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1,891 results for “Field data”
Data from: Geomagnetic field influences upward movement of young Chinook salmon emerging from nests
Organisms use a variety of environmental cues to orient their movements in three-dimensional space. Here, we show that the upward movement of young Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) emerging from gravel nests is influenced by the geomagnetic field. Fish in the ambient geomagnetic field travelled farther upwards through substrate than did fish tested in a field with the vertical component inverted. This suggests that the magnetic field is one of several factors that influences emergence from the gravel, possibly by serving as an orientation cue that helps fish determine which way is up. Moreover, our work indicates that the Oncorhynchus species are sensitive to the magnetic field throughout their life cycle, and that it guides their movements across a range of spatial scales and habitats.
Data from: Does perceived predation risk affect patterns of extra-pair paternity? A field experiment in a passerine bird
1. Non-consumptive predator effects have been shown to influence a wide range of behavioural, life history, and morphological traits. Extra-pair reproduction is widespread among socially monogamous birds and may incur predation costs. Consequently, altered rates of extra-pair reproduction are expected in circumstances characterized by increased adult perceived predation risk. 2. Additionally, extra-pair reproduction is expected to be most affected for birds with phenotypes that generally increase predation risk (such as more active individuals). 3. In two consecutive years, perceived predation risk was manipulated for great tits, Parus major breeding in 12 nest-box plots by broadcasting sounds of their main predator (European sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus; 6 plots). As a control treatment, sounds of a sympatric, avian non-predator species were broadcasted (Eurasian blackbird, Turdus merula; 6 plots). 4. Levels of extra-pair paternity did not differ between plots with different predation-risk treatments. Males that moved more in a novel environment (more active or 'faster exploring') tended to have offspring with fewer partners, but this effect did not vary with predation-risk treatment. 5. From an adaptive viewpoint, predation costs associated with extra-pair reproduction may be small and may not outweigh the benefits of extra-pair behaviour. Research on a broader range of taxa with different mating strategies is now needed to confirm the generality of our findings.
Data from: Field measurements give biased estimates of functional response parameters, but help explain foraging distributions
1. Mechanistic insights and predictive understanding of the spatial distributions of foragers are typically derived by fitting either field measurements on intake rates and food abundance, or observations from controlled experiments, to functional response models. It has remained unclear, however, whether and why one approach should be favoured above the other, as direct comparative studies are rare. 2. The field measurements required to parameterize either single or multi-species functional response models are relatively easy to obtain, except at sites with low food densities and at places with high food densities, as the former will be avoided and the second will be rare. Also, in foragers facing a digestive bottleneck, intake rates (calculated over total time) will be constant over a wide range of food densities. In addition, interference effects may further depress intake rates. All of this hinders the appropriate estimation of parameters such as the 'instantaneous area of discovery' and the handling time, using a type II functional response model also known as 'Holling's disc equation'. 3. Here we compare field- and controlled experimental measurements of intake rate as a function of food abundance in female bar-tailed godwits Limosa lapponica feeding on lugworms Arenicola marina. 4. We show that a fit of the type II functional response model to field measurements predicts lower intake rates (about 2.5 times), longer handling times (about 4 times) and lower 'instantaneous areas of discovery' (about 30 to 70 times), compared with measurements from controlled experimental conditions. 5. In agreement with the assumptions of Holling's disc equation, under controlled experimental settings both the instantaneous area of discovery and handling time remained constant with an increase in food density. The field data, however, would lead us to conclude that although handling time remains constant, the instantaneous area of discovery decreased with increasing prey densities. This will result into highly underestimated sensory capacities when using field data. 6. Our results demonstrate that the elucidation of the fundamental mechanisms behind prey detection and prey processing capacities of a species necessitates measurements of functional response functions under the whole range of prey densities on solitary feeding individuals, which is only possible under controlled conditions. Field measurements yield 'consistency tests' of the distributional patterns in a specific ecological context.
