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.
759
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.9.0
Dataset results
759 results for “Plant–plant interactions”
Ecological fitting is a sufficient driver of tight interactions between sunbirds and ornithophilous plants
<p>1. Plant-bird pollination interactions evolved independently on different continents. Specific adaptations can lead to their restriction when potential partners from distant evolutionary trajectories come into contact. Alternatively, these interactions can be enabled by convergent evolution and subsequent ecological fitting.<br> 2. We studied the interactions between New World plants from the genus Heliconia, Asian plants of genus Etlingera and African sunbirds on a local farm in Cameroon. Heliconia evolved together with hummingbirds and Etlingera spp. with spiderhunters - an oriental subgroup of the sunbird family. <br> 3. Sunbirds fed on all studied plants and individual plant species were visited by a different sunbird spectrum. We experimentally documented a higher number of germinated pollen grains in sunbird visited flowers of Etlingera spp. For Heliconia spp. this experiment was not successful and pollen tubes were rarely observed, even in hand pollinated flowers, where enough pollen was deposited. The analyses of contacts with plant reproductive organs nevertheless confirmed that sunbirds are good pollen vectors for both Heliconia and Etlingera species.<br> 4. Our study demonstrated a high ecological fit between actors of distinct evolutionary history and the general validity of bird-pollination syndrome. We moreover show that trait matching and niche differentiation are important ecological processes also in semi-artificial plant-pollinator systems.</p>
Plant volatiles mediate evolutionary interactions between plants and tephritid flies and are evolutionarily more labile than non-volatile defenses
<p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>1. Studies show that plant defenses influence the host-use of herbivores and tend to be evolutionarily more labile than herbivore traits (e.g., feeding preferences). However, all previous studies have focused exclusively on non-volatile plant defenses thereby overlooking the roles of plant volatiles.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>2. We hypothesized that volatiles are equally important determinants of herbivore host-use and are evolutionarily more labile than herbivore traits. To test these hypotheses, the following experiments were conducted.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>3. We identified the volatiles and non-volatiles of 17 Asteraceae species and measured their relative contents. We also used a highly resolved bipartite trophic network of the 17 host species and 20 herbivorous (pre-dispersal seed predator) tephritid fly species to determine the evolutionary interactions between plants and herbivores. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>4. The chemical data showed that interspecific similarity in volatiles—but not non-volatiles and phylogenetic distance—significantly accounted for the herbivore community across the plant species; this implies that plant volatiles—but not non-volatile compounds and species identity—dictate plant-tephritid fly interactions. Moreover, we observed phylogenetic signal for non-volatiles but not for volatiles; therefore closely related herbivores do not necessarily use closely related host species with similar non-volatiles, but do tend to attack plants producing similar volatiles. Thus, plant volatiles are evolutionarily more labile than non-volatiles and herbivore traits associate with host use. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>5. These results show that the interactions between plants and herbivores are evolutionary asymmetric, shed light on the role of plant volatiles in plant-herbivore interactions, and highlight the need to include data for both volatiles and non-volatiles when investigating plant-animal interactions.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
Data from: Trait-environment interactions affect plant establishment success during restoration
<p>Establishment and persistence are central to community assembly and are determined by how traits interact with the environment to determine performance ('trait-environment interactions'). Community assembly studies have rarely considered such trait-environment interactions, however, which can lead to incorrect inferences about how traits affect assembly. We evaluated how functional traits, environmental conditions, and trait-environment interactions structure plant establishment, as a measure of performance. Within 12 prairie restorations created by sowing 70 species, we quantified environmental conditions and counted individuals of each seeded species to quantify first year establishment. Three trait-environment interactions structured establishment. Leaf nitrogen interacted