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.
188
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.7.1
Dataset results
188 results for “reproductive strategies”
Data from: Size-dependent ejaculation strategies and reproductive success in the yellow dung fly, Scathophaga stercoraria
Theory predicts that sperm competition will favour the production of larger ejaculates. However, because the benefits of greater reproductive investment are balanced by the costs of spermatogenesis, expenditure should depend on male physiology, mating rate and the relationship between additional investment and fertilization gains. In the yellow dung fly, Scathophagastercoraria, males adopt size-dependent alternative mating tactics that are associated with discrete ecological resources (foraging and oviposition substrates), although males switch between these environments throughout their lives. By copulating on foraging substrate (fruit or flowers), males can bypass intense mate competition that occurs at oviposition sites (cow dung), but as a consequence, must occupy a disfavoured mating role (i.e. face a greater risk that their ejaculate will be displaced from storage prior to fertilization). Small males often mate on foraging substrate, whereas large males mate in this environment only during feeding bouts. Optimal ejaculate expenditure should therefore depend on male size and their current mating role. By measuring copula duration (i.e. ejaculate expenditure) of natural matings and assigning paternity to resulting offspring, we confirmed that copulations on dung sire approximately three times as many offspring as those on foraging substrate. Furthermore, large males reduced copula duration on fruit, as predicted, since this strategy enables greater investment into high-payoff matings on dung. Conversely, small males copulated for shorter durations on dung than on foraging substrate, perhaps to minimize the risk of being displaced from copula by a rival. These patterns of ejaculate expenditure translated into greater offspring production for large males on dung and for small males on fruit. We discuss the possible proximate factors driving these size- and context-dependent patterns of ejaculate allocation by yellow dung fly males. Together, our findings shed light on the allocation strategies and reproductive consequences of alternative mating tactics.
Data from: Hypodermic self-insemination as a reproductive assurance strategy
Self-fertilization occurs in a broad range of hermaphroditic plants and animals, and is often thought to evolve as a reproductive assurance strategy under ecological conditions that disfavour or prevent outcrossing. Nevertheless, selfing ability is far from ubiquitous among hermaphrodites, and may be constrained in taxa where the male and female gametes of the same individual cannot easily meet. Here, we report an extraordinary selfing mechanism in one such species, the free-living flatworm Macrostomum hystrix. To test the hypothesis that adaptations to hypodermic insemination of the mating partner under outcrossing also facilitate selfing, we experimentally manipulated the social environment of these transparent flatworms and then observed the spatial distribution of received sperm in vivo. We find that this distribution differs radically between conditions allowing or preventing outcrossing, implying that isolated individuals use their needle-like stylet (male copulatory organ) to inject own sperm into their anterior body region, including into their own head, from where they then apparently migrate to the site of (self-)fertilization. Conferring the ability to self could thus be an additional consequence of hypodermic insemination, a widespread fertilization mode that is especially prevalent among simultaneously hermaphroditic animals and probably evolves due to sexual conflict over the transfer and subsequent fate of sperm.
Data from: The reproductive strategy in a Chloris virgata population in response to precipitation regimes
Resource availability influences plant growth and reproduction. Here, a controlled experiment was conducted in order to evaluate the adaptation response of Chloris virgata to different precipitation conditions, and to further predict the reproductive strategy in a population of C. virgata under different precipitation regimes. Three regimes (low, typical and high) of water addition were used to simulate current precipitation patterns. Total 20 individuals for each treatment were analyzed to compare tiller number, spike traits, seed traits, the relationship between seed size and seed number, and so on. In addition, the effects of different precipitation regimes on offspring vigour of C. virgata were also studied. Results indicated that tiller number, spike number, seed yield and seed number were unchanged under different water addition regimes. While seed size was about 0.5 mg at typical and high precipitation levels and were higher than that in low precipitation level. The higher seed mass per spike and spike mass both occurred at typical and high precipitation levels. Significant positive correlations between seed mass and non-seed mass in C. virgata in response to precipitation regimes were largely allometric (size dependent), as was a significant negative correlation between seed size and seed number at low precipitation. The highest germination rate and seedling weights both occurred at typical and high precipitation levels. These findings showed that different precipitation regimes affected reproductive strategy of C. virgata. C. virgata will not benefit from low precipitation, while typical and high precipitation will improve seed traits and offspring vigour of this species.
