Find research datasets worth reusing

opencc-zeroJan 2024View details →

Linked collectors and determiners for: UCT: Southern African Butterfly Conservation Assessment (1815-2009).

Natural history specimen data linked to collectors and determiners held within, "UCT: Southern African Butterfly Conservation Assessment (1815-2009)". Claims or attributions were made on Bionomia by volunteer Scribes, <a href="https://bionomia.net/dataset/590471f8-1497-4158-ab7f-b9294b656cda">https://bionomia.net/dataset/590471f8-1497-4158-ab7f-b9294b656cda</a> using specimen data from the dataset aggregated by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, <a href="https://gbif.org/dataset/590471f8-1497-4158-ab7f-b9294b656cda">https://gbif.org/dataset/590471f8-1497-4158-ab7f-b9294b656cda</a>. Formatted as a Frictionless Data package.

opencc-zeroJan 2024View details →

Linked collectors and determiners for: Mimosa serra (Caesalpinioideae, Fabaceae): conservation insights and its presence in Argentina.

Natural history specimen data linked to collectors and determiners held within, "Mimosa serra (Caesalpinioideae, Fabaceae): conservation insights and its presence in Argentina". Claims or attributions were made on Bionomia by volunteer Scribes, <a href="https://bionomia.net/dataset/00bd9b7d-2eb0-4544-a1a0-07bf16cf6077">https://bionomia.net/dataset/00bd9b7d-2eb0-4544-a1a0-07bf16cf6077</a> using specimen data from the dataset aggregated by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, <a href="https://gbif.org/dataset/00bd9b7d-2eb0-4544-a1a0-07bf16cf6077">https://gbif.org/dataset/00bd9b7d-2eb0-4544-a1a0-07bf16cf6077</a>. Formatted as a Frictionless Data package.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →

Data from: Horizontal and vertical movements of Caribbean reef sharks (Carcharhinus perezi): conservation implications of limited migration in a marine sanctuary

Despite the ecological and economic importance of the Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezi), little data exist regarding the movements and habitat use of this predator across its range. We deployed 11 pop-up satellite archival tags on Caribbean reef sharks captured in the northeast Exuma Sound, The Bahamas, to assess their horizontal and vertical movements throughout the water column. Sharks showed high site fidelity to The Bahamas suggesting Bahamian subpopulations remain protected within the Bahamian Shark Sanctuary. Depth data indicate that Caribbean reef sharks spent a significant proportion (72–91%) of their time above 50 m in narrow vertical depth bands, which varied considerably on an individual basis. This may be indicative of high site fidelity to specific bathymetric features. Animals exhibited three broadly categorized sporadic off-bank excursions (more than 50 m excursions) down to a depth of 436.1 m, which were more frequent during the night. These deeper excursions during night may be indicative of foraging in relation to prey on mesophotic reefs, as well as diel-vertically migrating prey from the deeper meso- and bathypelagic zones. These vertical movements suggest that Caribbean reef sharks can be significant vectors of ecosystem connectivity further warranting holistic multi-system management and conservation approaches.

opencc-zeroDec 2018View details →

Data from: How much does it cost to save a species from extinction? Costs and rewards of conserving the Lear's macaw

Although the limited resources available to save species from extinction necessitate the optimization of conservation actions, little is known about their costs and effectiveness. We developed a costs-rewards framework that integrates information on which sectors of society contribute to funding conservation, how much is contributed, how funds are distributed among conservation targets, and how these investments drive not only conservation rewards but also the economic and ecosystem services that benefit society. We applied this framework to the Lear's macaw (Anodorhynchus leari), a species discovered in the wild in 1978 with only 60 individuals. Funds invested over the last 25 years reached US$ 3.66 million. The contribution of governments, NGOs and private funders varied over time, as did the funding targets. Funds were proportionally invested to mitigate the main causes of mortality, while no funds were devoted to protecting foraging habitats. Conservation rewards were satisfactory, with the cost and time needed to downlist the species from Critically Endangered to Endangered similar to those invested in other bird species. However, economic rewards (through ecotourism and handicrafts linked to the conservation of the species) were low and require promotion, while ecosystem services provided by Lear's macaws have yet to be quantified.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →

