Find research datasets worth reusing

opencc-zeroJan 2020View details →

Data from: Detailed temporal mapping of global human modification from 1990 to 2017

Data on the extent, patterns, and trends of human land use are critically important to support global and national priorities for conservation and sustainable development. To inform these issues, we created a series of detailed global datasets for 1990, 2000, 2010, 2015, and 2017 to evaluate temporal and spatial trends of land use modification of terrestrial lands (excluding Antarctica). Our novel datasets are detailed (0.09 km2 resolution), temporally consistent (for 1990-2015), comprehensive (11 change stressors, 14 current), robust (using an established framework and incorporating classification errors and parameter uncertainty), and strongly validated. We also provide a dataset for ~2017 with 14 stressors for an even more comprehensive dataset. Also provided is a land/water mask to support subsequent analyses. Please also be sure to check your spam folder if you do not receive an email with the link from Dryad, which is provided because of the large file size.

opencc-zeroFeb 2020View details →

Data from: Zebrafish retinal ganglion cells asymmetrically encode spectral and temporal information across visual space

In vertebrate vision, the tetrachromatic larval zebrafish permits non-invasive monitoring and manipulating of neural activity across the nervous system in vivo during ongoing behaviour. However, despite a perhaps unparalleled understanding of links between zebrafish brain circuits and visual behaviours, comparatively little is known about what their eyes send to the brain via retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Major gaps in knowledge include any information on spectral coding, and information on potentially critical variations in RGC properties across the retinal surface corresponding with asymmetries in the statistics of natural visual space and behavioural demands. Here, we use in vivo two photon (2P) imaging during hyperspectral visual stimulation as well as photolabeling of RGCs to provide a functional and anatomical census of RGCs in larval zebrafish. We find that RGCs' functional and structural properties differ across the eye and include a notable population of UV-responsive On-sustained RGCs that are only found in the acute zone, likely to support visual prey capture of UV-bright zooplankton. Next, approximately half of RGCs display diverse forms of colour opponency including many that are driven by a pervasive and slow blue-Off system - far in excess of what would be required to satisfy traditional models of colour vision. In addition, most information on spectral contrast was intermixed with temporal information. Taken together, our results suggest that zebrafish RGCs send a diverse and highly regionalised time-colour code to the brain.

opencc-by-4.0Aug 2016View details →

Spatial and Temporal Clustering of Anti-Glomerular Basement Membrane Disease

Background and objectives An environmental trigger has been proposed as an inciting factor in the development of anti-GBM disease. This multicenter, observational study sought to define the national incidence of anti-GBM disease during an 11-year period (2003–2014) in Ireland, investigate clustering of cases in time and space, and assess the effect of spatial variability in incidence on outcome. Design, setting, participants, & measurements We ascertained cases by screening immunology laboratories for instances of positivity for anti-GBM antibody and the national renal histopathology registry for biopsy-proven cases. The population at risk was defined from national census data. We used a variable-window scan statistic to detect temporal clustering. A Bayesian spatial model was used to calculate standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for each of the 26 counties. Results Seventy-nine cases were included. National incidence was 1.64 (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.82 to 3.35) per million population per year. A temporal cluster (n=10) was identified during a 3-month period; six cases were resident in four rural counties in the southeast. Spatial analysis revealed wide regional variation in SIRs and a cluster (n=7) in the northwest (SIR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.02 to 3.06). There were 29 deaths and 57 cases of ESRD during a mean follow-up of 2.9 years. Greater distance from diagnosis site to treating center, stratified by median distance traveled, did not significantly affect patient (hazard ratio, 1.80; 95% CI, 0.87 to 3.77) or renal (hazard ratio, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.40 to 1.13) survival. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first study to report national incidence rates of anti-GBM disease and formally investigate patterns of incidence. Clustering of cases in time and space supports the hypothesis of an environmental trigger for disease onset. The substantial variability in regional incidence highlights the need for comprehensive country-wide studies to improve our understanding of the etiology of anti-GBM disease.

opencc-by-4.0Jul 2020View details →

The influence of human disturbances on the spatio-temporal habitat selection patterns of roe deer near Trento (Italy)