Data from: Subfamily-dependent alternative reproductive strategies in worker honey bees
Functional worker sterility is the defining feature of insect societies. Yet, workers are sometimes found reproducing in their own or foreign colonies. The proximate mechanisms underlying these alternative reproductive phenotypes are key to understanding how reproductive altruism and selfishness are balanced in eusocial insects. In this study we show that in honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies the social environment of a worker, i.e. the presence and relatedness of the queens in a worker's natal colony and in surrounding colonies, significantly influences her fertility and drifting behaviour. Furthermore, subfamilies vary in the frequency of worker ovarian activation, propensity to drift, and the kind of host colony that is targeted for reproductive parasitism. Our results show that there is an interplay between a worker's subfamily, reproductive state and social environment that substantially affects her reproductive phenotype. Our study further indicate that honey bee populations show substantial genetic variance for worker reproductive strategies, suggesting that no one strategy is optimal under all the circumstances that a typical worker may encounter.
Data from: Pair bonds, reproductive success and rise of alternate mating strategies in a social carnivore.
Monogamy is commonly observed across a wide variety of species and taxa and arises when young are altricial, parental investment in young is high, and mate monopolization is generally not possible. In such species, pairs may bond for multiple breeding seasons while successfully rearing young. Individuals, however, may attempt to bypass the dominant mating strategy particularly when breeding opportunities are limited. Currently, we do not know how pair bond duration affects the efficacy of alternative mating strategies in populations with a monogamous mating system. Additionally, inferences about pair bond effects on reproductive success (i.e., both clutch size and recruitment) are largely limited to long-lived birds and little is known about effects on mammalian cooperative breeders. I used genetic sampling and pedigrees to examine the effects of pair bond duration on reproductive success (i.e., litter size, recruitment) and mating strategies in a population of gray wolves (Canis lupus) in Idaho USA. There was a positive, marginally significant relationship between pair bond duration and apparent survival of offspring. Increased pair bond duration was also associated with a dampening in the prevalence of other alternative mating strategies such as sneaker males and polygamy. The selective advantage of alternative mating strategies are a combination of population, group (for applicable species), individual, and social influences such as pair bonds. The distribution of pair bonds in a monogamous population affects the selective advantage, and hence frequency, of various mating strategies observed.
Data from: Evolution of complex asexual reproductive strategies in jellyfish
Many living organisms in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems rely on multiple reproductive strategies to reduce the risks of extinction in variable environments. Examples are provided by the polyp stage of several bloom-forming jellyfish species, which can reproduce asexually using different "budding" strategies. These strategies broadly fall into three categories: 1) fast localized reproduction, 2) dormant cysts, or 3) motile and dispersing buds. Similar functional strategies are also present in other groups of species. However, mechanisms leading to the evolution of this rich reproductive diversity are yet to be clarified. Here we propose an evolutionary model for jellyfish polyps and determine how local population extinction and unequal fitness of the three modes can drive the evolution of multiple reproductive strategies. Depending on environmental parameters, we find that evolution leads to a unique evolutionary stable strategy, where in general multiple reproductive modes coexist. As the extinction risk increases, this strategy shifts from a pure budding mode to a dual strategy, and finally to one characterized by allocation into all three modes. We determine the existence of relative fitness-dependent thresholds in extinction risk where these transitions can occur and discuss our predictions in light of observations on polyp reproduction in laboratory and natural systems.
