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opencc-zeroDec 2018View details →

Data from: Maternal effects obscure condition-dependent sex allocation in changing environments

Climate change increases environmental fluctuations which thereby impact population demography. Species with temperature-dependent sex determination may experience more extreme sex ratio skews, but this has not been considered in species with chromosomally-determined sex. However, anticipatory maternal effects cause lifelong physiological changes impacting sex ratios. Here we show, in mice, that more sons were born to mothers in good condition when their breeding environment matched their gestational environment, consistent with theoretical predictions, but mothers in mismatched environments have no condition sex-ratio relationship. Thus, the predicted effect of condition on sex ratio was obscured by maternal effects when the environment changed. This may explain extreme or unexpected sex ratio skews in reintroduced or translocated populations, and sex ratio skews may become more common and less predictable with accelerating environmental change.

Data from: Deer-mediated changes in environment compound the direct impacts of herbivory on understory plant communities

1. In forests of eastern North America, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) can directly affect, via herbivory, the presence, abundance, and reproductive success of many plant species. In addition, deer indirectly influence understory communities by altering environmental conditions. 2. To examine how deer indirectly influence understory plants via environmental modification, we sampled vegetation and environmental variables in- and outside deer exclosures (10-20 years old) located in temperate forests in northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA. We assessed how excluding deer affected understory community composition and structure, the soil and light environment, and relationships between direct and indirect effects using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), mixed linear models and non-parametric multiplicative regression (NPMR). 3. Excluding deer altered sapling communities and several aspects of the understory environment. Excluding deer from plots with lower overstory basal area increased sapling abundance, decreasing the amount of light available to groundlayer plants. Exclusion also reduced soil compaction and the thickness of the soil E horizon. 4. The composition of understory communities and the frequencies of various species and groups covaried in apparent response to the environmental factors affected by exclusion. In several common species and groups, E horizon thickness, compaction, openness, and/or total (sapling and overstory) basal area were significant predictors of plant frequency. 5. Complementary analyses revealed that deer exclusion also altered the frequency distributions of several species and groups across environmental space. Synthesis: Deer alter many facets of the understory environment, such as light availability, soil compaction and depth of the soil E horizon, which, in turn, appear to mediate variation in plant communities. Those environmental modifications likely compound direct impacts of herbivory as drivers of understory community change, having important implications for forest composition. Thus, we suggest a reexamination of the common assumption that understory community shifts stem primarily from tissue removal.

opencc-zeroDec 2011View details →

Data from: Fitness effects of thermoregulation in a thermally changing environment

To better understand the evolution of phenotypic plasticity and thermoregulation and their potential value for ectotherms in the face of global warming, we conducted field experiments to measure their effects on fitness and their association with reproductive phenology in Plantago lanceolata in a thermally variable environment. We measured the reproductive timing and success of genotypes varying in thermoregulation, as mediated by floral-reflectance plasticity. Results were consistent with the hypothesis that thermoregulation is more adaptive when thermally variable reproductive seasons are shorter and cooler. Strong thermoregulation/plasticity increased reproductive success during the cool portion of the reproductive season but not during the warm portion. Directional selection that favored strongly thermoregulating genotypes early in the season shifted to stabilizing selection that favored genotypes with weaker thermoregulation later in the season. Thermoregulation and reproductive phenology were negatively correlated. Although reproductive onset and duration were similar between genotypes, strong thermoregulators produced more and larger spikes (clutches) early; weak thermoregulators produced more spikes late. Results suggest that with atmospheric warming, the benefit of raising body temperature via thermoregulation when it is cool should decline in extant populations. The negative correlation between thermoregulation and phenology should accelerate the evolutionary shift toward thermoconformity, that is, reduced plasticity.

opencc-zeroDec 2014View details →

Data from: Evidence that implicit assumptions of 'no evolution' of disease vectors in changing environments can be violated on a rapid timescale

Projected impacts of climate change on vector-borne disease dynamics must consider many variables relevant to hosts, vectors and pathogens, including how altered environmental characteristics might affect the spatial distributions of vector species. However, many predictive models for vector distributions consider their habitat requirements to be fixed over relevant time-scales, when they may actually be capable of rapid evolutionary change and even adaptation. We examine the genetic signature of a spatial expansion by an invasive vector into locations with novel temperature conditions compared to its native range as a proxy for how existing vector populations may respond to temporally changing habitat. Specifically, we compare invasions into different climate ranges and characterize the importance of selection from the invaded habitat. We demonstrate that vector species can exhibit evolutionary responses (altered allelic frequencies) to a temperature gradient in as little as 7–10 years even in the presence of high gene flow, and further, that this response varies depending on the strength of selection. We interpret these findings in the context of climate change predictions for vector populations and emphasize the importance of incorporating vector evolution into models of future vector-borne disease dynamics.

