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331 results for “predator effects”
Data from: The pervasive effects of lighting environments on sensory drive in bluefin killifish: an investigation into male/male competition, female choice, and predation
Sensory drive predicts that the conditions under which signaling takes place have large effects on signals, sensory systems, and behavior. The coupling of an ecological genetics approach with sensory drive has been fruitful. An ecological genetics approach compares populations that experience different environments and asks whether population differences are adaptive and are the result of genetic and/or environmental variation. The multi-faceted effects of signaling environments are well-exemplified by the bluefin killifish. In this system, males with blue anal fins are abundant in tannin-stained swamps that lack UV/blue light but are absent in clear springs where UV/blue light is abundant. Past work indicates that lighting environments shape genetic and environmental variation in color patterns, visual systems, and behavior. Less is known about the selective forces creating the across population correlations between UV/blue light and the abundance of blue males. Here, we present three new experiments that investigate the roles of lighting environments on male competition, female mate choice, and predation. We found strong effects of lighting environments on male competition where blue males were more likely to emerge as dominant in tea-stained water than in clear water. Our preliminary study on predation indicated that blue males may be less susceptible to predation in tea-stained water than in clear water. However, there was little evidence for female preferences favoring blue males. The resulting pattern is one where the effects of lighting environments on genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity match the direction of selection and favor the expression of blue males in swamps.
Data from: The sign of cascading predator effects varies with prey traits in a detrital system
1. Theory and experiments show that the nature of 'green' trophic cascades, between predators, herbivores and plants, varies with several key species traits: predator hunting mode and predator and prey habitat domains. Meanwhile, 'brown' cascades between predators, environment-modifying detritivores and plants have been largely overlooked and the roles of species traits, particularly prey traits, in determining the nature of these cascades remains unclear. 2. We hypothesize that, in predator–detritivore–plant interaction chains, the burrowing ability of plant-facilitating detritivores determines their response to predators and thus the sign of indirect effect transmitted. In the dung-decomposer food web of an alpine meadow, we predicted that in the presence of above-ground predacious beetles: (i) non-burrowing detritivores will suffer mortality due to predation and transmit negative indirect effects to plants, whereas (ii) burrowing detritivores will escape predation by retreating deeper into the soil, transmitting positive indirect effects to plants. 3. In support of predictions, experiments showed that a single species of predacious beetle (i) reduced the density of the non-burrowing species and indirectly reduced dung loss rate, soil nutrient concentrations and plant biomass, but (ii) drove the burrowing species deeper, indirectly improved soil conditions and increased plant biomass. 4. These results show that the burrowing ability of a detritivore can determine whether it transmits a negative indirect effect mediated by a reduction in its density, or a positive indirect effect mediated by its behavioural response to predation risk. 5. We call for further tests of our detritivore-trait hypothesis in different regions and ecosystems to further develop a general trait-based framework for trophic cascades in detrital food webs. We further advance the general hypothesis that the locomotion traits of prey species (e.g. burrowing/flying ability) may help explain their behavioural response to predation risk and the nature of indirect effect they transmit from predators to plants.
