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205 results for “Functional ecology”
Data from: Trait-based functional dietary analysis provides a better insight into the foraging ecology of bats
1. The degree of trophic specialization determines the ability of predators to cope with changing foraging conditions, but in predators that prey on hundreds of species it is challenging to assess, especially when prey identity varies among predator individuals and across space and time. 2. Here, we test the hypothesis that a bat species foraging on flying insects like moths will show ample flexibility in trophic niche, and this irrespective of phylogenetic relationships among moths, so as to cope with a high diversity of prey types that vary across seasons. We predict that individual bats will show functional dietary differences consistent with energetic requirements and hunting skills. 3. We used DNA metabarcoding to determine the diet of 126 Mediterranean horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus euryale) from two different sites during three seasons. Simultaneously, we measured moth availability and characterized the traits of 290 moth taxa. Next, we explored the relationship between phylogeny and traits of all consumed and available moth taxa. Finally, we assessed the relationship between individual traits of bats and traits related to prey profitability, for which we used the RLQ and fourth-corner statistical techniques. 4. Seasonality was the main factor explaining the functional dietary variation in adult bats, with moths consumed irrespective of their phylogenetic relationships. While adults consumed moths with a broad range in wing loading, body mass and echolocation detection ability, juveniles consumed slower, smaller and lighter moths, which suggests that young individuals may undergo some fitness gain and/or psychomotor learning process during which they would acquire more effective foraging skills. 5. Our approach revealed a degree of functional flexibility in the trophic niche previously unknown for an insectivorous bat. R. euryale consumed a wide variety of moth taxa differing in profitability throughout seasons and between ontogenetic stages. We showed the validity of trait-based approaches to gain new insights in the trophic specialization of predators consuming hundreds of species of prey.
Data from: Adaptive landscape and functional diversity of Neotropical cichlids: implications for the ecology and evolution of Cichlinae (Cichlidae; Cichliformes)
Morphological, lineage and ecological diversity can vary substantially even among closely related lineages. Factors that influence morphological diversification, especially in functionally relevant traits, can help to explain the modern distribution of disparity across phylogenies and communities. Multivariate axes of feeding functional morphology from 75 species of Neotropical cichlid and a stepwise-AIC algorithm were used to estimate the adaptive landscape of functional morphospace in Cichlinae. Adaptive landscape complexity and convergence, as well as the functional diversity of Cichlinae, were compared with expectations under null evolutionary models. Neotropical cichlid feeding function varied primarily between traits associated with ram feeding vs. suction feeding/biting and secondarily with oral jaw muscle size and pharyngeal crushing capacity. The number of changes in selective regimes and the amount of convergence between lineages was higher than expected under a null model of evolution, but convergence was not higher than expected under a similarly complex adaptive landscape. Functional disparity was compatible with an adaptive landscape model, whereas the distribution of evolutionary change through morphospace corresponded with a process of evolution towards a single adaptive peak. The continentally distributed Neotropical cichlids have evolved relatively rapidly towards a number of adaptive peaks in functional trait space. Selection in Cichlinae functional morphospace is more complex than expected under null evolutionary models. The complexity of selective constraints in feeding morphology has likely been a significant contributor to the diversity of feeding ecology in this clade.
Data from: Life history traits and functional processes generate multiple pathways to ecological stability
Stability contributes to the persistence of ecological communities, yet the interactions among different stabilizing forces are poorly understood. We assembled mesocosms with an algal resource and 1-8 different clones of the consumer Daphnia ambigua and tracked algal and Daphnia abundances through time. We then fitted coupled ordinary differential equations (ODEs) to the consumer-resource time series. We show that variation in different components of stability (local stability and the magnitude of population fluctuations) across mesocosms arises through variation in life history traits and the functional processes represented by ODE model parameters. Local stability was enhanced by increased algal growth rate and Daphnia mortality and foraging rate. Population fluctuations were dampened by high Daphnia conversion efficiency and lower interaction strengths, low algal growth rate, high Daphnia death rate, and low Daphnia foraging. These results indicate that 1) stability in consumer-resource systems may arise through the net effect of multiple related stabilizing pathways, and 2) different aspects of stability can vary independently and may respond in opposite directions to the same forces.
