</p>
Data from: Non-native mammals are weak candidates to substitute ecological function of native avian seed-dispersers in an island ecosystem
<p>Although prominent examples exist of non-native species causing substantial ecological harm, many have neutral or positive effects, including filling surrogate roles once performed by extinct native organisms. We tested the ecological roles of two non-native mammals as seed dispersers or seed predators in Guåhan, which, due to invasive brown treesnakes (<em>Boiga</em> <em>irregularis</em>), is devoid of native seed dispersers – birds and bats. We conducted feeding trials with captive rats (<em>Rattus</em> spp.), which are present but uncommon due to predation by snakes, and pigs (<em>Sus</em> <em>scrofa</em>), which are abundant. We examined if and how they interacted with common forest fruits. We then compared how any gut-passed or handled seeds germinated compared to seeds left in whole fruit or depulped seeds.</p> <p>Rats and pigs interacted with most of the fruits and seeds (>80%) that they were fed. Of those, most seeds were destroyed – 78% for rats and 90% for pigs, across both native and non-native plant species. Compared to seeds germinating within whole fruits, rats improved germination of the seeds that they handled without ingesting, while pigs diminished the germination of seeds that they handled. The small percentage of seeds (approximately 1.5% for rats and 5% for pigs) that survived gut passage germinated in higher proportions than those in whole fruits. Percentages of seed survival to germination are lower than those found in similar studies with native avian frugivores. Our results indicate that pigs and rats have mixed effects on seeds, but are not suitable surrogates for native seed dispersers.</p>
The functioning of alpine grassland ecosystems: climate outweighs plant species richness
<ol> <li><span>The biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationship has received significant attention in recent decades. It has been widely demonstrated that plant diversity plays a crucial role in enhancing the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. However, few studies have tested the influence of plant species richness in mediating the impacts of climate on ecosystem functions at large spatial scales. </span></li> <li><span>To address this gap, we utilized data from field surveys across broad climatic gradients at the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China. Our goal was to examine the importance of plant species richness for the functioning of alpine grassland ecosystems, specifically productivity and soil carbon sequestration. </span></li> <li><span>Our results showed strong positive correlations between ecosystem functioning and growing season precipitation as well as species richness. In contrast, there was a negative correlation with growing season temperature. Notably, the positive effect of growing season precipitation on ecosystem functioning outweighed the negative effect of growing season temperature. The indirect effects of growing season precipitation and temperature on ecosystem functioning through changes in species richness were weak. Furthermore, the inclusion of climate factors in the model weakened the relationships between species richness and ecosystem functioning.</span></li> <li><span><em>Synthesis</em>. Our findings demonstrate that climate factors are more important than species richness for the provisioning of ecosystem functions at large spatial scales. In summary, our study underscores the importance of considering climate factors alongside species richness when assessing ecosystem functioning across extensive geographical areas.</span></li> </ol>
Warming decreases desert ecosystem functioning by altering biocrusts in drylands
<p><span>Warming and precipitation fluctuations are changing desert ecosystems in global drylands. However, the effects of climate change on keystone species such as cryptogamic biocrust in drylands remain relatively under-investigated, even though biocrusts play a vital role in desert ecosystems. </span><span>We conducted a long-term experiment (14 years) to simulate the responses of two main types of biocrusts to warming coupled with reduction in precipitation that was achieved by open-top chambers (OTCs) to simulate the predicted warming and precipitation decreasing under climate change scenario. We also conduct a structural analysis to evaluate the resulting changes in desert ecosystem functioning (carbon and nitrogen cycling).</span><span> </span><span>Neither warming and corresponding rainfall reduction treatments had a negative effect on lichen species richness, but both treatments reduced lichen cover and biomass. The negative effects of warming on moss-dominated crusts were much greater than those on lichen-dominated crusts. Although mosses and lichens had varying degrees of response to warming, the loss of mosses and decreased lichen cover and biomass, as well as the shortening of the wet time, resulted in a reduction in carbon and nitrogen fixation, soil enzyme activity and water-holding capacity of biocrusts and topsoil. These impacts collectively change the water balance of drylands and weaken the hydrological and biogeochemical function of biocrusts. </span></p> <p><span><em>Synthesis and applications</em>:</span><span> Results from this long-term experiment suggest that the ecosystem C and N cycling and water balance of global drylands may be highly impacted by climate change, in part because of the response of biocrusts, which contribute an important implication for both dryland restoration and earth system dynamics.</span></p>
Data from: Ocean deoxygenation caused non-linear responses in the structure and functioning of benthic ecosystems
<p><span>The O<sub>2 </sub>content of the global ocean has been declining progressively over the past decades, mainly because of human activities and global warming. Nevertheless, how long-term deoxygenation affects macrobenthic communities, sediment biogeochemistry and their mutual feedback remains poorly understood. Here, we evaluate the response of the benthic assemblages and biogeochemical functioning to decreasing O<sub>2 </sub>concentrations along the persistent bottom-water dissolved O<sub>2</sub> gradient of the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence (QC, Canada). We report several of non-linear biodiversity and functional responses to decreasing O<sub>2</sub> concentrations, and identify an O<sub>2</sub> threshold that occurs at approximately at 63 µM. Below this threshold, macrobenthic community assemblages change, and bioturbation rates drastically decrease to near zero. Consequently, the sequence of electron acceptors used to metabolize the sedimentary organic matter is squeezed towards the sediment surface while reduced compounds accumulate closer (as much as 0.5 to 2.5 cm depending on the compound) to the sediment-water interface. Our results illustrate the capacity of bioturbating species to compensate for the biogeochemical consequences of hypoxia and can help to predict future changes in benthic ecosystems.</span></p>
Warming decreases desert ecosystem functioning by altering biocrusts in drylands
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Species interactions and environmental context affect intraspecific behavioural trait variation and ecosystem function
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Resource modification by ecosystem engineers generates hotspots of stream community assembly and ecosystem function
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Parasitism in ecosystem engineer species: a key factor controlling marine ecosystem functioning
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
ScienceDex guides
Understand access before you commit
These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.