Find research datasets worth reusing
Search datasets from major research repositories and use ShareScore to quickly assess how well each record supports discovery, access, and reuse.
308
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.9.0
Dataset results
308 results for “Individual variation”
Data from: The sources of variation for individual prey-to-predator size ratios
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Individual variation and selection for phenotypic plasticity of laying date and clutch size across different environmental conditions in Tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Limited mass-independent individual variation in resting metabolic rate in a wild population of snow voles (Chionomys nivalis)
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: A hierarchical model for external electrical control of an insect, accounting for inter-individual variation of muscle force properties
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Climate biogeography of Arabidopsis thaliana: Linking distribution models and individual variation
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data and code from: Social plasticity and individuality shape variation in contest behaviour
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Individual and species variation in mixed-species aggregations of harvestmen
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Comparison of individual variation of spicule dimensions of Plicatellopsis bowerbanki (Vosmaer, 1885) comb. nov. given in micrometers as minimum-mean-maximum of length x width. n = 30 measurements of individual spicules, except from literature sources. in Geographic range extensions of stalked, flabelliform sponges (Porifera) from eastern Canada with a new combination of a species of Plicatellopsis in the North Atlantic
Comparison of individual variation of spicule dimensions of Plicatellopsis bowerbanki (Vosmaer, 1885) comb. nov. given in micrometers as minimum-mean-maximum of length x width. n = 30 measurements of individual spicules, except from literature sources.
Data from: Individual niche trajectories drive fitness variation
1. Variation in fitness across individuals is central to population growth, species coexistence, and evolution by natural selection. Fitness variation associated with resource use is hugely consequential, but how this variation is generated and maintained within natural populations remains unclear. In particular, individual fitness may depend on many cumulative foraging decisions over time, but this hypothesis remains untested. 2. We used multi-tissue stable isotope analysis to determine isotopic niche trajectories within species, populations and sexes of thin-toed frogs, and explored how this temporal dimension of diet affects individual reproductive investment, body condition, and parasite load. 3. We found that individual frogs shifted their diets less than expected under a null model, likely due to functional tradeoffs that limit the incorporation of new prey types over time. However, within the observed range of diet shifts, individuals that modified their diet to a greater degree exhibited higher fitness, although this effect was sex-dependent. 4. We suggest that these different relationships between isotopic niche trajectory length and fitness within thin-toed frogs are driven by variability in the resource environment, negative density-dependence and allometric constraints. These strong fitness effects suggest that the temporal dimension of diet change is a potential target of natural selection and, therefore, could drive correlated evolution in phenotypic traits underlying diet flexibility. Our findings add a new level of complexity to the understanding of ecological and evolutionary consequences of niche variation by demonstrating that temporal variation in foraging consistency within populations leads to different fitness payoffs.
Datasets used for the publication: State-dependence explains individual variation in nest defence behaviour in a long-lived bird
<p>The uploaded datasets were used to test if variation in states predicts nest defence behaviour (a 'risky' behaviour) in a long-lived species, the barnacle goose (<em>Branta leucopsis</em>). Repeated measures of nest defence towards a human intruder (flight initiation distance or FID) of females of known age were collected during 15 breeding seasons. Increasing values of FID represent increasing shyness. Adaptive models have predicted that an individual's residual reproductive value or 'asset' is an important state variable underlying variation in such risk-taking behaviour. Hence, we used this data to investigate how nest defence varies as a function of time of the season and individual age, two state variables that can vary between and within individuals and determine asset.<br> <br> </p>
Data from: Better stay together: pair bond duration increases individual fitness independent of age-related variation
Prolonged pair bonds have the potential to improve reproductive performance of socially monogamous animals by increasing pair familiarity and enhancing coordination and cooperation between pair members. However, this has proved very difficult to test robustly because of important confounds such as age and reproductive experience. Here, we address limitations of previous studies and provide a rigorous test of the mate familiarity effect in the socially monogamous blue-footed booby, Sula nebouxii, a long-lived marine bird with a high divorce rate. Taking advantage of a natural disassociation between age and pair bond duration in this species, and applying a novel analytical approach to a 24 year database, we found that those pairs which have been together for longer establish their clutches five weeks earlier in the season, hatch more of their eggs and produce 35% more fledglings, regardless of age and reproductive experience. Our results demonstrate that pair bond duration increases individual fitness and further suggest that synergistic effects between a male and female's behaviour are likely to be involved in generating a mate familiarity effect. These findings help to explain the age- and experience-independent benefits of remating and their role in life-history evolution.
