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2,395 results for “Contrast”

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dryad32/100

Data from: Belowground community responses to fire: meta-analysis reveals contrasting responses of soil microorganisms and mesofauna

Global fire regimes are shifting due to climate and land use changes. Understanding the responses of belowground communities to fire is key to predicting changes in the ecosystem processes they regulate. We conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of 1634 observations from 131 empirical studies to investigate the effect of fire on soil microorganisms and mesofauna. Fire had a strong negative effect on soil biota biomass, abundance, richness, evenness, and diversity. Fire reduced microorganism biomass and abundance by up to 96%. Bacteria were more resistant to fire than fungi. Fire reduced nematode abundance by 88% but had no significant effect on soil arthropods. Fire reduced richness, evenness and diversity of soil microorganisms and mesofauna by up to 99%. We found little evidence of temporal trends towards recovery within 10 years post-disturbance suggesting little resilience of the soil community to fire. Interactions between biome, fire type, and depth explained few of these negative trends. Future research at the intersection of fire ecology and soil biology should aim to integrate soil community structure with the ecosystem processes they mediate under changing global fire regimes.

opencc-zeroDec 2017View details →
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Data from: Contrasting trait assembly patterns in plant and bird communities along environmental and human-induced land-use gradients

Human-driven environmental changes can induce marked shifts in the functional structure of biological communities with possible repercussion on important ecosystem functions and services. At the same time it remains unclear to which extent these changes may differently affect various types of organisms. We investigated species richness and community functional structure of species assemblages at the landscape scale (1km2 plots) for two contrasting model taxa, i.e., plants (producers and sessile organisms) and birds (consumers and mobile organisms), along topography, climate, landscape heterogeneity, and land-use (agriculture and urbanization) gradients in a densely populated region of Switzerland. Our study revealed that agricultural and urban land uses drove marked shifts in the functional structure of biological communities compared to changes along climate and topography gradients, especially for plants, while for birds these changes were comparable. Agricultural and urban land uses enhanced divergence in traits related to resource use for birds (diet and nesting), growth forms, dispersal, and reproductive traits for plants, while it induced convergence in vegetative plant traits (plant height and leaf dry matter content). These results suggest that contrasting assembly patterns may arise within and across taxonomic groups along the same environmental gradients as result of distinct underlying processes and 'organism-specific' environmental perceptions. Our results further suggest a potential homogenization of biological communities, as well as low functional diversity and redundancy levels of bird assemblages in our human-dominated study region. This might potentially compromise the maintenance of key ecological processes under future environmental changes.

opencc-zeroDec 2015View details →
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Data from: Contrasting effects of landscape features on genetic structure in different geographical regions in the ornate dragon lizard, Ctenophorus ornatus

Habitat fragmentation can have profound effects on the distribution of genetic variation within and between populations. Previously, we showed that in the ornate dragon lizard, Ctenophorus ornatus, lizards residing on outcrops that are separated by cleared agricultural land are significantly more isolated and hold less genetic variation than lizards residing on neighbouring outcrops connected by undisturbed native vegetation. Here, we extend that fine-scale study to examine the pattern of genetic variation and population structure across the species' range. Using a landscape genetics approach, we test whether land clearing for agricultural purposes has affected the population structure of the ornate dragon lizard. We found significant genetic differentiation between outcrop populations (FST = 0.12), as well as isolation-by-distance within each geographic region. In support of our previous study, land clearing was associated with higher genetic divergences between outcrops and lower genetic variation within outcrops, but only in the region that had been exposed to intense agriculture for the longest period of time. No other landscape features influenced population structure in any geographic region. These results show that the effects of landscape features can vary across species' ranges and suggest there may be a temporal-lag in the response to contemporary changes in land use. These findings therefore highlight the need for caution when assessing the impact of contemporary land use practices on genetic variation and population structure.

opencc-zeroDec 2012View details →
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Data from: Contrasting colonization patterns of black mangrove (Avicennia germinans (L.) L.) gene pools along the Mexican coasts

