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10,016 results for “Observation”
Data from: Estimates of observer expertise improve species distributions from citizen science data
1. Citizen science data are increasingly making valuable contributions to ecological studies. However, many citizen science surveys are also designed to encourage wide participation and therefore the participants have a range of natural history expertise, leading to variation and potentially bias in the data. 2. We assessed a recently proposed measure of observer expertise, calculated based on the average numbers of species recorded by observers. We investigated if this observer expertise score is associated with how often an observer records any individual species. Species reporting rates increased monotonically with the observer's expertise score for 197 of 200 species, suggesting that this expertise score describes inter-observer variation in the detectability of individual species. 3. Expertise scores were incorporated into single-species occupancy models as a covariate, to explain inter-observer variation in detectability. Including expertise as a detectability covariate led to improved model fit and improved predictive performance on validation data. The expertise score had a large effect on the estimated detectability, comparable in magnitude to the effect of the duration of the observation period. 4. Expertise scores were also included into single-species occupancy models that estimated seasonal patterns in species occupancy and seasonal expertise effects. The addition of a seasonal effect of expertise led to improved model fit and increased predictive performance on validation data. The seasonal expertise variables accounted for bias that may be introduced by seasonal differences in the effect of expertise, caused by changes in the environment or species behaviour. 5. Measures of observer expertise included in models as a covariate can account for heterogeneity and bias introduced by variable expertise, although in this example the differences in estimated occupancy were small. This method of incorporating observer expertise can be used in any regression model of species occurrence, occupancy, abundance, or density to produce more reliable ecological inference and may be most important where citizen science schemes encourage wide participation. Overall, the results highlight the value of recording observer identity and other detectability covariates, to control for sources of bias associated with the observation process.
Data from: Killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Iceland show weak genetic structure among diverse isotopic signatures and observed movement patterns
Local adaption through ecological niche specialization can lead to genetic structure between and within populations. In the Northeast Pacific, killer whales (Orcinus orca) of the same population have uniform specialized diets that are non-overlapping with other sympatric, genetically divergent and socially isolated killer whale ecotypes. However, killer whales in Iceland show intra-population variation of isotopic niches and observed movement patterns: some individuals appear to specialise on herring and follow it year-round while others feed upon herring only seasonally or opportunistically. We investigated genetic differentiation among Icelandic killer whales with different isotopic signatures and observed movement patterns. This information is key for management and conservation purposes but also for better understanding how niche specialization drives genetic differentiation. Photo-identified individuals (N = 61) were genotyped for 22 microsatellites and a 611 bp portion of the mitochondrial control region. Photo-identification of individuals allowed linkage of genetic data to existing data on individual isotopic niche, observed movement patterns and social associations. Population subdivision into three genetic units was supported by a Discriminant Analysis of Principal Components (DAPC). Genetic clustering corresponded to the distribution of isotopic signatures, mtDNA haplotypes and observed movement patterns, but genetic units were not socially segregated. Genetic differentiation was weak (FST <0.1), suggesting ongoing gene flow or recent separation of the genetic units. Our results show that killer whales in Iceland are not as genetically differentiated, ecologically discrete or socially isolated as the Northeast Pacific prey-specialized killer whales. If any process of ecological divergence and niche specialization is taking place among killer whales in Iceland it is likely at a very early stage and has not led to the patterns observed in the Northeast Pacific.