Data from: Feed or fight: testing the impact of food availability and intraspecific aggression on the functional ecology of an island lizard
Body size often varies among insular populations relative to continental conspecifics – the 'island rule' – and functional, context-dependent morphological differences tend to track this body size variation on islands. Two hypotheses are often proposed as potential drivers of insular population differences in morphology: one relating to diet and the other involving intraspecific competition and aggression. We directly tested whether differences in morphology and maximum bite capacity were explained by interisland changes in hardness of both available and consumed prey, and levels of lizard-to-lizard aggression among small-island populations. Our study included 11 islands in the Greek Cyclades and made use of a gradient in island area spanning five orders of magnitude. We focused on the widespread lizard Podarcis erhardii. We found that on smaller islands, P. erhardii body size was larger, head height was larger relative to body size, and maximum bite capacity became proportionally stronger. This pattern in morphology and performance was not related to differences in diet, but was highly correlated with proxies of intraspecific aggression – bite scars and missing toes. Our findings suggest that critical functional traits such as body size and bite force in P. erhardii follow the predictions of the island rule and are changing in response to changes in the competitive landscape across islands of different sizes.
The effects of grass silage additive type and barley grain preservation method on rumen function, microbial ecology, and energy metabolism of dairy cows; supplemental material
<p>Supplementary material related to "The effects of grass silage additive type and barley grain preservation method on rumen function, microbial ecology, and energy metabolism of dairy cows"</p>
Dataset for the manuscript "Homogeneous microenvironmental conditions under nurses promote facilitation". FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
<p>The following directory contains the data necessary to replicate the results obtained in the manuscript entitled '<strong>Homogeneous Microenvironmental Conditions Under Nurses Promote Facilitation</strong>'</p><p>We provided two spreadsheets: 'BD_beneficiaries.xlsx' and 'BD_nurses.xlsx.'</p><p>'BDbeneficiaries.xlsx' contains the data needed to identify beneficiary/non-beneficiary species (sheet: network_<i>data) and the data of functional traits for the tested species (sheet: Beneficiary-Non</i>_beneficiary).</p><p>'BD<i>nurses.xlsx' contains the data needed to identify nurses/non-nurses species (sheet: network_data) and the data of environmental modification provided by nurse/non-nurse species (sheet: nurse-non</i>_nurse effects).</p><p>Both archives contain a metadata sheet describing the meaning of each variable.</p>
Raw data to a publication in Functional Ecology
<p>Raw data to a publication in Functional Ecology called <span>Nutrient exchange within common mycorrhizal networks is altered in a multi-species environment </span>created by Veronika Řezáčová, Joanna Weremijewicz and Tereza Michalová.</p>
The functional diversity of marsupial limbs is influenced by both ecology and developmental constraint
<p>Extant marsupials are less ecologically diverse than placentals, and this is reflected by placentals exhibiting a greater diversity of locomotor modes, including powered flight and fully aquatic swimming. One proposed explanation for this discrepancy is that the development of more disparate marsupial forelimbs is prevented by the neonate's crawl to the pouch, which requires precocious forelimb development for climbing adaptations. To test predictions of this Developmental Constraint Hypothesis, we pursue a comparative morphometric study on osteological traits of mammalian limbs, with an emphasis on functional differentiation of marsupial limbs among locomotor modes. We apply multivariate analyses to a large dataset of limb metrics and a diverse sample of mammals, with the placental sample limited to taxa whose locomotor modes are exhibited in marsupials. Overall, we do not find consistent evidence in support of the Developmental Constraint Hypothesis. Diprotodontia serves as an exception, with comparisons of their forelimbs to hind limbs supporting the Developmental Constraint Hypothesis. Our results suggest that developmental constraints on marsupial forelimbs may have limited marsupial diversity to some degree. Despite this, the marsupial locomotor groups show unexpectedly high levels of morphological differentiation relative to placentals of the same locomotor modes, indicating that ecological functions may overcome developmental constraints on a macroevolutionary scale.</p>