Data from: Assessing the effect of predator control on an endangered goose population subjected to predator-mediated food web dynamics
1. Assessing the effectiveness of conservation actions to halt population declines is challenging when confounded by other factors. We assessed whether culling of red fox, a predator currently increasing in the sub-Arctic, contributed to recent recovery of the critically endangered Fennoscandian population of Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus, while controlling for potentially confounding food web dynamics. 2. Using 19 years of data, 10 before and 9 after the implementation of annual red fox culling, we estimated the effect of this action on annual performance of the goose population. We corrected for the potentially confounding effects of cyclic rodent dynamics and semi-domestic reindeer carrion abundance, both of which are expected to trigger predator functional and numerical responses, as well as for annual variation in spring phenology. 3. Goose reproductive success fluctuated in synchrony with the rodent cycle and was negatively related to abundant carrion. When accounting for these aspects of food web dynamics, there was no evidence for an effect of red fox culling on reproductive success. There was, however, a tendency for fox culling to increase adult survival. 4. Our analysis suggests that goose performance in their breeding area is influenced by fluctuating offspring predation, mediated by mainly natural (rodents) and partly anthropogenic (semi-domestic reindeer) dynamic components of the food web. 5. Synthesis and applications. The effect of a decade-long red fox culling on goose reproductive success and survival is currently uncertain. This is despite the fact that predation drives reproductive success through changes in rodent and reindeer carrion abundance. New management actions may consist of regulation of reindeer herd sizes and/or removal of carcasses to reduce the subsidizing effect of reindeer carrion on mesopredators. Getting robust evidence regarding the impact of red fox culling on population recovery depends on continuing research to disentangle food web dynamics and efficiency of management actions.
Data from: Interacting effects of predation risk and resource level on escape speed of amphibian larvae along a latitudinal gradient
Fast-growing genotypes living in time-constrained environments are often more prone to predation, suggesting that growth-predation risk trade-offs are important factors maintaining variation in growth along climatic gradients. However, the mechanisms underlying how fast growth increases predation-mediated mortality are not well understood. Here, we investigated if slow-growing, low-latitude individuals have faster escape swimming speed than fast-growing high-latitude individuals using common frog (Rana temporaria) tadpoles from eight populations collected along a 1500 km latitudinal gradient. We measured escape speed in terms of burst and endurance speeds in tadpoles raised in the laboratory at two food levels and in the presence and absence of a predator (Aeshna dragonfly larvae). We did not find any latitudinal trend in escape speed performance. In low food treatments, burst speed was higher in tadpoles reared with predators but did not differ between high food treatments. Endurance speed, on the contrary, was lower in high-food tadpoles reared with predators, and did not differ between treatments at low food levels. Tadpoles reared with predators showed inducible morphology (increased relative body size and tail depth), which had positive effects on speed endurance at low but not at high food levels. Burst speed was positively affected by tail length and tail muscle size in the absence of predators. Our results suggest that escape speed does not trade off with fast growth along the latitudinal gradient in R. temporaria tadpoles. Instead, escape speed is a plastic trait and strongly influenced by the interaction between resource level and predation risk.
Data from: Effects of seal predation on a modelled marine fish community and consequences for a commercial fishery
We constructed a size- and trait-based dynamic marine community model of the Celtic Sea/Biologically Sensitive Area, including grey seals Halichoerus grypus (Fabricius 1791) and harbour seals Phoca vitulina vitulina (Linnaeus 1758) to examine potential resource conflict between seals and commercial trawl fisheries. The model incorporates seal diet preference, population size and commercial fishery catch, with survey data to quantify ecological interactions between seals and fisheries. Total annual consumption by seals was an order of magnitude less than the catch of the modelled trawl fishery. Increasing fishing pressure reduced fish spawning stock biomass (SSB) much more than a proportionally equivalent increase in seal predation. For most fish species, quadrupling seal predation showed little effect on the predicted fishery catch. These results arise from relatively low seal abundance and partial niche partitioning. The fishery harvested a wider range of fish lengths and species than seals consumed. The fish community was dominated by small fish lengths and seals predated on these more than suggested by their calculated diet preference. Seal predation disproportionately affected several fish species not targeted by the fishery, but seal predation did not significantly affect the SSB of any of the species that constitute 90% of the total landings of the fishery. Synthesis and applications. Predation of fish by grey and harbour seals is unlikely to harm commercial trawl fisheries in south-west Irish waters. This conclusion differs from those of some model-based studies of other North Atlantic systems, demonstrating the need for ecosystem-specific evidence in considering such conflicts. In systems with low niche overlap between seals and fisheries, the two are largely decoupled in effect, leaving fishing pressure as the overwhelming determinant of targeted fish stock status.
