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.
5,828
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.9.0
Dataset results
5,828 results for “Traits”
Plant traits measured for Australian alpine plants
<p>Rapid evolution is likely to be an important mechanism allowing native species to adapt to changed environmental conditions. Many northern hemisphere species have undergone substantial recent changes in phenology and morphology. However, we have little information about how native species in the southern hemisphere are responding to climate change. We used herbarium specimens from 21 native alpine plant species in Kosciuszko National Park, Australia to make over 1500 measurements of plant size, leaf thickness, leaf mass per area, leaf shape and leaf size across the last 126 years. Only two out of 21 species (9%) showed significant changes in any of the measured traits. The number of changes we observed was not significantly different to what we would expect by chance alone, based on the number of analyses performed. This lack of change is not attributable to methodology – an earlier study using the same methods found significant changes in 70% of species introduced to south-east Australia. Australia's native alpine plants do not appear to be adapting to changed conditions, and because of the low elevation of Australia's mountains, they do not have much scope for uphill migration. Thus, our findings suggest that Australia's native alpine plants are at even greater risk in the face of future climate change than was previously understood. </p>
Megafruit and megafauna diversity are positively associated, while megafruit traits are related to abiotic factors, in Tropical Asia
<p class="Body"><b>Aim</b></p> <p class="Body">For tens of millions of years, herbivorous megafauna were abundant across the globe, fulfilling important ecological roles including seed dispersal. Megafruits are very large fruits that are dispersed most effectively by megafauna. However, megafruits also occur in ecosystems where megafauna are extinct or were never present, emphasizing our incomplete understanding of megafauna-megafruit relationships. Here we use the complex biogeography of tropical Asia to investigate how megafruit diversity and traits are associated with the diversity of megafauna, smaller animals, and abiotic factors.</p> <p class="Body"><b>Location</b></p> <p class="Body">Tropical Asia, from the Indian subcontinent in the west to tropical China in the north to the Maluku archipelago (Indonesia) in the east.</p> <p class="Body"><b>Time period</b></p> <p class="Body">Late Pleistocene to the present day.</p> <p class="Body"><b>Major taxa studied</b></p> <p class="Body">Megafauna (body weight >500 kg) that consume fruits, including stegodons, elephants, rhinoceroses, giant tapirs, and large bovids. Fleshy-fruited plant species across the region with a fruit width >40 mm (i.e., megafruits).</p> <p class="Body"><b>Methods</b></p> <p class="Body">We compiled a list of all megafruits along with selected plant, fruit, and seed traits in 16 subregions across tropical Asia. We explored biogeographic patterns in megafruit diversity and traits in relation to the diversities of past and present megafauna, large- and medium-sized animals and abiotic factors (mean temperature, mean precipitation, precipitation seasonality, insularity).</p> <p class="Body"><b>Results</b></p> <p class="Body">We identified 496 megafruits in tropical Asia. Megafruit diversity was highest in subregions with high megafaunal diversity, particularly extant species. Megafruit traits were influenced most strongly by abiotic factors (mainly temperature and land area), and weakly by megafauna and smaller dispersers.</p> <p class="Body"><b>Main conclusions</b></p> <p class="Body">Our results are consistent with megafauna maintaining or responding to megafruit diversity, but variation in megafruit traits is primarily associated with abiotic factors. Given the massive megafaunal losses in tropical Asia since the Late Pleistocene, it is important to identify fruit traits that can increase megafauna-dependence and thus vulnerability to these losses.</p>
Indonesian soil and litter Collembola species and trait matrix with environmental data
<p>Rainforest conversion and expansion of plantations in tropical regions is associated with changes in animal communities and biodiversity decline. In soil, Collembola are one of the most numerous invertebrate groups that control microbial processes and support arthropod predators. Despite that, information on the impact of changes in land use in the tropics on species and trait composition of Collembola communities is very limited. We investigated the response of Collembola to the conversion of rainforest into rubber agroforest ('junge rubber'), rubber and oil palm plantations in Jambi province (Sumatra, Indonesia), a region that experienced one of the strongest deforestation globally during the last decades. Collembola from litter and soil layers were collected in 2013 and 2016 using heat extraction. In the litter layer, density and species richness in plantation systems declined by 25-38% and 30-40%, respectively, compared to rainforest. By contrast, in the soil layer, density, species richness and trait diversity of Collembola were only slightly affected by land-use change contrasting the response of many other animal groups. Species and trait composition of Collembola communities in litter and soil layers differed between all land-use systems. Water