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opencc-by-4.0Nov 2023View details →

A seasonal analysis of sea spray aerosol variability across the Southern Ocean

This dataset includes filter based aerosol observations of atmospheric sodium concentration from the Southern Ocean marine boundary layer in summer (2018/19), winter (2019) and spring (2019). Environmental data such as sea surface temperature and wind speed are also included.

opencc-zeroNov 2023View details →

Trait overdispersion in dragonflies reveals the role and drivers of competition in community assembly across space and season

Our understanding of how biotic interactions influence animal community assembly is largely restricted to local systems due to the difficulty of obtaining ecologically meaningful assemblage data across large spatial extents. Here, we used thousands of spatio-phenologically high-resolution assemblages across three distinct European regions together with a functional diversity approach to understand community assembly of dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata), an insect group characterized by a pronounced competitive reproductive biology. We found that adult dragonfly, but not damselfly, assemblages were consistently composed of species morphologically more different than expected by chance based on the traits that enhance their inter-specific reproductive encounters. These results provide consistent evidence for the role of competition in the assembly of animal communities, which we interpret is most likely caused by the territorial reproductive biology of dragonflies. Support for competition varied both spatially and seasonally following theoretical expectations, as it was strongest in locations and seasonal moments with low thermal stress (i.e. warm conditions) and high niche packing. Our study illustrates how spatio-temporal diversity patterns arise from variation in assembly processes.

Data for: Seasonally mediated niche partitioning in a vertically compressed pelagic predator guild

Niche partitioning among closely related, sympatric species is a fundamental concept in ecology, and its mechanisms are of broad interest for understanding ecosystem functioning and predicting the impacts of human-driven environmental change. However, identifying mechanisms by which top marine predators partition available resources has been especially challenging given the difficulty of quantifying resource use of large pelagic animals. In the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP), three large, highly mobile and ecologically similar pelagic predators (blue marlin (Makaira nigricans), black marlin (Istiompax indica) and sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus)) coexist in a vertically compressed habitat. To evaluate each species' ecological niche, we leveraged a decade of recreational fisheries data, multi-year satellite tracking with high-resolution dive data, and stable isotope analysis. Fishery interaction and telemetry-based three-dimensional seasonal utilization distributions suggested high spatial and temporal overlap among species; however, seasonal and diel variability in diving behaviour produced spatial partitioning, leading to low trophic overlap among species. Expanding oxygen minimum zones will reduce the available vertical habitat within predator guilds, likely leading to increases in interspecific competition. Thus, understanding the mechanisms of habitat partitioning among predators in the vertically compressed ETP can provide insight into how predators in other ocean regions may respond to vertically limited habitats.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2023View details →

Subseasonal to Seasonal (S2S) Prediction Algorithms using Hybrid Machine Learning Techniques

< S2S dataset.zip >1.ECMWF observations/hindcast realizations<ul><li>hindcast-like-observations_2000-2019_biweekly_deterministic.zarr</li><li>forecast-like-observations_2020_biweekly_deterministic.zarr</li><li>ecmwf_hindcast-input_2000-2019_biweekly_deterministic.zarr</li><li>ecmwf_forecast-input_2020_biweekly_deterministic.zarr</li><li>hindcast-like-observations_2000-2019_biweekly_tercile-edges.nc</li></ul>2. External variables<ul><li>"nino" folder -> nino12.long.anom.data, nino34.long.anom.data : El Niño data</li><li>"Oscillation" folder<ul><li>-> ersst.v5.pdo.dat.text : PDO (Pacific Decadal Oscillation)</li><li>-> norm.nao.monthly.b5001.current.ascii.table.txt : NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation)</li><li>-> qbo.dat : QBO (Quasi Biennial Oscillation)</li></ul></li><li>"great_lake" folder -> N_seaice_extent_daily_v3.0 : Great lakes ice cover</li><li>observed-solar-cycle-indices.json : Sunspot cycles (two variables: original value and smoothed value)</li></ul>3. Region.txt : Region and its bound4. Biweekly historical statistics data<ul><li>biw_stat_w34 folder -> data (mean, standard deviation, median, skewness, kurtosis) for Week 3-4</li><li>biw_stat_w56 folder -> data (mean, standard deviation, median, skewness, kurtosis) for Week 5-6</li></ul> < ML_code.zip ><ul><li>ML codes for training, testing, and calculating RPSS based on Python3</li><li>Check run_val.sh and run_2020.sh </li></ul>

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2023View details →

Figure 2 in Seasonal incidence of Raoiella indica Hirst (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) on different varieties of date palm in Kachchh region of Western India

Figure 2. Damage symptoms of Raoliella indica on date palm leaves.

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2023View details →

Figure 1 in Seasonal incidence of Raoiella indica Hirst (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) on different varieties of date palm in Kachchh region of Western India

Figure 1. Incidence of R. indica on date palm.