Data from: Modelling unbiased dispersal kernels over continuous space by accounting for spatial heterogeneity in marking and observation efforts
1. Although a key demographic trait determining the spatial dynamics of wild populations, dispersal is notoriously difficult to estimate in the field. Indeed, dispersal distances obtained from the monitoring of marked individuals typically lead to biased estimations of dispersal kernels as a consequence of i) restricted spatial scale of the study areas compared to species potential dispersal and ii) heterogeneity in marking and observation efforts and therfore in detection probability across space. 2. Here we propose a novel method to circumvent these issues that does not require data on observation effort per se, to correct for the variability in detection of marked individuals across space. Observed dispersal events were weighted by the distribution of departure points and an eroded spatial window approach was applied so as to deal with border effect. We conducted a set of simulations which indicated that our method was successful in correcting the effect of spatially heterogeneous detectability and produce unbiased dispersal kernels. 3. We applied this method to a real dataset on Montagu's harrier (>5000 chicks tagged), providing ca. 6000 resightings collected in entire France by a network of 1200 volunteers within a citizen-science program. The median dispersal distance observed was 32 km (range: 0.1-627 km). Once corrected for spatial heterogeneity in marking and observation efforts and border effect, the modelled dispersal kernel indicated a median dispersal distance of 78-123 km depending on the spatial scale considered (constrained within French borders or not, respectively). 4. Synthesis and applications: The current rise of citizen-science programs is likely to stretch our estimate of the ecologically-relevant spatial scale at which dispersal takes place for many taxa. Our method is particularly suited for such large scale data that typically suffer from high spatial heterogeneity in marking and observation efforts and offers the possibility to derive unbiased dispersal kernels, a key component for modelling population dynamics and species distribution in a context of environmental change. Currently, our method assumes homogeneity in both habitat and dispersal behaviour across individuals. We discuss however how to relax these hypotheses to further investigate the effect of e.g. local conspecific density or habitat quality on dispersal propensity.
Data from: Clinical Outcomes Associated with the use of the NexSite™ Hemodialysis Catheter with New Exit Barrier Technology: Results from a Prospective, Observational Multi-center Registry Study
Purpose: Decreasing the risk of catheter related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) remains a key focus for improving outcomes and reducing cost of care for hemodialysis (HD) patients. Recent studies demonstrate CRBSI rates can be improved by managing bacterial colonization at the catheter exit site. Herein we present the results of a study documenting the clinical performance of the NexSite® HD catheter, a new tunneled central venous catheter which incorporates Exit Site Management (ESM) technology. Methods: We conducted an observational study using a prospective, multi-center registry of HD patients implanted with the NexSite® HD catheter. The primary endpoint for the study was CRBSI rate for a period up to 180-days following catheter placement. Secondary endpoints included device placement success rate, exit site healing, development of an exit site or tunnel infection, and early or late non-infectious catheter-related complications. All reasons for early non-elective catheter removal were recorded. Results: A total of 115 HD patients at 6 sites were included in the final analysis. Cumulative catheter use was 10,924 days with a mean duration of 95 days. Seven patients experienced CRBSIs during the study period resulting in a CRBSI rate of 0.64 per 1,000 catheter-days. Seventy-four patients (64.3%) had either elective catheter removal (n=56) or utilized the catheter for the entire 180-day observation period (n=18). Thirty-five patients (30%) underwent non-elective device removal either due to CRBSI (n=5), low flow (n=16), exit site issues (n=7), or for other causes (n=7). Six patients died during the observation period with 1 death due to CRBSI-associated complications and the remaining 5 deaths attributed to non-device related causes. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate that the NexSite HD catheter equipped with ESM technology can achieve a CRBSI rate in compliance with the NKF KDOQI (National Kidney Foundation Kidney Disease Outcome Quality Initiatives) Clinical Performance Guidelines stated goal of less than 1.0/1,000 catheter-days when used in hemodialysis patients using current standard of care nursing protocols.
Data from: Field observations of turbulence, sand suspension and cross-shore transport under spilling and plunging breakers
Measurements of wave orbital velocity, near-bed turbulence levels and sediment suspension were obtained under plunging and spilling breakers in the outer surf zone on the beach at Vejers, Denmark. For the same range of relative wave heights and indicators of wave nonlinearity, we observed significantly larger suspended sediment concentrations and onshore-directed rates of suspended sediment transport under (long-period) plunging breakers, compared to (short-period) spilling breakers. This is consistent with the long-held understanding that, for a given beach slope, onshore transport and beach accretion is associated with longer-period waves and offshore transport and erosion is associated with shorter-period waves. An intra-wave analysis of hydrodynamics and sediment suspension revealed that the main reason for the larger suspended sediment transport rates under plunging waves was i) larger time-averaged suspended sediment loads under plunging waves, and ii) a larger difference in cumulated sediment load under the wave crest phase compared to the wave trough phase for plunging breakers. This latter difference was due to an earlier arrival at the seabed of higher levels of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) under plunging waves compared to spilling waves. Hence, both magnitude and timing within the wave cycle of TKE production is important in a quantification of sediment transport under breaking waves. For ensemble-averaged intense suspension events, contributing roughly 50% of the total sediment suspension during individual records, we found that instantaneous near-bed sediment load was linearly related to instantaneous levels of Froude-scaled TKE.