Data from: Biodiversity change is uncoupled from species richness trends: consequences for conservation and monitoring

1. Global concern about human impact on biological diversity has triggered an intense research agenda on drivers and consequences of biodiversity change in parallel with international policy seeking to conserve biodiversity and associated ecosystem functions. Quantifying the trends in biodiversity is far from trivial, however, as recently documented by meta-analyses which report little if any net change of local species richness through time. 2. Here, we summarize several limitations of species richness as a metric of biodiversity change and show that the expectation of directional species richness trends under changing conditions is invalid. Instead, we illustrate how a set of species turnover indices provide more information content regarding temporal trends in biodiversity, as they reflect how dominance and identity shift in communities over time. 3. We apply these metrics to three monitoring data sets representing different ecosystem types. In all data sets, nearly complete species turnover occurred, but this was disconnected from any species richness trends. Instead, turnover was strongly influenced by changes in species presence (identities) and dominance (abundances). We further show that these metrics can detect phases of strong compositional shifts in monitoring data and thus identify a different aspect of biodiversity change decoupled from species richness. 4. Synthesis and application: Temporal trends in species richness are insufficient to capture key changes in biodiversity in changing environments. In fact, reductions in environmental quality can lead to transient increases in species richness if immigration or extinction have different temporal dynamics. Thus, biodiversity monitoring programs need to go beyond analyses of trends in richness in favour of more meaningful assessments of biodiversity change.01-Jun-2017

Figure 2 from: Assmann T (2021) Terry Erwin's legacy: from taxonomy and natural history to biodiversity research and conservation biology. In: Spence J, Casale A, Assmann T, Liebherr JК, Penev L (Eds) Systematic Zoology and Biodiversity Science: A tribute to Terry Erwin (1940-2020). ZooKeys 1044: 23-39. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1044.68650

Figure 2 Example of Terry Erwin's diverse illustrations: habitus, male genitalia (median lobe of aedeagus, with parameres) in dorsal, ventral, and lateral view with enlarged details of the internal sac and female genitalia from Lachnophorus species. From Erwin and Zamorano (2014: figs 15–18).

Figure 4 from: Assmann T (2021) Terry Erwin's legacy: from taxonomy and natural history to biodiversity research and conservation biology. In: Spence J, Casale A, Assmann T, Liebherr JК, Penev L (Eds) Systematic Zoology and Biodiversity Science: A tribute to Terry Erwin (1940-2020). ZooKeys 1044: 23-39. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1044.68650

Figure 4 Bombardier beetles of the genus Pheropsophus, habitat of Pheropsophus africanus, and a Gryllotalpa specimen from the given habitat AP. (s. str.) aequinoctionalis (Linnaeus, 1763) BP. (Stenaptinus) jessoensis A. Morawitz, 1862 CP. (Stenaptinus) hispanus (Dejean, 1824) DP. (Stenaptinus) africanus (Dejean, 1825) E habitat of P. africanus (Jordan, northeast of Dead Sea) FGryllotalpa spec.

Figure 1 from: Assmann T (2021) Terry Erwin's legacy: from taxonomy and natural history to biodiversity research and conservation biology. In: Spence J, Casale A, Assmann T, Liebherr JК, Penev L (Eds) Systematic Zoology and Biodiversity Science: A tribute to Terry Erwin (1940-2020). ZooKeys 1044: 23-39. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1044.68650

Figure 1 Example of Terry Erwin's line drawings: dorsal aspects of three Halocoryza species and the median lobe of aedeagus of two Halocoryza species. From Erwin (2011: figs 4–8).