Aim: Historical and geological events can impact the genetic structure of species, producing signatures that vary among taxa and gene pools within taxa. Such signatures can also be affected by local geography and tolerance to environmental conditions. However, disentangling of different drivers of population structure is often difficult. In an attempt to do so, we surveyed two independent gene pools of the same species that followed similar paths of postglacial colonization across contrasting landscapes and environmental conditions. We aimed to determine how these differences have affected the post-glacial population dynamics of each gene pool. Location: The Pacific and Atlantic coasts of Mexico. Taxon: Black mangrove, Avicennia germinans (Avicenniaceae). Methods: Using microsatellite variation, we estimated the divergence time of black mangrove populations through Approximated Bayesian Computation and implemented a comparative approach to evaluate different demographic hypotheses within and between the coasts. Results: The Pacific and Atlantic gene pools diverged long after the rise of the Central American Isthmus (Mid-Pleistocene), although occasional transisthmian gene exchanges were also inferred. Both coasts showed the characteristic isolation by distance (IBD) pattern expected for expanding gene pools. However, populations from the Atlantic coast were more genetically diverse and admixed than those from the Pacific basin. Both our migration models and the climate data gathered suggested a more ancient establishment and/or more stable conditions for black mangrove on the Atlantic coast. Main conclusions: The Atlantic basin likely bore more favorable climate conditions than the Pacific, allowing for the survival of A. germinans during the Last Glacial Maximum in situ. Populations from the northern Pacific coast became established after the Holocene warming, leading to contrasting genetic patterns between the two gene pools. Nevertheless, the action of environmental factors in determining the contemporary distribution of genetic variation in A. germinans cannot be discarded.

opencc-zeroDec 2018View details →
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Data from: Is strain elastography (IO-SE) sufficient for characterization of liver lesions before surgical resection - or is contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) necessary?

Aim: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of IO-SE in comparison to IO-CEUS for the differentiation between malignant and benign liver lesions. Material and Methods: In a retrospective diagnostic study IO-CEUS and SE examinations of 49 liver lesions were evaluated and compared to histopathological examinations. Ultrasound was performed using a multifrequency linear probe (6–9 MHz). The loops of CEUS were evaluated up to 5 min. The qualitative characterization of IO-SE was based on a color coding system (blue = hard, red = soft). Stiffness of all lesions was quantified by a specific scaling of 0–6 (0 = low, 6 = high) using 7 ROIs (2 central, 5 peripheral). Results: All malignant lesions displayed a characteristic portal venous washout and could be diagnosed correctly by IO-CEUS. 3/5 benign lesions could not be characterized properly either by IO-CEUS or IO-SE prior to resection. Thus for IO-CEUS sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value and accuracy were 100%, 40%, 94%, 100% and 94%. Lesion sizes were between 8 and 59 mm in diameter. Regarding the IO-SE, malignant lesions showed a marked variability. In qualitative analysis, 31 of the malignant lesions were blue colored denoting overall induration. Thirteen malignant lesions showed an inhomogenous color pattern with partial indurations. Two of the benign lesions also displayed overall induration. The other benign lesions showed an inhomogenous color mapping. Calculated sensitivity of the SE was 70.5%, specificity 60%, PPV 94%, NPV 18.75%, and accuracy 69%. Conclusion: IO-CEUS is useful for localization and characterization of liver lesions prior to surgical resection whereas IO-SE provided correct characterization only for a limited number of lesions.

opencc-zeroDec 2014View details →
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Elevational contrast in predation and parasitism risk to caterpillars in a tropical rainforest

<p>Invertebrate predators and parasitoids are among the most important natural enemies of insect herbivores. Yet, the strength of natural enemy pressure along an altitudinal gradient and interactions between groups of natural enemies (such as predation on parasitized prey) are not well known. Various methods are used to reveal mortality factors of herbivores. Predation pressure is usually assessed through exposure of artificial prey. However, this method cannot provide information about the attacks of parasitoids, or their eventual interactions with predators. Further, artificial or dead prey might not attract predators because they do not show expected host behavior, and this method mostly cannot distinguish between predation and scavenging. For the first time in a tropical rainforest, we quantified mortality factors along an altitudinal gradient using exposure of live caterpillars. We exposed a total of 800 live caterpillars of <i>Talanga excelsalis moresbyensis</i> Strand (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) on saplings of <i>Ficus copiosa</i> Steud. (Moraceae) at two elevations in primary tropical rain forest in Papua New Guinea (200 and 1 200 m a.s.l.). We exposed the caterpillars in two treatments: exposed to and protected from invertebrate predators and parasitoids. Disappearance of caterpillars was significantly higher in the exposed treatment. Further, caterpillar disappearance was significantly higher in lowlands than in highlands (43 vs. 12%). We consider the vast majority of the disappearance to be due to predation, as migration of the caterpillars from the focal trees was not observed (except one caterpillar). This estimate of invertebrate predation rate corresponds with studies which used artificial caterpillar models. No significant difference in parasitism rate between the two elevations was observed (12 vs. 13%). The combination of the disappearance and parasitism rate patterns means that larval parasitoids face stronger pressure from invertebrate predators through higher predation of their hosts in the lowlands than in the highlands.</p>

