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.
1,868
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.9.0
Dataset results
1,868 results for “Spatial Data”
Data from: Landscape configuration alters spatial arrangement of terrestrial-aquatic subsidies in headwater streams
Context: Freshwater ecosystems depend on surrounding terrestrial landscape for resources. Most important are terrestrial leaf litter subsidies, which differ depending on land use. We lack a good understanding of the variation of these inputs across spatial scales. Objectives: We sought to determine: (1) the relative importance of local versus catchment-level forestation for benthic leaf litter biomass in streams, (2) how landscape configuration alters these relationships, and (3) how land use affects the quality and diversity of leaf litter subsidies. Methods: We measured biomass and identity of benthic leaf litter in 121 reaches in 10 independent catchments seasonally over the course of a year. We assessed direct and indirect effects of forestation, reach position, and seasonality on leaf litter biomass using structural equation models, and assessed how leaf litter diversity varied with land use. Results: In catchments with forested headwaters, the degree of forestation and reach position in the catchment influenced benthic leaf litter biomass indirectly through local reach-scale forestation. In catchments where forest was only located downstream, or with minimal forest, none of these factors influenced reach-level benthic leaf litter. Leaf litter diversity peaked in fall in all land use types, but was generally lowest in forested reaches. Conclusions: Not only habitat amount, but its location relative to other habitats is important for ecosystem function in the context of cross-ecosystem material flows. Here, lack of upstream forest altered spatial patterns of leaf litter storage. Studies with high spatiotemporal resolution may further reveal effects of landscape configuration on other ecosystems.
Data from: Revisiting the functional response in habitat selection for large herbivores: a matter of spatial variation in resource distribution?
Most habitats are distributed heterogeneously in space, forcing animals to move according to both habitat characteristics and their needs for energy and safety. Animal space use should therefore vary according to habitat characteristics, a process known as the "functional response" in habitat selection. This response has often been tested vis-à-vis the proportion of a habitat category within areas available to individuals. Measuring sought-after resources in landscape where they are continuously distributed is a challenge and we posit here that both the mean availability of a resource and its spatial variation should be measured. Accordingly, we tested for a functional response in habitat selection according to these two descriptors of the resource available for a mountain herbivore. We hypothesized that selection should decrease with mean value of resources available and increase with its spatial variation. Based on GPS data from 50 chamois females and data on the actual foodscape (i.e. distribution of edible-only biomass in the landscape), we estimated individual selection ratio (during summer months) for biomass at the home range level, comparing edible biomass in individual home ranges and the mean and standard deviation of edible biomass in their available range. Chamois being a group-living species, available accessible ranges were shared by several individuals that formed socio-spatial groups (clusters) in the population. As expected, selection ratios increased with the standard deviation of edible resources in each cluster, but unlike our prediction, was unrelated to its mean. Selection of areas richer in resources hence did not fade away when more resources were available on average, a result that may be explained by the need for this capital breeder species to accumulate fat-reserve at a high rate during summer months. Low spatial variation could limit the selection of chamois, which highlights the importance of resource distribution in the process of habitat selection.
Data from: Fine-scale spatial covariation between infection prevalence and susceptibility in a natural population
The prevalence of infection varies dramatically on a fine spatial scale. Many evolutionary hypotheses are founded on the assumption that this variation is due to host genetics, such that sites with a high frequency of alleles conferring susceptibility are associated with higher infection prevalence. This assumption is largely untested and may be compromised at finer spatial scales where gene flow between sites is high. We put this assumption to the test in a natural snail-trematode interaction in which host susceptibility is known to have a strong genetic basis. A decade of field sampling revealed substantial spatial variation in infection prevalence between 13 sites around a small lake. Laboratory assays replicated over 3 years demonstrate striking variation in host susceptibility among sites in spite of high levels of gene flow between sites. We find that mean susceptibility can explain more than one-third of the observed variation in mean infection prevalence among sites. We estimate that variation in susceptibility and exposure together can explain the majority of variation in prevalence. Overall, our findings in this natural host-parasite system argue that spatial variation in infection prevalence covaries strongly with variation in the distribution of genetically based susceptibility, even at a fine spatial scale.
