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.
3,169
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.9.0
Dataset results
3,169 results for “bat”
Data from: Nuclear introns outperform mitochondrial DNA in inter-specific phylogenetic reconstruction: Lessons from horseshoe bats (Rhinolophidae: Chiroptera)
Despite many studies illustrating the perils of utilising mitochondrial DNA in phylogenetic studies, it remains one of the most widely used genetic markers for this purpose. Over the last decade, nuclear introns have been proposed as alternative markers for phylogenetic reconstruction. However, the resolution capabilities of mtDNA and nuclear introns have rarely been quantified and compared. In the current study we generated a novel ∼5 kb dataset comprising six nuclear introns and a mtDNA fragment. We assessed the relative resolution capabilities of the six intronic fragments with respect to each other, when used in various combinations together, and when compared to the traditionally used mtDNA. We focused on a major clade in the horseshoe bat family (Afro-Palaearctic clade; Rhinolophidae) as our case study. This old, widely distributed and speciose group contains a high level of conserved morphology. This morphological stasis renders the reconstruction of the phylogeny of this group with traditional morphological characters complex. We sampled multiple individuals per species to represent their geographic distributions as best as possible (122 individuals, 24 species, 68 localities). We reconstructed the species phylogeny using several complementary methods (partitioned Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian and Bayesian multispecies-coalescent) and made inferences based on consensus across these methods. We computed pairwise comparisons based on Robinson–Foulds tree distance metric between all Bayesian topologies generated (27,000) for every gene(s) and visualised the tree space using multidimensional scaling (MDS) plots. Using our supported species phylogeny we estimated the ancestral state of key traits of interest within this group, e.g. echolocation peak frequency which has been implicated in speciation. Our results revealed many potential cryptic species within this group, even in taxa where this was not suspected a priori and also found evidence for mtDNA introgression. We demonstrated that by using just two introns one can recover a better supported species tree than when using the mtDNA alone, despite the shorter overall length of the combined introns. Additionally, when combining any single intron with mtDNA, we showed that the result is highly similar to the mtDNA gene tree and far from the true species tree and therefore this approach should be avoided. We caution against the indiscriminate use of mtDNA in phylogenetic studies and advocate for pilot studies to select nuclear introns. The selection of marker type and number is a crucial step that is best based on critical examination of preliminary or previously published data. Based on our findings and previous publications, we recommend the following markers to recover phylogenetic relationships between recently diverged taxa (<20 My) in bats and other mammals: ACOX2, COPS7A, BGN, ROGDI and STAT5A.
Data from: Phylogeography of the dark fruit-eating bat Artibeus obscurus in the Brazilian Amazon
Artibeus obscurus (Mammalia: Chiroptera) is endemic to South America, being found in at least 18 Brazilian states. Recent studies revealed that different populations of this genus present distinct phylogeographic patterns; however, very little is known on the population genetics structure of A. obscurus in the Amazon rainforest. Here, using a fragment (1010bp) of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b from 87 samples, we investigated patterns of genetic divergence among populations of A. obscurus from different locations in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest and compared them with other Brazilian and South American regions. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), fixation index (Fst) analysis, and phylogeographic patterns showed divergence between two major monophyletic groups, each one corresponding to a geographic region associated with the Atlantic and Amazon forest biomes. The Atlantic forest clusters formed a monophyletic group with a high bootstrap support and a fragmented distribution that follows the pattern predicted by the Refuge Theory. On the other hand, a different scenario was observed for the Amazon forest, where no fragmentation was identified. The AMOVA results revealed a significant geographic heterogeneity in the distribution of genetic variation, with 70% found within populations across the studied populations (Fst values ranging from 0.05864 to 0.09673; φST = 0.55). The intrapopulational analysis revealed that one population (Bragança) showed significant evidence of population expansion, with the formation of 2 distinct phylogroups, suggesting the occurrence of a subspecies or at least a different population in this region. These results also suggest considerable heterogeneity for A. obscurus in the Amazon region.
