Find research datasets worth reusing

opencc-zeroJun 2022View details →

Data from: Terrigenous subsidies in lakes support zooplankton production mainly via a green food chain and not the brown food chain

Terrestrial organic matter (t-OM) has been recognized as an important cross-boundary subsidy to aquatic ecosystems. However, recent evidence has shown that t-OM contributes little to promote secondary production in lakes because it is low quality food for aquatic consumers. To resolve this conflict, we performed a field experiment using leaf litter as t-OM. In the experiment, we monitored zooplankton biomass in enclosures with and without addition of leaf litter under shaded and unshaded conditions and assessed food web changes with stable isotope analyses. We then examined whether or not leaf litter indeed stimulates lake secondary production and, if it does, which food chain, the detritus-originated food chain ("brown" food chain) or the algae-originated food chain ("green" food chain), contributes more to this increase. Analyses with stable isotopes showed a substantial importance of t-OM in supporting the secondary production under ambient lake conditions. However, addition of the leaf litter increased the zooplankton biomass under unshaded conditions but not under shaded conditions. We found that phosphorus was leached from leaf litter at much faster rate than organic carbon and nitrogen despite its low content in the leaf litter. These results showed that leaf litter stimulated the increase of zooplankton biomass mainly through the green food chain rather than through the brown food chain, because the leaf litter supplied limiting nutrients (i.e., phosphorus) for primary producers. Our results indicate that the functional stoichiometry of the subsidized organic matter plays a crucial role in determining the relative importance of brown and green food chains in promoting production at higher trophic levels in recipient ecosystems.

opencc-zeroJul 2022View details →

Data from: Human food subsidies drive individual specialization and intrapopulation dietary differences in a generalist predator

Generalist species can exhibit individual specialization (IS), where individuals adopt specialized foraging behaviors not attributable to age, sex, or social dominance. While IS increases with the diversity of available foraging resources (ecological opportunity), the potential impact of human food subsidies on ecological opportunity is unknown. We quantified the isotopic niche width of Steller's Jays (Cyanocitta stelleri), a synanthropic predator and dietary generalist, across a gradient of human land-use categories ranging from subsidized (park campgrounds) to unsubsidized (forest interior) habitats in a protected area in California. We asked (1) if isotopic niche width was better predicted by individual foraging behavior than sex, social dominance, or habitat category (indicating IS) and (2) if degree of IS exhibited by jays increased with the availability of human food subsidies. We characterized the isotopic niche space occupied by individual jays relative to the population using carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope values. Using linear models, we found that jay diet variation was best explained by individual behavior and habitat use rather than by sex or social dominance. While degree of IS increased with the availability of human foods, individual jays exhibited a variety of foraging behaviors in all habitats that were segregated by foraging stratum and use of human foods. Individual diet also determined the degree of specialization, as jays that specialized on human foods had the narrowest niche width regardless of habitat. Management efforts targeted at generalist wildlife exhibiting large degrees of IS should therefore account for the impact of food subsidies on foraging behavior. Approaches that involve aversive conditioning may fail where highly-specialized individuals are unlikely to encounter treatments, therefore we recommend simultaneous efforts to limit human food subsidies (e.g., information campaigns and improved containment of human food and food waste), and deployment across the largest possible extent of foraging microhabitats and substrates in order to ensure exposure of whole populations to emetic eggs.

opencc-by-4.0Jul 2022View details →

Obesity and acute stress modulate appetite and neural responses in food word reactivity task

Data used in "Carnell S, Benson L, Papantoni A, Chen L, Huo Y, Wang Z, Peterson BS, Geliebter A. Obesity and acute stress modulate appetite and neural responses in food word reactivity task. PloS one"

opencc-zeroAug 2022View details →

Variety is the spice of life: flying-foxes exploit a variety of native and exotic food plants in an urban landscape mosaic