Functional divergence from ecological baselines on Caribbean coral reefs
<p>Understanding how emergent ecological assemblages have diverged from natural states is fundamental in predicting future functioning and services of ecosystems. Coral reefs are of particular concern due to their high susceptibility to anthropogenic stressors. Yet, little is known about their pre-disturbance ranges of natural states, and most reports of decline are based on a limited number of sites and high levels of uncertainty. Here, we used a novel approach to estimate the physical functionality of reefs across marine ecoregions based on habitat suitability and morpho-functional traits for coral species. We calibrated ecological niche models for 49 reef-building corals of the Greater Caribbean based on occurrence records and environmental predictors, which we combined with species-specific functional coefficients derived from morpho-functional traits reflecting their contribution to the reef three-dimensional structure to estimate the reef functional potential (RFP). We then assessed the degree of divergence of western Caribbean reefs by comparing our physical functionality estimates against recent field data evaluations. We found spatial variability in RFP across the Caribbean, with the highest mean value in the western Caribbean and the lowest in areas with marginal environmental conditions. Hotspots of RFP exist along the coast of Belize and the southeast of Cuba. Overall, 84% of sites along the western Caribbean showed a substantial reduction in their physical functioning, with the highest reductions occurring within hotspots, implying that reefs displaying the greatest changes have high initial RFP. We conclude that combining niche models with species morpho-functional traits is a valuable and promising approach to estimate the large-scale functional potential of communities and the degree of change in the absence of ecological baselines. These findings have important implications and could be used to guide efforts to preserve coral reefs functionality and define priority conservation areas in the Caribbean.</p>
The ecological function of insect egg micropyles
<p>Insect egg micropyles are openings through the chorion allowing sperm entry for fertilisation. Micropyles are diverse structures showing remarkable variation in number, spatial arrangement and physical structure across extant insect orders. Despite being almost ubiquitous across insects, they have received little attention. As key morphological features of an immobile life stage, it is plausible that part of the diversity exihibited by micropyles is adaptive supporting other egg structures during embryo development. So whilst egg fertilization is the primary function of micropyles, they could aid embryo development and be shaped by natural, as well as sexual selection.</p> <p>Here I first used ancestral reconstruction to investigate micropyle presence, number and variation in primitive insects. Then, I used phylogenetic comparative analyses to explore the ecological function of micropyle number.</p> <p>I hypothesised that micropyle number correlated with: (i) aeropyle presence facilitating oxygen exchange; (ii) aquatic oviposition supporting development in water; and is influenced by (iii) critical bioclimatic variables.</p> <p>Across 24 hexapod orders the most likely ancestral state was one or two micropyles, interspecific variation was high and intraspecific variation low. Mean micropyle number ranged from zero in Entognatha, Strepsiptera and Thysanoptera to 120 in <em>Panstrongylus geniculatus</em>, Hemiptera, and over 100 on average for Apidae, Hymenoptera. Micropyle number was strongly positively related to: i) egg size, with larger eggs having more micropyles; ii) the presence of aeropyles; iii) annual precipitation, with eggs developing in habitats with low annual precipitation exhibiting fewer micropyles; and iv) negatively related to micropyle width, insect eggs having fewer larger micropyles or numerous smaller ones. However, aquatic oviposition did not affect micropyle number.</p> <p>Overall these findings point to an adaptive ecological function of egg micropyles in addition to their primary fertilisation function. This is consistent with the hypothesis that micropyles aid embryo survival, and so this almost-ubiquitous trait across insects is shaped by sexual and natural selection pressures during this critical life stage.</p>
Data for the journal article: 'Ecology of testate amoebae along an environmental gradient from bogs to calcareous fens in East-Central Europe: development of transfer functions for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions'
