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121 results for “ecological factors”
Figure 2 in Ecological factors determining the distribution patterns of Cyrtanthus nutans R.A.Dyer (Amaryllidaceae) in northwestern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Figure 2. Percentage of C. nutans plants per 100 m a.m.s.l. altitude range.
Effects of environmental factors on the ecology and survival of a widespread, endemic Cerrado frog
<p><span>Understanding the mechanisms that affect habitat use by vertebrates is critical for understanding how species are distributed across landscapes and how they cope with habitat change. The Brazilian Savanna (the Cerrado) has vegetation ranging from grassland to woodland savannas and harbors a rich and diverse amphibian fauna impacted by accelerated habitat loss. Here, we test the influence of vegetation type (from grassy scrubland to woodland) and distance from breeding sites (ephemeral water bodies) on body size, abundance, and survival of the frog <em>Physalaemus nattereri</em> in a natural metapopulation system of south-central Brazil. We also test whether body size is a significant predictor of population abundance. We found that the abundance of <em>P. nattereri</em> varies according to the mean snout-vent length of each metapopulation (sampling unit), as well as a higher estimated mortality rate in woodlands compared to typical Cerrado. Furthermore, we found no difference in estimated mortality among sampling units located far or close to ephemeral water bodies. Thus, our results highlight variable responses of <em>P. nattereri</em> metapopulations to environmental factors, despite the observed high heterogeneity among sampled habitats and the importance of ephemeral water bodies for reproduction. These findings highlight that land</span> <span>cover and availability of breeding sites might not always interact to explain population persistence of Cerrado frogs. </span></p>
Foundress number in Local ecological factors, not interference competition, drive the foundress number of two species of fig wasp sharing Ficus septica figs
<p><span>Recent studies have challenged assumptions about the classic fig-fig wasp pollination mutualism model, suggesting that further investigation into the receptive phase of fig development is needed. This study assessed the pollination mechanisms of <em>Ficus septica</em> in southern Taiwan and identified two species of wasps as the primary pollinators. Machine learning was used to identify and rank the factors that explain the relative abundance of these wasps. The two wasp species showed the highest level of cohabitation ever reported in the literature, with three-quarters of the figs containing multiple foundresses. The study also reported re-emerged foundresses and a 10% ratio of pollinated figs without foundresses. Local factors, such as the sampling period and tree identity, were the best predictors of the presence and number of each foundress species, with fig size also affecting the number of foundresses. The study highlights the variability in pollinator abundance between figs, crops, and trees. It also shows that the local environment of the trees and the availability of figs are crucial factors in determining which figs the pollinator wasps choose. These findings challenge assumptions about the classic mutualism model and suggest that long-term surveys are needed to estimate the relative contributions of each partner and provide data for evolutionary and ecological models. This study also provides valuable insights into the factors that affect the abundance and interactions of pollinator wasps during the receptive phase of fig development, with implications for understanding the behaviour of pollinating wasps and advancing our knowledge of population dynamics in <em>Ficus </em>species.</span></p>
Ecological and socioeconomic factors associated with reported tick-borne viruses
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Data from: Orchid mycorrhizal communities associated with Orchis italica are shaped by ecological factors and geographical gradients
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Foundress number in local ecological factors, not interference competition, drive the foundress number of two species of fig wasp sharing Ficus septica figs
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Data from: Ecological factors influence balancing selection on leaf chemical profiles of a wildflower
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Data for: Coherent long-term body-size responses across all Northwest Atlantic herring populations to warming and environmental change despite contrasting harvest and ecological factors
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Data from: Ecological and social factors constrain spatial and temporal opportunities for mating in a migratory songbird
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Abiotic factors that prompt major ecological transitions: are fish on land to escape an intolerable aquatic environment?