content and pH were identified as main factors related to the differences in species and trait composition both in litter and soil layers, followed by the density of micro- and macropredators. Dominant Collembola species in rainforest and jungle rubber were characterized by small body size, absence of furca and absent or intense pigmentation, while in plantations larger species with long furca and diffuse or patterned coloration were more abundant. The trait-based responses were similar to those observed in Collembola from temperate regions and to those in a similar study on spiders at our study sites. Overall, land-use change negatively affected Collembola communities in the litter layer, but only little affected Collembola communities in soil. Several pantropical Collembola genera (i.e., <i>Isotomiella</i>, <i>Pseudosinella</i> and <i>Folsomides</i>) dominated across land-use systems, reflecting their high environmental adaptability or efficient dispersal calling for studies on their ecology and genetic diversity. The decline in species richness and density of litter-dwelling Collembola with the conversion of rainforest into plantation systems calls for management practices mitigating negative effects of the deterioration of the litter layer in rubber but in particular in oil palm plantations.</p>
Diversification and phylogenetic correlation of functional traits for co-occurring understory species in the Chinese boreal forest
<p><span>Functional traits impact species interactions, community composition, and ecosystem functioning. However, few studies have focused on the diversification and phylogenetic correlation of multiple functional traits over geological time. We conducted phylogenetic comparative analysis for boreal forest understory species in northeast China to examine the diversification and phylogenetic correlation in several functional traits: leaf area (LA), leaf carbon content (LCC), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf nitrogen content (LNC), plant height (PH), and specific leaf area (SLA). Phylogenetic signals showed that there were very low levels of phylogenetic niche conservatism (PNC) in understory leaf-related traits and plant height, suggesting divergence of functional traits for the co-occurring understory species. The disparity through time analyses (DTT) indicated that trait disparities mainly originated during recent divergence events and there were no differences in the observed trait disparities compared to that expected under Brownian motion. Furthermore, we found both positive and negative phylogenetic correlations among the measured functional traits. The very low levels of PNC suggests that these functional traits diverged among co-occurring understory species, and that those species are distantly phylogenetically related. The phylogenetic correlations among traits maybe caused by both positively and negatively correlated adaptions which correspond to resource acquisition strategies. This study provides evidence that divergence in functional traits may reflect understory adaptations to boreal conditions. </span></p>
Species provenance and traits mediate establishment and performance in an invaded grassland
<p>In many invaded grasslands, dominant exotic species can produce large amounts of litter that modify local abiotic conditions and species' interactions. These novel conditions can reduce native species abundance and promote the persistence of exotic species, yet the strength of this disparity may be influenced by how consumer pressure interacts with litter accumulation. Consumers may exacerbate this disparity by preferentially targeting native species or by promoting heterogeneity in microhabitats due to their movement and small-scale ground disturbances that favours fast growing exotic species. How species respond to litter accumulation and consumer pressure may depend on either evolutionary differences, whereby exotics species may benefit from a lack natural predators, or by functional differences, in which species' physiological traits may confer fitness advantages to low-light conditions or herbivory or granivory pressure.</p> <p><span>We examined the impact of litter presence </span><span>and small mammal herbivory on the establishment and reproduction of functionally diverse exotic versus native species seeded across sites that naturally vary in resource availability in an annual invaded California grassland. We assessed whether seed mass and leaf nitrogen content (LNC) were predictive of successful establishment and reproduction.</span></p> <p>Litter accumulation affected exotic and native species differently, with litter significantly decreasing native recruitment and reproduction, while exotics were largely unaffected. Small mammals had a slight positive effect on the establishment of native species when litter was present but did not influence exotic species. Regardless of species provenance, larger seeded species established at a higher density while species with lower leaf nitrogen content had a higher density of reproductive individuals. Native species that successfully established and reproduced were functionally different in LNC than the resident community, while successful exotic species were functionally more similar to the resident community in LNC.</p> <p>Our study demonstrates that exotic species outperformed native species regardless of the presence of litter or herbivory pressure. Without the removal or thinning of litter, it is likely that exotic species will continue to dominate, resulting in a positive feedback that further favours the persistence of exotic species within this invaded grassland system.</p>