Data from: Adaptation to a novel family environment involves both apparent and cryptic phenotypic changes

Cryptic evolution occurs when evolutionary change is masked by concurrent environmental change. In most cases, evolutionary changes in the phenotype are masked by changing abiotic factors. However, evolutionary change in one trait might also be masked by evolutionary change in another trait, a phenomenon referred to as evolutionary environmental deterioration. Nevertheless, detecting this second type of cryptic evolution is challenging and there are few compelling examples. Here, we describe a likely case of evolutionary environmental deterioration occurring in experimental burying beetle (Nicrophorus vespilloides) populations that are adapting to a novel social environment that lacks post-hatching parental care. We found that populations rapidly adapted to the removal of post-hatching parental care. This adaptation involved clear increases in breeding success and larval density (number of dispersing larvae produced per gram of breeding carcass), which in turn masked a concurrent increase in the mean larval mass across generations. This cryptic increase in larval mass was accomplished through a change in the reaction norm that relates mean larval mass to larval density. Our results suggest that cryptic evolution might be commonplace in animal families, because evolving trophic and social interactions can potentially mask evolutionary change in other traits, like body size.

opencc-zeroNov 2019View details →

Changing environments and genetic variation: natural variation in inbreeding does not compromise short-term physiological responses

Selfing plant lineages are surprisingly widespread and successful in a broad range of environments, despite showing reduced genetic diversity, which is predicted to reduce long-term evolutionary potential. However, appropriate short-term plastic responses to new environmental conditions might not require high levels of standing genetic variation. In this study, we tested whether mating system variation among populations, and associated changes in genetic variability, affected short-term responses to environmental challenges. We compared relative fitness and metabolome profiles of naturally outbreeding (genetically diverse) and inbreeding (genetically depauperate) populations of a perennial plant, Arabidopsis lyrata, under constant growth chamber conditions and an outdoor common garden environment outside its native range. We found no effect of inbreeding on survival, flowering phenology or short-term physiological responses. Specifically, naturally occurring inbreeding had no significant effects on the plasticity of metabolome profiles, using either multivariate approaches or analysis of variation in individual metabolites, with inbreeding populations showing similar physiological responses to outbreeding populations over time in both growing environments. We conclude that low genetic diversity in naturally inbred populations may not always compromise fitness or short-term physiological capacity to respond to environmental change, which could help to explain the global success of selfing mating strategies.

opencc-zeroDec 2017View details →

Data from: Trap nests for bees and wasps to analyse trophic interactions in changing environments - a systematic overview and user guide

1. Trap nests are artificially made nesting resources for solitary cavity-nesting bees and wasps and allow easy quantification of multiple trophic interactions between bees, wasps, their food objects and natural enemies. 2. We synthesized all trap nest studies available in the ISI Web of Science™ to provide a comprehensive overview of trap nest research and identify common practical challenges and promising future research directions. 3. Trap nests have been used on all continents and across climate zones and publication numbers have increased exponentially since the first studies in the 1950s. Originally used for detailed exploratory natural history observations, trap nests are now also an established method in hypothesis-driven ecology and to assess environmental changes. We identify the potential of trap nests for environmental monitoring by assessing trophic interaction networks of the groups involved. While pollen collection by bees or prey hunting by wasps has often been addressed, and interactions with natural enemies were included in almost half of all publications, surprisingly few studies have quantified trophic interaction networks in response to natural and anthropogenic environmental changes. 4. By simultaneously revealing a multitude of trophic interactions, trap nests have the potential to broaden our understanding how species interaction networks are influenced by manifold environmental changes, which are pressing topics in ecological research. To foster the use of trap nests in future studies, we identify common challenges and offer guidance on practical solutions.

Data from: The changing environment of conservation conflict: geese and farming in Scotland