with herbivore pressure, as low leaf nitrogen species established relatively better under higher herbivory than species with high leaf nitrogen. Soil moisture interacted with root mass fraction (RMF), with low RMF species establishing better with low soil moisture and higher RMF species better on wetter soils. Specific leaf area (SLA) interacted with light availability, as low SLA species established better under high light conditions and high SLA species under low light conditions. Our work illustrates how community assembly can be better described by trait-environment interactions than correlating traits or environment with performance. This knowledge can assist species selection to maximize restoration success.Establishment and persistence are central to community assembly and are determined by how traits interact with the environment to determine performance ('trait-environment interactions'). Community assembly studies have rarely considered such trait-environment interactions, however, which can lead to incorrect inferences about how traits affect assembly. We evaluated how functional traits, environmental conditions, and trait-environment interactions structure plant establishment, as a measure of performance. Within 12 prairie restorations created by sowing 70 species, we quantified environmental conditions and counted individuals of each seeded species to quantify first year establishment. Three trait-environment interactions structured establishment. Leaf nitrogen interacted with herbivore pressure, as low leaf nitrogen species established relatively better under higher herbivory than species with high leaf nitrogen. Soil moisture interacted with root mass fraction (RMF), with low RMF species establishing better with low soil moisture and higher RMF species better on wetter soils. Specific leaf area (SLA) interacted with light availability, as low SLA species established better under high light conditions and high SLA species under low light conditions. Our work illustrates how community assembly can be better described by trait-environment interactions than correlating traits or environment with performance. This knowledge can assist species selection to maximize restoration success.</p>
Supplemental data: Interfering Peptides Targeting Protein-Protein Interactions in the Ethylene Plant Hormone Signaling Pathway as Tools to Delay Plant Senescence
<p>This dataset supplements the chapter "Interfering Peptides Targeting Protein-Protein Interactions in the Ethylene Plant Hormone Signaling Pathway as Tools to Delay Plant Senescence" published in Methods in Molecular Biology. It includes sample files that illustrate data collection and processing outlined in the article.</p>
Data from: Evolutionary relationships can be more important than abiotic conditions in predicting the outcome of plant-plant interactions
Positive and negative plant–plant interactions are major processes shaping plant communities. They are affected by environmental conditions and evolutionary relationships among the interacting plants. However, the generality of these factors as drivers of pairwise plant interactions and their combined effects remain virtually unknown. We conducted an observational study to assess how environmental conditions (altitude, temperature, irradiance and rainfall), the dispersal mechanism of beneficiary species and evolutionary relationships affected the co-occurrence of pairwise interactions in 11 Stipa tenacissima steppes located along an environmental gradient in Spain. We studied 197 pairwise plant–plant interactions involving the two major nurse plants (the resprouting shrub Quercus coccifera and the tussock grass S. tenacissima) found in these communities. The relative importance of the studied factors varied with the nurse species considered. None of the factors studied were good predictors of the co-ocurrence between S. tenacissima and its neighbours. However, both the dispersal mechanism of the beneficiary species and the phylogenetic distance between interacting species were crucial factors affecting the co-occurrence between Q. coccifera and its neighbours, while climatic conditions (irradiance) played a secondary role. Values of phylogenetic distance between 207–272.8 Myr led to competition, while values outside this range or fleshy-fruitness in the beneficiary species led to positive interactions. The low importance of environmental conditions as a general driver of pairwise interactions was caused by the species-specific response to changes in either rainfall or radiation. This result suggests that factors other than climatic conditions must be included in theoretical models aimed to generally predict the outcome of plant–plant interactions. Our study helps to improve current theory on plant–plant interactions and to understand how these interactions can respond to expected modifications in species composition and climate associated to ongoing global environmental change.
