Find research datasets worth reusing

opencc-zeroSep 2020View details →

Data from: Geographic location and food availability offer differing levels of influence on the bacterial communities associated with larval sea urchins

Determining the factors underlying the assembly, structure, and diversity of symbiont communities remains a focal point of animal-microbiome research. Much of these efforts focus on taxonomic variation of microbiota within or between animal populations, but rarely test the proportional impacts of ecological components that may affect animal-associated microbiota. Using larvae from the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, we test the hypothesis that, under natural conditions, inter-population differences in the composition of larval-associated bacterial communities are larger than intra-population variation due to a heterogeneous feeding environment. Despite significant differences in bacterial community structure within each S. droebachiensis larval population based on food availability, development, phenotype, and time, variation in OTU membership and community composition correlated more strongly with geographic location. Moreover, 20-30% of OTUs associated with larvae were specific to a single location while less than 10% were shared. Taken together, these results suggest that inter-populational variation in symbiont communities may be more pronounced than intra-populational variation, and that this difference may suggest that broad scale ecological variables (e.g., across ocean basins) may mask smaller scale ecological variables (e.g., food availability).

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2019View details →

Annexes to the Update of the risk assessment of nickel in food and drinking water

Annex A – Benchmark dose analysis The Annex is provided as a separate pdf file containing the detailed results of the benchmark dose analyses from which no reference point was selected.  Annex B – Dietary surveys per country and age group available in the EFSA Comprehensive Database, considered in the exposure assessment The Annex is provided as a separate Excel file containing the dietary surveys per country and age group. Annex C – Occurrence data on nickel in food and drinking water The Annex is provided as a separate Excel file containing summary statistics on occurrence data on nickel. Annex D – Chronic and acute dietary exposure to nickel and the contribution of different food groups to the dietary exposure The Annex is provided as a separate Excel file containing the chronic and acute dietary exposure to nickel per survey and the contribution of different food groups to the dietary exposure.

opencc-zeroNov 2020View details →

Data from: The effects of food supply on reproductive hormones and timing of reproduction in an income-breeding seabird

Current food supply is a major driver of timing of breeding in income-breeding animals, likely because increased net energy balance directly increases reproductive hormones and advances breeding. In capital breeders, increased net energy balance increases energy reserves, which eventually leads to improved reproductive readiness and earlier breeding. To test the hypothesis that phenology of income-breeding birds is independent of energy reserves, we conducted an experiment on food-supplemented ("fed") and control female black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla). We temporarily increased energy costs (via weight handicap) in a 2 × 2 design (fed/unfed; handicapped/unhandicapped) during the pre-laying period and observed movement via GPS-accelerometry. We measured body mass, baseline hormones (corticosterone; luteinising hormone) before and after handicap manipulation, and conducted a gonadotropin-releasing hormone challenge. Females from all treatment groups foraged in similar areas, implying that individuals could adjust time spent foraging, but had low flexibility to adjust foraging distance. Consistent with the idea that income breeders do not accumulate reserves in response to increased food supply, fed birds remained within an energy ceiling by reducing time foraging instead of increasing energy reserves. Moreover, body mass remained constant until the onset of follicle development 20 days prior to laying regardless of feeding or handicap, implying that females were using a 'lean and fit' approach to body mass rather than accumulating lipid reserves for breeding. Increased food supply advanced endocrine and laying phenology and altered interactions between the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, but higher energy costs (handicap) had little effect. Consistent with our hypothesis, increased food supply (but not net energy balance) advanced endocrine and laying phenology in income-breeding birds without any impact on energy reserves.

opencc-by-4.0Sep 2020View details →

Implementation of ATP and Microbial Indicator Testing for Hygiene Monitoring in a Tofu Production Facility Improves Product Quality and Hygienic Conditions of Food Contact Surfaces: A Case Study