Divergence in life-history traits among three populations of the sea snake Emydocephalus anulatus
<p><span>Life-history traits such as rates of growth, survival and reproduction can vary though time within a single population, or through space among populations, due to abiotically-driven changes in resource availability. In terrestrial reptiles, parameters such as temperature and rainfall generate variation in life-histories – but other parameters likely are more important in marine systems. We studied three populations of sea snakes (<em>Emydocephalus annulatus</em>) in adjacent bays in the IndoPacific archipelago of New Caledonia. The extreme philopatry of individual snakes allows us to unambiguously allocate each animal to one of the three populations. Although water temperatures and rainfall do not differ over this small scale, one site experiences more intense winds, restricting opportunities for foraging. Our 18-year mark-recapture dataset (>1,200 snakes, >2,400 captures) reveals significant divergence among populations in life-history traits. Survival rates and population densities were similar among sites, but snakes at the most wind-exposed site (Anse Vata) exhibited lower body condition, slower growth, less frequent production of litters, and smaller litters. Weather-driven variation in feeding rates thus may affect life-history traits of marine snakes as well as their terrestrial counterparts, but driven by different parameters (e.g., wind exposure rather than variation in temperatures or rainfall).</span></p>
Independent variation of avian sensitivity to climate change and trait-based adaptive capacity along a tropical elevational gradient
<p>Aim: How species respond to climate change is influenced by their sensitivity to climatic conditions (i.e., their climatic niche) and aspects of their adaptive capacity (e.g., their dispersal ability, ecological niche). To date, it is largely unknown whether and how species' sensitivity to climate change and their adaptive capacity covary. However, understanding this relationship is important to predict the potential consequences of a changing climate for species assemblages. Here, we test how species' sensitivity to climate change and trait-based measures of their ecological adaptive capacity (i) vary along a broad elevational gradient and (ii) covary across a large number of bird species.</p> <p>Location: A Neotropical elevational gradient (300 - 3600 m.a.s.l.) in the Manú biosphere reserve, south‐east Peru.</p> <p>Methods: We focus on 215 frugivorous bird species along a Neotropical elevational gradient. We approximate species' sensitivity to climate change by their climatic niche breadth, based on species occurrences across South America and bioclimatic variables. In addition, we use a trait-based approach to estimate the dispersal ability of species (approximated by their wing pointedness), their dietary niche breadth (approximated by bill width), and their habitat niche breadth (the number of used habitat classes).</p> <p>Results: We found that (i) species' climatic niche breadth increased with elevation, while their trait-based dispersal ability and dietary niche breadth decreased with elevation, and (ii) sensitivity to climate change and trait-based adaptive capacity were not related across species.</p> <p>Main conclusions: These results suggest different mechanisms of how species in lowland and highland assemblages might respond to climate change. The independent variation of species' sensitivity to climate change and their trait-based adaptive capacity suggests that accounting for both dimensions will improve assessments of species' susceptibility to climate change and potential impacts of climate change on diverse species assemblages.</p>
Leading trait dimensions in flood-tolerant plants
<p><strong>Background and Aims </strong></p> <p>While trait-based approaches have provided critical insights into general plant functioning, we lack a comprehensive quantitative view on plant strategies in flooded conditions. Plants adapted to flooded conditions have specific traits (e.g. root porosity, low root/shoot ratio and shoot elongation) to cope with the environmental stressors including anoxic sediments, and the subsequent presence of phytotoxic compounds. In flooded habitats, plants also respond to potential nutrient and light limitations, e.g. through the expression of leaf economics traits and size-related traits, respectively. However, we do not know whether and how these trait dimensions are connected.</p> <p><strong>Methods</strong></p> <p>Based on a trait dataset compiled on 131 plant species from 141 studies in flooded habitats, we quantitatively analysed how flooding-induced traits are positioned in relation to the other two dominant trait dimensions: leaf economics traits and size-related traits. We evaluated how these key trait components are expressed along wetness gradients, across habitat types and among plant life forms.</p> <p><strong>Key Results </strong></p> <p>We found that flooding-induced traits constitute a trait dimension independent from leaf economics traits and size-related traits, indicating that there is no generic trade-off associated with flooding adaptations. Moreover, individual flooding-induced traits themselves are to a large extent decoupled from each other. These results suggest that adaptation to stressful environments, such as flooding, can be stressor specific without generic adverse effects on plant functioning (e.g. causing trade-offs on leaf economics traits).</p> <p><strong>Conclusions </strong></p> <p>The trait expression across multiple dimensions promotes plant adaptations and coexistence across multifaceted flooded environments. The decoupled trait dimensions, as related to different environmental drivers, also explain why ecosystem functioning (including, for example, methane emissions) are species and habitat specific. Thus, our results provide a backbone for applying trait-based approaches in wetland ecology by considering flooding-induced traits as an independent trait dimension.</p>
