Find research datasets worth reusing

Annual aspen growth (basal area increment; BAI) of 84 aspen that were alive and 76 that were dead when sampled in 2016 from 22 plots (eight sites) that are a part of the Cooperative Alaska Forest Inventory (CAFI)

This dataset contains basal area increment (BAI) chronologies of 84 aspen the were alive and 76 that were dead in 2016. Live trees were cored and dead trees felled in 2016 across 22 plots (eight sites) that are a part of the Cooperative Alaska Forest Inventory (CAFI). Chronologies of BAI extend as far back as 1901 and up to 2015.

Tree characteristics of 84 aspen that were alive and 76 that were dead when sampled in 2016 from 22 plots (8 sites) that are a part of the Cooperative Alaska Forest Inventory (CAFI)

This dataset contains diameter at breast height (DBH) in 2016 and 1997, canopy position in 2016, last year of full growth, year of death, year established, age at last year of full growth, and age at year of death of 84 aspen that were alive and 76 that were dead in 2016 from 22 plots (8 sites) that are a part of the Cooperative Alaska Forest Inventory (CAFI).

Seasonal climate data (growing season, spring, fall/winter, and previous growing season) at an annual resolution for eight sites from the Cooperative Alaska Forest Inventory (CAFI) from 1945 - 2013.

This dataset contains site-level measurements from 1945 - 2013 of seasonal (growing season, spring, fall/winter, and previous growing season) climate moisture index (CMI), average temperature, and total precipitation at an annual resolution for eight sites from the Cooperative Alaska Forest Inventory (CAFI) from 1945 - 2013.

Annual maximum summer NDVI (NDVImax) at 22 plots (8 sites) that are a part of the Cooperative Alaska Forest Inventory (CAFI) from 1986 - 2015.

This dataset contains annual plot-level measurements from 1986-2015 of annual maximum summer NDVI (NDVImax) from 22 plots (8 sites) that are a part of the Cooperative Alaska Forest Inventory (CAFI).

opencc-by-4.0Jun 2019View details →

Project O2 - A Cooperative Bypassing Algorithm for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles in Mixed Traffic

The dataset includes Python code and VISSIM file for the research paper "A Cooperative Bypassing Algorithm for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles in Mixed Traffic".

opencc-zeroApr 2020View details →

Data from: Cooperation with closely bonded individuals reduces cortisol levels in long-tailed macaques

Many animal species cooperate with conspecifics in various social contexts. While ultimate causes of cooperation are being studied extensively, its proximate causes, particularly endocrine mechanisms, have received comparatively little attention. Here, we present a study investigating the link between the hormone cortisol, cooperation and social bonds in long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis). We tested 14 macaques in a dyadic cooperation task (loose-string paradigm), each with two partners of different social bond strength and measured their salivary cortisol before and after the task. We found no strong link between the macaques' cortisol level before the task and subsequent cooperative success. In contrast, we did find that the act of cooperating in itself led to a subsequent decrease in cortisol levels, but only when cooperating with closely bonded individuals. Two control conditions showed that this effect was not due to the mere presence of such an individual or the pulling task itself. Consequently, our study shows an intricate way in which the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is involved in cooperation. Future studies should reveal whether and how our findings are driven by the anxiolytic effect of oxytocin, which has been associated with social bonding.