Data from: Plant reproductive strategies vary under low and high pollinator densities
Long-term variation in the population density of honey bees (Apis mellifera) across landscapes has been shown to correlate with variation in the floral traits of plant populations in these landscapes, suggesting that variations in pollinator population density and foraging rates can drive floral trait evolution of their host plants. However, it remained to be determined whether this variation in plant traits is associated with adaptive variation in plant reproductive strategies under conditions of high and low pollinator densities. Here we conducted a reciprocal transplant experiment to examine how this variation in floral traits, under conditions of either high and low pollinator density, impacted seed production in the Tibetan lotus (Saussurea nigrescens). In 2014 and 2015, we recorded the floral traits, pollinator visitation rates, and seed production of S. nigrescens populations grown in both home sites and foreign sites, where sites varied in honey bee population density. Our results demonstrated that the floral traits reflected those of their original population, regardless of their current location. However, seed production varied with both population origin and transplant site. Seed number was positively correlated with flower abundance in the pollinator-rich sites, but with nectar production in the pollinator-poor sites. Pollinator visitation rate was also positively correlated with flower number at pollinator-rich sites, and with nectar volume at pollinator-poor sites. Overall, the local genotype had higher seed production than nonlocal genotypes in home sites. However, when pollen is hand-supplemented, plants from pollinator-rich populations had higher seed production than plants from pollinator-poor populations, regardless of whether they were transplanted to pollinator-rich or -poor sites. These results suggest the plant genotypic differences primarily drive variation in pollinator attraction, and this ultimately drives variation in seed: ovule ratio. Thus, our results suggest that flowering plant species use different reproductive strategies to respond to high or low pollinator densities.
Data from: Contemporary evolution of plant reproductive strategies under global change is revealed by stored seeds
Global change is expected to impose new selection pressures on natural populations. Phenotypic responses, such as earlier phenology in response to climate warming, have been repeatedly observed in the field. The recent pollinator decline is also expected to change selection on reproductive traits in flowering plants. However, it remains unclear whether short-term adaptation of plant reproductive strategies occurs in response to global change. In this study, we report the evolution of some important reproductive traits of the annual self-incompatible weed Centaurea cyanus. In a common garden experiment we germinated stored seeds, sampled 18 years apart from the same location, in a region where warmer springs and indices of pollinator decline have been reported. Compared to the ancestral population (1992), our results showed that plants of the descendant population (2010) flowered earlier and also produced larger capitula with longer receptivity and a larger floral display. QST -FST comparisons indicated that natural selection has likely contributed to the evolution of some of the traits investigated. Lower FST within temporal samples than among spatial samples further suggests a limited role of gene flow from neighboring populations. We therefore propose that trait shifts could partly be due to adaptation to global change.
Figure 3. a in Observations of reproductive strategies for some dendrochirotid holothuroids (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea: Dendrochirotida)
Figure 3. a, transverse section through anterior marsupia of Psolidiella mollis (Ludwig and Heding) (F104865; diameter about 15 mm; photo by LA). b, female P. mollis with differentiated embryos (3–4 mm long) from each of 2 marsupia (left), and undifferentiated eggs or embryos (1.3 mm long) from each of 3 marsupia (right) (F104882; specimen 45 mm long; CR). c, long male genital papilla of Cucumaria acuta Massin (F160042; left; CR); short female genital papilla of C. acuta (F160020; right; CR). d, internal marsupium of C. acuta (F160038; specimen 37 mm long; CR). e, C. georgina group species with differentiated embryos (3–4 mm long) from each of 3 marsupia (left), and undifferentiated eggs or embryos (1.3 mm long) from each of 2 marsupia (right) (F85853; 33 mm long; CR). f, Psolus charcoti Vaney with 1 and 7 undifferentiated eggs or embryos (1.7 to 1.8 mm long) from each of 2 marsupia; 7 differentiated embryos (3.5 mm long) from 1 marsupium (left); and 4 and 1 marsupial juveniles (4.0 mm long) from each of 2 marsupia (middle and right) (F86009; specimen 55 mm long; LA).
Supplementary material 1 from: Helms IV JA, Bridge ES (2017) Range expansion drives the evolution of alternate reproductive strategies in invasive fire ants. NeoBiota 33: 67-82. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.33.10300
Range expansion drives the evolution of alternate reproductive strategies in invasive fire ants :
Figure 1 in A student-based expansion of the strategies of reproduction in fish (STOREFISH) database to 288 North American freshwater and anadromous species for 14 egg and larval traits
Figure 1. – Data in the STOREFISH database summarized by origin and family, and mapped onto the phylogeny of teleost families from Rabosky et al. (2018). Values in bold are the median number of records across all species in that family (followed by the associated 2.5 and 97.5% quantiles if the number of species in a family is ≥3). Values not in bold are medians for the number of traits for which data are available across all species in that family (followed by quantiles if ≥3 species). Not included in this phylogeny are the families Lotidae (1 species; 69 | 14), Petromyzontidae (11 species; 2, 1, 34 | 2, 1, 9.25), and Thymallidae (2 species; 72 | 13). A high-resolution version of this figure is available from www.storefish.org.