Data from: Among- and within-population variation in flowering time of Iberian Arabidopsis thaliana estimated in field and glasshouse conditions
The study of the evolutionary and population genetics of quantitative traits requires the assessment of within- and among-population patterns of variation. We carried out experiments including eight Iberian Arabidopsis thaliana populations (10 individuals per population) in glasshouse and field conditions. We quantified among- and within-population variation for flowering time and for several field life-history traits. Individuals were genotyped with microsatellites, single nucleotide polymorphisms and four well-known flowering genes (FRI, FLC, CRY2 and PHYC). Phenotypic and genotypic data were used to conduct QST–FST comparisons. Life-history traits varied significantly among- and within-populations. Flowering time also showed substantial within- and among-population variation as well as significant genotype × environment interactions among the various conditions. Individuals bearing FRI truncations exhibited reduced recruitment in field conditions and differential flowering time behavior across experimental conditions, suggesting that FRI contributes to the observed significant genotype × environment interactions. Flowering time estimated in field conditions was the only trait showing significantly higher quantitative genetic differentiation than neutral genetic differentiation values. Overall, our results show that these A. thaliana populations are genetically more differentiated for flowering time than for neutral markers, suggesting that flowering time is likely to be under divergent selection.
Egg laying behavior of the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus): data based on field video-recordings
<p>The egg laying behavior of brood parasites is at the heart of studies on their co-evolution with hosts. Updating and reporting more egg laying behavior can improve our perception and insight on the brood parasitism process. During a 7 years' study period, we monitored 455 Oriental reed warbler (<i>Acrocephalus orientalis</i>) nests during the egg laying period, of which 250 were parasitized by common cuckoos (<i>Cuculus canorus</i>). We randomly recorded 53 clear videos of cuckoo parasitism, analyzed and recorded all parasitic behavior of cuckoo in details, summarized the process of brood parasitism displayed by the common cuckoo. Based on analyses of these field video-recordings, we proposed a new explanation for the egg removal behavior, namely the delivery hypothesis, i.e. the egg pecking and biting may help parasitic cuckoos lay eggs faster, thereby avoiding the host's attention and reducing host attacks, whilst egg removal is the side effect of egg pecking and biting. We concluded that common cuckoos do not care whether the host is around the nest, as they have a set of methods to deal with host attacks and can complete parasitism boldly and smoothly at any time.</p>
Data from: Field measurements of genotype by environment interaction for fitness caused by spontaneous mutations in Arabidopsis thaliana
As the ultimate source of genetic diversity, spontaneous mutation is critical to the evolutionary process. The fitness effects of spontaneous mutations are almost always studied under controlled laboratory conditions rather than under the evolutionarily relevant conditions of the field. Of particular interest is the conditionality of new mutations - i.e., is a new mutation harmful regardless of the environment in which it is found? In other words, what is the extent of genotype-environment interaction for spontaneous mutations? We studied the fitness effects of 25 generations of accumulated spontaneous mutations in Arabidopsis thaliana in two geographically widely separated field environments, in Michigan and Virginia. At both sites, mean total fitness of MA lines exceeded that of the ancestors, contrary to the expected decrease in the mean due to new mutations but in accord with prior work on these MA lines. We observed genotype-environment interactions in the fitness effects of new mutations, such that the effects of mutations in Michigan were a poor predictor of their effects in Virginia and vice versa. In particular, mutational variance for fitness was much larger in Virginia compared to Michigan. This strong genotype-environment interaction would increase the amount of genetic variation maintained by mutation-selection balance.