Nitrogen redistribution and seasonal trait fluctuation facilitate plant N conservation and ecosystem N retention

<ol> <li>Low available soil nitrogen (N) limits plant productivity in alpine regions, and alpine plants thus resorb and reallocate N from senescing tissues to conserve this limited N during the nongrowing season. However, the destination and extent of N redistribution during plant senescence among above- and below-ground organs, let alone other processes of translocation outside of plants and into the soil components, remain poorly understood. </li> <li>Utilizing the 15N stable isotope as a tracer, we quantified N redistribution among above- and below-ground plant organs and different soil components during senescence in an alpine meadow ecosystem, and explored the relationship between 15N among plant-soil N pools with seasonal fluctuations of plant functional traits.</li> <li>We found a substantial depletion of 15N in fine roots (-40% ± 2.8%) and aboveground tissues (-51% ± 5.1%), and an enhanced 15N storage primarily in coarse roots (+79% ± 27%) and soil organic matter (+37% ± 10%) during plant senescence. In parallel, we observed a temporal variation in plant functional traits, representing a shift from more acquisitive to more conservative strategies as the growing season ends, such as higher coarse root N and coarse root to fine root ratio. The seasonal trait variations were highly correlated with the 15N retention in coarse roots and soil organic matter. Particularly, 15N retention in particulate and mineral-associated organic matter increased by 30% ± 12% and 24% ± 9%, respectively, suggesting a potential pathway through which fine root and microbial mortality contribute to 15N redistribution into soil N pools during senescence.</li> <li> Synthesis. N redistribution and seasonal plant trait fluctuation facilitate plant N conservation and ecosystem N retention in the alpine system. This study suggests a coupled aboveground-belowground N conserving strategy that may optimize the temporal coupling between plant N demand and ecosystem N supply in N-limited alpine ecosystems. </li> </ol>

Differential utilization of surface and arboreal water bodies by birds and mammals in a seasonally dry Neotropical forest in southern Mexico

Water availability significantly influences bird and mammal ecology in terrestrial ecosystems. However, our understanding of the role of water as a limiting resource for birds and mammals remains partial because most of the studies have focused on surface water bodies of desert and semi-desert ecosystems. This study assessed the use of two types of surface water bodies (waterholes and epikarst rock pools) and one arboreal (water-filled tree holes) by birds and mammals in the seasonally dry tropical forests of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in southern Mexico. We deployed camera traps in 23 waterholes, 22 rock pools, and 19 water-filled tree holes in this karstic region to record visits by small, medium, and large-bodied birds and mammals during the dry and rainy seasons. These cameras were set up to record videos documenting when animals were making use of water for drinking, bathing, or both. We compared the species diversity and composition of bird and mammal assemblages using the different types of water bodies by calculating Hill numbers and conducting non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), indicator species, and contingency table analyses. There was a greater species richness of birds and mammals using surface water bodies than tree holes during both seasons. There were significant differences in species composition among bird assemblages using the different water bodies, but dominant species and diversity remained the same. Terrestrial and larger mammalian species preferentially used surface water bodies whereas arboreal and scansorial small and medium mammals were more common in arboreal water bodies. These findings suggest that differences in water body characteristics might favor segregation in mammal activity. The different water bodies may act as alternative water sources for birds and complementary sources for mammals, potentially favoring species coexistence and increasing community resilience to environmental variation (e.g., fluctuation in water availability). Understanding how differences in water bodies favor species coexistence and community resilience is of great relevance from a basic ecological perspective but is also crucial for anticipating the effects that the increased demand for water by humans and climate change can have on wildlife viability.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2023View details →

Recent increases in annual, seasonal, and extreme methane fluxes driven by changes in climate and vegetation in boreal and temperate wetland ecosystems

Files (input and output) for the publication Recent increases in annual, seasonal, and extreme methane fluxes driven by changes in climate and vegetation in boreal and temperate wetland ecosystems