Data from: Counteracting effects of a non-native prey on demography of a native predator culminate in positive population growth
Identifying impacts of non-native species on native populations is central to conservation and ecology. While effects of non-native predators on native prey populations have recently received much attention, impacts of introduced prey on native predator populations are less understood. Non-native prey can influence predator behavior and demography through direct and indirect pathways, yet quantitative assessments of the relative impacts of multiple, potentially counteracting, effects on native predator population growth remain scarce. Using ≈20 years of range-wide monitoring data, we tested for effects of a recently-introduced, rapidly-spreading non-native prey species (Pomacea maculata) on the behavior and demography of the endangered snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis). Previous studies found that food-handling difficulties caused by the large size of P. maculata (relative to the native P. paludosa) can lead to energetic deficiencies in juvenile kites, suggesting the potential for evolutionary traps to occur. However, high densities of P. maculata populations could facilitate kites by providing supplemental food resources. Contrary to prior hypotheses, we found that juvenile apparent survival increased ≈50% in wetlands invaded by non-native snails. Breeding rates and number of young fledged/successful nest were also positively associated with non-native snail presence, suggesting direct trophic benefits to kites. We found no direct effects of the invasive snail on adult survival or daily nest survival rates. Kite movements and breeding distribution closely tracked the spread of non-native snail populations. Since 2005, kites have been heavily concentrated in northern regions where non-native snails have established. This geographic shift has had hidden costs, as use of northern regions is associated with lower adult survival. Despite negative impacts to this key vital rate, matrix population modeling indicated that the multifarious effects of the non-native snail invasion on kites culminated in increased population growth rates, likely lowering short-term extinction risks. Results suggest that considering only particular components of behavior or demography may be inadequate to infer the population-dynamic importance of non-native prey on native predators, including their role in creating potential evolutionary traps. Our findings provide information pertinent to Everglades restoration, highlighting potential management trade-offs for non-native species that may aid imperiled species recovery yet disrupt other native communities.
Data from: Additive effects of plant chemotype, mutualistic ants and predators on aphid performance and survival
1. Cascading effects in ecological systems acting across three or more trophic levels can be either of a resource-based (bottom-up) or natural enemy-based (top-down) nature. But, due to their complexity these effects are often considered separately and their relative strength, acting simultaneously, remains unknown. 2. In a semi-natural field experiment using tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L.) and the specialised tansy aphid Metopeurum fuscoviride Stroyan as a model system, we compared the effects of four distinct plant chemotypes (i.e. bottom-up), defined by the bouquet of their volatile terpenoids, on aphid population dynamics by manipulating the presence/absence of mutualistic ants and presence/absence of naturally-occurring predators (i.e. top-down). 3. Predators reduced aphid abundance and colony survival but did not reduce initial growth rate due to a time lag until predators arrived on the plants. Ants directly benefited initial aphid growth rates and abundance, even in the absence of predators, but not the number of days an aphid colony persisted on the plant. 4. Plant chemotype directly affected aphid growth rate and final abundances across the different plants and indirectly affected the abundances of tending ants and predators through effects on aphids. We found that tending ants were more abundant on one plant chemotype. Although ant abundance did not affect aphid population development, it became clear that ants had a preference towards aphids on certain chemotypes. However, a higher number of predators led to a lower number of aphids. 5. The results confirm the importance of plant chemical variation, acting through multiple effects on many species in arthropod communities, and support results from field studies. In a natural population, with a diverse selection of host-plant variants, aphid populations and their interacting species can therefore be structured at the level of an individual plant. Specialist aphids on patchily-distributed host plants can exhibit metacommunity dynamics at very local scales. Plant within-species variation within a local population is often ignored in metacommunity ecology, yet our work shows that this can have strong effects on insect-ant-natural enemy dynamics and therefore future research should incorporate this into current theory and experimental studies.