opencc-zeroNov 2019View details →
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Data from: Parental environmental effects due to contrasting watering adapt competitive ability, but not drought tolerance, in offspring of a semi-arid annual Brassicaceae

1. Parental effects (PE) can be adaptive and improve offspring performance when parents and offspring experience similar environmental conditions. However, it is unknown whether adaptive PE exist also in habitats where such similarity is unlikely due to strong temporal variation. In particular, we do not know whether PE can adapt offspring to fluctuating levels of neighbour competition in such habitats. 2. Here, we tested for adaptive PE in terms of two key environmental factors in a semi-arid annual system, competition and drought. While rainfall was stochastic in the study site, the competitive environment was partly predictable: higher plant densities followed after favourable (rainy) years due to high seed production. We therefore expected PE to adapt the offspring's competitive ability to these (predictable) fluctuations in plant densities, rather than to adapt the offspring's drought tolerance to the (unpredictable) occurrence of intensified drought. 3. Parental plants of Biscutella didyma, an annual Brassicaceae, were raised under favourable watering and under drought conditions. Offspring performance was then tested under a full-factorial combination of two neighbour regimes and six watering levels in the glasshouse. 4. Offspring of parents grown under favourable conditions were stronger competitors. This was associated with a small shift in phenology but not with higher parental seed provisioning. Offspring from parents grown under drought showed no improved drought tolerance. Moreover, no PE were detectable when offspring were grown without neighbours. 5. Our results suggest a novel path of adaptive PE: higher competitive ability was induced in offspring that were more likely to experience high neighbour densities. Together with the lack of adaptive PE towards drought tolerance, this emphasizes that a correlation between parental and offspring environment is crucial for adaptive PE to evolve. Our results also call for the inclusion of competitive effects in future PE studies. 6. Synthesis. This study demonstrates the important role of adaptive PE for plant fitness (regarding competition) but also their limits (regarding drought) in temporally variable environments, based on the predictability of the respective environmental factor.

opencc-zeroDec 2014View details →
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Substrate quality drives fungal necromass decay and decomposer community structure under contrasting vegetation types

<p>1. Fungal mycelium is increasingly recognized as a central component of soil biogeochemical cycling, yet our current understanding of the ecological controls on fungal necromass decomposition is limited to single sites and vegetation types.</p> <p>2. By deploying common fungal necromass substrates in a temperate oak savannah and hardwood forest in the midwestern USA, we assessed the generality of the rate at which high- and low-quality fungal necromass decomposes; further, we investigated how the decomposer 'necrobiome' varies both across and within sites under vegetation types dominated by either arbuscular (AM) or ectomycorrhizal (EM) plants.</p> <p>3. The effects of necromass quality on decay rate were robust to site and vegetation type differences, with high-quality fungal necromass decomposing, on average, 2.5 times faster during the initial stages of decay. Across vegetation types, bacterial and fungal communities present on decaying necromass differed from bulk soil microbial communities and were influenced by necromass quality. Moulds, yeasts and copiotrophic bacteria consistently dominated the necrobiome of high-quality fungal substrates.</p> <p>4. Synthesis: We show that regardless of differences in decay environments, high-quality fungal substrates decompose faster and support different types of decomposer microorganisms when compared with low-quality fungal tissues. These findings help to refine our theoretical understanding of the dominant factors affecting fast cycling components of soil organic matter (SOM) and the microbial communities associated with rapid decay.</p>

opencc-zeroMar 2020View details →
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Data from: A multispecies approach reveals hot-spots and cold-spots of diversity and connectivity in invertebrate species with contrasting dispersal modes