This is the dataset used for the MSc. thesis of Matthijs Hinkamp for the master Earth Sciences (Environmental Management track) at the University of Amsterdam. In this thesis the Individual Movement Sequence Analysis Method (IM-SAM) was applied to analyse the influence of human disturbances on the sequential habitat use of roe deer in northern Italy. While it is known that in this area the roe deer populations are affected by anthropogenic pressures, the actual spatial and temporal implications of such pressures are unknown. The input for IM-SAM consisted of habitat sequences, which were obtained through tracking data from the Fondazione Edmund Mach, land use and land cover maps and temporal information. Based on exploratory dissimilarity trees for the real behavioural sequences, several simulation profiles were established, each with a different habitat use pattern. The results show that most roe deer prefer isolated forest areas, but alternating patterns are definitely present. Several co variables were assessed: the influence of the hunting season, increased pressure during weekends, differences between protected and unprotected areas and changes in the average NDVI. It seems that roe deer are affected by the hunting pressure in September. This month shows an increase in the prevalence of alternating profiles, which indicates that roe deer tend to change their habitat use during periods of the day when hunting takes place. It cannot be concluded that habitat use patterns are altered during the weekends and the differences between sequences in protected and unprotected areas seem to be relatively small. However, some results indicate that alternating habitat use is a strategy for some roe deer in protected areas. When looking at the NDVI values, it becomes clear that the average NDVI is higher overall for the alternating profiles, but this just underlines the general conclusions drawn about the habitat use strategies in September.

opencc-zeroApr 2020View details →

Data from: Overlap of spatial and temporal spawning distributions of spring and summer Chinook Salmon results in hybridization in the upper Columbia River

The upper Columbia River in Washington State (main-stem and tributary habitat between McNary and Chief Joseph dams) is inhabited by two major lineages of Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha); endangered spring Chinook Salmon and summer Chinook Salmon which are not ESA listed. The lineages are highly genetically divergent from one another and historically spatial and temporal isolating mechanisms maintained these genetic differences. Both lineages occur in the Entiat River, a system where anthropogenic activity has changed habitat, flows, species composition, and the distribution of the two lineages over the past century. We examined the spatial and temporal overlap in spawning distributions between Entiat River spring and summer Chinook Salmon and we used genetic markers to assess the level of introgression between lineages. Redd surveys were conducted from 2003 to 2017 to describe spatial and temporal spawning patterns of both lineages. We genotyped sub-yearling juvenile Chinook Salmon captured in the Entiat River from 2009–2014 at 90 SNP loci to determine lineage and hybridization status. There was temporal overlap in spawning between lineages in several years and considerable spatial overlap in redd locations annually. Genetic analysis revealed hybridization between lineages does occur, albeit at relatively low rates (2.6% of sub-yearling juveniles genotyped). We detected hybrids each year samples were collected and they were distributed throughout the Entiat River basin. Hybridization between lineages of Chinook Salmon could result in introgression and a loss of genetic diversity between the lineages, and/or, a loss of production by ESA-listed spring Chinook Salmon. The presence of hybrids warrants concern for ESA-listed spring Chinook Salmon in both the Entiat River system and throughout the upper Columbia River basin.

opencc-zeroJul 2020View details →

Data from: Patterns of annual and seasonal immune investment in a temporal reproductive opportunist

Historically, investigations of how organismal investments in immunity fluctuate in response to environmental and physiological changes have focused on seasonally breeding organisms that confine reproduction to seasons with mild environmental conditions and abundant resources. The red crossbill, Loxia curvirostra, is a songbird that can breed opportunistically if conifer seeds are abundant, on both short, cold, and long, warm days, providing an ideal system to investigate interactions between immunity, reproduction, and environmental fluctuations. In this study, we measured inter- and intra-annual variation in complement, natural antibodies, PIT54, and leukocytes in crossbills across four summers (2010-2013) and multiple seasons within one year (summer 2011-spring 2012). Overall, we observed substantial changes in crossbill immune investment among summers, with interannual variation driven largely by food resources, while seasonal variation was less pronounced and lacked a dominant predictor of immune investment. However, we found weak evidence that physiological processes (e.g., reproductive condition, moult) or abiotic factors (e.g., temperature, precipitation) affect immune investment. Collectively, this study suggests that a reproductively flexible organism may simultaneously invest in both reproduction and survival-related processes, potentially by exploiting rich patches with abundant resources. More broadly, these results emphasize the need for more longitudinal studies of trade-offs associated with immune investment.