Data from: Social context alters spatial memory performance in free-living male prairie voles
<p>Spatial memory is crucial for mating success because it enables males to locate potential mates and potential competitors in space. Intraspecific competition and its varying intensity under certain conditions are potentially important for shaping spatial memory. For example, spatial memory could enable males to know where competitors are (contest competition), it could help males find mating partners (scramble competition), or both. We manipulated the intensity of intraspecific competition in two distinct contexts by altering the operational sex ratio of prairie voles (<i>Microtus ochrogaster</i>) living in outdoor enclosures by creating male- and female-biased sex ratios. After living freely under these contexts for four weeks, we compared males' performance in a laboratory spatial memory test. Males in the male-biased context demonstrated better spatial memory performance than males in the female-biased context. Notably, these data show that in spite of experiencing equally complex<i>spatial</i>contexts (i.e., natural outdoor enclosures), it was the <i>social </i>context that influenced spatial cognition, and it did so in a manner consistent with the hypothesis that spatial memory is particularly relevant for male-male interactions. Attached are the supporting data for this project.</p>
Data from: Temperature and population density determine reservoir regions of spatial persistence in highland malaria
A better understanding of malaria persistence in highly seasonal environments such as highlands and desert fringes requires identifying the factors behind the spatial reservoir of the pathogen in the low season. In these 'unstable' malaria regions, such reservoirs play a critical role by allowing persistence during the low transmission season and therefore, between seasonal outbreaks. In the highlands of East Africa, the most populated epidemic regions in Africa, temperature is expected to be intimately connected to where in space the disease is able to persist because of pronounced altitudinal gradients. Here, we explore other environmental and demographic factors that may contribute to malaria's highland reservoir. We use an extensive spatio-temporal dataset of confirmed monthly Plasmodium falciparum cases from 1995 to 2005 that finely resolves space in an Ethiopian highland. With a Bayesian approach for parameter estimation and a generalized linear mixed model that includes a spatially structured random effect, we demonstrate that population density is important to disease persistence during the low transmission season. This population effect is not accounted for in typical models for the transmission dynamics of the disease, but is consistent in part with a more complex functional form of the force of infection proposed by theory for vector-borne infections, only during the low season as we discuss. As malaria risk usually decreases in more urban environments with increased human densities, the opposite counterintuitive finding identifies novel control targets during the low transmission season in African highlands.
Data from: Partitioning the effects of spatial isolation, nest habitat, and individual diet in causing assortative mating within a population of threespine stickleback
Assortative mating is measured as a phenotypic or genotypic correlation between mates. Although biologists typically view assortative mating in terms of mate preference for similar partners, correlations between mates can also arise from phenotypic spatial structure arising from spatial isolation or habitat preferences. Here, we test whether diet-assortative mating within an ecologically variable population of threespine stickleback results from small-scale geographic isolation or microhabitat preference. We find evidence for assortative mating in the form of a positive correlation between mated pairs' diets (measured using stable isotopes). Stable isotopes reveal diet differences between different nesting areas and among individuals using different nest habitat within a nesting area. This spatial segregation of diet types should generate some assortative mating, but is insufficient to explain the observed assortment strength. Significant male-female isotope correlations remain after controlling for spatial variables. We therefore conclude that sticklebacks' diet-assortative mating arises from additional behavioral preference. More generally, our results illustrate the point that spatial segregation can only drive appreciable levels of phenotypic assortative mating when environment-phenotype correlations are parallel and strong in both sexes. Consequently, intraspecific assortative mating may typically entail mating preferences rather than just spatial co-segregation of phenotypes.
Data from: 10 years of life in compost: temporal and spatial variation of North German C. elegans populations
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a central laboratory model system in almost all biological disciplines, yet its natural life history and population biology are largely unexplored. Such information is essential for in-depth understanding of the nematode's biology because its natural ecology provides the context, in which its traits and the underlying molecular mechanisms evolved. We characterized natural phenotypic and genetic variation among North German C. elegans isolates. We used the unique opportunity to compare samples collected 10 years apart from the same compost heap and additionally included recent samples for this and a second site, collected across a 1.5-year period. Our analysis revealed significant population genetic differentiation between locations, across the 10-year time period, but for only one location a trend across the shorter time frame. Significant variation was similarly found for phenotypic traits of likely importance in nature, such as choice behavior and population growth in the presence of pathogens or naturally associated bacteria. Phenotypic variation was significantly influenced by C. elegans genotype, time of isolation, and sampling site. The here studied C. elegans isolates may provide a valuable, genetically variable resource for future dissection of naturally relevant gene functions.