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Effects of environmental factors on the ecology and survival of a widespread, endemic Cerrado frog
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Data from: Social and ecological factors associated with innovation in urban sulphur-crested cockatoos (<em>Cacatua galerita</em>)
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Data from: Which ecological factors influence the level of intraspecific diversity within post-glacial fishes? A case study using Coregonus and Salvelinus
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Behavioural ecology meets oncology: quantifying the recovery of animal behaviour to a transient exposure to a cancer risk factor
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Data from: Specialization and niche overlap across spatial scales: revealing ecological factors shaping species richness and coexistence in Australian songbirds
1. Ecological specialization enables the partitioning of resources and thus can facilitate the coexistence of species and promote higher species richness. Specialization and niche partitioning are expected to exert a decisive influence on local spatial scales, while species richness at regional scales should be shaped mostly by historical factors and abiotic conditions. Moreover, specialization is expected to be particularly important in communities that are exceptionally species rich for their environmental conditions. Concurrently, niche overlap in these communities should be minimized to enable species coexistence. 2. We tested these hypotheses by studying specialization-richness relationship and niche overlap in assemblages of 298 species of songbirds (Passeriformes) across Australia. We used local (2-6 ha) to regional (bioregions) spatial scales, and detailed data on habitat, diet, and foraging behaviour (method, substrate, and stratum). 3. We expected the richness-specialization relationship to be particularly strong i) on local spatial scales and ii) in communities exceptionally species rich for given environmental conditions (approximated by moisture and vegetation complexity). We also expected iii) low niche overlap in assemblages with specialized species. 4. Only the third prediction was partly supported. First, while the specialization and species richness were often positively related, the strength and the direction of the relationship changed between traits and across spatial scales. The strength of the specialization-richness relationship was consistently positive only in foraging stratum, and it increased towards smaller spatial scales only in case of habitat and diet. Simultaneously, species in local communities demonstrated high overlap in habitat and diet. Second, we did not find particularly strong specialization-richness relationships in exceptionally species rich communities. Third, we found the expected negative relationship between specialization and overlap in foraging stratum and substrate (in local communities), suggesting that species partition ecological space locally in terms of where they find food. 5. Our expectations were only weakly supported. Specialization on foraging stratum was probably important in facilitating species co-existence. Conversely, although species were often specialized on habitat and diet, high overlap in these traits did not preclude their local coexistence. Overall, specialization and overlap in foraging traits were more important for species coexistence than habitat or diet.
Effect of ecological factors on fine-scale patterns of social structure in African lions
1. Environmental variations can influence the extent to which individuals interact with other individuals by changing the value of grouping. It is well known that many species can form and disband groups, often in response to the distribution and abundance of resources. 2. While previous studies showed that resources influence the broad-scale structure of animal groups, knowledge gaps remain on whether they affect fine-scale patterns of association among individuals within groups. 3. We quantify association patterns in African lions while simultaneously monitoring the abundance and distribution of prey. We test how social and ecological factors, including individual trait (age, sex, reproductive state) similarity and prey availability (prey abundance, dispersion, herd size and body size) affect within-pride social structure in African lions. 4. We found that individual decisions about associates depended on resource availability with individuals associating equally across all members of the pride when prey herds were scarce, aggregated or large bodied, and associating more exclusively (in subgroups of preferred associates) when prey herds were abundant, dispersed or small bodied. Individuals within lion prides seemed to be buffering against changes in prey availability by modulating their strength and density of connections with conspecifics when prides split into subgroups. The strength and density of connections among individuals within subgroups was greater when prey herds were large and lower when prey herds were dispersed or large bodied. 5. Our findings suggest that individual lions are making social decisions at both the subgroup level and the pride level, with decisions representing putatively fitness-enhancing strategies. Individuals were typically shifting between having few strong connections and having many weaker connections depending on prevailing ecological conditions, with prey abundance, dispersion and body size having the greatest impact on decisions about splitting into subgroups. The maintenance of connections within prides and subgroups in the face of ecological change suggests that the fission-fusion nature of lion prides might be essential for the long-term maintenance of social connections even when short-term conditions do not allow them. More broadly, our study reveals how fission-fusion dynamics and ecological factors can simultaneously have an effect on animals across multiple levels of sociality. 29-Jul-2020
Ecological factors mediate immunity and parasitic co-infection in sea fan octocorals
<p>The interplay among environment, demography, and host-parasite interactions is a challenging frontier. In the ocean, fundamental changes are occurring due to anthropogenic pressures, including increased disease outbreaks on coral reefs. These outbreaks often include multiple parasites, calling into question how coral immunity functions in this complex milieu. Corals provide an interesting model to study ecological immunity during co-infection, being highly sensitive to environmental change, susceptible to many diseases, and defended by the innate immune system. Our work investigates the interplay of factors influencing coral co-infection using metrics of the innate immune response: levels of cellular immunity and the expression of candidate immune genes. We used existing copepod infections and live pathogen inoculation with <i>Aspergillus</i> fungus to test the effect of sequential co-infections in a laboratory experiment. We profile significant increases in the expression of the immune recognition gene Tachylectin 5A in response to both of these naturally occurring parasites of the Caribbean sea fan octocoral, <i>Gorgonia ventalina</i>. Cellular immunity increased significantly by 8.16% in copepod infections compared to controls and single <i>Aspergillus</i> infections. We