Data from: Pollinator-mediated interactions between cultivated papaya and co-flowering plant species
Many modern crop varieties rely on animal pollination to set fruit and seeds. Intensive crop plantations usually do not provide suitable habitats for pollinators so crop yield may depend on the surrounding vegetation to maintain pollination services. However, little is known about the effect of pollinator-mediated interactions among co-flowering plants on crop yield or the underlying mechanisms. Plant reproductive success is complex, involving several pre- and post-pollination events; however, the current literature has mainly focused on pre-pollination events in natural plant communities. We assessed pollinator sharing and the contribution to pollinator diet in a community of wild and cultivated plants that co-flower with a focal papaya plantation. In addition, we assessed heterospecific pollen transfer to the stigmatic loads of papaya and its effect on fruit and seed production. We found that papaya shared at least one pollinator species with the majority of the co-flowering plants. Despite this, heterospecific pollen transfer in cultivated papaya was low in open-pollinated flowers. Hand pollination experiments suggest that heterospecific pollen transfer has no negative effect on fruit production or weight, but does reduce seed production. These results suggest that co-flowering plants offer valuable floral resources to pollinators that are shared with cultivated papaya with little or no cost in terms of heterospecific pollen transfer. Although HP reduced seed production, a reduced number of seeds per se is not negative, given that from an agronomic perspective the number of seeds does not affect the monetary value of the papaya fruit.
Data from: Plant interactions shape pollination networks via nonadditive effects
Plants grow in communities where they interact with other plants and with other living organisms such as pollinators. On the one hand, studies of plant–plant interactions rarely consider how plants interact with other trophic levels such as pollinators. On the other, studies of plant–animal interactions rarely deal with interactions within trophic levels such as plant–plant competition and facilitation. Thus, to what degree plant interactions affect biodiversity and ecological networks across trophic levels is poorly understood. We manipulated plant communities driven by foundation species facilitation and sampled plant–pollinator networks at fine spatial scale in a field experiment in Sierra Nevada, Spain. We found that plant–plant facilitation shaped pollinator diversity and structured pollination networks. Nonadditive effects of plant interactions on pollinator diversity and interaction diversity were synergistic in one foundation species networks while they were additive in another foundation species. Nonadditive effects of plant interactions were due to rewiring of pollination interactions. In addition, plant facilitation had negative effects on the structure of pollination networks likely due to increase in plant competition for pollination. Our results empirically demonstrate how different network types are coupled, revealing pervasive consequences of interaction chains in diverse communities.
Data from: Herbivores alter plant-wind interactions by acting as a point mass on leaves and by removing leaf tissue
In nature, plants regularly interact with herbivores and with wind. Herbivores can wound and alter the structure of plants, whereas wind can exert aerodynamic forces that cause the plants to flutter or sway. While herbivory has many negative consequences for plants, fluttering in wind can be beneficial for plants by facilitating gas exchange and loss of excess heat. Little is known about how herbivores affect plant motion in wind. We tested how the mass of an herbivore resting on a broad leaf of the tulip tree Liriodendron tulipifera, and the damage caused by herbivores, affected the motion of the leaf in wind. For this, we placed mimics of herbivores on the leaves, varying each herbivore's mass or position, and used high-speed video to measure how the herbivore mimics affected leaf movement and reconfiguration at two wind speeds inside a laboratory wind tunnel. In a similar setup, we tested how naturally occurring herbivore damage on the leaves affected leaf movement and reconfiguration. We found that the mass of an herbivore resting on a leaf can change that leaf's orientation relative to the wind and interfere with the ability of the leaf to reconfigure into a smaller, more streamlined shape. A large herbivore load slowed the leaf's fluttering frequency, while naturally occurring damage from herbivores increased the leaf's fluttering frequency. We conclude that herbivores can alter the physical interactions between wind and plants by two methods: (1) acting as a point mass on the plant while it is feeding and (2) removing tissue from the plant. Altering a plant's interaction with wind can have physical and physiological consequences for the plant. Thus, future studies of plants in nature should consider the effect of herbivory on plant–wind interactions, and vice versa.
