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.
55
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.9.0
Dataset results
55 results for “mammal genetics”
Data from: Additive genetic variance and developmental plasticity in growth trajectories in a wild cooperative mammal
Individual variation in growth is high in cooperative breeders and may reflect plastic divergence in developmental trajectories leading to breeding vs. helping phenotypes. However, the relative importance of additive genetic variance and developmental plasticity in shaping growth trajectories is largely unknown in cooperative vertebrates. This study exploits weekly sequences of body mass from birth to adulthood to investigate sources of variance in, and covariance between, early and later growth in wild meerkats (Suricata suricatta), a cooperative mongoose. Our results indicate that (i) the correlation between early growth (prior to nutritional independence) and adult mass is positive but weak, and there are frequent changes (compensatory growth) in post-independence growth trajectories; (ii) among parameters describing growth trajectories, those describing growth rate (prior to and at nutritional independence) show undetectable heritability while associated size parameters (mass at nutritional independence and asymptotic mass) are moderately heritable (0.09 ≤ h2 < 0.3); and (iii) additive genetic effects, rather than early environmental effects, mediate the covariance between early growth and adult mass. These results reveal that meerkat growth trajectories remain plastic throughout development, rather than showing early and irreversible divergence, and that the weak effects of early growth on adult mass, an important determinant of breeding success, are partly genetic. In contrast to most cooperative invertebrates, the acquisition of breeding status is often determined after sexual maturity and strongly impacted by chance in many cooperative vertebrates, who may therefore retain the ability to adjust their morphology to environmental changes and social opportunities arising throughout their development, rather than specializing early.
Data from: An invasive non-native mammal population conserves genetic diversity lost from its native range
Invasive, non-native species are one of the major causes of global biodiversity loss. Although they are, by definition, successful in their non-native range, their populations generally show major reductions in their genetic diversity during the demographic bottleneck they experience during colonization. By investigating the mitochondrial genetic diversity of an invasive non-native species, the stoat Mustela erminea, in New Zealand and comparing it to diversity in the species' native range in Great Britain, we reveal the opposite effect. We demonstrate that the New Zealand stoat population contains four mitochondrial haplotypes that have not been found in the native range. Stoats in Britain rely heavily on introduced rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus as their primary prey and were introduced to New Zealand in a misguided attempt at biological control of rabbits, which had also been introduced there. While invasive stoats have since decimated the New Zealand avifauna, native stoat populations were themselves decimated by the introduction to Britain of Myxoma virus as a control measure for rabbits. We highlight the irony that while introduced species (rabbits) and subsequent biocontrol (myxomatosis) have caused population crashes of native stoats, invasive stoats in New Zealand, which were also introduced for biological control, now contain more genetic haplotypes than their most likely native source.
Data from: Fine-scale genetic population structure in a mobile marine mammal: inshore bottlenose dolphins in Moreton Bay, Australia
Highly mobile marine species in areas with no obvious geographical barriers are expected to show low levels of genetic differentiation. However, small-scale variation in habitat may lead to resource polymorphisms and drive local differentiation by adaptive divergence. Using nuclear microsatellite genotyping at 20 loci, and mitochondrial control region sequencing, we investigated fine-scale population structuring of inshore bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) inhabiting a range of habitats in and around Moreton Bay, Australia. Bayesian structure analysis identified two genetic clusters within Moreton Bay, with evidence of admixture between them (F_ST = 0.05, P = 0.001). There was only weak isolation by distance but one cluster of dolphins was more likely to be found in shallow southern areas and the other in the deeper waters of the central northern bay. In further analysis removing admixed individuals, southern dolphins appeared genetically restricted with lower levels of variation (AR = 3.252, π = 0.003) and high mean relatedness (r = 0.239) between individuals. In contrast, northern dolphins were more diverse (AR = 4.850, π = 0.009) and were mixing with a group of dolphins outside the bay (microsatellite-based STRUCTURE analysis), which appears to have historically been distinct from the bay dolphins (mtDNA Φ_ST = 0.272, P < 0.001). This study demonstrates the ability of genetic techniques to expose fine-scale patterns of population structure and explore their origins and mechanisms. A complex variety of inter-related factors including local habitat variation, differential resource use, social behaviour and learning, and anthropogenic disturbances are likely to have played a role in driving fine-scale population structure amongst bottlenose dolphins in Moreton Bay.
Data from: Landscape resistance and habitat combine to provide an optimal model of genetic structure and connectivity at the range margin of a small mammal
We evaluated the effect of habitat and landscape characteristics on the population genetic structure of the white-footed mouse. We develop a new approach that uses numerical optimization to define a model that combines site differences and landscape resistance to explain the genetic differentiation between mouse populations inhabiting forest patches in southern Québec. We used ecological distance computed from resistance surfaces with Circuitscape to infer the effect of the landscape matrix on gene flow. We calculated site differences using a site index of habitat characteristics. A model that combined site differences and resistance distances explained a high proportion of the variance in genetic differentiation and outperformed models that used geographical distance alone. Urban and agriculture related land uses were, respectively, the most and the least resistant landscape features influencing gene flow. Our method detected the effect of rivers and highways as highly resistant linear barriers. The density of grass and shrubs on the ground best explained the variation in the site index of habitat characteristics. Our model indicates that movement of white-footed mouse in this region is constrained along routes of low resistance. Our approach can generate models that may improve predictions of future northward range expansion of this small mammal.
