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.
41
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.7.1
Dataset results
41 results for “tropical savannas”
Not all trees can make a forest: tree species composition and competition control forest encroachment in a tropical savanna
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from a model inter-comparison study to examine limiting factors in modelling Australian tropical savannas
<p>The modelling results of Whitley et al. (2016), consisting of the models BESS, BIOS2, CABLE, LPJ-GUESS, MAESPA and SPA, for five sites along the North-Australian Tropical Transect.</p> <p><strong>References</strong><br> Whitley, R., Beringer, J., Hutley, L.B., Abramowitz, G., De Kauwe, M.G., Duursma, R., Evans, B., Haverd, V., Li, L., Ryu, Y., Smith, B., Wang, Y.-P., Williams, M., Yu, Q., 2016. A model inter-comparison study to examine limiting factors in modelling Australian tropical savannas. Biogeosciences 13, 3245–3265. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-3245-2016</p> <p> </p>
Data from: The present and future effects of land use on ecological assemblages in tropical grasslands and savannas in Africa
The world is currently experiencing a period of rapid, human-driven biodiversity loss. Over the past decade, numerous metrics for biodiversity have been used to create indicators to track change in biodiversity. However, our ability to predict future changes has been limited. In this study, we use two very different models to predict the status and possible futures for the composition and diversity of ecological assemblages in African tropical grasslands and savannas under land-use change. We show that ecological assemblages are affected more by land use in African grasslands and savannas than in other biomes. We estimate that average losses of assemblage composition and diversity are already between 9.7 and 42.0%, depending on the model and measure used. If current socio-economic trajectories continue ('business-as-usual'), the likely associated land-use changes are predicted to lead to a further 5.6–12.3% loss of assemblage composition and diversity. In contrast, a scenario that assumes more efficient use of agricultural areas (thus requiring a smaller total area) could be associated with a partial reversal ‒ of as much as 3.2% ‒ of past losses. While the agriculture that causes the majority of land-use change is an important source of economic growth, projections of the effects of land use on ecological assemblages can allow for more informed decisions.
Data from: Climate change will increase savannas at the expense of forests and treeless vegetation in tropical and subtropical Americas
1. Transition areas between biomes are particularly sensitive to environmental changes. Our understanding of the impacts of ongoing climate change on terrestrial ecosystems has significantly increased during the last years. However, it is largely unknown how climatic change will affect transitions among major vegetation types. 2. We modelled the distribution of three alternative states (forest, savanna and treeless areas) in the tropical and subtropical Americas by means of climate-niche modelling. We studied how such distribution will change by the year 2070 by using 17 downscaled and calibrated global climate models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 and the latest scenarios provided by the 5th Assessment Report of the IPCC. 3. Our results support the savannization of the tropical and subtropical Americas because of climate change, with an increase in savannas mainly at the expense of forests. 4. Our models predict an important geographical shift in the current distribution of transition areas between forest and savannas, which is much less pronounced in the case of those between savannas and treeless areas. Largest shifts, up to 600 km northward, are predicted in the forest–savanna transitions located in the eastern Amazon. 5. Our findings indicate that climate change will promote a shift towards more unstable states: the extent of the transition areas will notably increase, and largely stable forest areas are predicted to shrink dramatically. 6. Synthesis. Our work explores dimensions of the impact of climate change on biomes that have received little attention so far. Our results indicate that climate change will not only affect the extent of savanna, forest and treeless areas in the tropical and subtropical Americas, but also will: (i) promote a significant geographical shift and an increase of the extent of transition areas between biomes and (ii) decrease the stability of the equilibrium between forest, savanna and treeless areas, yielding a more unpredictable system.
Data from: Pleistocene climatic changes drive diversification across a tropical savanna
Spatial responses of species to past climate change depend on both intrinsic traits (climatic niche breadth, dispersal rates) and the scale of climatic fluctuations across the landscape. New capabilities in generating and analysing population genomic data, along with spatial modelling, have unleashed our capacity to infer how past climate changes have shaped populations, and by extension, complex communities. Combining these approaches, we uncover lineage diversity across four co-distributed lizards from the Australian Monsoonal Tropics and explore how varying climatic tolerances interact with regional climate history to generate common versus disparate responses to late Pleistocene change. We find more divergent spatial structuring and temporal demographic responses in the drier Kimberley region compared to the more mesic and consistently suitable Top End. We hypothesize that, in general, the effects of species' traits on sensitivity to climate fluctuation will be more evident in climatically marginal regions. If true, this points to the need in climatically marginal areas to craft more species- (or trait-) specific strategies for persistence under future climate change.
Soil carbon is mostly grass-derived in tropical savannas, even under woody encroachment
<p>Tropical savannas have been increasingly targeted for carbon (C) sequestration from afforestation, assuming large gains in soil organic C (SOC) with increasing tree cover. Because savanna SOC is also derived from grasses, this assumption may not reflect real changes in SOC under afforestation, but grass contributions to SOC and changes in SOC with increasing tree cover remain poorly synthesized. Here, we combine a case study from Kruger National Park, South Africa, with data synthesized from tropical savannas globally to show that grass-derived C constitutes more than half of total SOC to a soil depth of 1-meter, even in soils directly under trees. The largest SOC concentrations were associated with the largest grass contributions (> 70% of total SOC). Regionally and across the tropics, SOC concentration was not explained by tree cover. Both SOC gain and loss were observed following increasing tree cover, and on average SOC storage within 1-meter profile only increased by a negligible and non-significant 6% (SE = 4%, n = 44). These results underscore the substantial contribution of grasses to SOC and the considerable uncertainty in SOC responses to increasing tree cover, challenging the widespread assumption that afforestation universally and substantially enhances SOC storage across tropical savannas.</p>
Figure 1 in Mating behaviour and maternal care in the tropical savanna funnel-web spider Aglaoctenus lagotis Holmberg (Araneae: Lycosidae)
Figure 1. Experimental set-up to evaluate the role of chemical cues on female webs. (A) General view of arena, the arrow shows the diameter of tube entrance; (B) test comparing the attraction of virgin or mated female webs to males; (C) comparison between old and recent webs used by females.