Data from: Genotypic diversity and trait variance interact to affect marsh plant performance
1. Intraspecific diversity can have important effects on population, community and ecosystem processes, yet we have little understanding of the relative importance of genetic- vs. trait-based measures of intraspecific diversity. 2. I conducted a manipulative field experiment of plant (Spartina alterniflora) genotypic diversity and trait diversity to examine their independent and interactive effects on plant performance and community structure. I focused on variation within and among genotypes in plant stem height, a trait that varies substantially across environmental gradients and can be an important predictor of plant competition intensity. 3. Trait and genotypic diversity interactively affected multiple metrics of plant performance. Both stem density and spatial spread increased with genotypic diversity in the low trait diversity combinations, yet there were negligible to weak negative effects in the high trait diversity treatments. S. alterniflora percent cover also varied with genotypic and trait diversity, but not in a clear linear pattern. 4. There were no effects of trait or genotypic diversity on associated macrofauna above-ground, yet they interactively affected below-ground measures. Infaunal abundance and sediment oxygen availability mirrored the idiosyncratic response of plant percent cover. 5. Despite the interactive effects of genotypic and trait diversity, high trait diversity consistently increased plant performance in genotypic monoculture. 6. Synthesis: The effects of intraspecific plant trait diversity on a range of plant and community responses in this study reinforce the premise that functional differences underlie ecological effects of genetic diversity and suggest that readily measured trait variance may serve as a valuable predictor of plant performance.
Data from: Plant-herbivore interactions: silicon concentration in tussock sedges and population dynamics of root voles
1. It has been hypothesized that the induction of silicon (Si)-based plant defence in response to herbivore damage may engender rodent population cycles. Many studies have also considered accumulation of Si as a process controlled by geo-hydrological factors. 2. To test these ideas, we investigated the relationship between concentration of Si in fibrous tussock sedge (Carex appropinquata) and the population density of a major sedge consumer, the root vole (Microtus oeconomus), in field enclosures in natural habitat under a variety of natural water regimes and weather conditions. 3. We found that a high density of voles at the end of summer resulted in the immediate accumulation of Si by rhizomes, followed by accumulation of Si in leaves with a one-year lag time. The level of river flooding in the same year had an additional impact on Si concentration in rhizomes but did not affect silicification of leaves. 4. Overwinter changes in concentration of Si in sedges were influenced by fluctuations in ambient temperature and the depth of snow cover (multiple freeze-thaw cycles), thus affecting the quality of winter food available for voles. 5. Smaller voles had lower mortality during early winter than large voles, which seemed to be connected with changes in the quality of the autumn rather than the winter food base. Winter survival of voles was not associated with Si concentration in their faeces, however. 6. Our results suggest that changes in Si concentration in fibrous tussock sedge can be induced by changes in vole population density and are also additionally affected by the amount of flooding and weather conditions.
Data from: Species traits and abundances predict metrics of plant–pollinator network structure, but not pairwise interactions
Plant–pollinator mutualistic networks represent the ecological context of foraging (for pollinators) and reproduction (for plants and some pollinators). Plant–pollinator visitation networks exhibit highly conserved structural properties across diverse habitats and species assemblages. The most successful hypotheses to explain these network properties are the neutrality and biological constraints hypotheses, which posit that species interaction frequencies can be explained by species relative abundances, and trait mismatches between potential mutualists respectively. However, previous network analyses emphasize the prediction of metrics of qualitative network structure, which may not represent stringent tests of these hypotheses. Using a newly documented temporally explicit alpine plant–pollinator visitation network, we show that metrics of both qualitative and quantitative network structure are easy to predict, even by models that predict the identity or frequency of species interactions poorly. A variety of phenological and morphological constraints as well as neutral interactions successfully predicted all network metrics tested, without accurately predicting species observed interactions. Species phenology alone was the best predictor of observed interaction frequencies. However, all models were poor predictors of species pairwise interaction frequencies, suggesting that other aspects of species biology not generally considered in network studies, such as reproduction for dipterans, play an important role in shaping plant–pollinator visitation network structure at this site. Future progress in explaining the structure and dynamics of mutualistic networks will require new approaches that emphasize accurate prediction of species pairwise interactions rather than network metrics, and better reflect the biology underlying species interactions.