<p><strong>DATA DESCRIPTION</strong>: This repository provides training sets and R scripts for the development of three transfer function models that allow reconstructions of Holocene hydrochemical or hydrological (hydroclimatic) conditions from testate amoeba assemblages preserved in mires of East-Central Europe. Specifically, the repository contains (<em>i</em>) <strong>the full dataset and an R script for the development of the final MLRC model</strong> for inferring past water-mineral richness (expressed as pH) in various types of mires; (<em>ii</em>) <strong>the minerotrophic subset and an R script for the development of the final WAPLS com1 model</strong> for the reconstructions of past water-mineral richness (expressed as pH) in calcareous and rich fens; and (<em>iii</em>) <strong>the ombrotrophic subset and an R script for the development of the final PLS com2 model</strong> for inferring past depth to water table (DWT) in bogs and poor fens. Additionally, the repository includes <strong>the original versions of the full, minerotrophic and ombrotrophic training sets</strong> (i.e., the versions before removing outlier samples and rare taxa due to transfer function optimisation), and <strong>the compiled dataset</strong>, from which the three above-mentioned training sets were generated. For details, see <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2022.111145">Šímová et al. (2022)</a>.</p> <p><strong>ARTICLE ABSTRACT</strong>: Testate amoebae play an important role in biomonitoring and the understanding of peatland (palaeo)ecology. However, their application has been mainly limited to <em>Sphagnum</em>-dominated peatlands, especially ombrotrophic bogs. To facilitate wider use of these microorganisms, we explored their ecology along a gradient from mineral-poor acidic bogs to mineral-rich calcareous fens with tufa formation using a new calibration dataset of over 250 samples from East-Central Europe. Specifically, we examined environmental controls on testate amoebae along the complete gradient and separately in the minerotrophic (pH >5.5) and ombrotrophic (pH <5) parts. Based on these findings, we developed and statistically evaluated transfer function models for the dominant factors controlling the community composition of these protists. Multivariate statistical analysis showed that groundwater pH was the main driver of species composition in the full and minerotrophic datasets. In contrast, testate amoeba communities in the ombrotrophic dataset were primarily structured by depth to water table (DWT). Under leave-one-out cross-validation (LOO), the best-performing model for DWT gave a prediction error (RMSEP) of 5.43 cm. The most robust models for groundwater mineral richness yielded RMSEP<sub>LOO</sub> of 0.45 and 0.27 pH units, for the full and the minerotrophic dataset respectively. This is the first study to present a complete set of testate amoeba-based transfer functions that allow reconstructions of Holocene hydrochemical and hydrological (hydroclimatic) variability in different mire types within one region. The new models open up the possibility for testate amoebae to become a valuable tool in palaeoecological research, although further work is needed to fully assess their performance and usefulness in practice.</p>
Dataset for the manuscript: Phylogenetic and functional constraints of plant facilitation rewiring. ECOLOGY
<p>The following directory contains the data necessary to replicate the results obtained in the manuscript entitled: <strong>Phylogenetic and functional constraints of plant facilitation rewiring</strong></p> <p>We provided two spreadsheets containing the data "Adult species data" and "Interactions data.xlsx". Each archive contains a readme textbox with detailed information on the variables included in the archives</p>
FIGURE 11 in A description of the skeletal morphology of Rana pyrenaica (Anura: Ranidae), with comments on functional morphology, ecological adaptation and relationships with other Iberian ranids
FIGURE 11. Comparison of the ilium between Iberian brown frogs. All these elements correspond to frogs with a similar SVL (around 40–50 mm). For facilitating the comparison, bones have been arranged to a similar size and laterality.
FIGURE 6 in A description of the skeletal morphology of Rana pyrenaica (Anura: Ranidae), with comments on functional morphology, ecological adaptation and relationships with other Iberian ranids
FIGURE 6. Postcranial elements of Rana pyrenaica (BHC-106). A–C: Atlas in anterior, dorsal and left lateral views; D–E: Sacral vertebra in dorsal and posterior views; F–G: Urostyle in right lateral and anterior views; H–I: Scapula in dorsal and ventral views; J: Coracoid in ventral view; K–L: Humerus in ventral and medial views; M: Radioulna in medial view; N–P: Ilium in lateral, medial and distal views; Q: Ischio-pubis in lateral view; R: Femur in lateral view; S: Tibiofibula in lateral view. Scales = 1 mm.