Figure 3 from: Assmann T (2021) Terry Erwin's legacy: from taxonomy and natural history to biodiversity research and conservation biology. In: Spence J, Casale A, Assmann T, Liebherr JК, Penev L (Eds) Systematic Zoology and Biodiversity Science: A tribute to Terry Erwin (1940-2020). ZooKeys 1044: 23-39. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1044.68650

Figure 3 Example of Terry Erwin's habitus illustrations: habitus of four Straneotia species. From Erwin and Aldebron (2018: fig. 14).

opencc-zeroJun 2021View details →

Gradients of genetic diversity and differentiation across the distribution range of a Mediterranean coral: patterns, processes and conservation implications.

The aim of this study was to determine how historical and contemporary eco-evolutionary processes shape the patterns of genetic diversity and differentiation across species' distribution range remains an open question with strong conservation implications. Focusing on the orange stony coral, Astroides calycularis, we i) characterized the pattern of neutral genetic diversity across the distribution range; ii) gave insights into the underlying processes; and iii) discussed conservation implications with emphasis on a national park located on a hotspot of genetic diversity. Location: South Mediterranean Sea and Zembra National Park. We combined new data from 12 microsatellites in 13 populations located in the Centre and in the Western Periphery of the distribution range with a published dataset including 16 populations from the Western and Eastern Peripheries. We analysed the relationship among parameters of genetic diversity (He, Ar(g)) and structure (population-specific FST) and two measures of geographic peripherality. We compared two estimators of pairwise genetic structure (GST, DEST) across the distribution range. The evolutionary and demographic history of the populations following the Last Glacial Maximum was reconstructed using approximate Bayesian computations and Maximum Likelihood analyses. We inferred the contemporary connectivity among populations from Zembra National Park and with the neighbouring area of Cap Bon. We demonstrate a decrease of genetic diversity and an increase of genetic differentiation from the Centre to the Eastern and Western Peripheries of the distribution range. Populations from Zembra show the highest genetic diversity reported in the species. We identified a spillover effect towards Cap Bon. The patterns of genetic diversity and differentiation are most likely explained by "the postglacial range expansion hypothesis" rather than the "central-peripheral hypothesis". Enforcement of conservation measures should be considered to protect this genetic diversity pattern, in particular when considering the low effective population size inferred at many sites.

opennotspecifiedSep 2007View details →

FIGURE 1 in Conservation implications of a morphometric comparison between the Illinois Chorus Frog (Pseudacris streckeri illinoensis) and Strecker's Chorus Frog (P. s. streckeri) (Anura: Hylidae) from Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas

FIGURE 1. Counties with documented populations of ICFs and SCFs.

opencc-zeroDec 2011View details →

Data from: Systems and trans-system level analysis identifies conserved iron deficiency responses in the plant lineage

We surveyed the iron nutrition-responsive transcriptome of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii using RNA-Seq methodology. Presumed primary targets were identified in comparisons between visually asymptomatic iron-deficient versus iron-replete cells. This includes the known components of high-affinity iron uptake as well as candidates for distributive iron transport in C. reinhardtii. Comparison of growth-inhibited iron-limited versus iron-replete cells revealed changes in the expression of genes in chloroplastic oxidative stress response pathways, among hundreds of other genes. The output from the transcriptome was validated at multiple levels: by quantitative RT-PCR for assessing the data analysis pipeline, by quantitative proteomics for assessing the impact of changes in RNA abundance on the proteome, and by cross-species comparison for identifying conserved or universal response pathways. In addition, we assessed the functional importance of three target genes, VITAMIN C 2 (VTC2), MONODEHYDROASCORBATE REDUCTASE 1 (MDAR1), and CONSERVED IN THE GREEN LINEAGE AND DIATOMS 27 (CGLD27), by biochemistry or reverse genetics. VTC2 and MDAR1, which are key enzymes in de novo ascorbate synthesis and ascorbate recycling, respectively, are likely responsible for the 10-fold increase in ascorbate content of iron-limited cells. CGLD27/At5g67370 is a highly conserved, presumed chloroplast-localized pioneer protein and is important for growth of Arabidopsis thaliana in low iron.

