Find research datasets worth reusing

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2019View details →

Evaluation of the impact of imprinted polymer particles on morphology and motility of breast cancer cells by using digital holographic cytometry

Supplemented Videos used in "Evaluation of the impact of imprinted polymer particles on morphology and motility of breast cancer cells by using digital holographic cytometry"

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2020View details →

Source data for a study submitted to Reproduction on the impact of a moderate, episodic dose of alcohol on female reproductive parameters in offspring.

This file contains information on the samples analysed for a study of the effect of prenatal alcohol exposure on female offspring reproductive parameters. It also contains all the raw data for each Figure and Table included in a manuscript submitted to Reproduction.

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2020View details →

The impact of news exposure on collective attention in the United States during the 2016 Zika epidemic

This repository contains the data of the study "The impact of news exposure on collective attention in the United States during the 2016 Zika epidemic". Epidemiological data The folder zika_USA_weekly_cases_2016.zip contains weekly ZIKV incidence counts reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2016, by state. Data were extracted from reports made publicly available by the CDC at:  <a href="https://zenodo.org/record/584136#.Xk07-RNKjOQ">https://zenodo.org/record/584136#.Xk07-RNKjOQ</a>  Web news data The file news_GDELT_data.csv.gz contains all news items extracted from the GDELT platform (<a href="https://www.gdeltproject.org/">https://www.gdeltproject.org/</a>) matching TAX_DISEASE_ZIKA as a Theme, and United_States as a Location in the GDELT platform.  TV closed captions The file zika_TV_mentions_dataframe.csv contains all the TV news items of 2016 matching the word ``Zika"  in the TV News Archive https://archive.org/details/tv Wikipedia pageview counts Dataset 1: wikipedia_dataset1_zika_daily_pageview_usa.csv Content of each line of the dataset: day, pageview_count The dataset contains the daily number of pageview counts of 128 different Wikipedia pages related to the Zika virus (aggregated and summed to total) originated in the United States, from January 1st to December 31st, 2016. Dataset 2: wikipedia_dataset2_zika_daily_pageview_bystate.zip Content of each line of the dataset: day, pageview_count, state The dataset contains the daily number of pageview counts of 128 different Wikipedia pages related to the Zika virus (aggregated and summed to total) originated in the United States, disaggregated by state, from January 1st to December 31st, 2016. Dataset 3: wikipedia_dataset3_zika_pagecount_by_city.csv Content of each line of the dataset: US_city, pageview_count_Zika,pageview_count_total The dataset contains the total number of pageview counts of 128 different Wikipedia pages related to the Zika virus (pageview_count_Zika) originated in 788 cities (US_city) of the United States with a population larger than 40,000 in 2016.The dataset also contains the total number of pageview counts to all Wikipedia pages (all Wikipedia projects, pageview_count_total) originated in 788 cities (US_city) of the United States with a population larger than 40,000 in 2016."

opencc-by-4.0Apr 2020View details →

MARTREC Data from Visualizing Sea Level Rise Impacts in Transportation Planning

This research focuses on a study area in Fort Lauderdale--a two-block stretch of Las Olas Blvd. between Southeast 9th Ave. and Southeast 11th Ave. where researchers expect mean high tides up to 36 inches higher in the year 2100. The project investigates a community planning process in which a combination of high- and low-tech visualization methods—a Geographic Information System (GIS) and a human artist—was used to increase public participation and draw out local knowledge which helps the decision-making process for the future. Mixed reality technologies such as Microsoft Hololens (augmented reality) and Samsung VR Gear (virtual reality) offer immersive educational and engagement experiences, which may convey information in a more meaningful way. Using a quasi-experimental methodology of before-and-after surveys, we compare the degree to which virtual reality technologies improve (or impede) constituents’ absorption of information regarding sea-level rise risks to roadway infrastructure in their communities.

opencc-by-4.0Mar 2020View details →

Plant invasion has limited impact on soil microbial alpha-diversity : a meta-analysis