Data from: Interactive effects of productivity and predation on zooplankton diversity
Recent studies suggest the necessity of understanding the interactive effects of predation and productivity on species coexistence and prey diversity. Models predict that coexistence of prey species with different competitive abilities can be achieved if inferior resource competitors are less susceptible to predation and if productivity and/or predation pressure are at intermediate levels. Hence, predator effects on prey diversity are predicted to be highly context dependent: enhancing diversity from low to intermediate levels of productivity or predation and reducing diversity of prey at high levels of productivity or predation. While several studies have examined the interactive effects of herbivory and productivity on primary producer diversity, experimental studies of such effects in predator-prey systems are rare. We tested these predictions using an aquatic field mesocosm experiment in which initial density of the zooplankton predator Notonecta undulata and productivity were manipulated to test their interactive effects on diversity of seven zooplankton, cladoceran species that were common in surrounding ponds. Two productivity levels were imposed via phosphorus enrichment at levels comparable to low and intermediate levels found within neighboring natural ponds. We used open systems to allow for natural dispersal and behaviorally-mediated numerical responses by the flight-capable predator. Effects of predators on zooplankton diversity depended on productivity level. At low and high productivity, prey species richness declined while at high productivity it showed a unimodal relationship with increasing the predator density. Effects of treatments were weaker when using Pielou's evenness index or the inverse Simpson index as measures of prey diversity. Our findings are generally consistent with model predictions in which predators can facilitate prey coexistence and diversity at intermediate levels of productivity and predation intensity. Our work also shows that the functional form of the relationship between prey diversity and predation intensity can be complex and highly dependent on environmental context.
Data from: Effects of perceived predation risk and social environment on the development of three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) morphology
Phenotypically plastic changes in response to variation in perceived predation risk are widespread, but little is known about if and how social environment modulates induced responses to predation risk. We investigated the influence of perceived predation risk (i.e. chemical cues from a predator) and social environment (i.e. one, two or 20 individuals reared together) on three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) morphology in a factorial common garden experiment. We found that exposure to chemical cues from potential predators did not influence growth or body condition or induce more robust morphological defences (i.e. lateral plate numbers and dorsal spine lengths). However, sticklebacks exposed to predator cues developed longer caudal peduncles and larger eyes as compared with fish from the control treatment. As these responses may improve sticklebacks' ability to avoid piscine predation, they might be adaptive. Social environment/density also influenced expression of some traits, but these effects were independent of predation-risk treatment effects. In general, these results suggest that apart from the classic morphological defence structures, which appear mostly constitutive, three-spined sticklebacks are capable of expressing potentially adaptive morphological responses to chemical cues from potential predators.
Data from: A meta-analysis of non-consumptive predator effects in arthropods: the influence of organismal and environmental characteristics
Non-consumptive effects (NCEs) – changes in prey behavior or physiology in response to predator threat – are common and can be as strong as consumptive effects. However, our knowledge of NCEs in arthropod systems is lacking. Factors related to study organism and environment have the potential to influence the occurrence and magnitude of NCEs in arthropod systems. While factors such as coevolutionary history of natural enemies and their prey, predator cue, predator or prey feeding mode, and refuge availability have been theoretically and empirically examined, no trends have been proposed for arthropods. We compiled 62 studies, yielding 128 predator–prey interactions, which explicitly examined NCEs in experiments where arthropods were identified to species, using a previously published database of papers from 1990 to 2005 and a new database of papers published from 2006 to 2015. Using these data, we conducted a meta-analysis to explore the influence of organismal and environmental characteristics on the magnitude of predator NCEs. Our analysis addressed the following three questions. 1) Does predator–prey coevolution give rise to stronger NCEs than when predator and prey species did not coevolve? 2) What influence does habitat type and refuge availability have on NCEs? 3) How do predator characteristics (cue type, hunting mode and life stage) and prey characteristics (mobility, life stage, specialization, gregariousness and feeding mode) influence NCEs? We found that while NCEs were similar across most measured characteristics, NCEs on prey activity were significantly stronger when predator and prey shared an evolutionary history. Our results support growing evidence that NCEs have a negative effect on prey traits and that behavioral NCEs are stronger than physiological ones. Additional studies are needed to be confident in any emerging patterns, therefore we identify key gaps in the literature on NCEs in arthropod systems and discuss ideas for moving forward.