Genetic diversity is crucial for species' maintenance and persistence, yet is often overlooked in conservation studies. Species diversity is more often reported due to practical constraints, but it is unknown if these measures of diversity are correlated. In marine invertebrates, adults are often sessile or sedentary and populations exchange genes via dispersal of gametes and larvae. Species with a larval period are expected to have more connected populations than those without larval dispersal. We assessed the relationship between measures of species and genetic diversity, and between dispersal ability and connectivity. We compiled data on genetic patterns and life history traits in nine species across five phyla. Sampling sites spanned 600 km in the northwest Mediterranean Sea and focused on a 50 km area near Marseilles, France. Comparative population genetic approaches yielded three main results. (1) Species without larvae showed higher levels of genetic structure than species with free-living larvae but the role of larval type (lecithotrophic or planktotrophic) was negligible. (2) A narrow area around Marseilles, subject to offshore advection, limited genetic connectivity in most species. (3) We identified sites with significant positive contributions to overall genetic diversity across all species, corresponding with areas near low human population densities. In contrast, high levels of human activity corresponded with a negative contribution to overall genetic diversity. Genetic diversity within species was positively and significantly linearly related with local species diversity. Our study suggests that local contribution to overall genetic diversity should be taken into account for future conservation strategies.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →
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Data from: Effect of insect herbivory on plant community dynamics under contrasting water availability levels

1. Diversity of plant communities is impacted by multiple global change drivers but also by altered biotic interactions with antagonist and mutualist organisms that can potentially affect species coexistence. 2. With a two-year outdoor mesocosm experiment in realistic mesic grassland communities, we explored the role of insect herbivory in impacting plant community dynamics under contrasting levels of water availability simulating altered rainfall regimes. We selected a grasshopper species (Calliptamus italicus) feeding predominantly on forbs while avoiding grasses. 3. High water availability reduced species coexistence, boosting productivity while decreasing individual plant survival. At the community level, herbivores were not able to promote species coexistence but asymmetrically influenced grasses and forbs, reducing forb biomass under high water availability. 4. Herbivores shaped individual plant responses to both abiotic conditions and individual-neighbours' interactions. Herbivores influenced focal plant survival by altering the effect of neighbouring plants, mitigating the negative effect of high neighbour biomass at low water availability and exacerbating it at high level of water availability. 5. Synthesis: Altered rainfall has the capacity to change the relative strength of the plant-plant interactions and also to determine the effects of herbivores on grassland communities. The complexity of the interactions between plants and herbivores and the observed context-dependence indicate the need to incorporate multiple biotic and abiotic drivers to fully understand the mechanisms underlying plant dynamics and species coexistence in a changing world.

opencc-zeroDec 2017View details →
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Data from: Microsatellite markers from the Ion Torrent: a multi-species contrast to 454 shotgun sequencing

The development and screening of microsatellite markers have been accelerated by next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology and in particular GS-FLX pyro-sequencing (454). More recent platforms such as the PGM semiconductor sequencer (Ion Torrent) offer potential benefits such as dramatic reductions in cost, but to date have not been well utilized. Here, we critically compare the advantages and disadvantages of microsatellite development using PGM semiconductor sequencing and GS-FLX pyro-sequencing for two gymnosperm (a conifer and a cycad) and one angiosperm species. We show that these NGS platforms differ in the quantity of returned sequence data, unique microsatellite data and primer design opportunities, mostly consistent with the differences in read length. The strength of the PGM lies in the large amount of data generated at a comparatively lower cost and time. The strength of GS-FLX lies in the return of longer average length sequences and therefore greater flexibility in producing markers with variable product length, due to longer flanking regions, which is ideal for capillary multiplexing. These differences need to be considered when choosing a NGS method for microsatellite discovery. However, the ongoing improvement in read lengths of the NGS platforms will reduce the disadvantage of the current short read lengths, particularly for the PGM platform, allowing greater flexibility in primer design coupled with the power of a larger number of sequences.

opencc-zeroDec 2013View details →
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Data from: Climatic conditions produce contrasting influences on demographic traits in a long distance Arctic migrant