FIGURE 30 in New World direct-developing frogs (Anura: Terrarana): Molecular phylogeny, classification, biogeography, and conservation

FIGURE 30. Diasporus diastema from Cerro La Campana, Panama, Panama. Photo by W. E. Duellman.

FIGURE 25 in New World direct-developing frogs (Anura: Terrarana): Molecular phylogeny, classification, biogeography, and conservation

FIGURE 25. Distribution of the Subgenus Hylactophryne, Genus Craugastor, Family Craugastoridae.

FIGURE 28 in New World direct-developing frogs (Anura: Terrarana): Molecular phylogeny, classification, biogeography, and conservation

FIGURE 28. Haddadus binotatus from Pisinguaba, São Paulo, Brazil. Photo by C. F. B. Haddad.

FIGURE 5 in New World direct-developing frogs (Anura: Terrarana): Molecular phylogeny, classification, biogeography, and conservation

FIGURE 5. Distribution of the taxon Terrarana.

opencc-zeroDec 2015View details →

Data from: Comparative developmental transcriptomics reveals rewiring of a highly conserved gene regulatory network during a major life history switch in the sea urchin genus Heliocidaris

The ecologically significant shift in developmental strategy from planktotrophic (feeding) to lecithotrophic (nonfeeding) development in the sea urchin genus Heliocidaris is one of the most comprehensively studied life history transitions in any animal. Although the evolution of lecithotrophy involved substantial changes to larval development and morphology, it is not known to what extent changes in gene expression underlie the developmental differences between species, nor do we understand how these changes evolved within the context of the well-defined gene regulatory network (GRN) underlying sea urchin development. To address these questions, we used RNA-seq to measure expression dynamics across development in three species: the lecithotroph Heliocidaris erythrogramma, the closely related planktotroph H. tuberculata, and an outgroup planktotroph Lytechinus variegatus. Using well-established statistical methods, we developed a novel framework for identifying, quantifying, and polarizing evolutionary changes in gene expression profiles across the transcriptome and within the GRN. We found that major changes in gene expression profiles were more numerous during the evolution of lecithotrophy than during the persistence of planktotrophy, and that genes with derived expression profiles in the lecithotroph displayed specific characteristics as a group that are consistent with the dramatically altered developmental program in this species. Compared to the transcriptome, changes in gene expression profiles within the GRN were even more pronounced in the lecithotroph. We found evidence for conservation and likely divergence of particular GRN regulatory interactions in the lecithotroph, as well as significant changes in the expression of genes with known roles in larval skeletogenesis. We further use coexpression analysis to identify genes of unknown function that may contribute to both conserved and derived developmental traits between species. Collectively, our results indicate that distinct evolutionary processes operate on gene expression during periods of life history conservation and periods of life history divergence, and that this contrast is even more pronounced within the GRN than across the transcriptome as a whole.

opencc-zeroJul 2021View details →

Supplementary material 1 from: Zhao X, Zhang J, Guo H (2021) Development evaluation of nature reserves under China's forestry department: A spatiotemporal empirical study at the province level. Nature Conservation 44: 81-97. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.44.65488

Tables S1, S2

opencc-by-4.0Aug 2021View details →

Figure 2 from: Villet MH, Edwards S (2021) The cicada genus Tugelana Distant, 1912 (Hemiptera, Cicadidae): phylogenetic position and conservation status. African Invertebrates 62(2): 399-410. https://doi.org/10.3897/afrinvertebr.62.66891

Figure 2 Geographical distribution of P. butleri and P. zuluensis within southern Africa, with insets of the two species (specimen scale lines = 10 mm). The distribution of P. butleri has a known standard Area of Occupancy (AOO) of 36 km2 (nine localities) and an Extent of Occurrence (EOO) of 6360 km2. Abbreviations: EC = Eastern Cape, eS = eSwatini, G = Gauteng, KZN = KwaZulu-Natal, L = Limpopo, Les = Lesotho, M = Mpumalanga, NC = Northern Cape, WC = Western Cape.