Data from: Fine-scale spatiotemporal patterns of genetic variation reflect budding dispersal coupled with strong natal philopatry in a cooperatively breeding mammal
The relatedness structure of animal populations is thought to be a critically important factor underlying the evolution of mating systems and social behaviours. While previous work has shown that population structure is shaped by many biological processes, few studies have investigated how these factors vary over time. Consequently, we explored the fine-scale spatiotemporal genetic structure of an intensively studied population of cooperatively breeding banded mongooses (Mungos mungo) over a ten-year period. Overall population structure was strong (average Fst = 0.129) but groups with spatially overlapping territories were not more genetically similar to one another than non-contiguous groups. Instead, genetic differentiation was associated with historical group-fission (budding) events, with new groups diverging from their parent groups over time. Within groups, relatedness was high within but not between the sexes, although the latter increased over time since group formation due to group founders being replaced by philopatric young. This trend was not mirrored by a decrease in average offspring heterozygosity over time, suggesting that close inbreeding may often be avoided, even when immigration into established groups is virtually absent and opportunities for extra-group matings are rare. Fine-scale spatiotemporal population structure could have important implications in social species, where relatedness between interacting individuals is a vital component in the evolution of patterns of inbreeding avoidance, reproductive skew and kin-selected helping and harming.
Data from: Genetic effects on mating success and partner choice in a social mammal
Mating behavior has profound consequences for two phenomena - individual reproductive success and the maintenance of species boundaries - that contribute to evolutionary processes. Studies of mating behavior in relation to individual reproductive success are common in many species, but studies of mating behavior in relation to genetic variation and species boundaries are less commonly conducted in socially complex species. Here, we leveraged extensive observations of a wild yellow baboon (Papio cynocephalus) population that has experienced recent gene flow from a close sister taxon, the anubis baboon (Papio anubis), to examine how admixture-related genetic background affects mating behavior. We identified novel effects of genetic background on mating patterns, including an advantage accruing to anubis-like males and assortative mating among both yellow-like and anubis-like pairs. These genetic effects acted alongside social dominance rank, inbreeding avoidance, and age to produce highly nonrandom mating patterns. Our results suggest that this population may be undergoing admixture-related evolutionary change, driven in part by nonrandom mating. However, the strength of the genetic effects is mediated by behavioral plasticity and social interactions, emphasizing the strong influence of social context on mating behavior in socially complex species.
One of the first cryptic mammal species discovered, when it was separated from the morphologically similar R. tumida (= R. bickhami) based on karyological studies. Karyotype of 2n = 42 of R. genowaysi is identical to that observed in R. velilla, but these species are genetically distinct; their ranges do not overlap. R. genowaysi is morphologically very similar to other species within the R. tumida complex and is sympatric with R. bickhami (2n = 34). Monotypic. Distribution. Two nearby localities in Pacific lowlands of S Chiapas, S Mexico. in Vespertilionidae
One of the first cryptic mammal species discovered, when it was separated from the morphologically similar R. tumida (= R. bickhami) based on karyological studies. Karyotype of 2n = 42 of R. genowaysi is identical to that observed in R. velilla, but these species are genetically distinct; their ranges do not overlap. R. genowaysi is morphologically very similar to other species within the R. tumida complex and is sympatric with R. bickhami (2n = 34). Monotypic. Distribution. Two nearby localities in Pacific lowlands of S Chiapas, S Mexico.
Both selection and drift drive the spatial pattern of adaptive genetic variation in a wild mammal
<p><span>The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) has been intensively studied to test for the relative effects of different evolutionary forces in recent decades. Pathogen-mediated balancing selection is generally thought to explain the high polymorphism observed in MHC genes, but it is still unclear to what extent MHC diversity is shaped by selection relative to neutral drift. In this study, we genotyped MHC class II DRB genes and 15 neutral microsatellite loci across 26 geographic populations of European badgers (<em>Meles meles</em>) covering most of their geographic range. By comparing the variation of microsatellites and the diversity of MHC at different levels, we demonstrate that both balancing selection and drift have shaped the evolution of MHC genes. When only MHC allelic identity was investigated, the spatial pattern of MHC variation was similar to that of microsatellites. By contrast, when functional aspects of the MHC diversity (e.g. immunological supertypes) were considered, balancing selection appears to decrease genetic structuring across populations. Our comprehensive sampling and analytical approach enable us to conclude that the likely mechanisms of selection are heterozygote advantage and/or rare-allele advantage. This study is a clear demonstration of how both balancing selection and genetic drift simultaneously affect the evolution of MHC genes in a widely-distributed wild mammal.</span></p>
Data from: Contrasting patterns of genetic diversity at three different genetic markers in a marine mammal metapopulation
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Limited influence of landscape on the genetic structure of three small mammals in a heterogeneous arid environment
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Genetic effects on mating success and partner choice in a social mammal
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Landscape resistance and habitat combine to provide an optimal model of genetic structure and connectivity at the range margin of a small mammal
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Challenging the inbreeding hypothesis in a eusocial mammal: population genetics of the naked mole-rat, Heterocephalus glaber.
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Heritability and cross-sex genetic correlations of early life circulating testosterone levels in a wild mammal
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Continent-wide effects of urbanization on bird and mammal genetic diversity
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Estimation of environmental, genetic and parental age at conception effects on telomere length in a wild mammal
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Additive genetic variance and developmental plasticity in growth trajectories in a wild cooperative mammal
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Fine-scale genetic population structure in a mobile marine mammal: inshore bottlenose dolphins in Moreton Bay, Australia
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: An invasive non-native mammal population conserves genetic diversity lost from its native range
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Fine-scale spatiotemporal patterns of genetic variation reflect budding dispersal coupled with strong natal philopatry in a cooperatively breeding mammal
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
ScienceDex guides
Understand access before you commit
These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.