opencc-by-4.0Jul 2020View details →

Anonymized and aggregated temporal data on the number of research papers coauthored by Slovenian researchers

The dataset includes: raw aggregated Slovenian researcher network data (available at http:((www.sicris.si), Benford law distribution conformity tests. Scripts for handling the data and Benford conformity tests.

opencc-zeroAug 2020View details →

Data from: A temporally intensive survey of bacterial communities of Brassica napus genotypes grown in three environments

Soil bacterial communities play vital roles in nutrient cycling and plant health. Breeding staple crops to have more robust microbiomes may be a sustainable way to improve crop yield without increasing inputs, leading to better global food security. We collected root and rhizosphere soil samples from sixteen genotypes of canola weekly for ten weeks at one site in 2016 and at three time points across three sites in 2017. We sequenced the 16S ribosomal RNA gene generating a total of 127.7 million reads. The data shows that rhizosphere communities are more diverse than corresponding root communities. Beta diversity analysis demonstrates both temporal and site-to-site differences in community structure. Using this dataset, these and other aspects of the canola microbiome characterization can be explored to advance our understanding of genotype by environment interactions This is a large temporally and spatially rich dataset, which will further our understanding of bacterial communities associated with canola. These data will be used in a variety of other projects, with the goal of enhancing agricultural sustainability.

opencc-zeroAug 2020View details →

The degree of spatial variation relative to temporal variation influences evolution of dispersal

In the face of ongoing global climate an land use change, organisms have multiple possibilities to cope with the modification of their environment. The two main possibilities are to either adapt locall or disperse to a more suitable habitat. The evolution of both local adaptation and dispersal interacts and can be influenced by the spatial and temporal variation (of e.g. temperature or precipitation). In an individual based model (IBM), we explore evolution of phenotypes in landscapes with varying degree of spatial relative to global temporal variation in order to examine it's influence on the evolution of dispersal, niche optimum and niche width. The relationship between temporal and spatial variation did neither influence the evolution of local adaptation in the niche optimum nor of niche widths. Dispersal probability is highly influenced by the spatio-temporal relationship: with increasing spatial variation, dispersal probability decreases. Additionally, the shape of the distribution of the trait values over patch attributes switches from hump- to U-shaped. At low spatial variance more individuals emigrate from average habitats, at high spatial variance more from extreme habitats. The comparatively high dispersal probability in extreme patches of landscapes with a high spatial variation can be explained by evolutionary succession of two kinds of adaptive response. Early in the simulations, extreme patches in landscapes with a high spatial variability act as sink habitats, where population persistence depends on highly dispersive individuals with a wide niche. With ongoing evolution, local adaptation of the remaining individuals takes over, but simultaneously a possible bet-hedging strategy promotes higher dispersal probabilities in those habitats. Here, in generations that experience extreme shifts from the temporal mean of the patch attribute, the expected fitness becomes higher for dispersing individuals than for philopatric individuals. This means under certain circumstances, both local adaptation and high dispersal probability can be selected for.

opencc-zeroSep 2020View details →

Data from: Treefrogs exploit temporal coherence to form perceptual objects of communication signals

For many animals, navigating their environment requires an ability to organize continuous streams of sensory input into discrete "perceptual objects" that correspond to physical entities in visual and auditory scenes. The human visual and auditory systems follow several Gestalt laws of perceptual organization to bind constituent features into coherent perceptual objects. A largely unexplored question is whether nonhuman animals follow similar Gestalt laws in perceiving behaviorally relevant stimuli, such as communication signals. We used females of Cope's gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis) to test the hypothesis that temporal coherence – a powerful Gestalt principle in human auditory scene analysis – promotes perceptual binding in forming auditory objects of species-typical vocalizations. According to the principle of temporal coherence, sound elements that start and stop at the same time or that modulate coherently over time are likely to become bound together into the same auditory object. We found that the natural temporal coherence between two spectral components of advertisement calls promotes their perceptual binding into auditory objects of advertisement calls. Our findings confirm the broad ecological validity of temporal coherence as a Gestalt law of auditory perceptual organization guiding the formation of biologically relevant perceptual objects in animal behavior.