1.Conflict between conservation objectives and human livelihoods is ubiquitous and can be highly damaging, but the processes generating it are poorly understood. Ecological elements are central to conservation conflict, and changes in their dynamics – for instance due to anthropogenic environmental change – are likely to influence the emergence of serious human-wildlife impacts and, consequently, social conflict. 2.We used mixed-effects models to examine the drivers of historic spatio-temporal dynamics in numbers of Greenland barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) on the Scottish island of Islay to identify the ecological processes that have shaped the environment in which conflict between goose conservation and agriculture has been triggered. 3.Barnacle goose numbers on Islay increased from 20,000 to 43,000 between 1987 and 2016. Over the same period, the area of improved grassland increased, the number of sheep decreased and the climate warmed. 4.Goose population growth was strongly linked to the increasing area of improved grassland, which provided geese with more high quality forage. Changing climatic conditions, particularly warming temperatures on Islay and breeding grounds in Greenland, have also boosted goose numbers. 5.As the goose population has grown, farms have supported geese more frequently and in larger numbers, with subsequent damaging effects. The creation of high-quality grassland appears to have largely driven damage by geese. Our analysis also reveals the drivers of spatial variation in goose impacts: geese were more likely to occur on farms closer to roosts and those with more improved grassland. However, as geese numbers have increased they have spread to previously less favoured farms. 6.Synthesis and applications. Our study demonstrates the primary role of habitat modification in the emergence of conflict between goose conservation and agriculture, alongside a secondary role of climate change. Our research illustrates the value of exploring socio-ecological history to understand the processes leading to conservation conflict. In doing so, we identify those elements that are more controllable, such as local habitat management, and less controllable, such as climate change, but which both need to be taken into account when managing conservation conflict.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2024View details →

Pesodu-periodic changes in the crust thinning at the Eastern Asia link to global surface environment evolution and biological distinction

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opencc-by-4.0Nov 2024View details →

Pesodu-periodic changes in the crust thinning at the Eastern Asia link to global surface environment evolution and biological distinction

Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2021View details →

Cryptophytes: a keystone algal group in the rapidly changing Antarctic Peninsula marine environments - data availability

This dataset contains the results of relative and absolute contributions of cryptophytes derived from the HPLC/CHEMTAX analysis. The data were collected during the late summer (February) between 2008-2018 along the Northern Antarctic Peninsula. The index of photoprotective carotenoid pigments to chlorophyll-a (PPC: Chl-a) used in the study is also presented.

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2022View details →

Supplementary materials for "Testing Software's Changing Features with Environment-Driven Abstraction Identification"

Supplementary materials of the paper entitled: “Testing Software’s Changing Features with Environment-Driven Abstraction Identification”

opencc-zeroJan 2022View details →

Data from: The war of corals: patterns, drivers, and implications of changing coral competitive performances across reef environments

Amidst global environmental changes, predicting species responses to future environments is a critical challenge for preserving biodiversity and associated human benefits. We explored the original idea that coral competitive performances, the ability of corals to preempt ecological space on the reef through territorial warfare, serve as indicators of species' ecological niches and environmental windows, and therefore, responses to future environments. Our surveys indicated that coral performances varied with taxonomic-identity, size, and position along environmental gradients, highlighting complex interplays between life-history, warfare-strategy, and niche segregation. Our results forewarn that growing alterations of coastal environments may trigger shifts in coral dominance, with decline of major reef-building taxa like acroporids, and underscore the importance of restraining human impacts for coastal resilience. Our empirical approach untangles the complexity of species' battle-like interactions and can help identify winners and losers in various communities caught in the interplay between ecological niches, environmental windows, and global changes.

opencc-zeroMar 2022View details →

Environment driven changes in diversity of riparian plant communities along a mountain river

The study of changes in species richness and composition along rivers has focused on large spatial scales. It has been ignored that in different sections of the river (high mountain area, middle zone and river mouth) the specific environmental conditions can generate different longitudinal patterns of the species richness and composition. In this study we determine if species richness and composition of the riparian plant communities change along a mountain river and if these changes are related with environmental variables. We expect an increase in species richness and turnover along the river, that the upstream communities would be a subset of the downstream communities and that such would be related to edaphic and hydrologic conditions. To test this, we sampled three strata of the riparian vegetation (upper: individuals with <1 cm of ND, middle: individuals with >1 cm of ND, low: individuals with >1 m tall) in a set 15 sites that we place along a mountain river. Additionally, we recorded topographic, hydrological, morphological, and soil variables. We performed correlation analyzes to determine if changes in species richness and turnover were related to increased distance to the origin of the river. Also, we obtained the nestedness and evaluated the importance of environmental variables with GLM, LASSO regression and CCA. With the increase in distance the species richness decreases in the upper stratum, but not in the middle and the low stratum (although the highest values were observed near the origin of the river), the turnover increase in all strata and the upstream communities were not a subset of the downstream communities. The changes in species richness and composition were related to topographic (altitude), hydrological (flow) and edaphic (conductivity and pH) variables. Our results indicate that at small spatial scales the patterns of richness and composition differ from what has been found at larger spatial scales and that these patterns are associated with environmental changes in the strong altitude gradients of mountain rivers.

opencc-zeroMar 2022View details →

Ecological impacts of photosynthetic light harvesting in changing aquatic environments: A systematic literature map