Processes underlying complex patterns of song trait evolution in a Setophaga hybrid zone
During secondary contact between two species when hybrids are less fit than parents, mating signals are expected to diverge while aggressive signals are expected to converge. If a single signal trait is used in both mating and aggression, then the dynamics between these two forces could influence the evolutionary trajectory of that trait. We studied such a situation in an avian hybrid zone between two Setophaga species, where birdsong is used in both mate attraction and territory defense. We hypothesized that song modules of the two species will show separate and distinct geographic patterns due to the influence of selective pressures for effective territorial aggression and for effective mate attraction. We conducted geographic cline analyses and playback experiments across this hybrid zone. We found an unexpected geographical pattern of asymmetric introgression of song rhythm, which may be explained by results of the playback experiments that suggest that differences in song rhythm serve a greater role in mate attraction than in territory defense. In contrast, differences in syllable morphology show little evidence of importance in mate attraction or territorial defense. Song features converge in the hybrid zone, yet patterns of trait change suggest that the song production modules may vary in their modes of development and inheritance. Syringeal motor gesturing, which gives rise to syllable morphology, shows a non-clinal mosaic pattern, suggesting that this trait may be predominantly learned. In contrast, respiratory patterning, which forms song rhythm, shows a clinal geographic transition, suggesting that this trait could be more innate. The results indicate that opposing forces act independently on song via distinct modules of the song production mechanism, driving complex patterns of song trait evolution.
Species and foliar biochemical trait maps for Blackhawk Island, Wisconsin May-October 2018
<p class="MsoNormal">Foliar biochemical traits are important indicators of ecosystem functioning and health that are impractical to characterize at large spatial and temporal scales using traditional measurements. However, comprehensive inventories of foliar traits are important for understanding ecosystem responses to anthropogenic and natural disturbances, as inputs into ecosystem process models, and for quantifying spatial variation in functional diversity. Imaging spectroscopy has been demonstrated as a valuable tool for developing maps of ecologically important foliar traits at large scales, but its application to mapping foliar traits over the course of the growing season has been limited. We collected high-resolution imaging spectroscopy data over Blackhawk Island, Wisconsin, USA at eight time points during the 2018 growing season (May – October). Using partial least squares regression (PLSR) we developed predictive models applicable to all dates to produce canopy-level maps of eight traits related to ecophysiological function: chlorophyll content, leaf mass per area and concentrations of calcium, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, phenolics and lignin. The accuracy of our models varied across traits (R<sup>2</sup>: 0.25-0.86); traits with well-defined absorption features were retrieved with high accuracy including chlorophyll (R<sup>2</sup>: 0.86; %RMSE: 11.0) and total phenolics (R<sup>2</sup>: 0.86; %RMSE: 11.0). We also assessed how well our models estimated biochemistry on novel species and new dates using a cross-validation analysis. Chlorophyll and total phenolics were well estimated across withheld dates and species, whereas calcium was estimated poorly on both withheld species (R<sup>2</sup>: 0.08) and dates (R<sup>2</sup>: 0.07). Our canopy-level maps of macronutrients (N, P and K) showed general trends of decreasing concentration over the course of the year, reflecting dilution by carbon-rich compounds during the growing season and resorption during senescence.</p>
The behavioral responses of the Chiguanco thrush to urbanization in a Neotropical city comes from preadapted behavioral traits
<p>Several animal species can survive within cities by changing their behavior; such changes could be the result of evolutionary adaptation, epigenetic effects, or come from preadapted traits through phenotypic plasticity or non-random dispersal. Exploring whether behavioral preadapted traits are present in non-urbanized populations could improve our understanding of the processes that allow animals to cope with urbanization. We compared the boldness, neophobia, and solving-test skills of adult individuals of the Chiguanco Thrush (Turdus chiguanco) between urban and extra-urban habitats in La Paz (Bolivia), a high-altitude Neotropical city. The urban Chiguanco Thrushes were bolder, less neophobic, and performed better in problem-solving tests. Extra-urban individuals varied significantly more among them in boldness and neophobia, and although a smaller proportion of individuals were able to solve the simplest problem-solving test, they did so in the same way as the urban ones. This evidence suggests that the behavioral responses of the Chiguanco Thrush to urbanization in La Paz come from preadapted traits.</p>