FIGURE 5 in A description of the skeletal morphology of Rana pyrenaica (Anura: Ranidae), with comments on functional morphology, ecological adaptation and relationships with other Iberian ranids
FIGURE 5. Comparison of the pterygoid, squamosal, and parasphenoid between Iberian brown frogs. All these elements correspond to frogs with a similar SVL (around 40–50 mm). For facilitating the comparison, bones have been arranged to a similar size and laterality. Arrows: 1, straighter ramus maxillaris on the pterygoid; 2, angulation between the transverse process and the postero-lateral process on the squamosal; 3, thinner and less leaf-shaped anterior process of the parasphenoid; 4, more concave margo posterior.
FIGURE 2 in A description of the skeletal morphology of Rana pyrenaica (Anura: Ranidae), with comments on functional morphology, ecological adaptation and relationships with other Iberian ranids
FIGURE 2. Cranial elements of Rana pyrenaica (BHC-106). A–C: Premaxilla in anterior, posterior and dorsal views; D–E: Maxilla in lateral and medial views; F: Nasal in dorsal view; G–H: Frontoparietal in dorsal and ventral views; I–K: Sphenethmoid in dorsal, ventral and anterior views; L–M: Pterygoid in ventral and dorsal views; N: Squamosal in lateral view; O: Parasphenoid in ventral view; P: Vomer in dorsal view; Q–R: Exoccipital in latero-posterior and dorsal views; S–T: Angular in lateral and dorsal views. Scales = 1 mm.
FIGURE 8 in A description of the skeletal morphology of Rana pyrenaica (Anura: Ranidae), with comments on functional morphology, ecological adaptation and relationships with other Iberian ranids
FIGURE 8. Comparison of the urostyle between Iberian brown frogs. All these elements correspond to frogs with a similar SVL (around 40–50 mm). For facilitating the comparison, bones have been arranged to a similar size and laterality. Arrows: 1, straighter ventral margin of the urostyle; 2, shorter neural crest.
FIGURE 1 in A description of the skeletal morphology of Rana pyrenaica (Anura: Ranidae), with comments on functional morphology, ecological adaptation and relationships with other Iberian ranids
FIGURE 1. Cleared-and-stained specimens. A–C: Skulls (dorsal views), A: Rana pyrenaica (BHC-108); B: Rana iberica (BHC-104); C: Rana temporaria (BHC-114); D–E: Vertebral column (dorsal views), D: Rana pyrenaica (BHC-112); E: Rana iberica (BHC-101); F: Rana temporaria (BHC-114); G and H: Structure of the pectoral girdle (ventral views), G: Rana pyrenaica (BHC-101); H: Rana iberica (BHC-101); I–L: Structure of palmar elements, I: Rana pyrenaica (BHC-110); J: detail of the first digit of the male specimen of Rana pyrenaica (OA94072201), arrow indicates the tubercle on the third phalanx; K: Rana iberica (BHC-103); L: Rana temporaria (BHC-114); M–O: Structure of foot elements. M: Rana pyrenaica (BHC-110); N: Rana iberica (BHC-108); O: Rana temporaria (BHC-114). Scales = 5 mm.
FIGURE 3 in A description of the skeletal morphology of Rana pyrenaica (Anura: Ranidae), with comments on functional morphology, ecological adaptation and relationships with other Iberian ranids
FIGURE 3. Comparison of the maxilla between Iberian brown frogs. All these elements correspond to frogs with a similar SVL (around 40–50 mm). For facilitating the comparison, bones have been arranged to a similar size and laterality. Arrows: 1, inclination of the anterior margin; 2, lamina horizontalis deviating dorsally at its anterior end; 3, lamina horizontalis deviating ventrally at its posterior end.
FIGURE 7 in A description of the skeletal morphology of Rana pyrenaica (Anura: Ranidae), with comments on functional morphology, ecological adaptation and relationships with other Iberian ranids
FIGURE 7. Comparison of the sacrum between Iberian brown frogs. All these elements correspond to frogs with a similar SVL (around 40–50 mm). For facilitating the comparison, bones have been arranged to a similar size and laterality. Arrows: 1, well developed crest on the transverse processes.
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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)
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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.