Data from: Cascading effects of defaunation on the coexistence of two specialized insect seed predators
Identification of the mechanisms enabling stable coexistence of species with similar resource requirements is a central challenge in ecology. Such coexistence can be facilitated by species at higher trophic levels through complex multi-trophic interactions, a mechanism that could be compromised by ongoing defaunation. We investigated cascading effects of defaunation on Pachymerus cardo and Speciomerus giganteus, the specialized insect seed predators of the Neotropical palm Attalea butyracea, testing the hypothesis that vertebrate frugivores and granivores facilitate their coexistence. Laboratory experiments showed that the two seed parasitoid species differed strongly in their reproductive ecology. Pachymerus produced many small eggs that it deposited exclusively on the fruit exocarp (exterior). Speciomerus produced few large eggs that it deposited exclusively on the endocarp, which is normally exposed only after a vertebrate handles the fruit. When eggs of the two species were deposited on the same fruit, Pachymerus triumphed only when it had a long head start, and the loser always succumbed to intraguild predation. We collected field data on the fates of 6569 Attalea seeds across sites in central Panama with contrasting degrees of defaunation and wide variation in the abundance of vertebrate frugivores and granivores. Speciomerus dominated where vertebrate communities were intact, whereas Pachymerus dominated in defaunated sites. Variation in the relative abundance of Speciomerus across all 84 sampling sites was strongly positively related to the proportion of seeds attacked by rodents, an indicator of local vertebrate abundance. Synthesis. We show that two species of insect seed predators relying on the same host plant species are niche differentiated in their reproductive strategies such that one species has the advantage when fruits are handled promptly by vertebrates and the other when they are not. Defaunation disrupts this mediating influence of vertebrates and strongly favours one species at the expense of the other, providing a case study of the cascading effects of defaunation and its potential to disrupt coexistence of non-target species, including the hyperdiverse phytophagous insects of tropical forests.
Data from: Population variation in the life history of a land fish, Alticus arnoldorum, and the effects of predation and density
Life history variation can often reflect differences in age-specific mortality within populations, with the general expectation that reproduction should be shifted away from ages experiencing increased mortality. Investigators of life history in vertebrates frequently focus on the impact of predation, but there is increasing evidence that predation may have unexpected impacts on population density that in turn prompt unexpected changes in life history. There are also other reasons why density might impact life history independently of predation or mortality more generally. We investigated the consequences of predation and density on life history variation among populations of the Pacific leaping blenny, Alticus arnoldorum. This fish from the island of Guam spends its adult life out of the water on rocks in the splash zone, where it is vulnerable to predation and can be expected to be sensitive to changes in population density that impact resource availability. We found populations invested more in reproduction as predation decreased, while growth rate varied primarily in response to population density. These differences in life history among populations are likely plastic given the extensive gene flow among populations revealed by a previous study. The influence of predation and density on life history was unlikely to have operated independently of each other, with predation rate tending to be associated with reduced population densities. Taken together, our results suggest predation and density can have complex influences on life history, and that plastic life history traits could allow populations to persist in new or rapidly changing environments.