This is the code and associated data that was used to generate conclusions for the following manuscript published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology: DOI: 10.1128/AEM.02278-20 Implementation of ATP and Microbial Indicator Testing for Hygiene Monitoring in a Tofu Production Facility Improves Product Quality and Hygienic Conditions of Food Contact Surfaces: A Case Study Authors: Jonathan H. Sogin(a), Gabriela Lopez Velasco(b), Burcu Yordem(b), Cari K. Lingle(b), John M. David(b), Mario Cobo(a), Randy W. Worobo(a) (a)Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA (b)3M Company, St. Paul, MN, USA Address correspondence to Jonathan H. Sogin, jhs397@cornell.edu

opencc-by-nc-4.0Nov 2020View details →

FCCdb: Food Contact Chemicals database. Version 5.0

The Food Contact Chemicals database (FCCdb) is a compilation of information on intentionally added food contact chemicals, extracted from publicly available sources such as legislation on food contact materials and industry inventories for different types of food contact materials. Where available, information from a few selected sources on hazardous properties and commercial use has been included as well. Further details on the information sources used are given in the READ ME worksheet of the excel file. The FCCdb intends to provide an overview of the diversity of food contact chemicals and their hazardous properties. Further details on the compilation and analysis of this dataseta can be found in the manuscript "Overview of intentionally used food contact chemicals and their hazards," by Ksenia J. Groh, Birgit Geueke, Olwenn Martin, Maricel Maffini, and Jane Muncke, published in Environmental International on November 30, 2020 (DOI 10.1016/j.envint.2020.106225).

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2019View details →

Food fraud data based on the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF)

The data contains information on food fraud. A total of 1634 food fraud notifications for the period 2000-2020 were downloaded from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) database. Each record contains detailed information on the kind of notification and the products and countries involved. Based on the description in each notification we added a variable "food fraud type" (i.e. six different types of food fraud). This dataset can be used to analyze food fraud, and a subset was used to train a Bayesian network model to predict food fraud type. This research article titled “Prediction of food fraud type using data from Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) and Bayesian network modelling” can be found here: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2015.09.026">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodcont.2015.09.026</a>   Dataset column names year - year notification was made product - categorization of the different products notification - categorization of the notifications notified - country that made the notification origin - country where the product originated from fraud - classification of fraud type

opencc-zeroDec 2020View details →

Data from: Unveiling the food webs of tetrapods across Europe through the prism of the Eltonian niche

Aim Despite the recent calls on integrating the interaction networks into the study of large‐scale biodiversity patterns, we still lack a basic understanding of the functional characteristics of large interaction networks and how they are structured across environments. Here, building on recent advances in network science around the Eltonian niche concept, we aim to characterize the trophic groups in a large food web, and understand how these trophic groups vary across space. Location Europe and Anatolia. Taxon Tetrapods (1,136 species). Methods We combined an expert‐based metaweb of all European tetrapods with their spatial distributions and biological traits. To understand the functional structure of the metaweb, we first used a stochastic block model to group species with similar Eltonian niches, and then analysed these groups with species' functional traits and network metrics. We then combined these groups with species distributions to understand how trophic diversity varies across space, in function of the environment, and between the European ecoregions. Results We summarized the 1,136 interacting species within the metaweb into 46 meaningful trophic groups of species with a similar role in the metaweb. Specific aspects of the ecology of species, such as their activity time, nesting habitat and diet explained these trophic groups. Across space, trophic diversity was driven by both biotic and abiotic factors (species richness, climate and primary productivity), and the representation of trophic groups differed among European ecoregions. Main conclusions We have characterized the Eltonian niche of species in a large food web, both in terms of species interactions and functional traits, and then using this to understand the spatial variation of food webs at a functional level, thus bringing together network science, functional ecology and biogeography. Our results highlight the need to integrate multiple aspects of species ecology in global change research. Further, our approach is strongly relevant for conservation biology as it could help predict the impact of species translocations on trophic diversity.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2019View details →