Plant invasion has proved to be a significant driver of ecosystem change, and with increased probability of invasion due to globalization, agricultural practices and other anthropogenic causes, it is crucial to understand its impact across multiple trophic levels. With the strong linkages between above and belowground processes, the response of soil microorganisms to plant invasion is the next logical step in developing our conceptual understanding of this complex system. In our study, we utilized a meta-analytical approach to better understand the impacts of plant invasion on soil microbial diversity. We synthesized 70 independent studies with 23 unique invaders across multiple ecosystem types to search for generalizable trends in soil microbial a-diversity following invasion. When possible, soil nutrient metrics were also collected in an attempt to understand the contribution of nutrient status shifts on microbial a-diversity. Our results show plant invasion to have highly heterogenous and limited impacts on microbial a-diversity. When taken together, our study indicates soil microbial a-diversity to remain constant following invasion, contrary to the aboveground counter parts. As our results suggest a decoupling in patterns of below and aboveground diversity, future work is needed to examine the drivers of microbial diversity patterns following invasion.

opencc-zeroMay 2020View details →

Community-level direct and indirect impacts of an invasive plant favour exotic over native species

1. Indirect interactions mediated by shared enemies or mutualists (i.e., apparent competition) can influence whether invasive plants harm or benefit co-occurring species. However, studies to date have largely examined single pairwise interactions, limiting our understanding of the interplay among different types of interactions and whether indirect impacts systematically favour native or exotic species. Predicting indirect interaction strength has also proven challenging, and it remains unclear whether the strengths of different indirect interactions are correlated. 2. We conducted a field experiment in a grassland invaded by Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) to compare the strength of its indirect impacts, via both soil fungi or herbivores, on 21 native and exotic legume species growing in pots buried in the ground. Direct interactions of plants with soil fungi were controlled using nylon mesh pot windows of differing porosity (1 or 38 µm) to prevent or allow soil fungi hyphal growth. Arthropod herbivores were controlled through spraying pyrethrum pesticide. To assess indirect impacts, interactions were compared between plants adjacent to or 50 m away from an extensive Scotch broom invasion. We measured plant performance (survival, height, and biomass), arthropod and hare herbivory, and rhizobia nodulation. 3. Despite increasing arthropod herbivory of both native and exotic plant species, Scotch broom had a net positive impact on their survival and growth, through sheltering them from abiotic stress, and indirectly via beneficial soil fungi and release from hare browsing. Soil fungi also increased arthropod herbivory, decreased rhizobia nodulation, and disproportionately promoted the growth of exotic plants. Overall, exotic plants experienced stronger interactions, which favoured them with beneficial soil fungi and rhizobia but not hare browsing. Finally, indirect interaction strength was not correlated among indirect interactions mediated by different interaction partners. 4. Synthesis: We demonstrate that invaders affect their competitors through multiple interacting indirect pathways that were stronger than direct 'nurse plant' effects, emphasising the importance of a community-level approach to studying biological invasions. Exotic species experienced stronger positive and negative impacts than natives, but were facilitated overall, potentially contributing to exotic dominance in communities.

opencc-by-4.0Jul 2020View details →

Exploring Societal Impact: global researcher attitudes, raw data from a 2019 survey

This data was generated as part of a global survey with more than 9,000 researchers, conducted in June 2019 by Springer Nature. It investigates the global attitudes of researchers towards societal impact, with specific relation to the UN's sustainable development goals. Associated presentations summarising the findings of this research can be found at <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3964940">https://www.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3964940</a>, <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3964942">https://www.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3964942</a>, and <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3964944">https://www.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3964944</a>. Access the Jupyter notebook: <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3957929">https://www.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3957929</a>.

opencc-zeroJul 2020View details →

Data from: The impact of personality, morphotype and shore-height on temperature-mediated behavioural responses in the beadlet anemone (Actinia equina)