Data from: Predation risk affects growth and reproduction of an invasive snail and its lethal effect depends on prey size
The behavior of invasive species under predation risk has been studied extensively, but their growth and reproductive responses have rarely been investigated. We conducted experiments with juveniles and adults of the invasive freshwater snail Pomacea canaliculata, and we observed changes in growth and reproduction in response to predation risk from a caged predator (Trachemys scripta elegans). P. canaliculata produced eggs earlier in the presence of predators and injured conspecifics compared with the control group (no risk), although the total number of egg masses laid by per female was exceeded by that of the controls after 15 days. Egg hatching success noticeably decreased under predation risk, and the incubation period was significantly prolonged; however, the oviposition height of the snails was not affected. A lethal effect of predation risk was detected in juvenile snails but not in adults. The growth of juvenile P. canaliculata was inhibited under predation risk, probably due to a reduction in food intake. Adult females exhibited a greater reduction in growth under predation risk than males, which likely resulted in part from the high reproductive investment of females in egg laying. These results indicate that P. canaliculata snails under predation risk face a trade-off between predator avoidance and growth and reproduction, where the lethal effect of predation risk is linked to the size of the prey.
Environmental stress gradients regulate the relative importance of predator density- and trait-mediated indirect effects in oyster reef communities
<p>Predators affect community structure by influencing prey density and traits, but the importance of these effects often is difficult to predict. We measured the strength of blue crab predator effects on mud crab prey consumption of juvenile oysters across a flow gradient that inflicts both physical and sensory stress to determine how the relative importance of top predator density-mediated indirect effects (DMIEs) and trait-mediated indirect effects (TMIEs) change within systems. Overall, TMIEs dominated in relatively benign flow conditions where blue crab predator cues increased oyster survivorship by reducing mud crab oyster consumption. Blue crab DMIEs became more important in high sensory stress conditions, which impaired mud crab perception of blue crab chemical cues. At high physical stress, the environment benefitted oyster survival by physically constraining mud crabs. Thus, factors that structure communities may be predicted based on an understanding of how physical and sensory performances change across environmental stress gradients.</p>
Warming and top predator loss drive direct and indirect effects on multiple trophic groups within and across ecosystems
<p>1. The interspecific interactions within and between adjacent ecosystems strongly depend on the changes in their abiotic and biotic components. However, little is known about how climate change and biodiversity loss in a specific ecosystem can impact the multiple trophic interactions of different biological groups within and across ecosystems.<br> 2. We used natural micro-ecosystems (tank-bromeliads) as a model system to investigate the main and interactive effects of aquatic warming and aquatic top predator loss (i.e., trophic downgrading) on trophic relationships in three integrated food web compartments: i) aquatic microorganisms, ii) aquatic macroorganisms, and iii) terrestrial predators (i.e., via cross ecosystem effects).<br> 3. The aquatic top predator loss substantially impacted the three food web compartments. In the aquatic macrofauna compartment, trophic downgrading increased the filter-feeder richness and abundance directly and indirectly via an increase of detritivore richness, likely through a facilitative interaction. For the microbiota compartment, aquatic top predator loss had a negative effect on algae richness, probably via decreasing the input of nutrients from predator biological activities. Furthermore, the more active terrestrial predators responded more to aquatic top predator loss, via an increase of some components of aquatic macrofauna, than more stationary terrestrial predators. The aquatic trophic downgrading indirectly altered the richness and abundance of cursorial terrestrial predators, but these effects had different direction according to the aquatic functional group, filter-feeder or other detritivores. The web-building predators were indirectly affected by aquatic trophic downgrading due to increased filter-feeder richness. Aquatic warming did not affect the aquatic micro- or macro-organisms but did positively affect the abundance of web-building terrestrial predators.<br> 4. These results allow us to raise a predictive framework of how different anthropogenic changes predicted for the next decades, such as aquatic warming and top predator loss, could differentially affect multiple biological groups through interactions within and across ecosystems.</p>
Tri-trophic interactions with avian predators: the effect of host plant species and herbivore-induced plant volatiles on recruiting avian predators