opencc-zeroAug 2020View details →

High temperatures drive offspring mortality in a cooperatively breeding bird

An improved understanding of life history responses to current environmental variability is required to predict species-specific responses to anthopogenic climate change. Previous research has suggested that cooperation in social groups may buffer individuals against some of the negative effects of unpredictable climates. We use a 15-year dataset on a cooperative-breeding arid-zone bird, the southern pied babbler Turdoides bicolor, to test i) whether environmental conditions and group size correlate with survival of young during three development stages (egg, nestling, fledgling), and ii) whether group size mitigates the impacts of adverse environmental conditions on reproductive success. Exposure to high mean daily maximum temperatures (mean Tmax) during early development was associated with reduced survival probabilities of young in all three development stages. No young survived when mean Tmax > 38°C across all group sizes. Low reproductive success at high temperatures has broad implications for recruitment and population persistence in avian communities given the rapid pace of advancing climate change. That impacts of high temperatures were not moderated by group size, a somewhat unexpected result given prevailing theories around the influence of environmental uncertainty on the evolution of cooperation, suggests that cooperative breeding strategies are unlikely to be advantageous in the face of rapid anthropogenic climate change. An improved understanding of life history responses to current environmental variability is required to predict species-specific responses to anthopogenic climate change. Previous research has suggested that cooperation in social groups may buffer individuals against some of the negative effects of unpredictable climates. We use a 15-year dataset on a cooperative-breeding arid-zone bird, the southern pied babbler Turdoides bicolor, to test i) whether environmental conditions and group size correlate with survival of young during three development stages (egg, nestling, fledgling), and ii) whether group size mitigates the impacts of adverse environmental conditions on reproductive success. Exposure to high mean daily maximum temperatures (mean Tmax) during early development was associated with reduced survival probabilities of young in all three development stages. No young survived when mean Tmax > 38°C across all group sizes. Low reproductive success at high temperatures has broad implications for recruitment and population persistence in avian communities given the rapid pace of advancing climate change. That impacts of high temperatures were not moderated by group size, a somewhat unexpected result given prevailing theories around the influence of environmental uncertainty on the evolution of cooperation, suggests that cooperative breeding strategies are unlikely to be advantageous in the face of rapid anthropogenic climate change.

opencc-zeroNov 2020View details →

Complex effects of helper relatedness on female extra-pair reproduction in a cooperative breeder

In cooperatively-breeding species, the presence of male helpers in a group often reduces the breeding female's fidelity to her social partner, possibly because there is more than one potential sire in the group. Using a long-term study of cooperatively-breeding superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) and records of paternity in 1936 broods, we show that the effect of helpers on rates of extra-pair paternity varied according to the helpers' relatedness to the breeding female. The presence of unrelated male helpers in a group increased average rates of extra-pair paternity, from 57% for groups with no unrelated helpers, to 74% with one unrelated helper, to 86% with 2+ unrelated helpers. However, this increase was due in equal part to helpers within the group and males in other groups achieving increased paternity. In contrast, helpers who were sons of the breeding female did not gain paternity, nor did they affect the level of extra-group paternity (which occurred at rates of 60%, 58%, 61% in the presence of 0, 1, 2+ helper-sons respectively). There was no evidence of effects of helpers' relatedness to the female on nest productivity or nestling performance. Because the presence of helpers per se did not elevate extra-pair reproduction rates, our results undermine the 'constrained female hypothesis' explanation for an increase in extra-pair paternity with helper number in cooperative breeders. However, they indicate that dominant males are disadvantaged by breeding in 'cooperative' groups. The reasons why the presence of unrelated helpers, but not of helper-sons, results in higher rates of extra-group reproduction are not clear.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2013View details →

Genetic architecture promotes the evolution and maintenance of cooperation

Code and data for Frenoy et al 2013 ("Genetic Architecture Promotes the Evolution and Maintenance of Cooperation" in PLoS Computational Biology)

opencc-zeroDec 2017View details →

Data from: Causes of seasonal decline in reproduction of the cooperatively-breeding acorn woodpecker