Fig. 3 in Reproductive strategy of two deep-sea scalpellid barnacles (Crustacea: Cirripedia: Thoracica) associated with decapods and pycnogonids and the first description of a penis in scalpellid dwarf males
Fig. 3 Size distribution of V. brachiumcancri on host R. hertwigi, host id corresponds to Table 1
Fig. 2 in Evolution of reproductive strategies in libellulid dragonflies (Odonata: Anisoptera)
Fig. 2 Maximum Likelihood results; Bootstrap tree, with support values above branches
Improved nutritional status may promote an "asset protection" reproductive strategy in male rock lizards
<p><span>Investing in the current reproduction requires diverting energy resources from other metabolic functions, which may compromise future reproduction and lifespan. To solve this trade-off, an individual may consider its labile state to decide how much to invest in current reproduction. We tested experimentally whether the "state quality" of male rock lizards influences their reproductive strategies. To improve the nutritional status of males before the mating season, we captured and supplemented experimental males (<i>N</i> = 20) with dietary vitamin D<sub>3</sub> (an essential nutrient for lizards) and had a control group of males (<i>N</i> = 20). Then, we released all these males and females (<i>N</i> = 31) in a large semi-natural outdoor enclosure where lizards could interact and mate freely during the mating period. Activity levels of males did not vary between treatments, but supplemented males started fewer intrasexual agonistic interactions and made fewer mating advances to females. When the mating season ended, we incubated eggs laid by females to obtain the offspring and estimated the paternity of males using DNA microsatellites. Supplemented males sired fewer offspring than control males. These results suggest that vitamin D<sub>3</sub> supplemented males used a low risk/less costly mating strategy to protect their assets (i.e. vitamin D reserves), but that still resulted in "some" current reproductive success, while likely increasing longevity and the expected future total reproductive success.</span></p>
Figure 4 in The reproductive strategies of clausiliid land snails from Northern Vietnam (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora)
Figure 4. Shell height of neonates and embryos dissected from oviduct of Phaedusa paviei.
Figure 1 in Chorion surface ultrastructure of loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus: adaptation to the environment and correlation with the reproductive strategy
Figure 1. Mature Misgurnus anguillicaudatus egg. Magnification, × 110.
Figure 6 in Chorion surface ultrastructure of loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus: adaptation to the environment and correlation with the reproductive strategy
Figure 6. Surface features of vegetal pole. Abbreviation: k, knob. Magnification, × 3500.
Fig. 5 in Reproductive period, fecundity and histology of gonads of two cheirodontines (Ostariophysi: Characidae) with different reproductive strategies - insemination and external fertilization
Fig. 5. Monthly distribution of the frequencies of gonadal maturation stages of females (a) and males (b) of Compsura heterura and females (c) and males (d) of Odontostilbe pequira collected in the rio Ceará-Mirim, RN, and in the rio Ibicuí- Mirim, RS, fromApril 2001 toApril 2002.
Fig. 4 in Reproductive period, fecundity and histology of gonads of two cheirodontines (Ostariophysi: Characidae) with different reproductive strategies - insemination and external fertilization
Fig. 4. Monthly variation of the mean of the gonadossomatic index (GSI) for females and males of Compsura heterura and of Odontostilbe pequira collected in the rio Ceará-Mirim, RN, and in the rio Ibicuí-Mirim, RS, from April 2001 to April 2002.
Figure 4 from: Gerisch M (2011) Habitat disturbance and hydrological parameters determine the body size and reproduction strategy of alluvial ground beetles. ZooKeys 100: 353-370. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.100.1427
Figure 4 - Partitioning the effects of four environmental compartments hydrology, disturbance, habitat type, and species diversity on the variation of ground beetle life-history traits. See Table 2 for a description of the variables included in each compartment. Values < 0.03 are not shown.
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.