1. Between-individual variation in behavioural phenotype, termed personality, is an important determinant of how populations cope with acute environmental fluctuation related to climate change. 2. Personality in the beadlet sea anemone (Actinia equina) is linked to genetically distinct morphotypes, which are associated with different heights on the shore. In the intertidal zone, high-shore environments experience more environmental fluctuation due to longer periods of exposure, and animals adapted to live in these environments are predicted to deal more effectively with environmental perturbation than their low-shore counterparts. 3. We collected beadlet anemones of two different morphotypes from three different shore-heights. We investigated variation in two behaviours at three different temperatures and in a temporal control treatment where the temperature was not changed: startle response-time, the time it took an anemone to re-extend its tentacles after a threatening stimulus, and immersion response-time, the time to re-extend tentacles after simulated tidal immersion. These behaviours reflect risk taking and allow individuals to be categorised as bold, shy or intermediate based upon response-times. 4. Both behaviours showed significant changes as the temperature increased. For immersion-response, the morphotype associated with the low-shore lengthened response-times at high temperatures. For startle-response, all animals lengthened their response-times at high temperatures but animals collected from the low-shore lengthened theirs to the greatest degree. At the individual level, although control individuals exhibited temporal changes in their response-times, a clear effect of temperature was present in both behaviours. Shy and bold individuals became more intermediate at higher temperatures in immersion-response (this effect was present to a lesser degree in control individuals), while intermediate individuals raised their response-times at higher temperatures for startle-response. 5. Given that prolonged tentacle retraction reduces foraging opportunities and can negatively impact respiratory efficiency, our data suggest that some individuals within a single population of A.equina, particularly those associated with the lower-shore, may exhibit less effective behavioural responses to temperature-shifts than others. These findings demonstrate that acute temperature changes influence risk-taking, and could have profound short and long-term implications for survival in the face of climate change. 16-Jun-2020

opencc-zeroJul 2020View details →

Data from: Using a participatory impact assessment framework to evaluate a community-led mangrove and fisheries conservation approach in West Kalimantan, Indonesia

<ol> <li>Community-based conservation (CBC) has been identified as a solution to biodiversity loss, climate change, and the reduction of rural poverty. The heterogeneity in social and economic inequalities often acts as a barrier to community engagement in resource management and further inhibits the distributional equity of social and ecological outcomes.</li> <li>This study presents a participatory impact assessment (PIA) framework that evaluated the outcomes of a cross-sector community-led conservation initiative. Community members involved in the program identified activities and outcomes for the Conservation Cooperative (CC), ranking the influence of the former on the latter as well as their daily life through multiple focus group discussions (FGDs). Participants were asked to rank the impact of activities on outcomes and the scale of the outcome which was totaled to identify the most impactful program activities and outcomes during the project period.</li> <li>Community members reported improved income, health, education and the creation of a locally-led natural resource management system. Members also reported improved crab harvest rates and reduced mangrove deforestation. Environmental outcomes identified by community members through the PIA were verified through a secondary spatial analysis and mud-crab independent fisheries monitoring.</li> <li>The results support the hypothesis that environmental NGOs need to consider a multi-dimensional view of human well-being, and that cross-sector integrated interventions may be effective at improving multiple outcomes.</li> <li>Future steps should focus on spatial replication of the CC program which will provide further insights by testing for differences in outcomes between villages, how those are impacted by preexisting social and ecological systems, and comparing outcomes between control sites that did not receive interventions.</li> </ol>

opencc-zeroJul 2020View details →

Life history data for longer-lived tropical songbirds reduce breeding activity as they buffer impacts of drought