The manner in which patterns of variation and interactions among demographic rates contribute to population growth rate (λ) is key to understanding how animal populations will respond to changing climatic conditions. Migratory species are likely to be particularly sensitive to climatic conditions as they experience a range of different environments throughout their annual cycle. However, few studies have provided fully integrated demographic analyses of migratory populations in response to changing climatic conditions. Here, we employed integrated population models to demonstrate that the environmental conditions experienced during a short but critical period play a central role in the demography of a long-distance migrant, the light-bellied Brent goose (Branta bernicla hrota). Female survival was positively associated with June North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) values, whereas male survival was not. In contrast, breeding productivity was negatively associated with June NAO, suggesting a trade-off between female survival and reproductive success. Both adult female and adult male survival showed low temporal variation, whereas there was high temporal variation in recruitment and breeding productivity. In addition, while annual population growth was positively correlated with annual breeding productivity, a sensitivity analysis revealed that population growth was most sensitive to changes in adult survival. Our results demonstrate that the environmental conditions experienced during a relatively short-time window at the start of the breeding season play a critical role in shaping the demography of a long-distant Arctic migrant. Crucially, different demographic rates responded in opposing directions to climatic variation, emphasising the need for integrated analysis of multiple demographic traits when understanding population dynamics.

opencc-zeroDec 2015View details →
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Data from: Divergence in DNA photorepair efficiency among genotypes from contrasting UV radiation environments in nature

Populations of organisms routinely face abiotic selection pressures, and a central goal of evolutionary biology is to understand the mechanistic underpinnings of adaptive phenotypes. Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is one of earth's most pervasive environmental stressors, potentially damaging DNA in any organism exposed to solar radiation. We explored mechanisms underlying differential survival following UVR exposure in genotypes of the water flea Daphnia melanica derived from natural ponds of differing in UVR intensity. The UVR tolerance of a D. melanica genotype from a high-UVR habitat depended on the presence of visible and UV-A light wavelengths necessary for photoenzymatic repair of DNA damage, a repair pathway widely shared across the tree of life. We then measured the acquisition and repair of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers, the primary form of UVR-caused DNA damage, in D. melanica DNA following experimental UVR exposure. We demonstrate that genotypes from high-UVR habitats repair DNA damage faster than genotypes from low-UVR habitats in the presence of visible and UV-A radiation necessary for photoenzymatic repair, but not in dark treatments. Because differences in repair rate only occurred in the presence of visible and UV-A radiation, we conclude that differing rates of DNA repair, and therefore differential UVR tolerance, are a consequence of variation in photoenzymatic repair efficiency. We then rule out a simple gene expression hypothesis for the molecular basis of differing repair efficiency, as expression of the CPD photolyase gene photorepair did not differ among D. melanica lineages, both in the presence and absence of UVR.

opencc-zeroDec 2014View details →
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Data from: Sex roles, parental care and offspring growth in two contrasting coucal species

The decision to provide parental care is often associated with trade-offs, because resources allocated to parental care typically cannot be invested in self-maintenance or mating. In most animals, females provide more parental care than males, but the reason for this pattern is still debated in evolutionary ecology. To better understand sex differences in parental care and its consequences we need to study closely related species where the sexes differ in offspring care. We investigated parental care in relation to offspring growth in two closely related coucal species that fundamentally differ in sex roles and parental care, but live in the same food-rich habitat with a benign climate, and have a similar breeding phenology. Incubation patterns differed and uniparental male black coucals fed their offspring two times more often than female and male white-browed coucals combined. Also, white-browed coucals had more `off-times´ than male black coucals, during which they perched and preened. However, these differences in parental care were not reflected in offspring growth, likely because white-browed coucals fed their nestlings a larger proportion of frogs than insects. A food-rich habitat with a benign climate may be a necessary, but – perhaps unsurprisingly – is not a sufficient factor for the evolution of uniparental care. In combination with previous results (Goymann et al. (2015) J. Evol. Biol. 28, 1335-1353) these data suggest that white-browed coucals may cooperate in parental care because they lack opportunities to become polygamous rather than because both parents were needed to successfully raise all offspring. Our case study supports recent theory suggesting that permissive environmental conditions in combination with a particular life-history may induce sexual selection in females. A positive feed-back loop between sexual selection, body size, and adult sex-ratio may then stabilize reversed sex-roles in competition and parental care.