Data from: Multiple types of genomic variation contribute to adaptive traits in the mustelid subfamily Guloninae
<p>Species of the mustelid subfamily Guloninae inhabit diverse habitats on multiple continents, and occupy a variety of ecological niches. They differ in feeding ecologies, reproductive strategies and morphological adaptations. To identify candidate loci associated with adaptations to their respective environments, we generated a de novo assembly of the tayra (<em>Eira barbara</em>), the earliest diverging species in the subfamily, and compared this with the genomes available for the wolverine (<em>Gulo gulo</em>) and the sable (<em>Martes zibellina</em>). Our comparative genomic analyses included searching for signs of positive selection, examining changes in gene family sizes, as well as searching for species-specific structural variants (SVs). Among candidate loci associated with phenotypic traits, we observed many related to diet, body condition and reproduction. For example, for the tayra, which has an atypical gulonine reproductive strategy of aseasonal breeding, we observe species-specific changes in many pregnancy-related genes. For the wolverine, a circumpolar hypercarnivore that must cope with seasonal food scarcity, we observed many changes in genes associated with diet and body condition. All types of genomic variation examined (single nucleotide polymorphisms, gene family expansions, structural variants) contributed substantially to the identification of candidate loci. This strongly argues for consideration of variation other than single nucleotide polymorphisms in comparative genomics studies aiming to identify loci of adaptive significance.</p>
Genetic Control of Reproductive Traits under Different Temperature Regimes in Inbred Line Populations Derived from Crosses between S. pimpinellifolium and S. lycopersicum Accessions
<p>Marker genotypes, linkage map and phenotypic data used for QTL analysis included in the manuscript by Gonzalo et al. <em>in press "</em>Genetic Control of Reproductive Traits under Different Temperature Regimes in Inbred Line Populations Derived from Crosses between <em>S. pimpinellifolium</em> and <em>S. lycopersicum</em> Accessions".</p>
Figure 3 in Phylogeny of Chrysopidae (Neuroptera), with emphasis on morphological trait evolution
Figure 3. Photomicrographs of fore- and hindwing, in dorsal view. A, Apochrysa matsumurae. B, Nothochrysa sp. C, Hypochrysa elegans. D, Nothancyla verreauxi. E, Gonzaga nigriceps. F, Stigmachrysa kervillei. G, Nineta flava. H, Parankylopteryx sp.
Figure 9 in A first comprehensive ecological approach on the highly endemic mygalomorph spider Mecicobothrium thorelli (Araneae: Mecicobothriidae): understanding life history traits to address future conservation issues
Figure 9. Percentage of Mecicobothrium thorelli individuals in each category on the surveyed dates. YJ: young juveniles; OJ: old juveniles; F: females; M: males.
Figure 6 in A first comprehensive ecological approach on the highly endemic mygalomorph spider Mecicobothrium thorelli (Araneae: Mecicobothriidae): understanding life history traits to address future conservation issues
Figure 6. (a) Proportion of juvenile and adult individuals found in small (<35 cm) and large refuges (> 35 cm). (b) Selectivity of Mecicobothrium thorelli for different sizes of refuges. Values above 1, equal to 1, and below 1 indicate positive selectivity, no selectivity, and negative selectivity, respectively.
Figure 7 in Phylogeny of Chrysopidae (Neuroptera), with emphasis on morphological trait evolution
Figure 7. Parameres (absence or presence of parameres or gonapsis) character states traced on the BI tree inferred from combined data (A–C: 'parameres'; D–J: 'gonapsis'). A, Dysochrysa furcata. B, Italochrysa sp. C, Oyochrysa ancora. D, Ceraeochrysa cincta. E, Parachrysopiella talquensis. F, Chrysemosa sp. G, Anomalochrysa hepatica. H, Meleoma schwarzi. I, Pseudomallada euryderus. J, Pseudomallada ventralis.
Figure 5 in A first comprehensive ecological approach on the highly endemic mygalomorph spider Mecicobothrium thorelli (Araneae: Mecicobothriidae): understanding life history traits to address future conservation issues
Figure 5. Individuals' mean temperature, substrate and refuges where they were found on the surveyed dates.
Figure 4 in A first comprehensive ecological approach on the highly endemic mygalomorph spider Mecicobothrium thorelli (Araneae: Mecicobothriidae): understanding life history traits to address future conservation issues
Figure 4. Environmental temperature (°C) and relative humidity (RH%) registered at the four levels in the study site.
Figure 7 in A first comprehensive ecological approach on the highly endemic mygalomorph spider Mecicobothrium thorelli (Araneae: Mecicobothriidae): understanding life history traits to address future conservation issues
Figure 7. Total number of individuals of the different categories. YJ: young juveniles; OJ: old juveniles; F: females; M: males.
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.