Data from: Temporal dynamics of encrusting communities during the Late Devonian: a case study from the Central Devonian Field, Russia
In this study we focused on the dynamics of encrusting assemblages preserved on brachiopod hosts collected from upper Frasnian and lower Famennian deposits of the Central Devonian Field, Russia. Because the encrusted brachiopods come from deposits bracketing the Frasnian/Famennian (F/F) boundary, the results also shed some light on ecological differences in encrusting communities before and after the Frasnian–Famennian (F-F) event. To explore the diversity dynamics of encrusting assemblages, we analyzed more than 1300 brachiopod valves (substrates) from two localities. Taxon accumulation plots and shareholder quorum subsampling (SQS) routines indicated that a reasonably small sample of brachiopod host valves (n=50) is sufficient to capture the majority of the encrusting genera recorded at a given site. The richness of encrusters per substrate declined simultaneously with the number of encrusting taxa in the lower Famennian, accompanied by a decrease in epibiont abundance, with a comparable decrease in mean encrustation intensity (percentage of bioclasts encrusted by one or more epibionts). Epibiont abundance and occupancy roughly mirror each other. Strikingly, few ecological characteristics are correlated with substrate size, possibly reflecting random settlement of larvae. Evenness, which is negatively correlated with substrate size, shows greater within-stage variability among samples than between Frasnian and Famennian intervals and may indicate the instability of early Famennian biocenoses following the faunal turnover. The occurrence distribution of encrusters points to nonrandom associations and exclusions among several encrusting taxa. However, abundance and occupancy of microconchids remained relatively stable throughout the sampled time interval. The notable decline in abundance (~60%) and relatively minor decline in diversity (~30%) suggest jointly that encrusting communities experienced ecological collapse rather than a major mass extinction event. The differences between the upper Frasnian and lower Famennian encrusting assemblages may thus record a turnover associated with the F-F event.
Data from: Genetic analysis of circadian responses to low frequency electromagnetic fields in Drosophila melanogaster
The blue-light sensitive photoreceptor cryptochrome (CRY) may act as a magneto-receptor through formation of radical pairs involving a triad of tryptophans. Previous genetic analyses of behavioral responses of Drosophila to electromagnetic fields using conditioning, circadian and geotaxis assays have lent some support to the radical pair model (RPM). Here, we describe a new method that generates consistent and reliable circadian responses to electromagnetic fields that differ substantially from those already reported. We used the Schuderer apparatus to isolate Drosophila from local environmental variables, and observe extremely low frequency (3 to 50 Hz) field-induced changes in two locomotor phenotypes, circadian period and activity levels. These field-induced phenotypes are CRY- and blue-light dependent, and are correlated with enhanced CRY stability. Mutational analysis of the terminal tryptophan of the triad hypothesised to be indispensable to the electron transfer required by the RPM reveals that this residue is not necessary for field responses. We observe that deletion of the CRY C-terminus dramatically attenuates the EMF-induced period changes, whereas the N-terminus underlies the hyperactivity. Most strikingly, an isolated CRY C-terminus that does not encode the Tryptophan triad nor the FAD binding domain is nevertheless able to mediate a modest EMF-induced period change. Finally, we observe that hCRY2, but not hCRY1, transformants can detect EMFs, suggesting that hCRY2 is blue light-responsive. In contrast, when we examined circadian molecular cycles in wild-type mouse suprachiasmatic nuclei slices under blue light, there was no field effect. Our results are therefore not consistent with the classical Trp triad-mediated RPM and suggest that CRYs act as blue-light/EMF sensors depending on trans-acting factors that are present in particular cellular environments.
Data from: Experimental field evidence that out-group threats influence within-group behaviour
In social species, conspecific outsiders present various threats to groups and their members. These out-group threats are predicted to affect subsequent within-group interactions (e.g. affiliation and aggression) and individual behaviour (e.g. foraging and vigilance decisions). However, experimental investigations of such consequences are rare, especially in natural conditions. We used field-based call playbacks and faecal presentations on habituated wild dwarf mongooses (Helogale parvula)—a cooperatively breeding, territorial species—to examine post-interaction responses to the simulated threat of a rival group. Dwarf mongooses invested more in grooming of groupmates, foraged closer together and more regularly acted as sentinels (a raised guard) after encountering indicators of rival-group presence compared to control conditions. These behavioural changes likely arise from greater anxiety and, in the case of increased vigilance, the need to seek additional information about the threat. The influence of an out-group threat lasted at least 1 h but individuals of different dominance status and sex responded similarly, potentially because all group members suffer costs if a contest with rivals is lost. Our results provide field-based experimental evidence from wild animals that out-group threats can influence within-group behaviour and decision-making, and suggest the need for greater consideration of the lasting impacts of social conflict.