Season-specific impacts of climate change on canopy-forming seaweed communities

Understory assemblages associated with canopy-forming species such as trees, kelps, and rockweeds should respond strongly to climate stressors due to strong interaction strengths. Climate change can directly and indirectly modify these assemblages, particularly during more stressful seasons and climate scenarios. However, fully understanding the seasonal impacts of different climate conditions on canopy-reliant assemblages is difficult due to a continued emphasis on studying single species responses to a single future climate scenario during a single season. To examine these more complex interactions, we used mesocosm experiments to expose intertidal assemblages associated with the canopy-forming golden rockweed, Silvetia compressa, to elevated temperature and pCO2 conditions reflecting two projected greenhouse emission scenarios [RCP 2.6 (low) & RCP 4.5 (moderate)]. Assemblages were grown in the presence and absence of Silvetia, and in two seasons. Relative to ambient conditions, predicted climate scenarios generally suppressed Silvetia biomass and photosynthetic efficiency. However, these effects varied seasonally - both future scenarios reduced Silvetia biomass in summer, but only the moderate scenario did so in winter. These reductions shifted the assemblage, with more extreme shifts occurring in summer. Contrarily, future scenarios did not shift assemblages within Silvetia Absent treatments, suggesting that climate primarily affected assemblages indirectly through changes in Silvetia. Mesocosm experiments were coupled with a field Silvetia-removal experiment to simulate the effects of climate-mediated Silvetia loss on natural assemblages. Consistent with the mesocosm experiment, Silvetia loss resulted in season-specific assemblage shifts, with weaker effects observed in winter. Together, our study supports the hypotheses that climate-mediated changes to canopy-forming species can indirectly affect the associated assemblage, and that these effects vary seasonally. Such seasonality is important to consider as it may provide periods of recovery when conditions are less stressful, especially if we can reduce the severity of future climate scenarios.

Data from: Seasonal variability drives differences in the structure of the calanoid copepod community in two contrasting regions of the Gulf of Mexico

Calanoid copepods (CC) are key contributors to the biological carbon pump and pelagic trophic dynamics. The deep-water regions of Perdido and the Bay of Campeche in the western and southern Gulf of Mexico (GM), respectively, differ in hydrography and productivity, leading to potential differences in copepod biomass and community structure. Zooplankton (0-200 m) were collected from the shelf edge to the deep-water region during the winter and summer autumn 2016. Calanoids contributed 38-60% of total zooplankton biomass and 55-70% of overall copepod abundance. The Bay of Campeche had the highest total zooplankton biovolume (287±120 ml 1000 m-3) and total mean copepod abundance (CC and non-calanoids ~146,000 ind. 1000 m-3) during summer-autumn, likely resulting from cross-shelf nutrient transport fueling local productivity. Adult females dominated calanoid numerical abundance (43-50%), thus suggesting a high reproductive potential. Cluster analysis showed differences between seasons (~40% dissimilarity) but not regions. Environmental conditions explained 22% of the variability in community composition; the winter assemblage was significantly related to oxygen concentrations, whereas the summer-autumn community was related to warmer conditions and higher integrated chlorophyll-a concentrations. The CC community responded to seasonal changes more than regionally related hydrographic differences, with likely implications for organic matter cycling and export.

opencc-byJan 2019View details →

Second King Cake of 2019 Mardi Gras Season

This king cake was decorated to "perfection" by my 3 year old niece, and it shows the traditionaly purple, green, and gold colors of Mardi Gras. Source: Objaverse 1.0 / Sketchfab

Data from: A test of the seasonal availability of water hypothesis in a C3/C4 mixed grassland

Understanding how cool-season C3 and warm-season C4 grasses will respond to climate change is critical for predicting future grassland functioning. With warming, C4 grasses are expected to increase relative to C3 grasses. But, alterations in the seasonal availability of water may also influence C3/C4 dynamics because of their distinct seasons of growth. To better understand how shifts in the seasonal availability of water can affect ecosystem function in a northern mixed grass prairie in southeastern Wyoming, we reduced early season rainfall (April – June 2021) using rainout shelters and added the amount of excluded precipitation during the latter half of the growing season (July-September), effectively shifting spring rainfall to summer rainfall. As expected, this shift in precipitation seasonality influenced patterns of soil water availability, leading to increased soil respiration in the summer months and sustained canopy greenness throughout the growing season. Despite these responses, there were no significant differences in C3 aboveground net primary production (ANPP) between the seasonally shifted treatment (SEAS) and the plots that received ambient (AMB) precipitation. This was likely due to the high levels of spring soil moisture present before rainout shelters were deployed that sustained C3 grass growth. However, in plots with high C4 grass cover, C4 ANPP increased significantly in response to increased summer rainfall. Overall, we provide the first experimental evidence that shifts in the seasonality of precipitation, with no change in temperature, will differentially impact C3 vs. C4 species, altering the dynamics of carbon cycling and canopy albedo in this extensive semi-arid grassland.