Data from: Post-Pleistocene demographic history of the North Atlantic endemic Irish moss Chondrus crispus: glacial survival, spatial expansion and gene flow
Range expansions and gene flow as micro-evolutionary processes played a leading role in the population demographic history of marine organisms. Herein, we sequenced partial mtDNA Cox1 gene from 26 assigned geographic populations in order to understand how Irish moss (Chondrus crispus) responded to severe climatic oscillations during the Pleistocene glaciations and contemporary forces such as gene flow. Phylogeographic patterns indicated that haplotype frequency distributions were strongly skewed, with nearly half found only in single samples and thus restricted to a single population. Analysis of molecular variance revealed that most of the variation was within populations with no significant genetic structuring on either side of the Atlantic. Demographic analyses indicated that ISI (Irish Sea and Ireland) and NS (the North Sea) areas experienced a slight trend of increase in population size over time, whereas EC (the English Channel) area experienced expansion beginning approximately 170,000-360,000 BP. The observed complex genetic pattern of C. crispus is consistent with a scenario of multiple unrelated founding events by survival of this species in at least three putative Pleistocene refugia along the European coastline, and subsequent trans-Atlantic dispersal combined with contiguous northward population expansion predating the LGM and geographically gene flow.
Data from: The inverted U-shaped effect of urban hotspots spatial compactness on urban economic growth
The compact city, as a sustainable concept, is intended to augment the efficiency of urban function. However, previous studies have concentrated more on morphology than on structure. The present study focuses on urban structural elements, i.e., urban hotspots consisting of high-density and high-intensity socioeconomic zones, and explores the economic performance associated with their spatial structure. We use nighttime luminosity (NTL) data and the Loubar method to identify and extract the hotspot and ultimately draw two conclusions. First, with population increasing, the hotspot number scales sublinearly with an exponent of approximately 0.50~0.55, regardless of the location in China, the EU or the US, while the intersect values are totally different, which is mainly due to different economic developmental level. Secondly, we demonstrate that the compactness of hotspots imposes an inverted U-shaped influence on economic growth, which implies that an optimal compactness coefficient does exist. These findings are helpful for urban planning.
Data from: Spatial distribution, movements, and geographic range of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in Alaska
The two stocks of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in Alaska include an endangered western stock, recently recovering in parts of its range following decades of decline, and an eastern stock which was removed from the U.S. Endangered Species List in 2013 following increasing numbers since the 1970s. Information on overlapping distributions of eastern and western sea lions is needed for management considerations. We analyzed >30,000 sightings collected from 2000-2014 of 2,385 sea lions that were branded as pups at 10 Alaskan rookeries to examine mesoscale (mostly <500km) spatial distribution, geographic range, and geographic population structure based on natal rookery, sex, and age during breeding and non-breeding seasons. Analyses of summary movement measures (e.g., natal rookery, sex, and age-class differences in spatial distribution and geographic range) indicate wide variation in rookery-specific movement patterns. Correlations between movement measures and population dynamics suggested movement patterns could be a function of density dependence. Animals from larger rookeries, and rookeries with slower population growth and lower survival, had wider dispersion than animals from smaller rookeries, or rookeries with high growth and survival. Sea lions from the largest rookery, Forrester Island, where survival and population trends are lowest, were the most widely distributed. Analysis of geographic population structure indicated that animals born in the eastern Aleutian Islands had the most distinct movements and had little overlap with other western sea lions. Northern Southeast Alaska, within the eastern stock, is the area of greatest overlap between stocks, and is important to western animals, especially those born in Prince William Sound. Detailed knowledge of distribution and movements of western sea lions is useful for defining recovery and population trend analysis regions that better reflect dispersion and population structure and provides valuable information to managers as critical habitat is re-evaluated and the location of the stock boundary reconsidered.
Data from: Spatial analyses of two color polymorphisms in an alpine grasshopper reveal a role of small‐scale heterogeneity
Discrete color polymorphisms represent a fascinating aspect of intraspecific diversity. Color morph ratios often vary clinally, but in some cases, there are no marked clines and mixes of different morphs occur at appreciable frequencies in most populations. This poses the questions of how polymorphisms are maintained. We here study the spatial and temporal distribution of a very conspicuous color polymorphism in the club‐legged grasshopper Gomphocerus sibiricus. The species occurs in a green and a nongreen (predominately brown) morph, a green–brown polymorphism that is common among Orthopteran insects. We sampled color morph ratios at 42 sites across the alpine range of the species and related color morph ratios to local habitat parameters and climatic conditions. Green morphs occurred in both sexes, and their morph ratios were highly correlated among sites, suggesting shared control of the polymorphism in females and males. We found that in at least 40 of 42 sites green and brown morphs co‐occurred with proportions of green ranging from 0% to 70% with significant spatial heterogeneity. The proportion of green individuals tended to increase with decreasing summer and winter precipitations. Nongreen individuals can be further distinguished into brown and pied individuals, and again, this polymorphism is shared with other grasshopper species. We found pied individuals at all sites with proportions ranging from 3% to 75%, with slight, but significant variation between years. Pied morphs show a clinal increase in frequency from east to west and decreased with altitude and lower temperatures and were more common on grazed sites. The results suggest that both small‐scale and large‐scale spatial heterogeneity affects color morph ratios. The almost universal co‐occurrence of all three color morphs argues against strong effects of genetic drift. Instead, the data suggest that small‐scale migration–selection balance and/or local balancing selection maintain populations polymorphic.
