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.
247
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.7.1
Dataset results
247 results for “sexual reproduction”
Sexual signal loss, pleiotropy, and maintenance of a male reproductive polymorphism in crickets
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Induction of sexual reproduction and genetic diversity in the cheese fungus Penicillium roqueforti
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Direct and indirect effects of sexual signal loss on female reproduction in the Pacific field cricket (Teleogryllus oceanicus)
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Condition dependent mortality exacerbates male (but not female) reproductive senescence and the potential for sexual conflict
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Sexual selection in complex communities: integrating interspecific reproductive interference in structured populations
The social structure of populations plays a key role in shaping variation in sexual selection. In nature, sexual selection occurs in communities of interacting species, however heterospecifics are rarely included in characterisations of social structure. Heterospecifics can influence the reproductive outcomes of intrasexual competition by interfering with intraspecific sexual interactions (interspecific reproductive interference; IRI). We outline the need for studies of sexual selection to incorporate heterospecifics as part of the social environment. We use simulations to show that classic predictions for the effect of social structure on sexual selection are altered by an interaction between social structure and IRI. This interaction has wide-ranging implications for patterns of sexual conflict and kin-selected reproductive strategies in socially structured populations. Our work bridges the gap between sexual selection research on social structure and IRI, and highlights future directions to study sexual selection in interacting communities.
Assessing the choice of sources of information on sexual and reproductive health issues among adolescents
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b>Background: </b>Access to the right information from credible sources on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) issues is germane to smooth and healthy transition from childhood to adulthood among adolescents with or without disabilities. Despite the large amount of research focused on adolescents aged 15-19 years, adolescents with disabilities, particularly those with visual impairment have received little attention. This study aims to assess the sources of information on SRH issues among adolescents with visually impairment (AVI) and adolescents without visual impairments (AWVI).</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b>Methods: </b>A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 394 AVI and AWVI in-school adolescents aged 15-19 years from two government boarding schools in Owo local government area of Ondo state, Nigeria. Quantitative Data were collected using the Open Data Kit (ODK). Data analyses were done using descriptive and Binary Logistics regression.</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b>Results: </b>The available sources of information on SRH issues among in-school adolescents include school teachers, parents, siblings and other family members among others. Of all the available sources of information, the most important and the most preferred sources of information were school teachers, parents, siblings and other family members. However, the AVI preferred to receive more information on puberty and Sexual and Reproductive (SR) system from their most important sources (school teachers and parents); while the AWVI preferred getting more information on puberty from parents and more information on SR system from school teachers. While most of the AVI preferred to receive more information on boy/girlfriend relationship from school teachers and parents, majority of the AWVI preferred to receive more of such information from their parents. Significant difference exists only in the most preferred source of information on boy/girlfriend relationship between the AVI and AWVI (p<0.05). Furthermore, results from the binary Logistics regression showed that, AWVI were significantly less likely to have received information on SRH issues from their preferred sources than their AVI counterparts (OR:0.460; CI:0.273-0.777). Female adolescents were significantly more likely to have received information from their preferred sources than their male counterparts (OR:1.592; CI:1.016-2.496). Also, adolescents having mothers aged 40-49 were more than twice as likely as those whose mothers were younger to have received information from their preferred sources (OR:2.220; CI:1.150-4.286).</p> <p class="MsoNoSpacing"><b>Conclusion: </b>Making information on SRH issues available and accessible to adolescents generally and those with visual impairment in particular in formats that take their disabilities into account, will go a long way to ensuring their smooth and healthy transition to adulthood.</p>
Data from: Sexual dimorphism explains residual variance around the survival-reproduction tradeoff in lizards: implications for sexual conflict over life-history evolution
The tradeoff between survival and reproduction is a central feature of life-history variation, but few studies have sought to explain why females of some species exhibit relatively lower survival than expected for a given level of reproductive effort. Intralocus sexual conflict theory proposes that sex differences in selection on survival and reproductive effort may, by virtue of shared genes underlying these components of fitness, prevent females from optimizing this life-history tradeoff. To test this hypothesis, we used a phylogenetically based comparative analysis of published estimates for mean annual survival and reproductive effort from females of 82 lizard species to (1) characterize the tradeoff between survival and reproduction, and (2) test whether variation around this tradeoff is explained by sexual size dimorphism (SSD), a potential proxy for sexual conflict over life-history traits. Across species, we found a strong negative correlation between mean annual survival and reproductive effort, confirming this classic life-history tradeoff. Although residual variance around this tradeoff is unrelated to the absolute magnitude of SSD, it is strongly related to the direction of SSD. Specifically, we found that females have lower survival than expected for a given level of reproductive effort in female-larger species, whereas they have higher survival than expected in male-larger species. Given that female-larger SSD is thought to reflect selection for increased fecundity, our results suggest that intralocus sexual conflict may be particularly likely to constrain female life-history evolution in situations where increased reproductive effort is favored, but the phenotypes that facilitate this increase (e.g., body size) are constrained by antagonistic selection on males.