Data from: Genetic structure in a dynamic baboon hybrid zone corroborates behavioral observations in a hybrid population
Behavior and genetic structure are intimately related: mating patterns and patterns of movement between groups or populations influence the movement of genetic variation across the landscape and from one generation to the next. In hybrid zones, the behavior of the hybridizing taxa can also have an important impact on the incidence and outcome of hybridization events. Hybridization between yellow baboons and anubis baboons has been well-documented in the Amboseli basin of Kenya, where more anubis-like individuals tend to experience maturational and reproductive advantages. However, it is unknown whether these advantages are reflected in the genetic structure of populations surrounding this area. Here, we used nuclear microsatellite genotype data to evaluate the geographic structure and composition of baboon populations in southern Kenya, up to the border of Tanzania. Our results indicate that, unlike for mitochondrial DNA, microsatellite-based measures of genetic structure are in concordance with phenotypically based taxonomic distinctions, and that the currently active hybrid zone is relatively narrow. Interestingly, isolation with migration analysis revealed asymmetric gene flow in this region from anubis populations into yellow populations, in support of the anubis-biased phenotypic advantages observed in Amboseli. Populations that are primarily yellow but that are the recipients of anubis gene flow exhibit higher levels of genetic diversity than yellow populations far from the introgression front. Our results support previous work that indicates a long history of hybridization and male-mediated genetic introgression among East African baboons. In particular, it suggests that anubis baboons are in the process of gradual range expansion into the historic range of yellow baboon populations, a pattern that could be mechanistically explained by behavioral and life history advantages that correlate with anubis ancestry.
Data from: Which traits do observers use to distinguish Batesian mimics from their models?
Batesian mimicry, in which a harmless mimic resembles a more aversive model, can encompass a wide range of morphological traits, but the resemblance is never perfect. Previous studies have used abstract "prey" designs to show that differences in certain traits may not be relevant to mimicry if they are not perceived or recognized by a predator. Here, we extend these results by examining how human "predators" respond to realistic variation in traits of aposematic wasps and their hoverfly mimics. We measured the ability of humans to discriminate between images of wasps and hoverflies in which only certain traits were visible, to determine the contributions of those traits to discrimination decisions. We found that shape is a particularly useful and easily learnt trait for separating the 2 taxa. Subjects did not successfully discriminate on the basis of abdominal patterns, despite those containing useful information. Color similarity between wasps and hoverflies is relatively high in comparison with other traits, suggesting that selection has acted more strongly on color. Our findings demonstrate the importance of consideration of natural variation in the traits of prey and their salience to predators for understanding the evolution of prey defenses.
Data from: Resolving the heading-direction ambiguity in vertical-beam radar observations of migrating insects
1. Each year, massive numbers of insects fly across the continents at heights of hundreds of metres, carried by the wind, bringing both environmental benefits and serious economic and social costs. To investigate the insects' flight behaviour and their response to winds, entomological radar has proved to be a particularly valuable tool; however, its observations of insect orientation are ambiguous with regard to the head/tail direction and this greatly hinders interpretation of the migrants' flight behaviour. 2. We have developed two related methods of using wind data to resolve the head/tail ambiguity and we have compared their outputs with those from simply assigning the heading direction to be that which is closer to the track direction. We applied all three methods to observations of Australian Plague Locust migrations made with an Insect Monitoring Radar. 3. For the study dataset, some of the headings selected by the simpler method are shown to be clearly incorrect. The two new methods generally agree and reveal a significantly different, and presumably more accurate, relationship of heading direction to track direction. However, use of these methods leads to quite a large proportion of the sample being lost because the wind values, which derive from a regional-scale numerical model, are shown to be incompatible with the radar observations. This exploratory study has moreover demonstrated that locusts are frequently oriented at a large angle to their track, and that quite often their movement is at least slightly tail-first. 4. Both new methods appear to be a significant improvement on the simpler method. As well as providing an accurate representation of migratory flight behaviour, they allow occasions when the model wind values are unreliable to be eliminated from the data sample.