Data from: The complexity of background clutter affects nectar bat use of flower odor and shape cues
Given their small size and high metabolism, nectar bats need to be able to quickly locate flowers during foraging bouts. Chiropterophilous plants depend on these bats for their reproduction, thus they also benefit if their flowers can be easily located, and we would expect that floral traits such as odor and shape have evolved to maximize detection by bats. However, relatively little is known about the importance of different floral cues during foraging bouts. In the present study, we undertook a set of flight cage experiments with two species of nectar bats (Anoura caudifer and A. geoffroyi) and artificial flowers to compare the importance of shape and scent cues in locating flowers. In a training phase, a bat was presented an artificial flower with a given shape and scent, whose position was constantly shifted to prevent reliance on spatial memory. In the experimental phase, two flowers were presented, one with the training-flower scent and one with the training-flower shape. For each experimental repetition, we recorded which flower was located first, and then shifted flower positions. Additionally, experiments were repeated in a simple environment, without background clutter, or a complex environment, with a background of leaves and branches. Results demonstrate that bats visit either flower indiscriminately with simple backgrounds, with no significant difference in terms of whether they visit the training-flower odor or training-flower shape first. However, in a complex background olfaction was the most important cue; scented flowers were consistently located first. This suggests that for well-exposed flowers, without obstruction from clutter, vision and/or echolocation are sufficient in locating them. In more complex backgrounds, nectar bats depend more heavily on olfaction during foraging bouts.
Data from: Columnar cacti as sources of energy and protein for frugivorous bats in a semi-arid ecosystem
Columnar cacti constitute the dominant elements in the vegetation structure of arid and semi-arid New World ecosystems representing a plethora of food resources for vertebrate consumers. Previous stable isotope analysis in Central Mexico showed that columnar cacti are of low importance to build tissue for frugivorous bats. We used carbon stable isotope analysis of whole blood and breath samples collected from four species of frugivorous bats (Sturnira parvidens, Sturnira ludovici, Artibeus jamaicensis, and Artibeus intermedius) to reconstruct the importance of cactus plants in their diet. Breath samples were collected within 10 min (B10) of bat capture and ~12 h after capture (B720), representing the oxidation of recently ingested food and of body reserves, respectively. We expected that bats relied primarily on non-cactus food to construct tissues and fuel oxidative metabolism. Non-cactus food strongly predominated for tissue building, whereas oxidative metabolism was supported by a moderate preponderance of non-cactus food for B10 samples, and a moderate preponderance of cactus food or an equal contribution of both sources for B720 samples. Artibeus and Surnira species appear to cover a narrow part of the diet with cactus food, confirming that the incorporation of nutrients derived from these plants is not generalized among vertebrate consumers.
Data from: Acoustic identification of Mexican bats based on taxonomic and ecological constraints on call design
Monitoring global biodiversity is critical for understanding responses to anthropogenic change, but biodiversity monitoring is often biased away from tropical, megadiverse areas that are experiencing more rapid environmental change. Acoustic surveys are increasingly used to monitor biodiversity change, especially for bats as they are important indicator species and most use sound to detect, localise and classify objects. However, using bat acoustic surveys for monitoring poses several challenges, particularly in megadiverse regions. Many species lack reference recordings, some species have high call similarity or differ in call detectability, and quantitative classification tools, such as machine learning algorithms, have rarely been applied to data from these areas. Here, we collate a reference call library for bat species that occur in a megadiverse country, Mexico. We use 4685 search-phase calls from 1378 individual sequences of 59 bat species to create automatic species identification tools generated by machine learning algorithms (Random Forest). We evaluate the improvement in species-level classification rates gained by using hierarchical classifications, reflecting either taxonomic or ecological constraints (guilds) on call design, and examine how classification rate accuracy changes at different hierarchical levels (family, genus and guild). Species-level classification of calls had a mean accuracy of 66%, and the use of hierarchies improved mean species-level classification accuracy by up to 6% (species within families 72%, species within genera 71·2% and species within guilds 69·1%). Classification accuracy to family, genus and guild-level was 91·7%, 77·8% and 82·5%, respectively. The bioacoustic identification tools we have developed are accurate for rapid biodiversity assessments in a megadiverse region and can also be used effectively to classify species at broader taxonomic or ecological levels. This flexibility increases their usefulness when there are incomplete species reference recordings and also offers the opportunity to characterise and track changes in bat community structure. Our results show that bat bioacoustic surveys in megadiverse countries have more potential than previously thought to monitor biodiversity changes and can be used to direct further developments of bioacoustic monitoring programs in Mexico.