Data from: Between- and within-individual variation of maternal thyroid hormone deposition in wild great tits (Parus major)
Maternal hormones are often considered a mediator of anticipatory maternal effects, namely mothers adjust maternal hormone transfer to prepare the offspring for the anticipated environment. The flexibility for mothers to adjust hormone transfer is therefore a prerequisite for such anticipatory maternal effects. Nevertheless, previous studies have only focused on the average differences of maternal hormone transfer between groups and neglected the substantial individual variation, despite that individual plasticity in maternal hormone transfer is actually the central assumption. In this study, we studied the between- and within-individual variation of maternal thyroid hormones (THs) in egg yolk of wild great tits (Parus major) and estimated the individual plasticity of maternal yolk THs across environmental temperature, clutch initiation dates and egg laying order using linear mixed-effects models. Interestingly, our models provide statistical evidence that the two main THs – the main biologically active hormone T3, and T4, which is mostly considered as a prohormone – exhibited different variation patterns. Yolk T3 showed significant between-individual variation on the average levels, in line with its previously reported moderate heritability. Yolk T4, however, showed significant between-clutch variation in the pattern over the laying sequence, suggesting a great within-individual plasticity. Our findings suggest that the role and function of the hormone within the endocrine axis likely influences its flexibility to respond to environmental change. Whether the flexibility of T4 deposition brings fitness advantage should be examined along with its potential effects on offspring, which remains to be further investigated.
Data from: A case for considering individual variation in diel activity patterns
There is a growing recognition of the role of individual variation in patterns emerging at higher levels of biological organization. Despite the importance of the temporal configuration of ecological processes and patterns, intraspecific individual variation in diel activity patterns is almost never accounted for in behavioral studies at the population level. We used individual-based monitoring data from 98 GPS-collared brown bears in Scandinavia to estimate diel activity patterns before the fall hunting season. We extracted 7 activity measures related to timing and regularity of activity from individual activity profiles. We then used multivariate analysis to test for the existence of distinct activity tactics and their environmental determinants, followed by generalized linear regression to estimate the extent of within-individual repeatability of activity tactics. We detected 4 distinct activity tactics, with a high degree of individual fidelity to a given tactic. Demographic factors, availability of key foraging habitat, and human disturbance were important determinants of activity tactics. Younger individuals and those with higher bear and road densities within their home range were more nocturnal and more likely to rest during the day. Good foraging habitat and increasing age led to more diurnal activity patterns and nocturnal resting periods. We did not find evidence of diel activity tactics influencing survival during the subsequent hunting season. We conclude that individual variation in activity deserves greater attention than it currently receives, as it may help account for individual heterogeneity in fitness and could facilitate within-population niche partitioning that can have population- or community-level consequences.
Data from: A statistical framework to explore ontogenetic growth variation among individuals and populations: a marine fish example
Growth is a fundamental biological process, driven by a multitude of intrinsic (within-individual) and extrinsic (environmental) factors, that underpins individual fitness and population demographics. Focussing on the comprehensive information stored in aquatic and terrestrial organism hard parts, we develop a series of increasingly complex hierarchical models to explore spatial and temporal sources of growth variation, ranging in resolution from within individuals to across a species. We apply this modelling framework to an extensive data set of otolith increment measurements from tiger flathead (Platycephalus richardsoni), a demersal commercially exploited fish that inhabits the warming waters of south-east Australia. We recreated growth histories (biochronology) up to four decades in length from seven fishing areas spanning this species' range. The dominant pattern in annual growth was an age-dependent, allometric decline that varied amongst individuals, sexes, fishing areas, years and cohorts. We found evidence for among-area differences in growth rate selectivity whereby younger fish at capture were generally faster growers. Temporal growth variation was partitioned into two main sources: extrinsic year-to-year annual fluctuations in environmental conditions and persistent cohort-specific growth differences, reflecting density dependence and/or juvenile experience. Despite low levels of among-individual growth synchrony within areas, we detected a regionally coherent signal of increasing average growth rate through time, a trend related to oceanic warming. At the southerly (poleward) range limit, growth was only weakly related to temperature, but further north in warmer waters this relationship strengthened until at the species' equatorward range limit, growth declined with increasing temperatures. We partitioned these species-wide and area-specific phenotypic responses into within and among-individual components using a reaction norm approach. Individual tiger flathead likely possess sufficient growth plasticity to successfully adapt to warming waters across much of their range, but increased future warming in the north will continue to depress growth, affecting individual fitness and even population persistence. Our modelling framework is directly applicable to other long-term, individual-based, data sets such as those derived from tree rings, corals, and tag-recapture studies, and provides an unprecedented level of resolution into the drivers of growth variation and the ecological and evolutionary implications of environmental and climatic change.