Droughts are expected to increase in frequency and severity with climate change. Population impacts of such harsh environmental events are theorized to vary with life history strategies among species. However, existing demographic models generally do not consider behavioral plasticity that may modify the impact of harsh events. Here we show that tropical songbirds in the New and Old World reduced reproduction during drought, with greater reductions in species with higher average long-term survival. Large reductions in reproduction by longer-lived species were associated with higher survival during drought than pre-drought years in Malaysia, whereas shorter-lived species maintained reproduction and survival decreased. Behavioral strategies of longer-lived, but not shorter-lived, species mitigated the effect of increasing drought frequency on long-term population growth. Behavioral plasticity can buffer the impact of climate change on populations of some species, and differences in plasticity among species related to their life histories are critical for predicting population trajectories.

opencc-zeroJun 2021View details →

Data from: An invasive insect, hemlock woolly adelgid, indirectly impacts Louisiana Waterthrush nest site selection and nest survival in the southern Appalachians

Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) is declining throughout the eastern United States due to hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand), an invasive insect from Asia. In the southern Appalachians, hemlock is concentrated in moist ravines and its decline threatens riparian ecosystems. Previous research on this invasion has focused on adelgid control and how hemlock decline affects community composition or forest processes; few studies have evaluated the consequences for demography of obligate riparian species. The Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla) is an obligate riparian species that could be sensitive to hemlock condition in this region, but how individuals respond to decline is currently unknown. To address this knowledge gap, we leveraged recent adelgid treatment efforts in Great Smoky Mountains National Park to evaluate the relationship(s) between hemlock decline and waterthrush habitat selection (foraging and nest site) and vital rates (nest and adult survival). We found that hemlock decline was unrelated to foraging habitat selection and apparent adult survival, but was related to nest site selection through an interaction with percent ground cover of exposed live tree roots: birds selected for nest sites in areas with more exposed live roots but only when hemlock were in poor condition. Nest survival was lower in areas where deciduous species (vs. evergreen species) dominated the understory, suggesting that adelgid invasion could indirectly impact waterthrush fitness depending on how vegetative succession proceeds following hemlock decline. Our results suggest that the short-term consequences of adelgid invasion on this riparian avian species are minimal in this area, but these relationships are likely dynamic and dependent on local habitat features and the predator community response to hemlock decline.Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) is declining throughout the eastern United States due to hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand), an invasive insect from Asia. In the southern Appalachians, hemlock is concentrated in moist ravines and its decline threatens riparian ecosystems. Previous research on this invasion has focused on adelgid control and how hemlock decline affects community composition or forest processes; few studies have evaluated the consequences for demography of obligate riparian species. The Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla) is an obligate riparian species that could be sensitive to hemlock condition in this region, but how individuals respond to decline is currently unknown. To address this knowledge gap, we leveraged recent adelgid treatment efforts in Great Smoky Mountains National Park to evaluate the relationship(s) between hemlock decline and waterthrush habitat selection (foraging and nest site) and vital rates (nest and adult survival). We found that hemlock decline was unrelated to foraging habitat selection and apparent adult survival, but was related to nest site selection through an interaction with percent ground cover of exposed live tree roots: birds selected for nest sites in areas with more exposed live roots but only when hemlock were in poor condition. Nest survival was lower in areas where deciduous species (vs. evergreen species) dominated the understory, suggesting that adelgid invasion could indirectly impact waterthrush fitness depending on how vegetative succession proceeds following hemlock decline. Our results suggest that the short-term consequences of adelgid invasion on this riparian avian species are minimal in this area, but these relationships are likely dynamic and dependent on local habitat features and the predator community response to hemlock decline.

opencc-by-4.0Jul 2020View details →

Aegilops ventricosa 2NS segment and its impact on wheat yield

Yield data for Kansas State University wheat breeding lines (>3000) were collected over the course of more than two decades (1996-2017). Yield data for USDA-Regional Performance Nursery lines  (>800) were collected from 1992 to 2015.  The lines were genotyped using genotyping by sequencing (GBS). A custom pipeline to predict the presence of alien 2NS segment was carried out for these lines based on GBS data and reference wheat and alien (Aegilops ventricosa) genomes. Please reference Walkowiak S., Gao L., et al. 2020 Nature article (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2961-x), and Gao et al 2020 Theoretical and Applied Genetics article (10.1007/s00122-020-03712-y) for more details.