Data from: Following the water? landscape-scale temporal changes in bat spatial distribution in relation to Mediterranean summer drought
Understanding how the spatial distribution of ecological resources shape species' diversity and abundance in human-modified landscapes is a central theme in conservation biology. However, studies often disregard that such patterns may vary over time, thereby potentially missing critical environmental constraints to species persistence. This may be particularly important in highly mobile species such as bats, which are able to track temporal variations in spatial resource distribution. Here we test the hypothesis that bats in Mediterranean landscapes are strongly affected by the progressive reduction in water availability during the seasonal summer drought. We analysed the effects of landscape composition and structure on bat diversity and activity, during Pregnancy, Lactation and Post-lactation periods, and identified the most influential variables within and across periods. Water bodies showed the strongest positive effect on bats, followed by riparian habitats and areas with steeper (>30%) slopes. However, while during Pregnancy there were only small landscape effects, these increased during Lactation and Post-lactation, highlighting a progressively stronger association with water habitats during the summer drought. The spatial projection of habitat models showed that the landscape distribution of bat diversity and activity hotspots changed markedly over time. During Pregnancy the spatial pattern of hotspot distribution was weakly defined, while during Lactation and particularly Post-lactation there was a concentration of hotspots along permanently flowing watercourses. Our study highlights that permanently flowing watercourses are critical for bat conservation in Mediterranean landscapes, calling for measures to counteract their ongoing degradation due in particular to climate change, water abstraction and damming. More generally, our study underlines the importance of considering the temporal dimension in habitat selection studies, without which there is the risk of overlooking the importance of habitats that are key for species persistence only at certain times of the year.
Data from: Population genetic structure of serotine bats (Eptesicus serotinus) across Europe and implications for the potential spread of bat rabies (European bat lyssavirus EBLV-1)
Understanding of the movements of species at multiple scales is essential to appreciate patterns of population connectivity and in some cases, the potential for pathogen transmission. The serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus) is a common and widely distributed species in Europe where it frequently harbours European bat lyssavirus type 1 (EBLV-1), a virus causing rabies and transmissible to humans. In the United Kingdom, it is rare, with a distribution restricted to south of the country and so far the virus has never been found there. We investigated the genetic structure and gene flow of E. serotinus across the England and continental Europe. Greater genetic structuring was found in England compared with continental Europe. Nuclear data suggest a single population on the continent, although further work with more intensive sampling is required to confirm this, while mitochondrial sequences indicate an east–west substructure. In contrast, three distinct populations were found in England using microsatellite markers, and mitochondrial diversity was very low. Evidence of nuclear admixture indicated strong male-mediated gene flow among populations. Differences in connectivity could contribute to the high viral prevalence on the continent in contrast with the United Kingdom. Although the English Channel was previously thought to restrict gene flow, our data indicate relatively frequent movement from the continent to England highlighting the potential for movement of EBLV-1 into the United Kingdom.
Data from: Season-specific and guild-specific effects of anthropogenic landscape modification on metacommunity structure of tropical bats
1. Fragmentation per se due to human land conversion is a landscape-scale phenomenon. Accordingly, assessment of distributional patterns across a suite of potentially connected communities (i.e. metacommunity structure) is an appropriate approach for understanding the effects of landscape modification, and complements the plethora of fragmentation studies that have focused on local community structure. To date, metacommunity structure within human-modified landscapes has been assessed with regard to nestedness along species richness gradients. This is problematic because there is little support that species richness gradients are associated with the factors moulding species distributions. More importantly, many alternative patterns are possible, and different patterns may manifest during different seasons and for different guilds because of variation in resource availability and resource requirements of taxa. 2. We determined the best-fit metacommunity structure of a phyllostomid bat assemblage, frugivore ensemble, and gleaning animalivore ensemble within a human-modified landscape in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica during the dry and wet seasons to elucidate important structuring mechanisms. Furthermore, we identified the landscape characteristics associated with the latent gradient underlying metacommunity structure. 3. We discriminated among multiple metacommunity structures by assessing coherence, range turnover, and boundary clumping of an ordinated site-by-species matrix. We identified the landscape characteristics associated with the latent gradient underlying metacommunity structure via hierarchical partitioning. 4. Metacommunity structure was never nested nor structured along a richness gradient. 5. The phyllostomid assemblage and frugivore ensemble exhibited Gleasonian structure (range turnover along a common gradient) during the dry season and Clementsian structure (range turnover and shared boundaries along a common gradient) during the wet season. Distance between forest patches and forest edge density structured the phyllostomid metacommunity during the dry and wet seasons, respectively. Proportion of pasture and forest patch density structured the frugivore metacommunity during the dry season. 6. Gleaning animalivores exhibited chequerboard structure (mutually exclusive species-pairs) during the dry season and random structure during the wet season. 7. Metacommunity structure was likely mediated by differential resource use or interspecific relationships. Furthermore, the interaction between landscape characteristics and seasonal variation in resources resulted in season-specific and guild-specific distributional patterns.