Data from: Trait matching and phenological overlap increase the spatio-temporal stability and functionality of plant-pollinator interactions

Morphology and phenology influence plant-pollinator network structure, but whether they generate more stable pairwise interactions with higher pollination success is unknown. Here we evaluate the importance of morphological trait matching, phenological overlap and specialisation for the spatio-temporal stability (measured as variability) of plant-pollinator interactions and for pollination success, while controlling for species abundance. To this end, we combined a six-year plant-pollinator interaction dataset, with information on species traits, phenologies, specialisation, abundance and pollination success, into structural equation models. Interactions among abundant plants and pollinators with well-matched traits and phenologies formed the stable and functional backbone of the pollination network, whereas poorly-matched interactions were variable in time and had lower pollination success. We conclude that phenological overlap could be more useful for predicting changes in species interactions than species abundances, and that non-random extinction of species with well-matched traits could decrease the stability of interactions within communities and reduce their functioning.

Temporal variation in maternal nest choice and its consequences for lizard embryos

Microhabitat choice of nest sites is an important maternal effect that influences the survival and development of embryos in oviparous species. Embryos of many species display a high degree of plasticity in response to developmental environments, which places maternal nesting behavior under strong selective pressure, particularly in temporally-changing environments. Nesting behavior varies widely across taxa that exhibit diverse reproductive strategies. The brown anole (Anolis sagrei), for example, lays one egg every 7-10 days across an extended reproductive season from April to October. This aspect of their reproduction provides an opportunity to examine temporal shifts in nesting behavior and its consequences on egg survival and offspring development under seasonally-changing climatic conditions. We conducted a two-part study to quantify temporal variation in maternal nesting behavior and its effect on development of A. sagrei embryos. First, we measured nest microenvironments over the nesting season. Second, we "planted" eggs across the landscape at our field site to examine the influence of nest conditions on egg survival and hatchling phenotypes. We also incubated eggs inside chambers in the field to decouple effects of nest moisture from those of other environmental variables (e.g., temperature).Females chose nest sites with higher moisture and lower temperatures relative to what was generally available across the landscape during the nesting season. In addition, eggs exposed to relatively cool temperatures had higher hatching success, and high nest moisture increased egg survival and body condition of hatchlings. Overall, we provide evidence in the field that maternal nesting behavior facilitates offspring survival.

Temporal and spatial changes in benthic invertebrate trophic networks along a salinity gradient

Species interactions underlie all ecosystem goods and services and are important for understanding ecosystem changes. Representing one type of species interaction, trophic networks are able to be constructed from biodiversity monitoring data and known trophic links to understand how ecosystems have changed over time. The Baltic Sea is subject to high anthropogenic pressures, and its low species diversity makes it an ideal candidate for understanding how pressures change food webs. In this study, we used benthic monitoring data from 20 years (1980-1989 and 2010-2019) from the Swedish coast of the Baltic Sea and Skagerrak to investigate changes in benthic invertebrate trophic interactions. We constructed food webs and calculated traditional food web metrics that we compared over space and time. Our results show that the west coast of Sweden (Skagerrak) showed a reduction in benthic invertebrate biodiversity by 40% between the 1980's and 2010's, and that the number of links, linkage diversity, generality of predators, and vulnerability of prey have been significantly reduced. However, connectance has not significantly changed in the Skagerrak. The other basins (Bothnian Sea, Baltic Proper and Bornholm Basin) do not show any consistent significant trends in any food web metrics investigated, demonstrating resilience at a lower species diversity. The decreased complexity of the Skagerrak food webs indicates vulnerability to further perturbations and pressures should be limited as much as possible to ensure continued ecosystem functions.