Generally, urbanization is a major threat to biodiversity; however, urban areas also provide habitats that some species can exploit. Flying-foxes (Pteropus spp.) are becoming increasingly urbanized; which is thought to be a result of increased availability and temporal stability of urban food resources, diminished natural food resources, or both. Previous research has shown that urban-roosting grey-headed flying-foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus) preferentially forage in human-modified landscapes. However, which land-use areas and food plants support its presence in urban areas is unknown. We tracked nine P. poliocephalus roosting in Adelaide, South Australia, between December 2019 and May 2020, using global positioning systems (GPS), to investigate how individuals used the urban landscape mosaic for feeding. The most frequently visited land-use category was "residential" (40% of fixes) followed by "road-side," "reserves" and "primary production" (13–14% each). However, "reserves" were visited four times more frequently than expected from their areal availability, followed by the "residential" and "road-side" categories that were visited approximately twice more than expected each; in contrast, the "primary production" category was visited approximately five times less than expected. These results suggest that while residential areas provide most foraging resources supporting Adelaide's flying-fox population, reserves contain foraging resources that are particularly attractive to P. poliocephalus. Primary production land was relatively less utilized, presumably because it contains few food resources. Throughout, flying-foxes visited an eclectic mixture of diet plants (49 unique species), with a majority of feeding fixes (63%) to locally indigenous Australian native species; however, in residential areas 53% of feeding visits were to non-locally indigenous species, vs only 13% in reserves. Flowering and fruiting phenology records of the food plants visited further indicated that non-locally indigenous species increase the temporal availability of foraging resources for P. poliocephalus in urban Adelaide. Our findings demonstrate the importance of residential areas for urban-roosting P. poliocephalus, and suggest that the anthropogenic mixture of food resources available in the urban landscape mosaic supports the species' year-round presence in urban areas. Our results further highlight the importance of conserving natural habitats within the urban landscape mosaic, and stress the need for accounting for wildlife responses to urban greening initiatives.

opencc-zeroSep 2022View details →

Dictyostelium discoideum cells retain nutrients when the cells are about to outgrow their food source

Dictyostelium discoideum is a unicellular eukaryote that eats bacteria, and eventually overgrows the bacteria. D. discoideum cells accumulate extracellular polyphosphate (polyP), and the polyP concentration increases as the local cell density increases. At high cell densities, the correspondingly high extracellular polyP concentrations allow cells to sense that they are about to overgrow their food supply and starve, causing the D. discoideum cells to inhibit their proliferation. In this report, we show that high extracellular polyP inhibits exocytosis of undigested or partially digested nutrients. PolyP decreases plasma membrane recycling and apparent cell membrane fluidity, and this requires the G protein-coupled polyP receptor GrlD, the polyphosphate kinase Ppk1, and the inositol hexakisphosphate kinase I6kA. PolyP alters protein contents in detergent-insoluble crude cytoskeletons, but does not significantly affect random cell motility, cell speed, or F-actin levels. Together, these data suggest that D. discoideum cells use polyP as a signal to sense their local cell density and reduce cell membrane fluidity and membrane recycling, perhaps as a mechanism to retain ingested food when the cells are about to starve.

opencc-zeroSep 2022View details →

The microbiome of the pelagic tunicate Dolioletta gegenbauri: A potential link between the grazing and microbial food web

Bloom-forming gelatinous zooplankton occur circumglobally and significantly influence the structure of pelagic marine food webs and biogeochemical cycling through interactions with microbial communities. During bloom conditions especially, gelatinous zooplankton are keystone taxa that help determine the fate of primary production, nutrient remineralization, and carbon export. Using the pelagic tunicate Dolioletta gegenbauri as a model system for gelatinous zooplankton, we carried out a laboratory-based feeding experiment to investigate the potential ecosystem impacts of doliolid gut microbiomes and microbial communities associated with doliolid fecal pellets and the surrounding seawater. Targeted metabarcoding (16S rRNA genes recovering Bacteria/Archaea) and qPCR approaches were used to characterize microbiome assemblages. Comparison between sample types revealed distinct patterns in microbial diversity and biomass that were replicable across experiments. These observations support the hypothesis that through their presence and trophic activity, doliolids influence the structure of pelagic food webs and biogeochemical cycling in subtropical continental shelf systems where tunicate blooms are common. Bacteria associated with starved doliolids (representative of the resident gut microbiome) possessed distinct low-biomass and low-diversity microbial assemblages, suggesting that the doliolid microbiome is optimized to support a detrital trophic mode. Bacterial genera Pseudoalteromomas and Shimia were the most abundant potential core microbiome taxa, similar to patterns observed in other marine invertebrates. Exploratory bioinformatic analyses of predicted functional genes suggest that doliolids, via their interactions with bacterial communities, may affect important biogeochemical processes including nitrogen, sulfur, and organic matter cycling.