Data from: Cyclic bouts of extreme bradycardia counteract the highmetabolism of frugivorous bats
Active flight requires the ability to efficiently fuel bursts of costly locomotion while maximizing energy conservation during non-flying times. We took a multi-faceted approach to estimate how fruit-eating bats (Uroderma bilobatum) manage a high-energy lifestyle fueled primarily by fig juice. Miniaturized heart rate telemetry shows that they use a novel, cyclic, bradycardic state that reduces daily energetic expenditure by 10% and counteracts heart rates as high as 900 bpm during flight. Uroderma bilobatum support flight with some of the fastest metabolic incorporation rates and dynamic circulating cortisol in vertebrates. These bats will exchange fat reserves within 24 hr, meaning that they must survive on the food of the day and are at daily risk of starvation. Energetic flexibly in U. bilobatum highlights the fundamental role of ecological pressures on integrative energetic networks and the still poorly understood energetic strategies of animals in the tropics.
Data from: Timeframes of speciation, reticulation, and hybridization in the Bulldog bat explained through phylogenetic analyses of all genetic transmission elements
Phylogenetic comparisons of the different mammalian genetic transmission elements (mtDNA, X-, Y-, and autosomal DNA) is a powerful approach for understanding the process of speciation in nature. Through such comparisons the unique inheritance pathways of each genetic element and gender-biased processes can link genomic structure to the evolutionary process, especially among lineages which have recently diversified, in which genetic isolation may be incomplete. Bulldog bats of the genus Noctilio are an exemplar lineage, being a young clade, widely distributed, and exhibiting unique feeding ecologies. In addition, currently recognized species are paraphyletic with respect to the mtDNA gene tree and contain morphologically identifiable clades that exhibit mtDNA divergences as great as among many species. To test taxonomic hypotheses and understand the contribution of hybridization to the extant distribution of genetic diversity in Noctilio, we used phylogenetic, coalescent stochastic modeling, and divergence time estimates using sequence data from cytochrome-b, cytochrome c oxidase-I, zinc finger Y, and zinc finger X, as well as evolutionary reconstructions based on amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP) data. No evidence of ongoing hybridization between the two currently recognized species was identified. However, signatures of an ancient mtDNA capture were recovered in which an mtDNA lineage of one species was captured early in the noctilionid radiation. Among subspecific mtDNA clades, which were generally coincident with morphology and statistically definable as species, signatures of ongoing hybridization were observed in sex chromosome sequences and AFLP. Divergence dating of genetic elements corroborates the diversification of extant Noctilio beginning about three million years ago, with ongoing hybridization between mitochondrial lineages separated by 2.5 million years. The time-frame of species' divergence within Noctilio supports the hypothesis that shifts in the dietary strategies of gleaning insects (N. albiventris) or fish (N. leporinus) are among the most rapid instances of dietary evolution observed in mammals. This study illustrates the complex evolutionary dynamics shaping gene pools in nature, how comparisons of genetic elements can serve for understanding species boundaries, and the complex considerations for accurate taxonomic assignment.
Data from: Flower-visiting bat species contribute unequally toward agricultural pollination ecosystem services in southern Thailand
The large majority of angiosperm species depend on animals for pollination, including many agricultural crops, and plant-pollinator interactions have been extensively studied. However, not all floral visitors actually transfer pollen, and efforts to distinguish true pollinators from mere visitors are particularly scarce among the bat pollination literature. To determine whether Old World bat species are equally effective pollinators in mixed-agricultural areas of southern Thailand, we examined six night-blooming plant taxa and quantified pollinator importance (PI) of seven common nectarivorous bat species. PI was calculated as the product of nightly bat visitation rate (obtained from mist-netting data) and pollen transfer efficiency (estimated from bat pollen loads). We found that PI varied by both bat species and plant species. In general, the nectar-specialist bat species were more important pollinators, yet their order of importance differed across our focal plant species. In addition, PI was dictated more by pollen transfer effectiveness than visitation rate. Our findings highlight the importance of Old World bat pollinators within southern Thailand's mixed-agricultural landscape and illustrate how seemingly similar floral visitors can have very different contributions toward plant pollination success.