Data from: Interactions between soil habitat and geographic range location affect plant fitness
Populations are often found on different habitats at different geographic locations. This habitat shift may be due to biased dispersal, physiological tolerances or biotic interactions. To explore how fitness of the native plant Chamaecrista fasciculata depends on habitat within, at and beyond its range edge, we planted seeds from five populations in two soil substrates at these geographic locations. We found that with reduced competition, lifetime fitness was always greater or equivalent in one habitat type, loam soils, though early-season survival was greater on sand soils. At the range edge, natural populations are typically found on sand soil habitats, which are also less competitive environments. Early-season survival and fitness differed among source populations, and when transplanted beyond the range edge, range edge populations had greater fitness than interior populations. Our results indicate that even when the optimal soil substrate for a species does not change with geographic range location, the realized niche of a species may be restricted to sub-optimal habitats at the range edge because of the combined effects of differences in abiotic and biotic effects (e.g. competitors) between substrates.
Data from: Out-of-sample predictions from plant–insect food webs: robustness to missing and erroneous trophic interaction records
With increasing biotic introductions, there is a great need for predictive tools to anticipate which new trophic interactions will develop and which will not. Phylogenetic constraint of interactions in both native and novel food webs can make some novel interactions predictable. However, many food webs are sparsely sampled, or may include inaccurate interactions. In such cases, it is unclear whether modeling methods are still useful to anticipate novel interactions. We ran bootstrap simulations of host-use models on a Lepidoptera–plant data set to remove native trophic records or add erroneous records in order to observe the effect of missing or erroneous data on the prediction of interactions with novel plants. We found that the model was robust to a large amount of missing interaction records, but lost predictive power with the addition of relatively few erroneous interaction records. The loss of predictive power with missing records was due to inaccuracy in estimating phylogenetic distance between native and novel hosts. Removal of interaction records proportionally to their encounter frequency in the field had little effect on the loss of predictive power. Host-use models may have immediate value for predicting novel interactions from large, but sparsely sampled databases of trophic interactions.
Data from: Virus infection influences host plant interactions with non-vector herbivores and predators
1. Viruses are widespread in both natural and agricultural plant communities and can significantly alter diverse traits of their host plants that mediate key interactions with other organisms. Yet, the impacts of plant viruses on broader community dynamics remain little studied. 2. Here we explore the effects of Cucumber mosaic virus, a common non-persistently transmitted plant virus, on short and long-term interactions of herbivorous and predatory insects with squash (Cucurbita pepo) plants in a weedy field setting, as well as virus-induced changes in plant phenotypes that mediate these interactions. Cucumber mosaic virus has previously been shown to have numerous effects on host plants that likely influence interactions with arthropods, including reduced plant size, increased volatile emissions, and diminished plant quality and palatability for aphid vectors. 3. Infection reduced the likelihood of many herbivorous insects arresting and feeding on plants, as well as the apparency of plants to herbivores that base in-flight foraging on visual cues. In particular, infection drastically reduced numbers of a specialist squash herbivore (Anasa tristis) on plants in the field—a pattern likely driven by a reduction of phagostimulatory sugar levels in leaf tissue and concurrent increase in amino acid levels, as nymphal development was not obviously impacted by infection status. Relative to effects on herbivores, virus infection had little impact on the ability of predatory insects to locate aphid prey, although an experiment examining plant visitation in the absence of aphids revealed reduced numbers of foraging Syrphidae (Diptera) and Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) on infected plants but increased visitation and oviposition by Chrysopidae (Neuroptera). 4. CMV infection may reduce overall herbivore pressure on infected plants through effects on palatability and apparency, yet predators appear to locate herbivorous prey that do occur on infected plants as efficiently as those on healthy plants. 5. Virus infection can significantly influence plant interactions with the insect community (including non-vector as well as vector insects) with potential implications both for disease spread and for broader community dynamics.
Data from: Do soil biota influence the outcome of novel interactions between plant competitors?