Data from: Following the water? landscape-scale temporal changes in bat spatial distribution in relation to Mediterranean summer drought
Understanding how the spatial distribution of ecological resources shape species' diversity and abundance in human-modified landscapes is a central theme in conservation biology. However, studies often disregard that such patterns may vary over time, thereby potentially missing critical environmental constraints to species persistence. This may be particularly important in highly mobile species such as bats, which are able to track temporal variations in spatial resource distribution. Here we test the hypothesis that bats in Mediterranean landscapes are strongly affected by the progressive reduction in water availability during the seasonal summer drought. We analysed the effects of landscape composition and structure on bat diversity and activity, during Pregnancy, Lactation and Post-lactation periods, and identified the most influential variables within and across periods. Water bodies showed the strongest positive effect on bats, followed by riparian habitats and areas with steeper (>30%) slopes. However, while during Pregnancy there were only small landscape effects, these increased during Lactation and Post-lactation, highlighting a progressively stronger association with water habitats during the summer drought. The spatial projection of habitat models showed that the landscape distribution of bat diversity and activity hotspots changed markedly over time. During Pregnancy the spatial pattern of hotspot distribution was weakly defined, while during Lactation and particularly Post-lactation there was a concentration of hotspots along permanently flowing watercourses. Our study highlights that permanently flowing watercourses are critical for bat conservation in Mediterranean landscapes, calling for measures to counteract their ongoing degradation due in particular to climate change, water abstraction and damming. More generally, our study underlines the importance of considering the temporal dimension in habitat selection studies, without which there is the risk of overlooking the importance of habitats that are key for species persistence only at certain times of the year.
Data from: Expanded consumer niche widths may signal an early response to spatial protection
<p class="Normal1">Marine management interventions are increasingly being implemented with the explicit goal of rebuilding ocean ecosystems, but early responses may begin with alterations in ecological interactions preceding detectable changes in population-level characteristics. To establish a baseline from which to monitor the effects of spatial protection on reef fish trophic ecology and track future ecosystem-level changes, we quantified temperate reef fish densities, size, biomass, diets and isotopic signatures at nine sites nested within two fished and one five-year old marine protected area (MPA) on the northwest coast of Canada. We calculated rockfish (Sebastes spp.) community and species-specific niche breadth for fished and protected areas based on δ<sup>13</sup>C and δ<sup>15</sup>N values. We found that rockfish community niche width was greater inside the MPA relative to adjacent fished reefs due to an expanded nitrogen range, possibly reflecting early changes in trophic interactions following five years of spatial protection. Our data also demonstrated that the MPA had a positive effect on the δ<sup>15</sup>N signature of rockfish (i.e., trophic position), but the effect of rockfish length on its own was not well-supported. In addition, we found a positive interaction between rockfish length and δ<sup>15</sup>N signature, such that δ<sup>15</sup>N signatures of rockfish caught within the MPA increased more rapidly with body size than those caught in fished areas. Differences in rockfish size structure and biomass among fished and unfished areas were not clearly evident. Species of rockfish and lingcod varied in trophic and size responses, indicating that life-history traits play an important role in predicting MPA effects. These results may suggest early changes in trophic behavior of slow-growing rockfish due to predation risk by faster growing higher trophic level predators such as lingcod inside MPAs established on temperate reefs. Consequently, spatial protection may restore both the trophic and behavioral roles of previously fished consumers earlier and in measurable ways sooner than observable changes in abundance and size.</p>
Data from: Relationships between spatial metrics and plant diversity in constructed freshwater wetlands
The diversity of plant species and their distribution in space are both thought to have important effects on the function of wetland ecosystems. However, knowledge of the relationships between plant species and spatial diversity remains incomplete. In this study, we investigated relationships between spatial pattern and plant species diversity over a five year period following the initial restoration of experimental wetland ecosystems. In 2003, six identical and hydrologically-isolated 0.18 ha wetland "cells" were constructed in former farmland in northeast Ohio. The systems were subjected to planting treatments that resulted in different levels of vascular plant species diversity among cells. Plant species diversity was assessed through annual inventories. Plant spatial pattern was assessed by digitizing low-altitude aerial photographs taken at the same time as the inventories. Diversity metrics derived from the inventories were significantly related to certain spatial metrics derived from the photographs, including cover type diversity and contagion. We found that wetlands with high cover type diversity harbor higher plant species diversity than wetlands with fewer types of patches. We also found significant relationships between plant species diversity and spatial patterning of patch types, but the direction of the effect differed depending on the diversity metric used. Links between diversity and spatial pattern observed in this study suggest that high-resolution aerial imagery may provide wetland scientists with a useful tool for assessing plant diversity.