opencc-zeroDec 2015View details →
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Data from: Comparative multi-locus phylogeography of two Palaearctic spruce bark beetles: influence of contrasting ecological strategies on genetic variation

While phylogeographic patterns of organisms are often interpreted through past environmental disturbances, mediated by climate changes, and geographic barriers, they may also be strongly influenced by species-specific traits. To investigate the impact of such traits, we focused on two Eurasian spruce bark beetles that share a similar geographic distribution, but differ in their ecology and reproduction. Ips typographus is an aggressive tree-killing species characterized by strong dispersal, whereas Dendroctonus micans is a discrete inbreeding species (sib mating is the rule), parasite of living trees and a poor disperser. We compared genetic variation between the two species over both beetles' entire range in Eurasia with five independent gene fragments, to evaluate whether their intrinsic differences could have an influence over their phylogeographic patterns. We highlighted widely divergent patterns of genetic variation for the two species and argue that the difference is indeed largely compatible with their contrasting dispersal strategies and modes of reproduction. In addition, genetic structure in I. typographus divides European populations in a northern and a southern group, as was previously observed for its host plant, and suggests past allopatric divergence. A long divergence time was estimated between East Asian and other populations of both species, indicating their long-standing presence in Eurasia, prior to the last glacial maximum. Finally, the strong population structure observed in D. micans for the mitochondrial locus provides insights into the recent colonization history of this species, from its native European range to regions where it was recently introduced.

opencc-zeroDec 2014View details →
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Data from: Contrasting patterns of phenotype-dependent parasitism within and among populations of threespine stickleback

Variation in infection rate arises from variation in host exposure and resistance to parasites both within and among populations. All things being equal, phenotypes that increase exposure risk should covary positively with infection among individuals. It might therefore be expected that populations with mean phenotypes that increase exposure might also have higher rates of infection. However, such positive covariance between exposure and infection at the population level might be undermined by other factors such as geographic variation in parasite abundance or host resistance, negating or reversing in between-population comparisons. We studied rates of infection of two parasites among 18 populations of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). As predicted, within populations, trophic morphology covaries with infection of two trophically transmitted parasites: individuals with benthic (or limnetic) phenotypes were more likely to be infected with a benthic (or limnetic) parasite. However, across populations, the relationship between morphology and infection rate was absent (limnetic parasite) or reversed (benthic parasite). Our results confirm the importance of phenotype-dependent exposure, but stress different factors or processes, such as the evolution of reduced susceptibility, might shape variation in infection at larger spatial scales.

opencc-zeroDec 2013View details →
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Data from: Comparison of population genetic patterns in two widespread freshwater mussels with contrasting life histories in western North America

We investigate population genetic structuring in Margaritifera falcata, a freshwater mussel native to western North America, across the majority of its geographical range. We find shallow rangewide genetic structure, strong population-level structuring and very low population diversity in this species, using both mitochondrial sequence and nuclear microsatellite data. We contrast these patterns with previous findings in another freshwater mussel species group (Anodonta californiensis/A. nuttalliana) occupying the same continental region and many of the same watersheds. We conclude that differences are likely caused by contrasting life history attributes between genera, particularly host fish requirements and hermaphroditism. Further, we demonstrate the occurrence of a 'hotspot' for genetic diversity in both groups of mussels, occurring in the vicinity of the lower Columbia River drainage. We suggest that stream hierarchy may be responsible for this pattern and may produce similar patterns in other widespread freshwater species.

opencc-zeroDec 2012View details →
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Data from: Maintaining their genetic distance: little evidence for introgression between widely hybridising species of Geum with contrasting mating systems