1. Species are shifting their ranges, for example to higher elevations, in response to climate change. Different plant species and soil microbiota will likely shift their ranges at different rates, giving rise to novel communities of plants and soil organisms. However, the ecological consequences of such novel plant-soil interactions are poorly understood. We experimentally simulated scenarios for novel interactions arising between high- and low elevation plants and soil biota following asynchronous climate change range shifts, asking to what extent the ability of plants to coexist depends on the origin of the soil biota. 2. In a greenhouse experiment, we grew pairs of low- (Poa trivialis and Plantago lanceolata) and high- (Poa alpina and Plantago alpina) elevation plant species alone and against a density gradient of con- or heterospecific neighbours. Plants grew on sterilized field soil that was inoculated with a soil community sampled from either low- or high elevation in the western Swiss Alps. We used the experiment to parameterize competition models, from which we predicted the population-level outcomes of competition in the presence of the different soil biota. 3. In the absence of neighbours, three of the four species produced more biomass with the low elevation soil biota. As a result of generally similar responses across plant species, soil biota tended not to affect plant interaction outcomes, with the low elevation species generally predicted to competitively exclude high elevation species irrespective of the soil biota origin. However, the low elevation grass Poa trivialis was only able to invade communities of Poa alpina in the presence of a low elevation soil biota. This suggests that, at least in some cases, the outcome of novel competitive interactions following climate change will depend on whether shifts in the distribution of plant and soil organisms are asynchronous. 4. Synthesis. Our results indicate that the changing soil communities that plants encounter during range expansion can influence plant performance. However, this is only likely to alter our expectations for the ability of plants to coexist following climate change if plant species respond differently to the change in the soil community.
Data from: Angiosperm fleshy fruits and seed dispersers: a comparative analysis of adaptation and constraints in plant-animal interactions
Variation in phenotypic traits of angiosperm fleshy fruits has been explained as the result of adaptations to their mutualistic seed dispersers. By analyzing the information available on fleshy fruit characteristics of 910 angiosperm species, I assess the hypothesis of evolutionary association between fruit phenotypic traits and type of seed disperser (birds, mammals, and mixed dispersers) and address explicitly and quantitatively alternative null hypotheses about phylogenetic effects. Phylogenetic affinity among plant taxa is accounted for by comparative methods including nested ANOVA, phylogenetic autocorrelation, and independent contrasts. Averaging over the 16 fruit traits examined, phylogenetic effects down to genus level explain 61% of total variance. Phylogenetic autocorrelations are strong among close relatives, reaching significance for 11 of the 16 fruit traits examined. When assessed by independent contrast methods, correlated evolution between type of disperser and fruit traits is confined to fruit diameter. Differences among dispersal syndromes in other traits vanish after accounting for phylogenetic effects. These analyses reveal that seed dispersal syndromes are not entirely interpretable as current adaptations to seed dispersers. Their status as exaptations can be assessed by combining experimental studies of natural selection on fruit size and rigorous comparative and cladistic tests of adaptational hypotheses.
Data from: Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on aboveground tri-trophic interactions are contingent upon plant genetic effects of cross type in the perennial herb Ruellia nudiflora
1.- Recent work has improved our understanding of the linkages between above- and below-ground interactions mediated by plants. However, relatively few of the studies conducted thus far have focused on muli-trophic interactions (i.e. beyond two trophic levels) and the influence of plant genetic intra-specific variation on these dynamics has rarely been addressed. 2.- We tested the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on above-ground tri-trophic interactions associated with the canopy of the perennial herb <i></i>Ruellia nudiflora<i></i>, and further determined whether genetic effects due to cross type (i.e. wether a plant originated from from self- or cross-pollination) influenced these interactions. 3.- We propagated plants originating from self- or cross-pollination, and within each category inoculated half of the plants with AMF. We subsequently established a common garden where plants were exposed to naturally occurring seed-eating caterpillars and their parasitoids. We measured plant growth, fruit output, calculated the proportion of attacked fruits by the caterpillar and the proportion of parasitized caterpillars, and also estimated the proportion of "rescued" seeds by parasitoids representing an indirect positive effect of the third trophic level on the plant by reducing caterpillar consumption. 4.- AMF drove 18% and 15% increases in plant growth and fruit output respectively, and drove a 25% reduction in caterpillar fruit attack, but did not influence parasitism or parasitoid seed "rescue". In contrast, cross type did not influence growth, fruit number, herbivore attack, parasitism, or seed rescue. More importantly, however, we found a significant AMF by cross type interaction on caterpillar attack where AMF significantly reduced fruit attack (by 30%) in progeny from cross-pollination but did not influence herbivory in progeny from self-pollination. 5.- Synthesis. Results indicate that AMF effects on above-ground interactions are contingent upon plant intra-specific variation originating from cross type, which is likely a common source of variation in associated interactions for plants with mixed mating systems. Further studies examining plant-mediated below- and aboveground interactions should consider the influence of specific sources of plant genetic variation, as well as address the consequences of such dynamics for interactions beyond two trophic levels.