Data Processing for a Small-Scale Long-Term Coastal Ocean Observing System Near Mobile Bay, Alabama: A Geoscience Papers of the Future (GPF) Data Set
<p>The Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) has been operating a permanent moored oceanographic station at 30 05.410'N, 88 12.694'W, 25 km southwest of the entrance to Mobile Bay, Alabama, since 2004. It collects hydrographic and current velocity data.</p> <p>This set of data files was collected between 27 Jan and 18 May 2011. It includes the raw data at initial download from the instruments, several intermediate processing steps, and final processed files ready for initial scientific analysis.</p> <p>The files have been prepared as supplementary material for a Geoscience Paper of the Future (GPF) in prep for publication at Earth and Space Science, as part of the OntoSoft GPF Initiative.</p> <p> </p>
Bayesian analysis of resolved stellar spectra: application to MMT/Hectochelle observations of the Draco dwarf spheroidal
<p>supplementary data products, including all sky-subtracted spectra from individual targets, as well as random draws from posterior PDFs for model parameters (see enclosed README file)</p>
A global map of mean annual runoff based on discharge observations from large catchments
<p>This report describes the development of a global map of mean annual runoff (MAR) based on discharge observations from 1651 large catchments (10,003 to 4,691,000 km<sup>2</sup>) around the globe. The map was produced based on the assumption that the mean annual volumetric discharge difference between a station and its upstream neighbor(s) represents the MAR generated in the interstation region. The produced map represents a unique spatial estimate of MAR at a global scale useful for, among other things, the spatial evaluation of macro-scale hydrological models. Compared to an equivalent map developed at the University of New Hampshire, the new map (i) is based on substantially more catchments (1651 versus 663), (ii) has a higher resolution (∼0.04° versus 0.5°), (iii) covers a larger portion of the hydrologically-active, ice-free land surface (58.9 % versus 56.5 %), and (iv) agrees considerably better with a completely independent MAR map based on small catchments.</p>
Data Processing for a Small-Scale Long-Term Coastal Ocean Observing System Near Mobile Bay, Alabama: A Geoscience Papers of the Future (GPF) Workflow Diagram
<p>The Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) has been operating a permanent moored oceanographic station at 30 05.410'N, 88 12.694'W, 25 km southwest of the entrance to Mobile Bay, Alabama, since 2004. It collects hydrographic and current velocity data.</p> <p>This diagram shows the processing steps for data from the instruments at this mooring, from initial download to initial scientific analysis. The accompanying text explains how to apply the workflow to the example dataset (10.5281/zenodo.18943) using the provided software (10.5281/zenodo.32741). </p> <p>The files have been prepared as supplementary material for a Geoscience Paper of the Future (GPF) in prep for publication at Earth and Space Science, as part of the OntoSoft GPF Initiative.</p>
Observations of molecular hydrogen (H2) mixing ratio and stable isotopic composition (deuterium content) at the Cabauw tall tower in the Netherlands
<p>This zip file contains the final corrected data that were used for the journal article "Observations of molecular hydrogen mixing ratio and stable isotopic composition at the Cabauw tall tower in the Netherlands" by Batenburg et al., Atmospheric Environment, 2016, doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2016.09.058<br> <br> Please cite the original AtmosEnv article when using these data.<br> The paper also contains more information about how these data were collected and calibrated, and on how the quality control flags were assigned.</p> <p>All samples were collected at the Cabauw tower, at the CESAR site (51.971° N, 4.927° E, http://www.cesar-observatory.nl/).<br> H2 and deltaD(H2) are calibrated using one to four laboratory reference air cylinders, depending on measurement period.<br> The H2 mixing ratio of the reference cylinders was determined by UHEI-IUP, MPI-BGC, or the IMAU isotope laboratory.<br> The deltaD(H2) of the reference cylinders is, sometimes indirectly, linked to the VSMOW scale by measurements of air mixtures containing H2 standards of known isotopic composition.<br> H2 scale: MPI2009, Jordan and Steinberg, AMT, 2011, doi:10.5194/amt-4-509-2011<br> deltaD(H2) units: permil deviation from VSMOW, Gonfiantini et al., IAEA-TECDOC-825, IAEA</p> <p>Times are UTC. </p> <p><br> The corresponding author can be reached through annekebatenburg@gmail.com for questions.</p>