evaluated immunity in reef populations and again detected activation of cellular immunity, with a 13.6% increase in copepod infections and no detectable increase in fungal infections. Thus, cellular immunity measured in the field and lab were similar, increasing with copepod infections and not <i>Aspergillus</i>. We found random co-occurrence of copepods and fungus across 15 reefs in Puerto Rico, suggesting other factors prevail in structuring parasite infection. Sea fan colony size strongly predicted infection by the copepod parasite. Moreover, the effect of parasitic infection on immunity was small relative to the explanatory power of site differences and coral cover, and roughly equivalent to the effect of reproductive status. We suggest that host size, reproductive status, live coral cover, and site-specific factors have large effects on parasitic infections and host immunity that overwhelm effects of the parasites on each other. Thus, host size and site-specific features emerge as critical drivers in this multi-parasite system. Parsing the effects of immunity and ecological factors in coral co-infection shows how disease depends on more than one host and one parasite.</p>
Data from: Resource allocation during ontogeny is influenced by genetic, developmental, and ecological factors in the horned beetle, Onthophagus taurus
Resource allocation trade-offs arise when developing organs are in competition for a limited pool of resources to sustain growth and differentiation. Such competition may constrain the maximal size to which structures can grow and may force a situation in which the evolutionary elaboration of one structure may only be possible at the expense of another. However, recent studies have called into question both the consistency and evolutionary importance of resource allocation trade-offs. This study focuses on a well-described trade-off between the horns and eyes of Onthophagus beetles and assesses the degree to which it is influenced by genetic, developmental and ecological conditions. Contrary to expectations, we observed that trade-off signatures (i) were mostly absent within natural populations, (ii) mostly failed to match naturally evolved divergences in horn investment among populations, (iii) were subject to differential changes in F1 populations derived from divergent field populations and (iv) remained largely unaffected by developmental genetic manipulations of horn investment. Collectively, our results demonstrate that populations subject to different ecological conditions exhibit different patterns of, and differential plasticity in, resource allocation. Further, variation in ecological conditions, rather than canalized developmental mechanisms, may determine whether and to what degree morphological structures engage in resource allocation trade-offs.
Data from: Social and ecological factors alter stress physiology of Virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei)
Living in a rapidly changing environment can alter stress physiology at the population level, with negative impacts on health, reproductive rates, and mortality that may ultimately result in species decline. Small, isolated animal populations where genetic diversity is low are at particular risks, such as endangered Virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei). Along with climate change‐associated environmental shifts that are affecting the entire population, subpopulations of the Virunga gorillas have recently experienced extreme changes in their social environment. As the growing population moves closer to the forest's carrying capacity, the gorillas are coping with rising population density, increased frequencies of interactions between social units, and changing habitat use (e.g., more overlapping home ranges and routine ranging at higher elevations). Using noninvasive monitoring of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM) on 115 habituated Virunga gorillas, we investigated how social and ecological variation are related to baseline FGM levels, to better understand the adaptive capacity of mountain gorillas and monitor potential physiological indicators of population decline risks. Generalized linear mixed models revealed elevated mean monthly baseline FGM levels in months with higher rainfall and higher mean maximum and minimum temperature, suggesting that Virunga gorillas might be sensitive to predicted warming and rainfall trends involving longer, warmer dry seasons and more concentrated and extreme rainfall occurrences. Exclusive use of smaller home range areas was linked to elevated baseline FGM levels, which may reflect reduced feeding efficiency and increased travel efforts to actively avoid neighboring groups. The potential for additive effects of stress‐inducing factors could have short‐ and long‐term impacts on the reproduction, health, and ultimately survival of the Virunga gorilla population. The ongoing effects of environmental changes and population dynamics must be closely monitored and used to develop effective long‐term conservation strategies that can help address these risk factors.
Data from: The influence of ecological and life history factors on ectothermic temperature-size responses: analysis of three Lycaenidae butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Body size has been shown to decrease with increasing temperature in many species, prompting the suggestion that it is a universal ecological response. However, species with complex life cycles, such as holometabolous insects, may have correspondingly complicated temperature-size responses. Recent research suggests that life history and ecological traits may be important for determining the direction and strength of temperature-size responses. Yet, these factors are rarely included in analyses. Here, we aim to determine if the size of the bivoltine butterfly, Polyommatus bellargus, and the univoltine butterflies, Plebejus argus and Polyommatus coridon, change in response to temperature and whether these responses differ between the sexes, and for P. bellargus, between generations. Forewing length was measured using digital specimens from the Natural History Museum, London (NHM), from one locality in the UK per species. The data were initially compared to annual and seasonal temperature values, without consideration of life history factors. Sex and generation of the individuals and mean monthly temperatures, which cover the growing period for each species, were then included in analyses. When compared to annual or seasonal temperatures only, size was not related to temperature for P. bellargus and P. argus, but there was a negative relationship between size and temperature for P. coridon. When sex, generation and monthly temperatures were included, male adult size decreased as temperature increased in the early larval stages, and increased as temperature increased during the late larval stages. Results were similar but less consistent for females, while second generation P. bellargus showed no temperature-size response. In P. coridon, size decreased as temperature increased during the pupal stage. These results highlight the importance of including life history factors, sex and monthly temperature data when studying temperature-size responses for species with complex life cycles.
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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.