Data from: Effects of spatial scale of sampling on food web structure
This study asks whether the spatial scale of sampling alters structural properties of food webs and whether any differences are attributable to changes in species richness and connectance with scale. Understanding how different aspects of sampling effort affect ecological network structure is important for both fundamental ecological knowledge and the application of network analysis in conservation and management. Using a highly resolved food web for the marine intertidal ecosystem of the Sanak Archipelago in the Eastern Aleutian Islands, Alaska, we assess how commonly studied properties of network structure differ for 281 versions of the food web sampled at five levels of spatial scale representing six orders of magnitude in area spread across the archipelago. Species (S) and link (L) richness both increased by approximately one order of magnitude across the five spatial scales. Links per species (L/S) more than doubled, while connectance (C) decreased by approximately two-thirds. Fourteen commonly studied properties of network structure varied systematically with spatial scale of sampling, some increasing and others decreasing. While ecological network properties varied systematically with sampling extent, analyses using the niche model and a power-law scaling relationship indicate that for many properties, this apparent sensitivity is attributable to the increasing S and decreasing C of webs with increasing spatial scale. As long as effects of S and C are accounted for, areal sampling bias does not have a special impact on our understanding of many aspects of network structure. However, attention does need be paid to some properties such as the fraction of species in loops, which increases more than expected with greater spatial scales of sampling.
Data from: Spatial spread of the West Africa Ebola epidemic
Controlling Ebola outbreaks and planning an effective response to future emerging diseases are enhanced by understanding the role of geography in transmission. Here we show how epidemic expansion may be predicted by evaluating the relative probability of alternative epidemic paths. We compared multiple candidate models to characterize the spatial network over which the 2013–2015 West Africa epidemic of Ebola virus spread and estimate the effects of geographical covariates on transmission during peak spread. The best model was a generalized gravity model where the probability of transmission between locations depended on distance, population density and international border closures between Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and neighbouring countries. This model out-performed alternative models based on diffusive spread, the force of infection, mobility estimated from cell phone records and other hypothesized patterns of spread. These findings highlight the importance of integrated geography to epidemic expansion and may contribute to identifying both the most vulnerable unaffected areas and locations of maximum intervention value.
Data from: Landscape heterogeneity and local adaptation define the spatial genetic structure of Pacific salmon in a pristine environment
Identifying the spatial distribution of genetic variation across the landscape is an essential step in informing species conservation. Comparison of closely related and geographically overlapping species can be particularly useful in cases where landscape may similarly influence genetic structure. Congruent patterns among species highlight the importance that landscape heterogeneity plays in determining genetic structure whereas contrasting patterns emphasize differences in species-specific ecology and life-history or the importance of species-specific adaptation to local environments. We examined the interacting roles of demography and adaptation in determining spatial genetic structure in two closely related and geographically overlapping species in a pristine environment. Using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci exhibiting both neutral and putative adaptive variation, we evaluated the genetic structure of sockeye salmon in the Copper River, Alaska; these data were compared to existing data for Chinook salmon from the same region. Overall, both species exhibited patterns of isolation by distance; the spatial distribution of populations largely determined the distribution of genetic variation across the landscape. Further, both species exhibited largely congruent patterns of within- and among-population genetic diversity, highlighting the role that landscape heterogeneity and historical processes play in determining spatial genetic structure. Potential adaptive differences among geographically proximate sockeye salmon populations were observed when high FST outlier SNPs were evaluated in a landscape genetics context. Results were evaluated in the context of conservation efforts with an emphasis on reproductive isolation, historical processes, and local adaptation.