Clutch size and reproductive success decline seasonally in a wide range of temperate avian taxa. Two competing hypotheses have been proposed to explain such declines: the "timing" hypothesis, which states that conditions affecting reproduction decline intrinsically with date, and the "quality" hypothesis, which proposes that high-quality individuals or individuals in high-quality situations breed earlier. We contrasted the relative importance of these two hypotheses using a long-term dataset of the cooperatively-breeding acorn woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus) in central coastal California (USA). This population exhibits an 11% seasonal decline in clutch size, a 60% seasonal decline in fledging success, and a 77% seasonal decline in fledgling overwinter survival. Clutch size tracks seasonal availability of flying insects, which are a likely ecological driver of the seasonal decline in reproduction and, because of the nonlinear relationship of flying insects with date, constitute a likely factor constraining even earlier nesting. By parsing lay date data into within-female and between-female components, we found that only the within-female component had a statistically significant direct effect on clutch size, supporting the timing hypothesis. For both fledging success and overwinter survival, however, both within- and between-female effects were highly significant, with between-female effects (differences in female quality) being stronger than within-female effects. These results suggest that timing per se is a key factor affecting the seasonal decline in clutch size, but that both differences in female quality and an intrinsic seasonal decline in conditions drive the even more dramatic seasonal declines in fledging success and overwinter survivorship of fledglings.

opencc-zeroDec 2014View details →

Data from: Saami reindeer herders cooperate with social group members and genetic kin

Cooperative behaviors evolve by ultimately increasing the inclusive fitness of performers as well as recipients of those behaviors. Such increases can occur via direct or indirect fitness benefits, theoretically explained by reciprocal altruism and kin selection, respectively. However, humans are known for cooperating with individuals who are not necessarily genetic relatives, which seemingly precludes kin selection as an explanation. Here, we aim to quantify the relative importance of kinship and social group membership as mediators of cooperative behavior. Using an experimental gift game, we test whether indigenous Saami reindeer herders in Norway give gifts to genetic relatives or to members of their cooperative herding group (the "siida") or both. Membership of the same siida strongly increased the odds of gift giving. Kinship had a smaller, albeit positive, effect. Gifts were not preferentially given to younger family members, contrary to predictions relating to intergenerational resource transfers as a form of parental investment. These patterns suggest that social grouping can be at least as important as genetic factors in mediating cooperative behavior in this population. This is likely to reflect the importance of herding groups in day-to-day subsistence.

opencc-zeroMar 2020View details →

Investigating social and environmental predictors of natal dispersal in a cooperative breeding bird

Natal dispersal is a crucial life history trait that affects both individual fitness and population structure, yet drivers of variation in dispersal probability and distance are difficult to study in wild populations. In cooperatively breeding species, individuals typically delay dispersal beyond their first breeding season and remain on the natal territory as nonbreeders, which prolongs social dynamics that can affect dispersal decisions. Using a 35-year data set covering almost 600 dispersal events in the cooperatively breeding Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens), we examined the environmental and social parameters that predict dispersal probability over time and distance. In both sexes, dispersal probability increased with age, which in turn was negatively correlated with dispersal distance. In males, individuals occupying low quality natal territories and living with a stepfather had an increased probability of dispersal. Older and more dominant males were more likely to inherit their natal territory. In females, which generally disperse earlier and farther than males, socially subordinate jays dispersed farther than dominant ones. Overall, jays that delayed dispersal the longest were more likely to attain breeding status near their natal territory, which was previously found to be associated with increased survival and lifetime fitness. Our results suggest that social dynamics and environmental factors on the natal territory affect delayed dispersal patterns differently for the two sexes in this cooperative breeder.