Data from: Silent katydid females are at higher risk of bat predation than acoustically signalling katydid males
Males that produce conspicuous mate attraction signals are often at high risk of predation from eavesdropping predators. Females of such species typically search for signalling males and their higher motility may also place them at risk. The relative predation risk faced by males and females in the context of mate-finding using long-distance signals has rarely been investigated. In this study, we show, using a combination of diet analysis and behavioural experiments, that katydid females, who do not produce acoustic signals, are at higher risk of predation from a major bat predator, Megaderma spasma, than calling males. Female katydids were represented in much higher numbers than males in the culled remains beneath roosts of M. spasma. Playback experiments using katydid calls revealed that male calls were approached in only about one-third of the trials overall, whereas tethered, flying katydids were always approached and attacked. Our results question the idea that necessary costs of mate-finding, including risk of predation, are higher in signalling males than in searching females.
Data from: Community structure of a Neotropical bat fauna as revealed by stable isotope analysis: Not all species fit neatly into predicted guilds
Neotropical bat communities are among the most diverse mammal communities in the world, and a better understanding of these assemblages may permit inferences about how so many species coexist. While broad trophic guilds (e.g., frugivore, insectivore) of bats are recognized, details of diet and similarities among species remain largely unknown. We used stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) to characterize the community structure of a diverse Neotropical bat fauna from Belize to test predictions of niche theory and the competitive exclusion principle. We predicted that (1) interspecific variation in isotopic overlap would be greater within guilds than between guilds, and (2) no two sympatric populations would have isotopic niches that overlap completely, unless there is variation along some other axis (e.g., temporal, spatial). We additionally tested body size as an explanatory metric of potential overlap, and predicted that larger-bodied animals would have greater niche breadths. Results suggest that while guild-level characterizations of communities is at least somewhat informative, there are multiple examples of intra- and inter-guild species pairs with significantly overlapping isotopic niches, suggesting that, counter to predictions, they may compete for resources. Understanding the trophic structure of animal communities is fundamental to conservation and management of endangered species and ecosystems and important for evolutionary studies, and stable isotope analyses can provide key insights as well as informing hypotheses of the diet of species that are not well known.
Data from: Bats, primates, and the evolutionary origins and diversification of mammalian gammaherpesviruses
Gammaherpesviruses (γHVs) are generally considered host specific and to have codiverged with their hosts over millions of years. This tenet is challenged here by broad-scale phylogenetic analysis of two viral genes using the largest sample of mammalian γHVs to date, integrating for the first time bat γHV sequences available from public repositories and newly generated viral sequences from two vampire bat species (Desmodus rotundus and Diphylla ecaudata). Bat and primate viruses frequently represented deep branches within the supported phylogenies and clustered among viruses from distantly related mammalian taxa. Following evolutionary scenario testing, we determined the number of host-switching and cospeciation events. Cross-species transmissions have occurred much more frequently than previously estimated, and most of the transmissions were attributable to bats and primates. We conclude that the evolution of the Gammaherpesvirinae subfamily has been driven by both cross-species transmissions and subsequent cospeciation within specific viral lineages and that the bat and primate orders may have potentially acted as superspreaders to other mammalian taxa throughout evolutionary history.
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: Investigating sensitivity of phylogenetic community structure metrics using North American desert bats
A relatively recent approach to characterizing structure of natural communities is to use phylogenies of species pools to compare patterns of relatedness between real and simulated communities. Such an approach can provide mechanistic insights into structure. Despite popularity of phylogenetic approaches, we do not yet fully understand how phylogenetic community structure (PCS) metrics might be impacted by changes to the phylogeny or community membership data from which they are calculated. We investigate metric sensitivity and examine PCS of bats from the 4 great desert regions of North America. We inferred a phylogeny of the regional species pool to calculate PCS metrics using community membership data delimited using 3 different methods. We also randomized our phylogeny to determine how reasonable changes to the tree affect PCS metrics. Overall, PCS metrics are quite robust to moderate changes in the phylogeny from which they are calculated. These metrics also are fairly insensitive to our 3 methods of delimiting communities. Additionally, we found that in general, communities are significantly phylogenetically clustered, suggesting habitat filtering has been important in community assembly.