The use of food swaps to encourage healthier online food choices

Dataset for The use of food swaps to encourage healthier online food choices. Online grocery stores offer opportunities to encourage healthier food choices at the moment that consumers put a product of their choice in their basket. This study aims to examine the effect of a swap offer, Nutri-Score labelling and a descriptive norm message on the healthiness of food choices in such an online food basket. Additionally, it is examined whether these interventions make it more motivating and easier for consumers to select healthier food choices and whether potential effects are moderated by consumers’ health interest. Hypotheses were tested in a simulated online supermarket. Dutch participants (n=550) chose their preferred product out of six product options for four different categories (breakfast cereals, crackers, pizza and muesli bars). Participants were randomly allocated to one of eight groups based on the interventions (Nutri-Score, swap offer, norm message and the five different combinations). Primary outcome was the difference in nutrient profiling (NP) healthiness score of product choices, for which a lower score represents a healthier product. Results show that a swap offer (NP score M=10.52, SD =16.15) and Nutri-Score labelling (NP score M=15.38, SD=15.24) significantly improved NP healthiness scores compared to the control condition (NP score M=18.03, SD=14.02), whereas a norm message did not (NP score M=17.96, SD=15.15). These findings provide valuable insights for policy makers and practitioners on the implementation of swap offers and Nutri-Score labelling in the online store environment.

opencc-by-4.0Oct 2020View details →

Research data for "Revisiting neutron scattering data from deuterated milk" (Food Hydrocolloids, doi:10.1016/j.foodhyd.2020.106511)

USANS and SESANS data used for the analysis in this paper. Data are either two- or three-column data (as specified below). Data were extracted from the figures in the papers using the macOS application GraphClick. USANS and SANS data were originally published in "Protein aggregate structure under high pressure" by Andrew J. Jackson and  Duncan J. McGillivray (Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 487-489, doi:10.1039/C0CC02314K). USANS data are three-column *.txt files [Q in Å–1, I(Q) in cm–1, uncertainty in I(Q) in cm–1]. SANS data (numbered 1, 2, and 3 to denote different instrument configurations) are two-column *.txt files [Q in Å–1, I(Q) in cm–1]. SESANS data were originally published in "Milk Gelation Studied with Small Angle Neutron Scattering Techniques and Monte Carlo Simulations" by Léon F. van Heijkamp, Ignatz M. de Schepper, Markus Strobl, R. Hans Tromp, Jouke R. Heringa, and Wim G. Bouwman (J. Phys. Chem. A, 2010, 114, 2412–2426, doi:10.1021/jp9067735). SESANS data are three-column *.csv files [Z in Å, normalized SESANS signal in cm–1 Å–2, uncertainty in normalized SESANS signal in cm–1 Å–2].

opencc-zeroDec 2020View details →

Legacy effect of grazing intensity mediates the bottom-up controls of resource addition on soil food webs

1. Large-scale studies have demonstrated that nitrogen (N) and water (W) availability greatly affect terrestrial ecosystems worldwide, and this is especially true for the resource-poor semi-arid grasslands. Yet, experimental evidence is lacking for how N and W availability affect soil food webs across historical grazing intensity-altered environments at a local scale. 2. Here, we included N- and W-addition treatments in an 8-year grazing experiment (with four grazing intensities) to determine how the legacy effects of grazing intensity mediate the responses of key components of soil food webs (plants, microorganisms, and nematodes) to resource addition in a semi-arid grassland. 3. After 4 years of N- and W-addition treatments (with no grazing during that 4-year period), we found that a legacy of grazing, even light grazing, had significant negative effects on the components of plant community and soil food webs. Both N and W addition increased above- and below-ground plant biomass, especially under moderate and heavy grazing. N addition had negative effects on the biomass of bacteria under no grazing, while W addition increased the biomass of actinomycetes under light grazing. N addition decreased the abundance of omnivorous + carnivorous nematodes under light and heavy grazing, while W addition increased their abundance under heavy grazing. Overall, the effects of resource addition on soil food webs progressively decreased from the lowest trophic level (primary producers, i.e., plants), to intermediate tropic levels (microorganisms and root-feeding nematodes), to higher trophic levels (microbial-feeding nematodes and omnivorous + carnivorous nematodes). 4. Synthesis and applications. Our results, which are the first data concerning the effects of resource addition on key components of soil food webs across a historical grazing-induced environmental gradient, show that the strong bottom-up controls of resource addition on soil food webs are mediated by the legacy of grazing intensity. These finding should be useful for predicting the responses of grassland ecosystems to future climate change and suggest that the recovery of degraded grasslands will require more than restoration measure of resource inputs alone.