Dataset for: Intercontinental analysis of temperate steppe stream food webs reveals consistent autochthonous support of fishes

Quantifying the trophic basis of production for freshwater metazoa at broad spatial scales is key to understanding ecosystem function and has been a research priority for decades. However, previous lotic food web studies have been limited by geographic coverage or methodological constraints. We used compound-specific stable carbon isotope analysis of amino acids to estimate basal resource contributions to fish consumers in streams spanning grassland, montane, and semi-arid ecoregions of the temperate steppe biome on two continents. Across a range of stream sizes and light regimes, we found consistent trophic importance of aquatic resources. Essential amino acids of heterotrophic microbial origin generally provided secondary support for fishes, while terrestrial carbon did not seem to provide any significant, direct support. These findings provide strong evidence for the dominant contribution of carbon to higher-order consumers by aquatic autochthonous resources (primarily) and heterotrophic microbial communities (secondarily) in temperate steppe streams.

Data from: Effects of manipulated food availability and seasonality on innate immune function in a passerine

1. The innate immune system is essential for survival, yet many immune traits are highly variable between and within individuals. In recent years, attention has shifted to the role of environmental factors in modulating this variation. A key environmental factor is food availability, which plays a major role in shaping life-histories, and may affect resource allocation to immune function through its effect on nutritional state. 2. We developed a technique to permanently increase foraging costs in seed-eating birds, and leveraged this technique to study the effects of food availability on the innate immune system over a three-year period in 230 zebra finches housed in outdoor aviaries. The immune components we studied were haptoglobin, ovotransferrin, nitric oxide, natural antibodies through agglutination, complement-mediated lysis, and killing capacity of Escherichia coli and Candida albicans, covering a broad spectrum of the innate immune system. We explored effects of food availability in conjunction with other potentially important variables: season, age, sex, and manipulated natal brood size. 3. Increased foraging costs affected multiple components of the immune system, albeit in a variable way. Nitric oxide and agglutination levels were lower under harsh foraging conditions, while Escherichia coli killing capacity was increased. Agglutination levels also varied seasonally, but only at low foraging costs. C. albicans' killing capacity was lower in winter, and even more so for animals in harsh foraging conditions that were raised in large broods. Effects of food availability on ovotransferrin were also seasonal, and only apparent in males. Haptoglobin levels were independent of foraging costs and season. 4. Males had higher levels of immune function than females for 3 of the measured immune traits. Innate immune function was independent of age and manipulated natal brood size. 5. Our finding that food availability affects innate immune function suggests that fitness effects of food availability may at least partially be mediated by effects on the immune system. However, food availability effects on innate immunity varied in direction between traits, illustrating the complexity of the immune system and precluding conclusions on the level of disease resistance.

Data from: The role of non-natural foods in the nutritional strategies of monkeys in a human-modified mosaic landscape