Data from: Gut microbiome critically impacts PCB-induced changes in metabolic fingerprints and the hepatic transcriptome in mice

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are ubiquitously detected in the environment and have been linked to metabolic diseases. The liver serves as a central hub for the metabolism of xenobiotics and endogenous metabolites. Gut dysbiosis is recognized as a critical regulator of disease susceptibility, however, little is known regarding how PCBs and gut microbiome interact to modulate the interface between xenobiotic and intermediary metabolism. We hypothesized that the gut microbiome regulates PCBs-mediated changes in the metabolic fingerprints and hepatic transcriptome. Ninety-day-old female conventional (CV) and germ-free (GF) C57BL/6 mice were orally exposed to the PCB Fox River Mixture (synthetic PCB mixture, 6 or 30 mg/kg) or corn oil (vehicle control, 10 ml/kg), once daily for 3 consecutive days. Organs were collected 24 hours after the final dose. RNA-Seq was conducted on liver, and endogenous aqueous metabolites (amino acids, carbohydrates, and nucleotides) were measured in liver and serum by LC-MS. The primary factor in clustering the transcriptomic and metabolomic signatures within the same exposure was by enterotype. The numbers of PCB-regulated genes were higher in CV than in GF conditions. The prototypical target genes of the major xenobiotic-sensing transcription factors AhR, PXR, and CAR were more readily up-regulated by PCBs in CV than in GF conditions, indicating the effect of PCBs on the hepatic transcriptome act partly through the gut microbiome. Xenobiotic and steroid metabolism pathways were up-regulated, whereas response to incorrect proteins pathway was down-regulated by PCBs in a gut microbiome-dependent manner. At the high PCB dose, NADP and arginine appear to interact with drug-metabolizing enzymes (Cyp1-3 family, DhcR7, and Nqo1), which are highly correlated with Anaerotruncus and Roseburia in CV mice, providing a novel explanation of gut-liver interaction in toxicant exposures. In GF exposure groups, hepatic glucose was down-regulated, whereas fructose 6-phosphate and glucose 6-phosphate were up-regulated, indicating increased glucose utilization potentiated by lack of gut microbiota. Through querying the LINCS L1000 chemical database, Enrichr predicted that therapeutic drugs targeting the anti-inflammatory and ER stress pathways are potential remedies to mitigate PCB toxicity. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that habitation of the gut microbiota drives PCBs-mediated hepatic responses, possibly due to crosstalk between gut and liver.

opencc-zeroApr 2020View details →

Data from: Ecological impact assessments of alien species in Norway

<ol> <li>Due to globalisation, trade and transport, the spread of alien species is increasing dramatically. Some alien species become ecologically harmful by threatening native biota. This can lead to irreversible changes in local biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and, ultimately, to biotic homogenisation.</li> <li>We risk-assessed all alien plants, animals, fungi and algae, within certain delimitations, that are known to reproduce in Norway. Mainland Norway and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard plus Jan Mayen were treated as separate assessment areas. Assessments followed the Generic Ecological Impact Assessment of Alien Species (GEIAA) protocol, which uses a fully quantitative set of criteria.</li> <li>A total of 1519 species were risk-assessed, of which 1183 were species reproducing in mainland Norway. Among these, 9% were assessed to have a severe impact, 7% high impact, 7% potentially high impact, and 49% low impact, whereas 29% had no known impact. In Svalbard, 16 alien species were reproducing, one of which with a severe impact.</li> <li>The impact assessments also covered 319 so-called door-knockers, i.e. species that are likely to establish in Norway within 50 years, and 12 regionally alien species. Of the door-knockers, 8% and 10% were assessed to have a severe and high impact, respectively.</li> <li>The impact category of most species was driven by negative interactions with native species, transformation of threatened ecosystems, or genetic contamination. The proportion of alien species with high or severe impact varied significantly across the different pathways of introduction, taxonomic groups, time of introduction and the environments colonised, but not across continents of origin.</li> <li>Given the large number of alien species reproducing in Norway and the preponderance of species with low impact, it is neither realistic nor necessary to eradicate all of them. Our results can guide management authorities in two ways. First, the use of quantitative assessment criteria facilitates the prioritisation of management resources across species. Second, the background information collected for each species, such as introduction pathways, area of occupancy and ecosystems affected, helps designing appropriate management measures.</li> </ol>