opencc-by-4.0Aug 2020View details →

Food Chain pilot raw data - Farm, Transportation, Warehouse

Daily GDD (Growing Degree-day) data collected by a weather station involved in Food Chain Pilot in SOFIE EU project (GA n.779984). Handover, temperature, presence data collected in a transportation vehicle (farm to warehouse, warehouse to supermarket) involved in Food Chain Pilot in SOFIE EU project (GA n.779984). Temperature, humidity data collected in a warehouse involved in Food Chain Pilot in SOFIE EU project (GA n.779984).

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2020View details →

The Future of Large Dams in Global Food and Energy Systems

Global basin scale data on current and future demands for irrigation and hydropower, as well as available resources in terms of solar photovoltaic and existing storage.

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2021View details →

Annex - Information Technology as Enabler of Transparency in Food Supply Chains

This is the Annex of the paper: Information Technology as Enabler of Transparency in Food Supply Chains

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2021View details →

Unexpected effects of local management and landscape composition on predatory mites and their food resources in vineyards

This research was funded by the project SECBIVIT. Dataset of the results in the Articel: Unexpected effects of local management and landscape composition on predatory mites and their food resources in vineyards. For further information also see:  <ul> <li>Sampled grape varieties: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4562219 </li> <li>https://www.secbivit.boku.ac.at/</li> </ul>

Rwenzori colobus core unit SNA data - association scans between units, simple association index per dyad, male dispersal events, rainfall and food availability

1. Multi-level societies are complex, nested social systems where basic social groups (i.e., core units) associate in a hierarchical manner, allowing animals to adjust their group sizes in response to variables such as food availability, predation, or conspecific threat. These pressures fluctuate over time and examining the extent to which this variation affects the clustering of core units into different tiers may be instrumental in understanding the evolution of multi-level societies. 2. The goal of our study was to determine the degree of temporal variability in inter-unit associations in a multi-level society of Rwenzori Angolan colobus monkey (Colobus angolensis ruwenzorii), and to determine the social and ecological factors that underlie association patterns. The C. a. ruwenzorii multi-level society consists of at least three tiers, with core units clustering into clans that share a home range in a band tier. 3. We performed social network analyses on 21 months of association data from 13 core units (totaling 139 identifiable individuals) at Lake Nabugabo, Uganda. We described the patterns of variation in core-unit associations over time and investigated how changes in rainfall, food availability, and inter-unit dispersals were correlated with these associations over the short-term (month to month) and long-term (year to year). 4. Although clans were relatively stable, larger-scale changes in association patterns included the formation of an all-male unit and the transfer of one core unit between clans (within the band tier). Seasonally, core units associated significantly more when fruit, their preferred food source, was abundant (i.e., social networks were denser and more clustered) and there was no direct effect of rainfall seasonality or young leaf availability. Male dispersals also occurred more during periods of high fruit availability, suggesting that greater band cohesion allowed males to prospect and transfer between core units. Once males transferred, their previous and new units associated significantly more with one another than with other core units for 1-2 months post-dispersal. The dispersal of five males from one core unit to another in a different clan co-occurred with this core unit switching its clan affiliation. 5. By examining temporal shifts in social network structure among core units, this study shows the inter-connected roles that food availability and dispersal have in shaping the C. a. ruwenzorii multi-level social system. Our findings highlight how ecological conditions can drive association patterns, impact interunit relationships, and influence social organization.