Underwater light is spatially as well as temporally variable and directly affects phytoplankton growth and competition. Here we systematically (following the guidelines of PRISMA-EcoEvo) searched and screened the published literature resulting in 640 individual articles. We mapped the conducted research for the objectives of (1) phytoplankton fundamental responses to light, (2) effects of light on the competition between phytoplankton species and (3) effects of climate change induced changes in the light availability in aquatic ecosystems. Among the fundamental responses of phytoplankton to light, the effects of light intensity (quantity, as measure of total photon or energy flux) were investigated in most identified studies. The effects of the light spectrum (quality) that via species-specific light absorbance result in direct consequences on species competition emerged more recently. Complexity in competition arises due to variability and fluctuations in light which effects are sparsely investigated on community level. Predictions regarding future climate change scenarios included changes in in stratification and mixing, lake and coastal ocean darkening, UV radiation, ice melting as well as light pollution which affect the underwater light-climate. Generalization of consequences is difficult due to a high variability, interactions of consequences as well as a lack in sustained timeseries and holistic approaches. Nevertheless, our systematic literature map, and the identified articles within, provide a comprehensive overview and shall guide prospective research.

opencc-by-4.0Oct 2022View details →

Change Detection in Dynamic Environments by Means of a Robotic Swarm - Digital Appendix

Digital Appendix for my thesis Change Detection in Dynamic Environments by Means of a Robotic Swarm. In the zip-file you find a README that guides you through the structure and where to find the plots for the respective experiments. Change Detection of Dynamic Environments by Means of a Robotic Swarm - Digital Appendix The following folder structure holds all research data of my conducted experiments(h5-logfiles and plots). The Python-Script "show_h5.py" can be used to read out the logfile in h5-format ($python3 show_h5.py expample_logfilename.h5). However, this shouldn't be necessary because all plots are already generated. To find the results you want to see, this is a small guide through the structure: <ol> <li> First the trials are divided into the respective methods (BOCPD, PELT, DBB, DBBCPD). In the folders you find the experiments for the specific method. </li> <li> In the folders of BOCPD and PELT you find the results for the different feedback types and their combinations. The id for each feedback is noted in parentheses (e.g. XX_(id)_feedback_description). Feedback combinations have their ids added up (e.g. XX_(id1+...+idn)_feedback_description). </li> <li> In the folder to each feedback type the different test trials can be found. This means varying environment difficulties and parameter settings. In the name of the folders this information can be found (e.g. XX_method_environmentdifficulty_parametersetting). </li> </ol> All experiments follow the same procedure as long as it is stated otherwise. Each trial consists of 20 individual runs with a duration of 6000 seconds. At half time (3000 s) a change to the opposite fill ratio occurs (fill ratio of 1.0 defines a completely white and one of 0.0 a completely black environment). Environment difficulty <ul> <li> 0901 --> easy environment, fill ratio changed from 0.9 to 0.1 </li> <li> 0703 --> easy environment, fill ratio changed from 0.7 to 0.3 </li> <li> 0604 --> easy environment, fill ratio changed from 0.6 to 0.4 </li> <li> 055045 --> easy environment, fill ratio changed from 0.55 to 0.45 </li> </ul> Parameter Setting The setting is in the name of the folder composed of: feedbackID: intervalLength amountNeighbors <ul> <li> 3c:50s3n --> feedback 3c with a 50s interval and 3 neighbors </li> </ul> In these folders all plots of the respective runs can be found showing a Boxplot of all 20 runs and for each run the swarm belief, the decision distribution and the reset histogram (before/after the change)

Data from: Melanin in a changing world: brown trout coloration reflects alternative reproductive strategies in variable environments

Melanins are the most widespread pigments in animals but their adaptive significance remains elusive. Recent studies suggest that intraspecific variation in melanin-based coloration reflects individual genetic-based alternative strategies to cope with environment variability, which could be crucial for their responses to climate changes. However, empirical evidence is still scarce. In this study, we tested how skin coloration in natural populations of brown trout Salmo trutta fario would reflect alternative reproductive strategies in different environments. We experimentally manipulated the flow regime (constant vs. variable) in artificial streams and compared the reproductive investment (body mass and plasma triglyceride variations), innate immunity (variations in plasma peroxidase and lysozyme activity) and reproductive success (number of mates and offspring) of differently colored brown trout over 2 reproductive seasons. Results show that darker males had a higher reproductive investment, but similar immune variations during reproduction compared to paler males. In addition, this reproductive investment was higher in variable environments. However, this did not translate into a higher reproductive success in variable environments, as darker males had a similar number of mates and offspring compared to their paler counterparts under a variable water flow. Since climate change will likely lead to an increased flow variability in the next decades, this suggests that darker brown trout could incur a higher energetic cost of reproduction and could be more impacted by climate changes than their paler counterparts. This highlights the need to take into account intraspecific variability to better forecast the response of natural populations to climate changes.