Data from: Inter-annual variation and long-term trends in proportions of resident individuals in partially migratory birds
Partial migration – a part of a population migrates and another part stays resident year-round on the breeding site – is probably the most common type of migration in the animal kingdom, yet it has only lately garnered more attention. Theoretical studies indicate that in partially migratory populations, the proportion of resident individuals (PoR) should increase in high latitudes in response to the warming climate, but empirical evidence exists for few species. We provide the first comprehensive overview of the environmental factors affecting PoR and the long-term trends in PoR by studying 27 common partially migratory bird species in Finland. The annual PoR values were calculated by dividing the winter bird abundance by the preceding breeding abundance. First, we analysed whether early-winter temperature, winter temperature year before or the abundance of tree seeds just before overwintering explains the interannual variation in PoR. Secondly, we analysed the trends in PoR between 1987 and 2011. Early-winter temperature explained the interannual variation in PoR in the waterbirds (waterfowl and gulls), most likely because the temperature affects the ice conditions and thereby the feeding opportunities for the waterbirds. In terrestrial species, the abundance of seeds was the best explanatory variable. Previous winter's temperature did not explain PoR in any species, and thus, we conclude that the variation in food availability caused the interannual variation in PoR. During the study period, PoR increased in waterbirds, but did not change in terrestrial birds. Partially migratory species living in physically contrasting habitats can differ in their annual and long-term population-level behavioural responses to warming climate, possibly because warm winter temperatures reduce ice cover and improve the feeding possibilities of waterbirds but do not directly regulate the food availability for terrestrial birds.
Data from: Individual variation in parental workload and breeding productivity in female European starlings: is the effort worth it?
We analyzed individual variation in work load (nest visit rate) during chick-rearing, and the consequences of this variation in terms of breeding productivity, in a highly synchronous breeder, the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) focusing on female birds. There was marked (10- to 16-fold) variation in total, female and male nest visit rates, among individuals, but individual variation in female nest visit rate was independent of environment (rainfall, temperature) and metrics of individual quality (laying date, clutch size, amount of male provisioning help), and was only weakly associated with chick demand (i.e., day 6 brood size). Female nest visit rate was independent of date and experimentally delayed birds provisioned at the same rate as peak-nesting birds; supporting a lack of effect of date per se. Brood size at fledging was positively but weakly related to total nest visit rate (male + female), with >fivefold variation in nest visit rate for any given brood size, and in females brood size at fledging and chick mass at fledging were independent of female nest visit rate, that is, individual variation in workload was not associated with higher productivity. Nevertheless, nest visit rate in females was repeatable among consecutive days (6–8 posthatching), and between peak (first) and second broods, but not among years. Our data suggest that individual females behave as if committed to a certain level of parental care at the outset of their annual breeding attempt, but this varies among years, that is, behavior is not fixed throughout an individual's life but represents an annually variable decision. We suggest females are making predictable decisions about their workload during provisioning that maximizes their overall fitness based on an integration of information on their current environment (although these cues currently remain unidentified).
Data from: Individual variation in parental care reaction norms: integration of personality and plasticity
Personality (consistent differences between individuals in behavior) and plasticity (changes within individuals in behavior) are often viewed as separate and opposing phenomena. We tested this idea by analyzing parental care reaction norms in a bird that exhibits biparental care. Personality in provisioning behavior existed (r ic=0.11) and persisted despite being reduced after accounting for individual differences in environment. Plasticity was also evident and differed between the sexes. Male visit rate was associated with changes in brood size and time of day, but female visit rate was associated with changes in nestling age and date. In both sexes changes in visit rate were positively correlated with changes in their partner's visit rate. Both sexes also exhibited multidimensional reaction norms; interaction terms revealed that within-individual visit rates increased more steeply with brood size when nestlings were older, and the effect of the partner's visit rate was sensitive to variation in date, precipitation, and the focal bird's age. Individuals also varied in how they responded (reaction norm slope) to changes in nestling age and partner visits. Moreover, parental personality was interdependent with individual plasticity in several ways. Individuals of both sexes with a high visit rate also responded more positively to changes in nestling age, and males also showed this pattern with changes in partner visit rate. Explicit use of the behavioral reaction norm integrated personality and plasticity, revealed that these are not opposing concepts, and stimulated new hypotheses about sexual conflict over care and provisioning as a life-history trait.