Data from: Drivers of contemporary and future changes in Arctic seasonal transition dates for a tundra site in coastal Greenland

Climate change has had a significant impact on the seasonal transition dates of Arctic tundra ecosystems, causing diverse variations between distinct land surface classes. However, the combined effect of multiple controls as well as their individual effects on these dates remains unclear at various scales and across diverse land surface classes. Here we quantified spatiotemporal variations of three seasonal transition dates (start of spring, maximum Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVImax) day, end of fall) for five dominant land surface classes in the ice-free Greenland and analyzed their drivers for current and future climate scenarios, respectively.

opencc-zeroJan 2024View details →

Data from: Geographic and seasonal variation of the for gene reveal signatures of local adaptation in Drosophila melanogaster

In the early 1980s, the observation that Drosophila melanogaster larvae differed in their foraging behavior laid the foundation for the work that would later lead to the discovery of the foraging gene (for) and its associated foraging phenotypes, rover and sitter. Since then, the molecular characterization of the for gene and our understanding of the mechanisms that maintain its phenotypic variants in the laboratory have progressed enormously. However, the significance and dynamics of such variation are yet to be investigated in nature. With the advent of next-generation sequencing, it is now possible to identify loci underlying adaptation of populations in response to environmental variation. Here, I present results of a genotype-environment association analysis that quantifies variation at the for gene among samples of D. melanogaster structured across space and time. These samples consist of published genomes of adult flies collected worldwide, and at least twice per site of collection (during spring and fall). Both an analysis of genetic differentiation based on Fst values, and an analysis of population structure revealed an east-west gradient in allele frequency. This gradient may be the result of spatially varying selection driven by the seasonality of precipitation. These results support the hypothesis that different patterns of gene flow as expected under models of isolation by distance and potentially isolation by environment are driving genetic differentiation among populations. Overall, this study is essential for understanding the mechanisms underlying the evolution of foraging behavior in D. melanogaster.

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2024View details →

Data for: Assessing the Impacts of Falling Ice Radiative Effects on the Seasonal Variation of Land Surface Properties

Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.

opencc-zeroJan 2024View details →

Data from: Temperature seasonality drives taxonomic and functional homogenization of tropical butterflies

To understand the potential impact of climate change on butterfly assemblages across a tropical island, we used thousands of museum records of diurnal Lepidoptera to model current (1970–2000) and forecast future (2061–2080) species distributions and combined these to test for taxonomic and functional homogenization. We then quantified climatic-mediated effects on current and forecasted taxonomic and functional composition and, specifically, whether temperature was a primary driver, as predicted by the temperature-size rule and the thermal melanism hypotheses. Finally, we measured wing traits important in thermoregulation (size and color) and determined trait-mediated changes in forecasted species distributions over time. Our models projected an increase in taxonomic and functional richness over time, and a decrease in taxonomic and functional turnover – a signature of biotic homogenization. Under future climate scenarios, models projected a decrease in wing length and an increase in wing brightness at higher elevations. One variable, temperature seasonality, was the strongest predicted driver of both the current spatial distribution and the projected percent change over time for not only wing traits, but also taxonomic and functional richness and turnover. This dataset contains wing trait data for 62 butterfly species of Puerto Rico, included in the study, measured on digitized museum specimens. Generally, 10 individuals of each species were measured, allowing for measurements of inter- and intraspecific wing trait variation. Traits include: wing length and width, and color metrics: intensity, hue, saturation, and brightness.

opencc-zeroJan 2024View details →

Urban peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) breeding season diet in UK, 2020–2022

Diets of urban peregrine falcons in UK were monitored via nest cameras during the breeding season (March-June) from 2020–2022. All prey items were then identified to species level where possible, by Ed Drewitt. This dataset contains the prey items recorded during each year of the study and location of the sites.

opencc-zeroFeb 2024View details →

Data from: Camera traps reveal seasonal variation in activity and occupancy of the Alpine mountain hare (Lepus timidus varronis)

Mountain hare is a cold-adapted species threatened by climate change, but despite its emblematic nature, our understanding of the causes of population decline remains limited. Camera traps are increasingly used in ecology as a tool for monitoring animal populations at large spatial and temporal scales. In mountain environments where field work is constrained by difficult access and harsh conditions, camera traps constitute a promising tool for surveying rare and elusive species such as the mountain hare. Our study explored the use of camera traps as a tool for studying seasonal habitat occupancy and daily activity patterns of the mountain hare, in order to carry out long-term monitoring of populations. We installed 46 camera traps along elevation gradients in the Mont-Blanc massif (France) from January 2018 to June 2022. We measured habitat variables at each camera trap site in order to define vegetation composition and habitat structure. We performed multi-season and single-season occupancy models to respectively describe habitat occupancy of the mountain hare throughout the year and identify the environmental variables influencing mountain hare presence during the breeding season. Mountain hares occupy coniferous forest in winter, and then switch to mixed areas of shrubland and grassland above treeline in spring and the beginning of summer. In spring, occupancy probability of the mountain hare increases with relative cover of mixed low shrub and herbaceous layer (i.e. the 10-40 cm vegetation layer), suggesting a link to food resources and protection from predation. Our results also confirm the nocturnal and crepuscular activity of the mountain hare during the breeding season, and strictly nocturnal activity in winter. Our results demonstrate the efficiency of camera traps as tools for monitoring mountain hare habitat occupancy in mountain environments and underline the importance of diverse habitat mosaics for the preservation of the species.