Data from: Food-sharing vampire bats are more nepotistic under conditions of perceived risk
Cooperative behaviors exist along a spectrum of cost, from no-risk scenarios of mutual benefit to self-sacrificing altruism. Hamilton's rule predicts that as risk increases, cooperative decisions should become increasingly kin-biased (nepotistic). To manipulate the perceived risks of regurgitated food sharing in captive vampire bats, we created a novel "rescue" condition, which required that donors leave their preferred roosting location, descend to an illuminated spot on the cage floor, and regurgitate food across cage bars to a trapped hungry bat. Vampire bats adapted their food sharing to this novel context, but with a dramatic reduction in the probability and amount of food sharing. Sixteen of 29 bats were fed by groupmates when trapped. All 15 starved bats that were tested in both trapped and free conditions received less food when trapped. Donations to trapped bats came from kin and nonkin, but subjects received a greater proportion of their food from closer relatives when trapped than when free. This finding supports the prediction that nepotistic biases should be exaggerated under dangerous conditions.
Data from: Genetic structure, spatial organization, and dispersal in two populations of bat-eared foxes
We incorporated radio-telemetry data with genetic analysis of bat-eared foxes (Otocyon megalotis) from individuals in 32 different groups to examine relatedness and spatial organization in two populations in South Africa that differed in density, home-range sizes, and group sizes. Kin clustering occurred only for female dyads in the high-density population. Relatedness was negatively correlated with distance only for female dyads in the high-density population, and for male and mixed-sex dyads in the low-density population. Home-range overlap of neighboring female dyads was significantly greater in the high compared to low-density population, whereas overlap within other dyads was similar between populations. Amount of home-range overlap between neighbors was positively correlated with genetic relatedness for all dyad-site combinations, except for female and male dyads in the low-density population. Foxes from all age and sex classes dispersed, although females (mostly adults) dispersed farther than males. Yearlings dispersed later in the high-density population, and overall exhibited a male-biased dispersal pattern. Our results indicated that genetic structure within populations of bat-eared foxes was sex-biased, and was interrelated to density and group sizes, as well as sex-biases in philopatry and dispersal distances. We conclude that a combination of male-biased dispersal rates, adult dispersals, and sex-biased dispersal distances likely helped to facilitate inbreeding avoidance in this evolutionarily unique species of Canidae.
Figure 3 in Ectoparasite insects of bats from the fields and weedlands eco-region of Argentina
Figure 3. Hesperoctenes cartus (CMLA 766 ♀) (dorsal view).
Data from: Prelude to a panzootic: gene flow and immunogenetic variation in northern little brown myotis vulnerable to bat white-nose syndrome
The fungus that causes bat white-nose syndrome (WNS) recently leaped from eastern North America to the Pacific Coast. The pathogen's spread is associated with the genetic population structure of a host (Myotis lucifugus). To understand the fine-scale neutral and immunogenetic variation among northern populations of M. lucifugus, we sampled 1142 individuals across the species' northern range. We used genotypes at 11 microsatellite loci to reveal the genetic structure of, and directional gene flow among, populations to predict the likely future spread of the pathogen in the northwest and to estimate effective population size (Ne). We also pyrosequenced the DRB1-like exon 2 of the class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in 160 individuals to explore immunogenetic selection by WNS. We identified three major neutral genetic clusters: Eastern, Montane Cordillera (and adjacent sampling areas), and Haida Gwaii, with admixture at intermediate areas and significant substructure west of the prairies. Estimates of Ne were unexpectedly low (289–16 000). Haida Gwaii may provide temporary refuge from WNS, but the western mountain ranges are not barriers to its dispersal in M. lucifugus and are unlikely to slow its spread. Our major histocompatibility complex (MHC) data suggest potential selection by WNS on the MHC, but gene duplication limited the immunogenetic analyses.
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.