Within the plant kingdom many genera contain sister lineages with contrasting outcrossing and inbreeding mating systems that are known to hybridise. The evolutionary fate of these sister lineages is likely to be influenced by the extent to which they exchange genes. We measured gene flow between outcrossing Geum rivale and selfing G. urbanum, sister species that hybridise in contemporary populations. We generated and used a draft genome of G. urbanum to develop dd-RAD data scorable in both species. Coalescent analysis of RAD data from allopatric populations indicated that the species diverged 2-3 Mya, and that historical gene flow between them was extremely low (1 migrant every 25 generations). Comparison of genetic divergence between species in sympatry and allopatry, together with an analysis of allele frequencies in potential parental and hybrid populations, provided no evidence of contemporary introgression in sympatric populations. Cluster and species specific marker analyses revealed that, apart from four early generation hybrids, individuals in sympatric populations fell into two genetically distinct groups that corresponded exactly to their morphological species classification with maximum individual admixture estimates of only 1 -3%. However, we did observe joint segregation of four putatively introgressed SNPs across two scaffolds in the G. urbanum population that was associated with significant morphological variation, interpreted as tentative evidence for rare, recent interspecific gene flow. Overall, our results indicate that despite the presence of hybrids in contemporary populations, genetic exchange between G. rivale and G. urbanum has been extremely limited throughout their evolutionary history.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →
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Data from: Molecular phylogeny of Terniopsis (Podostemaceae) and contrasting molecular and morphological variations in two species

Podostemaceae show different patterns of morphological variation relative to molecular ones between genera and between species, but additional material was necessary to make the patterns clearer. Using new material collected from Cambodia, we compared the variations of Terniopsis chanthaburiensis and T. heterostaminata in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, and conducted matK phylogenetic analysis with many samples and most species of the genus. In contrast to the narrow molecular variation, the morphological variation (e.g., in the length of the shoots and pedicels) is large and continuous. The results indicate that variation in the two species is intraspecific. A similar pattern exists in two pairs of other species of Terniopsis, in which the morphological variation is large and discontinuous, while there is little molecular difference. The opposite pattern is present in other cases (e.g., Dalzellia zeylanica and Tristicha trifaria). The variation in T. chanthaburiensis and T. heterostaminata does not appear to be a response to variation in the habitats, that is submerged rock surfaces in fast currents. Distributional and phylogenetic data indicate that Terniopsis diversified primarily in Laos and Thailand, then expanded into neighboring regions. A synopsis of the genus Terniopsis and its 14 species is given.

opencc-zeroDec 2017View details →
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Data from: Long term impacts of selective logging on two Amazonian tree species with contrasting ecological and reproductive characteristics: inferences from Eco-gene model simulations

The impact of logging and subsequent recovery after logging is predicted to vary depending on specific life history traits of the logged species. The Eco-gene simulation model was used to evaluate the long-term impacts of selective logging over 300 years on two contrasting Brazilian Amazon tree species, Dipteryx odorata and Jacaranda copaia. D. odorata (Leguminosae), a slow growing climax tree, occurs at very low densities, whereas J. copaia (Bignoniaceae) is a fast growing pioneer tree that occurs at high densities. Microsatellite multilocus genotypes of the pre-logging populations were used as data inputs for the Eco-gene model and post-logging genetic data was used to verify the output from the simulations. Overall, under current Brazilian forest management regulations, there were neither short nor long-term impacts on J. copaia. By contrast, D. odorata cannot be sustainably logged under current regulations, a sustainable scenario was achieved by increasing the minimum cutting diameter at breast height from 50 to 100 cm over 30-year logging cycles. Genetic parameters were only slightly affected by selective logging, with reductions in the numbers of alleles and single genotypes. In the short term, the loss of alleles seen in J. copaia simulations was the same as in real data, whereas fewer alleles were lost in D. odorata simulations than in the field. The different impacts and periods of recovery for each species support the idea that ecological and genetic information are essential at species, ecological guild or reproductive group levels to help derive sustainable management scenarios for tropical forests.

opencc-zeroDec 2012View details →

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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.

allen-brain-atlas
neuroscienceopenDocumentation, web resources, and API references are available online.
Last verified 2026-04-30Open record

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.

abode-home-cage
behavioral-neuroscienceopenThe DataShare record exposes download links for annotations, documentation, license text, and the zipped per-snippet data directory.
Last verified 2026-04-30Open record

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.

dandi-nwb
electrophysiologyopenPublished Dandiset metadata and archive endpoints are available through the production DANDI API.
Last verified 2026-04-30Open record

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.

ibl
behavioral-neuroscienceopenPublic sessions can be searched and loaded from the IBL public data server through ONE.
Last verified 2026-04-29Open record

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.

openneuro
neuroscienceopenPublished datasets are available on demand over the internet.
Last verified 2026-04-29Open record

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