Red and white clover provide food resources for honeybees and wild bees in urban environments

Pollination is a key ecological process both in wild plant species and in economically important crops. Global land use change and urbanization are known to alter plant-pollinator interactions, but our understanding of how the local (i.e. size of green area, food resource availability) and landscape (surrounding green area) context affect pollinators in urban landscapes remains understudied. We selected two co-occurring clover species, Trifolium pratense and T. repens. to assess whether mixed stands of common wildflowers provide resources for a diverse pollinator assemblage by supporting differently adapted/specialized pollinator species. We further wanted to test how environmental factors (flower diversity, resource availability, size and percentage of green area) alter plant-pollinator interactions in urban environments. We studied the pollinator assemblage and visitation rate of pollinators in 1 m² plots in 21 green areas of different sizes in the city of Vienna (Austria). In addition, we assessed the surrounding landscape context by estimating the percentage of green area in perimeters of 100 m, 500 m and 1000 m around each study plot and measured local flower resource availability. We found that proportions of pollinator taxa differed significantly between white and red clover, with T. repens mainly pollinated by Apis mellifera, and T. pratense primarily pollinated by different bumblebee species. Visitation frequency was positively correlated to local resource availability (number of anthetic Trifolium inflorescences in each plot), but independent of the surrounding landscape context (i.e. percentage of green area). We conclude that the establishment and maintenance even of small patches of different common wildflowers help maintain a diverse bee community in urban environments. Particularly large-flowered species may be important for supporting long-tongued, late emerging pollinators such as certain bumblebee species.

Consideration of food and nutrition in blue economy voluntary commitments

Increasing the production of food from the ocean is seen as a pathway towards more sustainable and healthier human diets. Yet this potential is being overshadowed by competing uses of ocean resources in an accelerating 'blue economy'. The current emphasis on production growth, rather than equitable distribution of benefits, has created three unexamined or flawed assumptions that: growth in the blue economy will lead to growth in blue food production; increased production will inevitably lead to improved food and nutrition security; and mariculture production will replace marine capture fisheries. In this Perspective, we argue that if research and policies are pursued without addressing these 'blind spots', 'blue food' contributions to reducing hunger and malnutrition, and to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, will be limited. Taking a broader food system approach, beyond production to also consider food access, affordability and consumption, will refocus the 'blue food' agenda on making production and consumption more equitable and sustainable, while increasing access for those who need it most.

Data from: Climate change-driven regime shifts in a planktonic food web

Predicting how food webs will respond to global environmental change is difficult because of the complex interplay between the abiotic forcing and biotic interactions. Mechanistic models of species interactions in seasonal environments can help understand the effects of global change in different ecosystems. Seasonally ice-covered lakes are warming faster than many other ecosystems and undergoing pronounced food web changes, making the need to forecast those changes especially urgent. Using a seasonally forced food web model with a generalist zooplankton grazer and competing cold-adapted winter and warm-adapted summer phytoplankton, we show that with declining ice cover, the food web moves through different dynamic regimes, from annual to biennial cycles, with decreasing and then disappearing winter phytoplankton blooms and a shift of maximum biomass to summer season. Interestingly, when predator-prey interactions were not included, a declining ice cover did not cause regime shifts, suggesting that both are needed for regime transitions. A cluster analysis of long-term data from Lake Baikal, Siberia supports model results, revealing a change from regularly occurring winter blooms of endemic diatoms to less-frequent winter bloom years with decreasing ice cover. Together, the results show that even gradual environmental change, such as declining ice cover duration, may cause discontinuous or abrupt transitions between dynamic regimes in food webs.

opencc-zeroMar 2020View details →

Contribution of males to brood care can compensate for their food consumption from a shared resource

The sharing of the same food source among parents and offspring can be a driver of the evolution of family life and parental care. However, if all family members desire the same meal, competitive situations can arise, especially if resource depletion is likely. When food is shared for reproduction and the raising of offspring, parents have to decide whether they should invest in self-maintenance or in their offspring and it is not entirely clear how these two strategies are balanced. In the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, parents care for their offspring either bi- or uniparentally at a vertebrate carcass as the sole food source. The question of whether biparental care in this species offers the offspring a better environment for development compared with uniparental care has been the subject of some debate. We tested the hypothesis that male contribution to biparental brood care has a beneficial effect on offspring fitness but that this effect can be masked because the male also feeds from the shared resource. We show that a mouse carcass prepared by two Nicrophorus beetles is lighter compared with a carcass prepared by a single female beetle at the start of larval hatching and provisioning. This difference in carcass mass can influence offspring fitness when food availability is limited, supporting our hypothesis. Our results provide new insights into the possible evolutionary pathway of biparental care in this species of burying beetles.