Many tropical animals inhabit mosaic landscapes including human-modified habitat. In such landscapes, animals commonly adjust feeding behavior, and may incorporate non-natural foods. These behavioral shifts can influence consumers' nutritional states, with implications for population persistence. However, few studies have addressed the nutritional role of non-natural food. We examined nutritional ecology of wild blue monkeys to understand how dietary habits related to non-natural foods might support population persistence in a mosaic landscape. We documented prevalence and nutritional composition of non-natural foods in monkey diets to assess how habitat use influenced their consumption and their contribution to nutritional strategies. While most energy and macronutrients came from natural foods, subjects focused non-natural feeding activity on five exotic plants and averaged about a third of daily calories from non-natural foods. Most non-natural food calories came from non-structural carbohydrates and least from protein. Consumption of non-natural foods related to time in human-modified habitats, which two groups used non-randomly. Non-natural and natural foods were similar in nutrients, and the amount of non-natural food consumed drove variation in nutritional strategy. When more daily calories came from non-natural foods, females consumed a higher ratio of non-protein energy to protein (NPE:P). Females also prioritized protein while allowing NPE:P to vary, increasing NPE while capitalizing on non-natural foods. Overall, these tropical mammals achieved a similar nutrient balance regardless of their intake of non-natural foods. Forest and forest-adjacent areas with non-natural vegetation may provide adequate nutrient access for consumers, and thus contribute to wildlife conservation in mosaic tropical landscapes.

Data from: Transcriptomic responses to the consumption of nuptial food gifts by female decorated crickets

Nuptial food gifts offered by males to females at mating are shaped by sexual conflict, allowing males direct access to female physiology. However, a molecular dissection of their effect on females is rare. In decorated crickets, the male's nuptial gift comprises part of the male's spermatophore, the spermatophylax, which functions to deter the female from prematurely removing the sperm-containing portion, the ampulla, from her genital opening. However, ingested spermatophylax compounds and proteins contained in the ampulla could also influence female physiology and behavior to the male's benefit. We investigated how mating per se and these two distinct routes of potential male-mediated manipulation influence the transcriptional response of females. We conducted an RNA-sequencing experiment on the gut and head tissue from females for whom consumption of nuptial food gifts and receipt of an ejaculate had been independently manipulated. In the gut tissue, we found that females not permitted to feed during mating exhibit a decreased expression of many genes, which seems to be caused by reduced gut function, but this was countered by female feeding on the spermatophylax or a sham gift. In the head tissue, we found only low numbers of differentially expressed genes, but a gene co-expression network analysis revealed that both the attachment of the ampulla and the consumption of the spermatophylax independently induce their own distinct patterns of gene expression. This study provides evidence that spermatophylax feeding alters the female post-mating transcriptomic response in decorated crickets, highlighting its potential to mediate sexual conflict in this system.

Raw data for: Novel food resources and conservation of ecological interactions between the Andean Araucaria and the Austral parakeet

In fragile ecosystems, the introduction of exotic species could alter some ecological processes. The Austral parakeet (Enicognathus ferrugineous) shows close ecological and evolutionary relationships with the Andean Araucaria (Araucaria araucana), so any alteration in these interactions may have negative consequences for both partners and for ecosystem functioning and structure. We conducted extensive roadside surveys to estimate the abundance of parakeets in the northern Patagonian Andes over four years and recorded the food plants consumed by foraging flocks. The use of native habitats and humanized areas like villages and farms was influenced by Araucaria seed crop. In masting years, the large seed crop allowed a massive use of this resource during the non-breeding season, and even during the breeding season. The exploitation of exotic plants was minor in the masting year, but became predominant in non-masting years, especially during the non-breeding season. This feeding switch towards exotic plants primarily arose because the low Araucaria seed crop in non-masting years is entirely consumed just after production by domestic and wild exotic mammals living in Araucaria forests year-round, thus forcing the displacement of parakeets towards anthropic habitats to exploit exotic plants. Given the degradation of the remaining Andean Araucaria forests due to the impact of exotic mammals on the ecological interaction between Araucaria and Austral parakeets, ambitious programs to exclude or reduce the density of these alien mammals, including livestock, are warranted.