Data from: Population genetic and field ecological analyses return similar estimates of dispersal over space and time in an endangered amphibian
The explosive growth of empirical population genetics has seen a proliferation of analytical methods leading to a steady increase in our ability to accurately measure key population parameters, including genetic isolation, effective population size, and gene flow in natural systems. Assuming they yield similar results, population genetic methods offer an attractive complement to, or replacement of, traditional field ecological studies. However, empirical assessments of the concordance between direct field ecological and indirect population genetic studies of the same populations are uncommon in the literature. In this study, we investigate genetic isolation, rates of dispersal, and population sizes for the endangered California tiger salamander, Ambystoma californiense, across multiple breeding seasons in an intact vernal pool network. We then compare our molecular results to a previously published study based on multi-year, mark-recapture data from the same breeding sites. We found that field and genetic estimates of population size were only weakly correlated, but dispersal rates were remarkably congruent across studies and methods. In fact, dispersal probability functions derived from genetic data and traditional field ecological data were a significant match, suggesting that either method can be used effectively to assess population connectivity. These results provide one of the first explicit tests of the correspondence between landscape genetic and field ecological approaches to measuring functional population connectivity and suggest that even single-year genetic samples can return biologically meaningful estimates of natural dispersal and gene flow.
Data from: Measuring microbial fitness in a field reciprocal transplant experiment
Microbial fitness is easy to measure in the laboratory, but difficult to measure in the field. Laboratory fitness assays make use of controlled conditions and genetically modified organisms, neither of which are available in the field. Among other applications, fitness assays can help researchers detect adaptation to different habitats or locations. We designed a competitive fitness assay to detect adaptation of Saccharomyces paradoxus isolates to the habitat they were isolated from (oak or larch leaf litter). The assay accurately measures relative fitness by tracking genotype frequency changes in the field using digital droplet PCR (DDPCR). We expected locally adapted S. paradoxus strains to increase in frequency over time when growing on the leaf litter type from which they were isolated. The DDPCR assay successfully detected fitness differences among S. paradoxus strains, but did not find a tendency for strains to be adapted to the habitat they were isolated from. Instead, we found that the natural alleles of the hexose transport gene we used to distinguish S. paradoxus strains had significant effects on fitness. The origin of a strain also affected its fitness: strains isolated from oak litter were generally fitter than strains from larch litter. Our results suggest that dispersal limitation and genetic drift shape S. paradoxus populations in the forest more than local selection does, although further research is needed to confirm this. Tracking genotype frequency changes using DDPCR is a practical and accurate microbial fitness assay for natural environments.
Data from: Alternative reproductive tactics arising from a continuous behavioral trait: callers vs. satellites in field crickets
Alternative reproductive tactics may arise when natural enemies use sexual signals to locate the signaler. In field crickets, elevated costs to male calling due to acoustically orienting parasitoid flies create opportunity for an alternative tactic, satellite behavior, where noncalling males intercept females attracted to callers. Although the caller-satellite system in crickets that risk detection by parasitoids resembles distinct behavioral phenotypes, a male's propensity to behave as caller or satellite can be a continuously variable trait over several temporal scales, and an individual may pursue alternate tactics at different times. We modeled a caller-satellite-parasitoid system as a spatially explicit interaction among male and female crickets using individual-based simulation. Males varied in their propensity to call versus behave as a satellite from one night to the next. We varied mortality, density, sex ratio, and female mating behavior, and recorded lifetime number of mates as a function of a male's probability of calling (vs. acting as a satellite) along a gradient in parasitism risk. Frequently, the optimal behavior switched abruptly from being pure caller (call every night) to pure satellite (never call) as parasitism rate increased. However, mixed strategies prevailed even with high parasitism risk under conditions of higher background mortality rate, decreasing density, increasing female-biased sex ratio, and increasing female choosiness. In natural populations, high parasitoid pressure alone would be unlikely to yield fixation of pure satellite behavior.
Data from: A host immune hormone modifies parasite species interactions and epidemics: insights from a field manipulation.