Heterogeneity in the rate of molecular sequence evolution substantially impacts the accuracy of detecting shifts in diversification rates

As species richness varies along the tree of life, there is a great interest in identifying factors that affect the rates by which lineages speciate or go extinct. To this end, theoretical biologists have developed a suit of phylogenetic comparative methods that aim to identify where shifts in diversification rates had occurred along a phylogeny and whether they are associated with some traits. Using these methods, numerous studies have predicted that speciation and extinction rates vary across the tree of life. In this study we show that asymmetric rates of sequence evolution rates lead to systematic biases in the inferred phylogeny, which in turn lead to erroneous inferences regarding lineage diversification patterns. The results demonstrate that as the asymmetry in sequence evolution rates increases, so does the tendency to select more complicated models that include the possibility of diversification rate shifts. These results thus suggest that any inference regarding shifts in diversification pattern should be treated with great caution, at least until any biases regarding the molecular substitution rate have been ruled out.

opencc-zeroJan 2020View details →

Data for: Evaluating the impact of physical frailty during ageing in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii)

While declining physical performance is an expected consequence of aging, human clinical research has placed increasing emphasis on physical frailty as a predictor of death and disability in the elderly. We examined non-invasive measures approximating frailty in a richly-sampled longitudinal dataset on wild chimpanzees. Using urinary creatinine to assess lean body mass, we demonstrated moderate but significant declines in physical condition with age in both sexes. While older chimpanzees spent less of their day in the trees and feeding, they did not alter activity budgets with respect to travel or resting. There was little evidence that declining lean body mass had negative consequences independent of age. Old chimpanzees with poor lean body mass rested more often but did not otherwise differ in activity. Males, but not females, in poor condition were more likely to exhibit respiratory illness. Poor muscle mass was associated acutely with death in males, but it did not predict future mortality in either sex. While there may be some reasons to suspect biological differences in the susceptibility to frailty in chimpanzees versus humans, our data are consistent with recent reports from humans that lean, physically active individuals can successfully combat frailty.

opencc-by-4.0Oct 2020View details →

Resolved-EXIOBASE (REX) – A highly resolved MRIO database for analyzing supply-chain impacts (B. Remaining data from 1995–2005)

This repository provides the R-MRIO database for the years 1995–2005 of the study "A highly resolved MRIO database for analyzing environmental footprints and Green Economy Progress". <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142587">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142587</a> The code to resolve the database and the data for the years 2006–2015 are stored under the repository <a href="http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3993659">http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3993659</a> The folders "R-MRIO_year" provide the following files (*.mat-files) for each year from 1995–2005: A_RMRIO: the coefficient matrix Y_RMRIO: the final demand matrix Ext_RMRIO and Ext_hh_RMRIO: the satellite matrix of the economy and the final demand TotalOut_RMRIO: the total output vector The labels of the matrices are provided by the separate folder "Labels_RMRIO " A script for importing and indexing the RMRIO database files in Python as Pandas DataFrames can be found here: <a href="https://github.com/jbnsn/RMRIO-database-py-import">https://github.com/jbnsn/RMRIO-database-py-import</a>

Data from: Spatiotemporal variation in disturbance impacts derived from simultaneous tracking of aircraft and shorebirds