Temporal and spatial differences in the post-breeding behaviour of a ubiquitous Southern Hemisphere seabird, the common diving petrel

The non-breeding period plays a major role in seabird survival and population dynamics. However, our understanding of the migratory behaviour, moulting and feeding strategies of non-breeding seabirds is still very limited, especially for small-sized species. The present study investigated the post-breeding behaviour of three distant populations (Kerguelen Archipelago, south-eastern Australia, New Zealand) of the common diving petrel (Pelecanoides urinatrix), an abundant, widely distributed zooplanktivorous seabird breeding throughout the southern Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. The timing, geographical destination and activity pattern of birds were quantified through geolocator deployments during the post-breeding migration, while moult pattern of body feathers was investigated using stable isotope analysis. Despite the high energetic cost of flapping flight, all the individuals quickly travelled long distances (> ~2500 km) after the end of the breeding season, targeting oceanic frontal systems. The three populations, however, clearly diverged spatially (migration pathways and destinations), and temporally (timing and duration) in their post-breeding movements, as well as in their period of moult. Philopatry to distantly separated breeding grounds, different breeding phenologies, and distinct post-breeding destinations suggest that the common diving petrel populations have a high potential for isolation, and hence, speciation. These results contribute to improving knowledge of ecological divergence and evolution between populations and inform the challenges of conserving migratory species.

opencc-zeroJan 2021View details →

Data from: Spatial and temporal patterns of environmental DNA detection to inform sampling protocols in lentic and lotic systems.

The development of efficient sampling protocols for the capture of environmental DNA (eDNA) could greatly help improve accuracy of occupancy monitoring for species that are difficult to detect. However, the process of developing a protocol in situ is complicated for rare species by the fact that animal locations are often unknown. We tested sampling designs in lake and stream systems to determine the most effective eDNA sampling protocols for two rare species: the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog (Rana sierrae) and the foothill yellow-legged frog (R. boylii). We varied water volume, spatial sampling, and seasonal timing in lakes and streams; in lakes we also tested multiple filter types. We found that filtering 2 L versus 1 L increased the odds of detection in streams 5.42X (95% CI: 3.2-9.19X) in our protocol, from a probability of 0.51 to 0.85 per technical replicate. Lake sample volumes were limited by filter clogging and we found no effect of volume or filter type. Sampling later in the season increased the odds of detection in streams by 1.96X for every 30 days (95% CI: 1.3 - 2.97X) but there was no effect for lakes. Spatial autocorrelation of the quantity of yellow-legged frog eDNA captured in streams between 100 and 200 m, indicating that sampling at close intervals is important.

opencc-zeroNov 2020View details →

Spatial and temporal dynamics of space use by free-ranging domestic dogs Canis familiaris in rural Africa

Variation in the spatial ecology of animals influences the transmission of infections and so understanding host behaviour can improve the control of diseases. Despite the global distribution of free-ranging domestic dogs Canis familiaris and their role as reservoirs for zoonotic diseases, little is known about the dynamics of their space use. We deployed GPS loggers on free-ranging dogs from six villages in rural Chad, and tracked the movements of 174 individuals in the dry season and 151 in the wet season. We calculated 95% and core home ranges using auto-correlated kernel density estimates (AKDE95 and AKDEcore), determined the degree to which their movements were predictable, and identified correlates of movement patterns. The median AKDE95 range in the dry season was 0.54km2 and in the wet season was 0.31km2, while the median AKDEcore range in the dry season was 0.08km2 and in the wet season was 0.04km2. Seasonal variation was, in part, related to owner activities. Dogs from hunting households had ranges that were five times larger in the dry season. At least 70% of individuals were more predictably 'at home' (<50m from the household) throughout the day in the dry season. 80% of dogs demonstrated periodicity in activity levels (speed) and just over half the dogs exhibited periodicity in location (repeated space use). In the wet season, dogs mostly exhibited 24-hour cycles in activity and location, with peaks at midday. In the dry season, dogs exhibited both 12 and 24-hour cycles, with either a single peak at midday, or one peak between 6am and 12 noon and a second between 6 and 10pm. Strategies to control canine-mediated zoonoses can be improved by tailoring operations to the local spatial ecology of free-ranging dogs. Interventions using a door-to-door strategy in rural Chad would best conduct operations during the dry season, when access to dogs around their household more reliably exceeds 70% throughout the day. Given the importance of use in hunting for explaining variation in dog space-use, targeting approaches to disease control at the household level on the basis of owner activities offers potential to improve access to dogs.

opencc-zeroDec 2020View details →

Temporal instability of lake charr phenotypes: Synchronicity of growth rates and morphology linked to environmental variables?