Data from: Spatial scales of genetic structure and gene flow in Calochortus albus (Liliaceae)
Calochortus (Liliaceae) displays high species richness, restriction of many individual taxa to narrow ranges, geographic coherence of individual clades, and parallel adaptive radiations in different regions. Here we test the first part of a hypothesis that all of these patterns may reflect gene flow at small geographic scales. We use amplified fragment length polymorphism variation to quantify the geographic scales of spatial genetic structure and apparent gene flow in Calochortus albus, a widespread member of the genus, at Henry Coe State Park in the Coast Ranges south of San Francisco Bay. Analyses of 254 mapped individuals spaced 0.001–14.4 km apart show a highly significant decline in genetic identity with ln distance, implying a root-mean-square distance of gene flow σ of 5–43 m. STRUCTURE analysis implies the existence of 2–4 clusters over the study area, with frequent reversals among clusters over short distances (<200 m) and a relatively high frequency of admixture within individuals at most sampling sites. While the intensity of spatial genetic structure in C. albus is weak, as measured by the Sp statistic, that appears to reflect low genetic identity of adjacent plants, which might reflect repeated colonizations at small spatial scales or density-dependent mortality of individual genotypes by natural enemies. Small spatial scales of gene flow and spatial genetic structure should permit, under a variety of conditions, genetic differentiation within species at such scales, setting the stage ultimately for speciation and adaptive radiation as such scales as well.
Data from: Fuelwood sustainability revisited: integrating size structure and resprouting into a spatially realistic fuelshed model
Much concern has been expressed about the sustainability of fuelwood harvesting in Africa. Most models predict that demand will outstrip supply within a few decades, resulting in severe deforestation. However, despite substantial impacts of harvesting on woody vegetation structure, the 'fuelwood crisis' predicted since the 1970s has not materialized. We propose that this is at least partially because regeneration through coppicing has been poorly accounted for in most models. We developed a local fuelwood model that is demographically and spatially explicit, and that incorporates coppice dynamics. The model simulates the dynamics of multiple stem size classes (seedling, sapling, pole and adult), the harvesting decisions of villagers based on fuelwood availability and village demand across the landscape. Importantly, we specify size-dependent coppice production of cut stems, and the probability of progression of coppice shoots into larger size classes, after accounting for self-thinning of shoots. In general, our model projections for a rural South African savanna system suggest that current levels of harvesting (barring changes in human population size) are relatively sustainable. Declines in total woody biomass were predicted to be modest (˜20%), and the loss of intact stems of sapling size was predicted to be more than offset by increases in coppiced stems. Synthesis and applications. The results from our local fuelwood model clearly demonstrate that the impact of deforestation and wood removal on tree populations and wood resources is strongly influenced by the resprouting ability of trees. This highlights the importance of considering coppice dynamics when assessing the sustainability of wood harvesting. Our model is not system specific, and can be transferred to other systems, with the relevant parameters and geographic information system layers specified. Because of the transferability of this model, it can help address key international concerns about deforestation and sustainable fuelwood management.
Data from: Strong spatial structure, Pliocene diversification and cryptic diversity in the Neotropical dry forest spider Sicarius cariri
The Brazilian Caatinga is part of the seasonally dry tropical forests, a vegetation type disjunctly distributed throughout the Neotropics. It has been suggested that during Pleistocene glacial periods, these dry forests had a continuous distribution, so that these climatic shifts may have acted as important driving forces of the Caatinga biota diversification. To address how these events affected the distribution of a dry forest species, we chose Sicarius cariri, a spider endemic to the Caatinga, as a model. We studied the phylogeography of one mitochondrial and one nuclear gene and reconstructed the paleodistribution of the species using modelling algorithms. We found two allopatric and deeply divergent clades within S. cariri, suggesting that this species as currently recognized might consist of more than one independently evolving lineage. Sicarius cariri populations are highly structured, with low haplotype sharing among localities, high fixation index and isolation by distance. Models of paleodistribution, Bayesian reconstructions and coalescent simulations suggest that this species experienced a reduction in its population size during glacial periods, rather than the expansion expected by previous hypotheses on the paleodistribution of dry forest taxa. In addition to that, major splits of intraspecific lineages of S. cariri took place in the Pliocene. Taken together, these results indicate S. cariri has a complex diversification history dating back to the Tertiary, suggesting the history of dry forest taxa may be significantly older than previously thought.
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.