Parasite epidemics can depend on priority effects, and parasite priority effects can result from the host immune response to prior infection. Yet we lack experimental evidence that such immune-mediated priority effects influence epidemics. To address this research gap, we manipulated key host immune hormones, then measured the consequences for within-host parasite interactions, and ultimately parasite epidemics in the field. Specifically, we applied plant immune-signaling hormones to sentinel plants, embedded into a wild host population, and tracked foliar infections caused by two common fungal parasites. Within host individuals, priority effects were altered by the immune-signaling hormone, salicylic acid. Scaling up from within-host interactions, hosts treated with salicylic acid experienced lower prevalence of a less aggressive parasite, increased burden of infection by a more aggressive parasite, and experienced fewer coinfections. Together, these results indicate that by altering within-host priority effects, host immune hormones can drive parasite epidemics. This study therefore experimentally links host immune hormones to within-host priority effects and parasite epidemics, advancing a more mechanistic understanding of how interactions among parasites alter their epidemics.
Data from: The Automated Root Exudate System (ARES): a method to apply solutes at regular intervals to soils in the field
1) Root exudation is a key component of nutrient and carbon dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems. Exudation rates vary widely by plant species and environmental conditions but our understanding of how root exudates affect soil functioning is incomplete, in part because there are few viable methods to manipulate root exudates in situ. To address this, we devised the Automated Root Exudate System (ARES), which simulates increased root exudation by applying small amounts of labile solutes at regular intervals in the field. 2) The ARES is a gravity-fed drip irrigation system comprising a reservoir bottle connected via a timer to a micro-hose irrigation grid covering c. 1 m2; 24 drip-tips are inserted into the soil to 4-cm depth to apply solutions into the rooting zone. We installed two ARES subplots within existing litter removal and control plots in a temperate deciduous woodland. We applied either an artificial root exudate solution (RE) or a procedural control solution (CP) to each subplot for 1 min d-1 during two growing seasons. To investigate the influence of root exudation on soil carbon dynamics, we measured soil respiration monthly and soil microbial biomass at the end of each growing season. 3) The ARES applied the solutions at a rate of c. 2 L m-2 wk-1 without significantly increasing soil water content. The application of RE solution had a clear effect on soil carbon dynamics but the response varied by litter treatment. Across two growing seasons, soil respiration was 25% higher in RE compared to CP subplots in the litter removal treatment, but not in the control plots. By contrast, we observed a significant increase in microbial biomass carbon (33%) and nitrogen (26%) in RE subplots in the control litter treatment. 4) The ARES is an effective, low-cost method to apply experimental solutions directly into the rooting zone in the field. The installation of the systems entails minimal disturbance to the soil and little maintenance is required. Although we used ARES to apply root exudate solution, the method can be used to apply many other treatments involving solute inputs at regular intervals in a wide range of ecosystems.
Data from: When field experiments yield unexpected results: lessons learned from measuring selection in White Sands lizards
Determining the adaptive significance of phenotypic traits is key for understanding evolution and diversification in natural populations. However, evolutionary biologists have an incomplete understanding of how specific traits affect fitness in most populations. The White Sands system provides an opportunity to study the adaptive significance of traits in an experimental context. Blanched color evolved recently in three species of lizards inhabiting the gypsum dunes of White Sands and is likely an adaptation to avoid predation. To determine whether there is a relationship between color and susceptibility to predation in White Sands lizards, we conducted enclosure experiments, quantifying survivorship of Holbrookia maculate exhibiting substrate-matched and substrate-mismatched phenotypes. Lizards in our study experienced strong predation. Color did not have a significant effect on survival, but we found several unexpected relationships including variation in predation over small spatial and temporal scales. In addition, we detected a marginally significant interaction between sex and color, suggesting selection for substrate matching may be stronger for males than females. We use our results as a case study to examine six major challenges frequently encountered in field-based studies of natural selection, and suggest that insight into the complexities of selection often results when experiments turn out differently than expected.
Data from: Restoring dryland old fields with native shrubs and grasses: does facilitation and seed source matter?