Observation of 22Na+ - Diffusion in Opalinus Clay using Positron Emission Tomography (GeoPET)
<p>Clay rocks are one potential host material for nuclear waste deposits, because of their extremely small particle sizes cause low permeablility and high adsorption capacity. Molecular diffusion is the dominating transport process and therefore relevant for safety assessment.</p> <p>We applied positron emission tomography (PET) for investigating diffusion of <sup>22</sup>Na<sup>+</sup> in Opalinus clay rock. This enables to derive diffusion parameters on the macroscopic scale of drill cores (diameter 100 mm), and thus to consider effects of anisotropy and heterogeneities. This method is complementary to laboratory measurements with common diffusion cells, which can hardly elucidate such macroscopical spatial effects.<br> Here, we present the measuring data as motion picture. The underlying PET-data are 20 scans over a period of 143 days after injection of synthetic Opalinus pore water, labelled with Na-22, into an axial blind hole.</p>
FIGURE 5 in A new species of Varanus Merrem (Squamata: Varanidae) from the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with observations on sexual dimorphism in closely related species
FIGURE 5. Ventral views of representative specimens of three Varanus species. Same individuals as Figure 3.
FIGURE 4 in A new species of Varanus Merrem (Squamata: Varanidae) from the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with observations on sexual dimorphism in closely related species
FIGURE 4. Dorsal views of representative specimens of three Varanus species. (a) WAM R125521 V. b u s h i sp. nov. Holotype ♂; (b) WAM R135340 V. bushi sp. nov. Paratype Ψ; (c) WAM R75792 V. gilleni Ψ; (d) WAM R135601 V. caudolineatus ♂; (e) WAM R138950 V. caudolineatus ♂.
FIGURE 3 in A new species of Varanus Merrem (Squamata: Varanidae) from the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with observations on sexual dimorphism in closely related species
FIGURE 3. Details of scalation on dorsal midbody of representative specimens of three Varanus species. (a) WAM R135340 V. b u s h i sp. nov. Paratype Ψ; (b) WAM R75792 V. gilleni Ψ; c) WAM R135601 V. caudolineatus ♂.
FIGURE 7 in A new species of Varanus Merrem (Squamata: Varanidae) from the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with observations on sexual dimorphism in closely related species
FIGURE 7. Bivariate plots of various external measurements against each of BL and HNL for male specimens of V. caudolineatus: Symbols used on each plot are: TL (triangle);BL (circle); HNL (square); HLL (cross); FLL (diamond).
FIGURE 2 in A new species of Varanus Merrem (Squamata: Varanidae) from the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with observations on sexual dimorphism in closely related species
FIGURE 2. Relationships among unique mitochondrial haplotypes obtained through sequencing of various individuals of V. caudolineatus, V. gilleni and V. bushi sp. nov. Localities for each specimen are provided in Appendix I. (a). Strict Consensus tree of six equally most parsimonious trees (length of 330 steps). Numbers above branches represent Maximum Parsimony and Minimum Evolution bootstrap proportions (each based on 1000 pseudoreplicates); numbers below branches represent decay indices. (b). Maximum Likelihood tree (InL = 2418.09) obtained using the GTR+I model of nucleotide substitution. Numbers above branches indicate bootstrap proportions (based on 100 pseudoreplicates).
FIGURE 1 in A new species of Varanus Merrem (Squamata: Varanidae) from the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with observations on sexual dimorphism in closely related species
FIGURE 1. An adult Varanus bushi sp. nov. from near Roebourne, photographed in life by Robert BrowneCooper.
ScienceDex guides
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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.