Figure 2 in Mating behaviour and maternal care in the tropical savanna funnel-web spider Aglaoctenus lagotis Holmberg (Araneae: Lycosidae)
Figure 2. Schematic drawings of the male behavioural repertoire of Aglaoctenus lagotis (Araneae: Lycosidae). The sequence (courtship to mating) presents three stages: I – courtship; II – pre-mating; III – mating. Courtship shows five other possible stages: (A) vibration of palps and first legs; (B) vibration of palps and first legs under the web; (C) vibration of palps and first legs alternating with leg rubbing; (D) vibration of palps; (E) moving straight to female's position, tapping the palps on the web.
Soil carbon is mostly grass-derived in tropical savannas, even under woody encroachment
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Pleistocene climatic changes drive diversification across a tropical savanna
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
DNA metabarcoding provides new insight into the diet of invasive chital deer (Axis axis) in a tropical savanna landscape
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Dispersal increases the resilience of tropical savanna and forest distributions
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Responses of tropical tree seedlings in the forest-savanna boundary to combined effects of grass competition and fire
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Climate change will increase savannas at the expense of forests and treeless vegetation in tropical and subtropical Americas
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: The present and future effects of land use on ecological assemblages in tropical grasslands and savannas in Africa
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Megaherbivores suppress precipitation-driven plant irruptions in a tropical savanna
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Does rapid utilisation of elevated nutrient availability allow eucalypts to dominate in the tropical savannas of Australia?
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Foraging and spatial ecology of a polydomous carpenter ant (Camponotus leydigi) in tropical cerrado savanna: A natural history account
<p>Carpenter ants (genus <i>Camponotus</i>) are considered to be predominantly omnivorous, mixing several feeding habits that include predation, scavenging of animal matter, and plant-derived resources. Nitrogen acquisition is crucial for the nutritional ecology of ant colonies since growing larvae require sustainable protein provisioning. Here, we investigate the foraging ecology and the spatial nesting structure of the carpenter ant <i>Camponotus leydigi</i> in Brazilian cerrado savanna. By marking workers from different nests with distinct colors, we revealed that <i>C. leydigi</i> occupies physically separated but socially connected nests (up to 30 m apart), a phenomenon known as polydomy. Observational data on aboveground internest movements in <i>C. leydigi</i> corroborate cooperative exchanges between nest units and confirm several types of social connections, including internest transfer of liquid and solid food, transport of colony members (brood, workers), movement of solitary workers, and internest recruitment. Polydomous <i>C. leydigi</i> allocate foragers throughout 1,700 m<sup>2</sup>, feeding mostly on termites and plant-derived exudates. Influx of exudates is threefold higher compared to solid food. Uric acid pellets excreted by lizards comprise 20% of the solid diet in <i>C. leydigi</i>, a rare quantitative assessment of this peculiar type of nitrogen complementation in ants. Based on video recordings, we hypothesize that nest decentralization in <i>C. leydigi</i> may reduce foraging constraints caused by overt interference by the aggressive ant <i>Ectatomma brunneum</i>, which regularly blocks nest entrances. Our field study enhances the importance of natural history data to clarify selective pressures underlying the evolution of particular behavioral patterns (nutritional and nesting habits) in ants.</p>
Foraging and spatial ecology of a polydomous carpenter ant (Camponotus leydigi) in tropical cerrado savanna: A natural history account
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Using acoustic monitoring to assess insectivorous bat richness and activity in a sub-tropical savanna
<p><span>Understanding insectivorous bat diversity and activity is crucial for conservation efforts, particularly in under-researched regions like sub-tropical savannas. This study aimed to assess bat species richness and seasonal activity in the MalaMala Game Reserve, located in the southern region of the Greater Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa. We conducted acoustic monitoring using ultrasonic detectors over two distinct seasons: the wet season (January to March) and the dry season (August) in 2022. Species identification was performed using Kaleidoscope software, complemented by manual verification to minimize misidentifications, particularly for species with overlapping echolocation characteristics. Our findings revealed 16 species across six families, representing 40% of the bat species known in KNP. The Molossidae family was the most dominant, followed by Vespertilionidae, while the Hipposideridae family recorded the fewest calls, likely due to their high-frequency echolocation calls that attenuate rapidly. Notably, our findings aligned with previous research indicating year-round presence of insectivorous bats in savanna woodlands. Seasonal variations in bat activity were observed, with significantly higher activity during the wet season, likely due to increased insect abundance and reduced thermoregulatory costs. Our study provides a critical benchmark for future bat research in the Greater KNP landscape, highlighting the importance of continued monitoring to detect changes in bat populations and inform conservation strategies.</span></p>
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.