Pathways through which phenotypic variation among individuals arise can be complex. One assumption often made in relation to intraspecific diversity is that the stability or predictability of the environment will interact with expression of the underlying phenotypic variation. To address biological complexity below the species level, we investigated variability across years in morphology and annual growth increments between and within two sympatric lake charr Salvelinus namaycush ecotypes in Rush Lake, USA. A rapid phenotypic shift in body and head shape was found within a decade. The magnitude and direction of the observed phenotypic change was consistent in both ecotypes, which suggests similar pathways caused the variation over time. Over the same time period, annual growth increments declined for both lake charr ecotypes and corresponded with a consistent phenotypic shift of each ecotype. Despite ecotype-specific annual growth changes in response to winter conditions, the observed annual growth shift for both ecotypes was linked, to some degree, with variation in the environment. Particularly, a declining trend in regional cloud cover was associated with an increase of early stage (ages 1-3) annual growth for lake charr of Rush Lake. Underlying mechanisms causing changes in growth rates and constrained morphological modulation are not fully understood. An improved knowledge of the biology hidden within the expression of phenotypic variation promises to clarify our understanding of temporal morphological diversity and instability.

opencc-zeroDec 2020View details →

Spatio-temporal persistence of zooplankton communities in the Gulf of Alaska

Spatial structuring of mid-trophic level forage communities in the Gulf of Alaska (GoA) is poorly understood, even though it has clear implications for the health of fisheries and marine wildlife populations. Here, we test the hypothesis that summertime (May-August) mesozooplankton communities are spatially-persistent across years of varying ocean conditions, including during the marine heatwave of 2014-2016. We use spatial ordinations and hierarchical clustering of Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) sampling over 17 years (2000-2016) to (1) characterize typical zooplankton communities in different regions of the GoA, and (2) investigate spatial structuring relative to variation in ocean temperatures and circulation. Five regional communities were identified, each representing distinct variation in the abundance of 18 primary zooplankton taxa: a distinct cluster of coastal taxa on the continental shelf north of Vancouver Island; a second cluster in the western GoA associated with strong currents and cold water east of Unimak Pass; a shelf break cluster rich in euphausiids found at both the eastern and western margins of the GoA; a broad offshore cluster of abundant pelagic zooplankton in the southern GoA gyre associated with stable temperature and current conditions; and a final offshore cluster exhibiting low zooplankton abundance concentrated along the northeastern arm of the subarctic gyre where ocean conditions are dominated by eddy activity. When comparing years of anomalous warm and cold sea surface temperatures, we observed change in the spatial structure in coastal communities, but little change (i.e., spatial persistence) in the northwestern GoA basin. Whereas previous studies have shown within-region variability in zooplankton communities in response to ocean climate, we highlight both consistency and change in regional communities, with interannual variability in shelf communities and persistence in community structure offshore. These results suggest greater variability in coastal food webs than in the central portion of the GoA, which may be important to energy exchange from lower to upper trophic levels in the mesoscale biomes of this ecosystem.

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2021View details →

Data: Focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures are associated with widespread network abnormality in temporal lobe epilepsy

We make available all the brain network data, and metadata of 83 patients and 29 healthy controls included in our study. Nishant Sinha, Natalie Peternell, Gabrielle M. Schroeder, Jane de Tisi, Sjoerd B. Vos, Gavin P. Winston, John S. Duncan, Yujiang Wang, and Peter N. Taylor "Focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures are associated with widespread network abnormality in temporal lobe epilepsy." Epilepsia 2021 doi:10.1111/epi.16819. Methodological details on MRI acquisition and data processing are provided in our manuscript. We request users to kindly cite our article and data appropriately.