1. Assessing impacts of disturbance over large areas and long time periods is crucial for nature management, but also challenging since impacts depend on both wildlife responses to disturbance and on the spatiotemporal distribution of disturbance sources. Combined tracking of animals and disturbance sources enables quantification of wildlife responses as a function of the distance to a disturbance source. We provide a framework to derive such distance-response curves and combine those with disturbance source presence data to quantify energetic costs of disturbance at a landscape scale. 2. We tracked 90 Eurasian Oystercatchers Haematopus ostralegus and all aircraft in a military training area in the Dutch Wadden Sea. We quantified distance-response curves estimating flight probability and additional displacement for five types of aircraft activities, by comparing bird movement prior to aircraft presence with movement during aircraft presence. We then used the distance-response curves to map mean and variation in additional daily energy expenditure due to cumulative aircraft disturbance across the landscape for a 700-day period. 3. Flight probability and displacement responses differed strongly among aircraft activities and decreased from transport airplanes, through bombing jets, helicopters, jets to small civil airplanes. Since the most disturbing aircraft activities were also the rarest ones, mean additional daily energy expenditure did not exceed 0.25%. However, days with substantial (>1%) additional expenditure occurred between 0.1% and 3.7% of all days across high tide roosts in the tidal basin. Notably, expenditure particularly spiked on days with transport airplane activity (up to 8.5%). 4. Synthesis and applications. Cumulative energetic flight costs due to aircraft disturbance are low and unlikely to impact survival of oystercatchers in our study area. Our results provide evidence that the legal minimum flight height of 450m for small civil airplanes effectively limits disturbance of oystercatchers. Mitigation should focus on limiting the number of days when disturbance has a high impact by reducing rare but highly disturbing activities, especially transport airplanes. Our approach can be applied to other species and disturbance sources that are automatically tracked, e.g. boats and walkers, ultimately to quantify the entire anthropogenic disturbance landscape.

Data from: Impact of agricultural weathering on physicochemical properties of biodegradable plastic mulch films: comparison of two diverse climates over four successive years

Biodegradable plastic mulch films (BDMs) are essential in the production of vegetable and specialty crops due to their promotion of increased crop yield and quality. Unlike conventional polyethylene (PE) mulches, BDMs can be tilled into the soil after crop harvest to undergo biodegradation, thereby leading to minimal environmental impact. Agricultural weathering impacts both the performance of BDMs during crop production as a barrier to weeds and biodegradability of BDMs in the soil. To better understand the relative importance of climatic factors, the change of physicochemical properties of BDMs during single-season, 3-4 month, field trials for vegetable production at two diverse climates (Knoxville, TN and Mount Vernon, WA) across four successive years (2015-2018) was evaluated. Mulch treatments consisted of four commercially available BDMs composed primarily of polybutylene co-adipate- co-terephthalate (PBAT) that differed in color and polymeric feedstock, a black experimental BDM prepared from polylactic acid/polyhydroxybutyrate (PLA/PHA) blend, and conventional PE mulch. Mulch deterioration did not vary extensively between years. Solar radiation, an important factor to degradation of mulches, was higher in WA than TN in most sampling years. Yet, degradation occurred more greatly for BDMs in TN, which is attributable to higher temperatures in TN. Loss of mechanical properties and color was greater than chemical property changes. Differences in the extent of molecular weight decrease between years correlated significantly with solar radiation exposure at the two locations. A black-colored PBAT-based BDM was less susceptible to degradation than equivalent clear and white-on-black films, due to carbon black acting as a photostabilizer. The impact of weathering also differed between three commercially available PBAT-based films. The PLA/PHA mulch was more susceptible to degradation than PBAT-based BDMs, particularly in the warmer location, TN, partially due to a leaching out of PHA and lower-molecular weight polymer molecules. The extent of change for physicochemical properties of BDMs due to agricultural weathering is greatly affected by polymeric composition, and is greater in warmer climates.