<div> <p><span><span>Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) are important signaling compounds released by plants upon wounding. These compounds have been shown to mediate tri-trophic interactions in recruiting insect predators and parasitoids. Recent work has begun to show that avian species, which were once thought to have a very limited sense of smell, can cue in on these HIPVs to find insect prey. Here, we test the ability for two general HIPVs, methyl jasmonate and methyl salicylate, to recruit avian predators. We test the recruitment efficacies of these HIPVs across 4 different host plant species (black walnut, red maple, cattail, and wheat) and use clay caterpillars to quantify predation by insectivorous birds. We found no significant differences in predation between treatment groups across any of our host plants. However, there was a nearly-significant effect of methyl salicylate in black-walnut trees. Interestingly, our results did show a significant effect of host plant species on predation levels. The two tree species, particularly black walnut, had higher levels of predation than the herbaceous species. We discuss the implications of these results and suggest a number of ideas and suggestions for future studies investigating the role of HIPVs in attracting insectivorous birds.</span></span></p> </div>
Data from: Seed predator effects on plants: moving beyond time-corrected proxies
<p><span>Small mammals impact plant recruitment globally via size-dependent seed predation, generating a unimodal pattern across ecosystems. Chen et al. (2021) critiqued our seed removal analysis, advocating corrections for exposure time. We show in our rebuttal that such manipulations are unwarranted and argue for increased emphasis on plant recruitment metrics. This archive holds the updated seed removal dataset used for our rebuttal.</span></p>
Largely independent effects of top predators, including Amur tigers and humans, on mammal communities in a recovering temperate forest region
<p>Data associated with the manuscript "Largely independent effects of top predators, including Amur tigers and humans, on mammal communities in a recovering temperate forest region"</p>
Data from: Predator-mediated negative effects of overabundant snow geese on arctic-nesting shorebirds
Overabundant species can strongly impact ecosystem functioning through trophic cascades. The strong increase in several arctic geese populations, primarily due to changes in agricultural practices in temperate regions, can have severe direct impacts on tundra ecosystems through vegetation degradation. However, predator-mediated negative effects of goose overabundance on other tundra species can also be significant but are poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that goose abundance negatively affects arctic-nesting shorebirds by increasing nest predation pressure. We used six years of data collected within and near a greater snow goose colony (Chen caerulescens atlantica) to evaluate the effect of geese on the spatial variation in (1) the occurrence of shorebird nest predators, (2) the nest predation risk (with artificial shorebird nests), and (3) the occurrence of nesting shorebirds. We found that the goose colony had a strong influence on the spatial distribution of nest predators and nesting shorebirds. Occurrence of predators decreased, while occurrence of nesting shorebirds increased with distance from the centroid of the colony. The strength of these effects was modulated by lemming density, the preferred prey for predators. Shorebird nest predation risk also decreased with distance from the colony. Overall, these results indicate that goose abundance negatively affects arctic-nesting shorebirds through shared predators. Therefore, we show that the current decline of some arctic shorebird populations may be in part mediated by a negative effect of an overabundant species.
Data from: Direct and indirect effects of cougar predation on bighorn sheep fitness
<div> <p>We sought to evaluate the direct and indirect fitness effects of intense cougar (<em>Puma concolor</em>) predation using 48 years of data on marked bighorn sheep (<em>Ovis canadensis</em>) in Ram Mountain, Alberta, Canada. We compared years of intense cougar predation with years with no or occasional cougar predation. We first quantified the effects of predation on neonatal, weaning, and overwinter lamb survival, three metrics potentially affected by direct and indirect effects. We then investigated the possible indirect effects of intense cougar predation on lamb production, female summer mass gain, and lamb mass at weaning. Indirect effects included a 14.2% decline in lamb production. Female summer mass gain decreased by 15.6 % and lamb mass at weaning declined by 8.0% in years of intense cougar predation. Here are the six datasets, joined with a README.md file for the data description, in addition to the six corresponding R scripts for replicating the results.</p> </div>
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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.