opencc-zeroDec 2019View details →

Sex-independent senescence in a cooperatively breeding mammal

1. Researchers studying mammals have frequently interpreted earlier or faster rates of ageing in males as resulting from polygyny and the associated higher costs of reproductive competition. 2. Yet few studies conducted on wild populations have compared sex-specific senescence trajectories outside of polygynous species, making it difficult to make generalised inferences on the role of reproductive competition in driving senescence, particularly when other differences between males and females might also contribute to sex-specific changes in performance across lifespan. 3. Here, we examine age-related variation in body mass, reproductive output and survival in dominant male and female meerkats, Suricata suricatta. Meerkats are socially monogamous cooperative breeders where a single dominant pair virtually monopolize reproduction in each group and subordinate group members help to rear offspring produced by breeders. 4. In contrast to many polygynous societies, we find that neither the onset nor the rate of senescence in body mass or reproductive output show clear differences between males and females. Both sexes also display similar patterns of age-related survival across lifespan, but unlike most wild vertebrates, survival senescence (increases in annual mortality with rising age) was absent in dominants of both sexes, and as a result, the fitness costs of senescence were entirely attributable to declines in reproductive output from mid- to late-life. 5. We suggest that the potential for intrasexual competition to increase rates of senescence in females – who are hormonally masculinised and frequently aggressive – is offset by their ability to maintain longer tenures of dominance than males, and that these processes combined lead to similar patterns of senescence in both sexes. 6. Our results stress the need to consider the form and intensity of sexual competition as well as other sex-specific features of life history when investigating the operation of senescence in wild populations.

opencc-zeroApr 2020View details →

Distal and proximal hypoxia response elements cooperate to regulate organ-specific erythropoietin gene expression

While it is well-established that distal hypoxia response elements (HREs) regulate hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) target genes such as erythropoietin (Epo), an interplay between multiple distal and proximal (promoter) HREs has not been described so far. Hepatic Epo expression is regulated by a HRE located downstream of the EPO gene, but this 3' HRE is dispensable for renal EPO gene expression. We previously identified a 5' HRE and could show that both HREs direct exogenous reporter gene expression. Here, we show that whereas in hepatic cells the 3' but not the 5' HRE is required, in neuronal cells both the 5' and 3' HREs contribute to endogenous Epo induction. Moreover, two novel putative HREs were identified in the EPO promoter. In hepatoma cells HIF interacted mainly with the distal 3' HRE, but in neuronal cells HIF most strongly bound the promoter, to a lesser extent the 3' HRE, and not at all the 5' HRE. Interestingly, mutation of either of the two distal HREs abrogated HIF binding to the 3' and promoter HREs. These results suggest that a canonical functional HRE can recruit multiple, not necessarily HIF, transcription factors to mediate HIF binding to different distant HREs in an organ-specific manner.

opencc-by-sa-2.5Apr 2021View details →

Cooper's Curved Froe

"To split shingles, laths, staves, and clapboards, a knife-type wedge called a froe or frow… was struck with a short maul known as a froe-club." -[Eric Sloane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Sloane), [*Museum of Early American Tools*](https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Early-American-Tools-Americana/dp/0486425606/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1MDB8783EQVPS&dchild=1&keywords=museum+of+early+american+tools&qid=1613590281&s=books&sprefix=museum+of+early%2Cstripbooks%2C170&sr=1-1) Modeled from Eric Sloane's [*Museum of Early American Tools*](https://www.amazon.com/Museum-Early-American-Tools-Americana/dp/0486425606/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1MDB8783EQVPS&dchild=1&keywords=museum+of+early+american+tools&qid=1613590281&s=books&sprefix=museum+of+early%2Cstripbooks%2C170&sr=1-1). Textured with [CC0 Textures](https://cc0textures.com) assets. Made with [Blender](https://blender.org). Source: Objaverse 1.0 / Sketchfab

opencc-zeroOct 2019View details →

Cooper's Croze

3D model of a cooper's croze, used for making grooves about an inch and a half below the rim of a barrel to hold the lid or head. It is stamped "Peter J Jack, Wick". Dated c. late 19th/early 20th century. Physical object held at the Timespan Museum. Part of the Helmsdale Fishing Village reconstruction. A collaborative project between Open Virtual Worlds, a research team within the School of Computer Science, University of St Andrews and Timespan Museum. 3D digitisation was done by Catherine Cassidy and Iain Oliver with archaeological assistance provided by Jacquie Aitken. Digitisation funded by the EU Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme 2014-2020 through the "Connected Culture and Natural Heritage in a Northern Environment" (CINE) project. Source: Objaverse 1.0 / Sketchfab