opencc-zeroOct 2018View details →

Shengding Food Vessel, around 575 BCE

Model of a large (68cm or 27 inches wide) bronze shengding food vessel from southern China, now in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art. From the object's description on artsmia.org: *Around the cauldron body are six kui (single horn) dragons in high relief climbing upward toward the lid. Supporting the vessel are three stout legs with stylized dragon masks cast into their shoulders. The surface is ornamented with interlaced dragons, incised scale patterns, and overlapping feather-like motifs. While most of the ornament was made by traditional piece-mold bronze-casting technology, the six dragons, with their complex, perforated shapes, were made separately with the lost-wax method.* More information about the model here: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/98381/shengding-food-vessel-china Source: Objaverse 1.0 / Sketchfab

opencc-zeroFeb 2021View details →

Xu Food Vessel with Lid

Xu food vessel, early 9th century BCE, now in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art. [More Information](http://collections.artsmia.org/art/17628/xu-food-vessel-china) Source: Objaverse 1.0 / Sketchfab

opencc-zeroDec 2018View details →

Bronze gui food vessel, 11th-10th C BCE

Bronze gui food vessel, 11th-10th C BCE, now in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art. From the object's description on artsmia.org: *"...The most interesting feature of the vessel is the decor on the bottom surface. It is a coiled dragon, in threadlike relief, with a rolled-up nose and a body adorned with a row of big scales."* More information about the object here: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/1125/gui-food-vessel-china Source: Objaverse 1.0 / Sketchfab

opencc-zeroAug 2019View details →

Incised-groove Vase Food Vessel

Culture: [Bronze Age](http://n2t.net/ark:/99152/p0ff3dtkhrj) Material: clay Diam: 14.5cm H 12.5cm Accession No: HCA 609 Current Location: [The Hunt Museum](https://www.huntmuseum.com/), [Limerick](https://www.geonames.org/7778675/limerick-city.html). An [Early Bronze Age](http://n2t.net/ark:/99152/p0kh9dshs59) 'Food Vessel' with an angular profile, with zoned incised decoration on the internal rim and body There is a vertical ladder pattern on the rim/neck; a band of alternate vertical and horizontal panels on the shoulder with a herringbone design beneath. The lower body has infilled chevron patterning and a herringbone motif. The vase is an insular Irish tradition often found in [cist graves](http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300005941). This vase comes from Mitchelstown, [Co. Cork](https://www.geonames.org/2965139/county-cork.html). [More](https://www.huntmuseum.com/explore/item/7268c6db-8b4b-3b88-afca-9f5937d02a9f/?s%3Dinkwell&pos=3). Source: Objaverse 1.0 / Sketchfab

opencc-zeroJan 2021View details →

Lower-poly Liding food vessel, 12th-11th C BCE

This is a low-poly version of [Liding food vessel](https://skfb.ly/6SJnH) - this one is better for mobile and VR/AR. Ancient Chinese bronze food vessel, 12th-11th century BCE, now in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art. From the vessel's description on [artsmia.org](https://new.artsmia.org/) : *"The prototype of the bronze vessel known as li was a coarse pottery version of the same shape and name, made in the later Neolithic period (c. 3000–2000 BCE). These pots served as cooking vessels, mainly for porridge, and featured three prominent hollow legs shaped like pointed lobes. These hollow legs formed an extension of the interior cavity and were designed to expose the contents of the pot to heat most effectively."* More information: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/1113/liding-food-vessel-china Source: Objaverse 1.0 / Sketchfab

opencc-zeroNov 2018View details →

Ting food vessel, 12th C BCE

Chinese bronze ting (ritual food vessel), 12th C BCE, now in the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art. More information about the model here: https://collections.artsmia.org/art/2388/ting-china Source: Objaverse 1.0 / Sketchfab

opencc-by-sa-4.0Dec 2016View details →

Food Liking Electromyography (FAL1)

This dataset comprises born-open raw data collected during an experiment measuring facial emg during oral processing of foods. Raw data is in proprietary formats: Behavioural data is PST's Eprime 2 Professional (*.edat2) and Physiology data is Biopac's AcqKnowledge (*.ACQ). Text formatted raw data will be posted in a later version of the repository in a single archive once data collection is completed.

opencc-by-sa-4.0Dec 2016View details →

Food Liking Electromyography ARFID (FAL1ARFID)

These are born-open raw data collected during an case study experiment measuring facial emg during oral processing of foods for two individuals with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). Raw data are in proprietary formats: Behavioural data are PST's Eprime 2 Professional (*.edat2) and Physiology data are Biopac's AcqKnowledge (*.ACQ).