Data from: Interactive life-history traits predict sensitivity of plants and animals to temporal autocorrelation
Temporal autocorrelation in demographic processes is an important aspect of population dynamics, but a comprehensive examination of its effects on different life-history strategies is lacking. We use matrix populations models from 454 plant and animal populations to simulate stochastic population growth rates (log λs) under different temporal autocorrelations in demographic rates, using simulated and observed covariation among rates. We then test for differences in sensitivities, or changes, of log λs to changes in autocorrelation among two major axes of life-history strategies, obtained from phylogenetically-informed principal component analysis: the fast-slow and semelparous-iteroparous continua. Fast life histories exhibit highest sensitivities to simulated autocorrelation in demographic rates across reproductive strategies. Slow life histories are less sensitive to temporal autocorrelation, but their sensitivities increase among highly iteroparous species. We provide cross-taxonomic evidence that changes in the autocorrelation of environmental variation may affect a wide range of species, depending on complex interactions of life-history strategies.
Data from: Predators in the plant-soil feedback loop: aboveground plant-associated predators may alter the outcome of plant-soil interactions
Plant-soil feedback (PSF) can structure plant communities, promoting coexistence (negative PSF) or monodominance (positive PSF). At higher trophic levels, predators can alter plant community structure by re-allocating resources within habitats. When predator and plant species are spatially associated, predators may alter the outcome of PSF. Here, I explore the influence of plant-associated predators on PSF using a generalized cellular automaton model that tracks nutrients, plants, herbivores, and predators. I explore key contingencies in plant-predator associations such as whether predators associate with live vs. senesced vegetation. Results indicate that plant-associated predators shift PSF to favor the host plant when predators colonize live vegetation, but the outcome of PSF will depend upon plant dispersal distance when predators colonize dead vegetation. I apply the model to two spider-associated invasive plants, finding that spider predators should shift PSF dynamics in a way that inhibits invasion by one forest invader, but exacerbates invasion by another.
Data from: Specialization and phenological synchrony of plant–pollinator interactions along an altitudinal gradient
1. One of the most noticeable effects of anthropogenic climate change is the shift in timing of seasonal events towards earlier occurrence. The high degree of variation in species' phenological shifts has raised concerns about the temporal decoupling of interspecific interactions, but the extent and implications of this effect are largely unknown. In the case of plant–pollinator systems, more specialized species are predicted to be particularly threatened by phenological decoupling, since they are assumed to be less flexible in the choice of interaction partners, but until now this hypothesis has not been tested. 2. In this paper, we studied phenology and interactions of plant and pollinator communities along an altitudinal gradient in the Alps as a model for the possible effects of climate change in time. 3. Our results show that even relatively specialized pollinators were much more flexible in their use of plant species as floral resources than their local flower visitation suggested. We found no relationship between local specialization of pollinators and the consistency of their visitation patterns across sites, and also no relationship between specialization and phenological synchrony of pollinators with particular plants. 4. Thus, in contrast to the conclusions of a recent simulation study, our results suggest that most pollinator species included in this study are not threatened by phenological decoupling from specific flowering plants. However, the flexibility of many rarely observed pollinator species remains unknown. Moreover, our results suggest that specialized flower visitors select plant species based on certain floral traits such as the length of the nectar holder tube. If that is the case, the observed flexibility of plant–pollinator interactions likely depends on a high degree of functional redundancy in the plant community, which may not exist in less diverse systems.
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.