Restoration of agricultural fields is challenging, especially in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. We conducted experiments in two fields in the Great Basin, USA, which differed in cultivation history and fertility. We tested the effects of different levels of functional diversity (planting grasses and shrubs together, vs. planting shrubs alone), seed source (cultivars, local or distant wild-collections), and irrigation regime (spring or fall and spring) on restoration outcomes. We sowed either: 1) grasses and shrubs in year one, 2) shrubs only, in year one, 3) grasses in year one with herbicide, shrubs in year two, or 4) shrubs alone in year two, after a year of herbicide. We irrigated for two years and monitored for three years. Shrub emergence was highest in the lower fertility field, where increasing functional diversity by seeding grasses had a neutral or facilitative effect on shrub emergence. In the higher fertility field, increasing functional diversity appeared to have a neutral to competitive effect. After declines in shrub densities after irrigation ceased, these effects did not persist. Grasses initially suppressed or had a neutral effect on weeds relative to an unseeded control, but had neutral or facilitative effects on weeds relative to shrub-only seeding. Initially, commercial grasses were either equivalent to or outperformed wild-collected grasses, but after irrigation ceased, commercial grasses were outperformed by wild-collected grasses in the higher fertility field. Local shrubs initially outperformed distant shrubs, but this effect did not persist. Fall and spring irrigation combined with local shrubs and wild-collected grasses was the most successful strategy in the higher fertility field, while in the lower fertility field, irrigation timing had fewer effects. Superior shrub emergence and higher grass persistence indicated that the use of wild and local seed sources is generally warranted, whereas the effects of functional diversity and irrigation regime were context-dependent. A bet-hedging approach that uses a variety of strategies may maximize the chances of restoration success.
Data from: Wild boar (Sus scrofa) increases species diversity of semi-dry grassland: field experiment with simulated soil disturbances
Background Foraging activities of wild boar (Sus scrofa) create small-scale soil disturbances in many different vegetation types. Rooting alters species composition by opening niches for less-competitive plants and as a recurrent factor becomes a part of the community disturbance regime. Vegetation responses to wild boar disturbance have mostly been studied in the boar's non-native range or in native forest, rather than in open habitats in the native range. We investigate the response of open European semi-dry grassland vegetation dominated by (Brachypodium pinnatum) to native wild boar pressure in an abandoned agricultural landscape. Methods To describe the disturbance regime, we repeatedly mapped rooted patches during a 5-year period. Additionally, to study the vegetation response, we performed an artificial disturbance experiment by creating 30 pairs of simulated disturbances and undisturbed plots. The vegetation composition of the paired plots was repeatedly sampled five times in eight years of the study. Results Based on repeated mapping of disturbances, we predict that if the disturbance regime we observed during the 5-year period were maintained over the long term, it would yield a stable vegetation ratio consisting of 98.7 % of the grassland undisturbed, 0.4 % with fresh disturbance and 0.9 % in older successional stages. Vegetation composition on the artificially disturbed plots was continuously converging to that of undisturbed vegetation, but these disturbed plots still differed significantly in composition and had higher species number, even after eight years of succession. Synthesis Our results thus show that wild boar disturbance regime in its native range increases heterogeneity and species diversity of semi-dry grassland vegetation.
Data from: Technical note: rapid image-based field methods improve the quantification of termite mound structures and greenhouse-gas fluxes
Termite mounds (TMs) mediate biogeochemical processes with global relevance, such as turnover of the important greenhouse gas methane (CH4). However, the complex internal and external morphology of TMs impede an accurate quantitative description. Here we present two novel field methods, photogrammetry (PG) and cross-section image analysis, to quantify TM external and internal mound structure of 29 TMs of three termite species. Photogrammetry was used to measure epigeal volume (VE), surface area (AE) and mound basal area (AB) by reconstructing 3D models from digital photographs, and compared against a water-displacement method and the conventional approach of approximating TMs by simple geometric shapes. To describe TM internal structure, we introduce TM macro- and micro-porosity (θM and θµ), the volume fractions of macroscopic chambers, and microscopic pores in the wall material, respectively. Macro-porosity was estimated using image analysis of single TM cross-sections, and compared against full x-ray tomography (CT) scans of 17 TMs. For these TMs we present complete pore fractions to assess species-specific differences in internal structure. The PG method yielded VE nearly identical to a water-displacement method, while approximation of TMs by simple geometric shapes led to errors of 4–200 %. Likewise, using PG substantially improved the accuracy of CH4 emission estimates by 10–50 %. Comprehensive CT scanning revealed that investigated TMs have species-specific ranges of θM and θµ, but similar total porosity. Image analysis of single TM cross-sections produced good estimates of θM for species with thick walls and evenly distributed chambers. The new image-based methods allow rapid and accurate quantitative characterisation of TMs to answer ecological, physiological and biogeochemical questions. The PG method should be applied when measuring greenhouse-gas emissions from TMs to avoid large errors from inadequate shape approximations.