Data from: Individual variation in whole-animal hypoxia tolerance is associated with cardiac hypoxia tolerance in a marine teleost
Hypoxia is a pervasive problem in coastal environments and is predicted to have enduring impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Intraspecific variation in hypoxia tolerance is well documented in fish; however, the factors underlying this variation remain unknown. Here, we investigate the role of the heart in individual hypoxia tolerance of the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). We found individual whole-animal hypoxia tolerance is a stable trait in sea bass for more than 18 months (duration of study). We next examined in vitro cardiac performance and found myocardial muscle from hypoxia-tolerant individuals generated greater force, with higher rates of contraction and relaxation, than hypoxic-sensitive individuals during hypoxic exposure. Thus, whole-animal hypoxia tolerance is associated with cardiac hypoxia tolerance. As the occurrence of aquatic hypoxia is expected to increase in marine ecosystems, our experimental data suggest that cardiac performance may influence fish survival and distribution.
Data from: Micro-scale environmental variation amplifies physiological variation among individual mussels
The contributions of temporal and spatial environmental variation to physiological variation remain poorly resolved. Rocky intertidal zone populations are subjected to thermal variation over the tidal cycle, superimposed with micro-scale variation in individuals' body temperatures. Using the sea mussel (<i>Mytilus californianus</i>), we assessed the consequences of this micro-scale environmental variation for physiological variation among individuals, first by examining the latter in field-acclimatized animals, second by abolishing micro-scale environmental variation via common garden acclimation, and third by restoring this variation using a reciprocal outplant approach. Common garden acclimation reduced the magnitude of variation in tissue-level antioxidant capacities by ~30% among mussels from a wave-protected (warm) site, but it had no effect on antioxidant variation among mussels from a wave-exposed (cool) site. The field-acclimatized level of antioxidant variation was restored only when protected-site mussels were outplanted to a high, thermally stressful site. Variation in organismal oxygen consumption rates reflected antioxidant patterns, decreasing dramatically among protected-site mussels after common gardening. These results suggest a highly plastic relationship between individuals' genotypes and their physiological phenotypes that depends on recent environmental experience. Corresponding context-dependent changes in the physiological mean-variance relationships within populations complicate prediction of responses to shifts in environmental variability that are anticipated with global change.
Data from: Size matters: individual variation in ectotherm growth and asymptotic size
Body size, and, by extension, growth has impacts on physiology, survival, attainment of sexual maturity, fecundity, generation time, and population dynamics, especially in ectotherm animals that often exhibit extensive growth following attainment of sexual maturity. Frequently, growth is analyzed at the population level, providing useful population mean growth parameters but ignoring individual variation that is also of ecological and evolutionary significance. Our long-term study of Lake Erie Watersnakes, Nerodia sipedon insularum, provides data sufficient for a detailed analysis of population and individual growth. We describe population mean growth separately for males and females based on size of known age individuals (847 captures of 769 males, 748 captures of 684 females) and annual growth increments of individuals of unknown age (1,152 males, 730 females). We characterize individual variation in asymptotic size based on repeated measurements of 69 males and 71 females that were each captured in five to nine different years. The most striking result of our analyses is that asymptotic size varies dramatically among individuals, ranging from 631 - 820 mm snout-vent length in males and from 835 - 1125 mm in females. Because female fecundity increases with increasing body size, we explore the impact of individual variation in asymptotic size on lifetime reproductive success using a range of realistic estimates of annual survival. When all females commence reproduction at the same age, lifetime reproductive success is greatest for females with greater asymptotic size regardless of annual survival. But when reproduction is delayed in females with greater asymptotic size, lifetime reproductive success is greatest for females with lower asymptotic size when annual survival is low. Possible causes of individual variation in asymptotic size, including individual- and cohort-specific variation in size at birth and early growth, warrant further investigation.
ScienceDex guides
Understand access before you commit
These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
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.