Data from: Heterogeneity of ecological patterns, processes and funding of marine manipulative field experiments conducted in Southeastern Pacific coastal ecosystems
Ecological manipulative experiments conducted in marine coastal ecosystems have substantially improved ecological theory during the last decades, and have provided useful knowledge for the management and conservation of coastal ecosystems. Although different studies report global trends in ecological patterns worldwide, Southeastern Pacific coastal ecosystems have been poorly considered. Given that the SE Pacific coast encompasses diverse coastal ecosystems, consideration of studies conducted along this range can shed light on the heterogeneity of processes regulating coastal communities. We reviewed the biotic interactions and habitat type considered, as well as the complexity in terms of spatial and temporal extent of manipulative field experimental studies conducted along the SE Pacific coast from 0°S to 56° S (Ecuador to Chile). We test the effect of funding reported by different studies as a main factor limiting experimental complexity. From field ecological studies published from 1970 to 2016, we found that 81 studies were truly manipulative, in which one or multiple factors were "manipulated". Around 77% of these studies were located between 21°S to 40°S, and conducted in intertidal rocky habitats. An increase in experimental studies was observed between 2010 and 2015, especially focused on herbivore-alga interactions, although we found that both the temporal and spatial extent of these studies have shown a decrease in recent decades. Funding grant amount reported had a positive effect on elapsed time of field experiments, but no effect was observed on spatial extent or in the biotic interactions considered. Elapsed time of experiments was different among the main biotic interactions considered i.e. herbivory, predation, and competition. We suggest that to further progress in applied ecological knowledge, it will be necessary to consider pollution and urbanization processes explicitly using a field experimental framework. This information could improve our understanding of how ecosystems present along the SE Pacific coast respond to climate change and increased levels of human interventions.
Data from: Nutrient limitation or home field advantage: does microbial community adaptation overcome nutrient limitation of litter decomposition in a tropical peatland?
Litter decomposition is an important control on carbon accumulation in tropical peatlands. Stoichiometric theory suggests that decomposition is regulated by elemental ratios in litter while the home field advantage (HFA) hypothesis predicts that decomposer communities are adapted to local conditions. To date, the relative importance of these contrasting theories for litter decomposition and therefore the carbon balance of tropical peatlands remain poorly understood. We conducted two in situ litter decomposition experiments in a lowland tropical peatland. The first experiment tested the importance of the stoichiometric theory using a factorial nutrient addition experiment at two sites with contrasting vegetation (Raphia taedigera and Campnosperma panamensis) to assess how nutrient addition affected microbial enzyme activity and litter mass loss at the peat surface and at 50 cm depth. The second experiment tested the importance of HFA by reciprocal translocation of leaf litter from R. taedigera and C. panamensis forests, which differed in both litter chemistry and soil nutrient availability, to separate the influence of litter chemistry and soil/site properties on litter mass loss. The activities of hydrolytic enzymes involved in the decomposition of large plant polymers were stimulated by nitrogen addition only where nitrogen availability was low relative to phosphorus, and were stimulated by phosphorus addition where phosphorus availability was low. The addition of nitrogen, but not phosphorus, increased leaf litter decomposition under waterlogged conditions at 50 cm depth, but not at the peat surface. Decomposition was greatest for autochthonous litter irrespective of site nutrient status, indicating that adaptation of the microbial community to low nutrients can partly overcome nutrient limitation, and suggesting that HFA can influence litter decomposition rates. Synthesis. Our study shows that leaf litter decomposition and the activity of microbial enzymes in tropical peatlands are constrained in part by nutrient availability. However, such nutrient limitation of litter decomposition can be overcome by adaptation of the microbial community.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
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.