Data from: Sexual selection in a hermaphroditic plant through female reproductive success
Sexual selection is well accepted as a mechanism of shaping traits in animals. However, whether and how floral traits are sexually selected in hermaphroditic plants remains less clear. Here, we use Passiflora incarnata to address how floral traits that affect pollination success are selected via female function. We manipulated the ecological context by limiting pollination and adding resources to expand the phenotypic distribution and alter the intensity of sexual selection. Total sexual selection favoured lower style deflexion because of its impact on pollen receipt and subsequent seed number. However, total selection on style deflexion was not significant, indicating additional selection on style deflexion through routes other than mating. Limited pollination and enhanced resources were expected to alter the distribution of pollen deposition and seed production and therefore intensify the Bateman gradient – the relationship between pollen receipt and seed production. Indeed, the Bateman gradient was strongest when pollination was limited, suggesting potential for sexual selection to influence floral trait evolution under these conditions. Overall, we found floral traits may be shaped by sexual selection through female reproductive success in this hermaphroditic plant. These results support manipulations to enhance the variance in mating as a mechanism to understand patterns of sexual selection.
Data from: Indirect genetic effects and sexual conflicts: Partner genotype influences multiple morphological and behavioural reproductive traits in a flatworm
The expression of an individual's phenotypic traits can be influenced by genes expressed in its social partners. Theoretical models predict that such indirect genetic effects (IGEs) on reproductive traits should play an important role in determining the evolutionary outcome of sexual conflict. However, empirical tests of (i) whether reproductive IGEs exist, (ii) how they vary among genotypes, and (iii) whether they are uniform for different types of reproductive traits are largely lacking. We addressed this in a series of experiments in the simultaneously hermaphroditic flatworm Macrostomum lignano. We found strong evidence for IGEs on both morphological and behavioural reproductive traits. Partner genotype had a significant impact on the testis size of focal individuals—varying up to 2.4-fold—suggesting that IGEs could mediate sexual conflicts that target the male sex function. We also found that time to first copulation was affected by a genotype × genotype interaction between mating partners, and that partner genotype affected the propensity to copulate and perform the postcopulatory suck behaviour, which may mediate conflicts over the fate of received ejaculate components. These findings provide clear empirical evidence for IGEs on multiple behavioural and morphological reproductive traits, which suggests that the evolutionary dynamics of these traits could be altered by genes contained in the social environment.
Data from: Are flies kind to kin? The role of intra- and inter-sexual relatedness in mediating reproductive conflict
As individual success often comes at the expense of others, interactions between the members of a species are frequently antagonistic, especially in the context of reproduction. In theory, this conflict may be reduced in magnitude when kin interact, as cooperative behaviour between relatives can result in increased inclusive fitness. Recent tests of the potential role of cooperative behaviour between brothers in Drosophila melanogaster have proved to be both exciting and controversial. We set out to replicate these experiments, which have profound implications for the study of kin selection and sexual conflict, and to expand upon them by also examining the potential role of kinship between males and females in reproductive interactions. While we did observe reduced fighting and courtship effort between competing brothers, contrary to previous studies we did not detect any fitness benefit to females as a result of the modification of male antagonistic behaviours. Furthermore, we did not observe any differential treatment of females by their brothers, as would be expected if the intensity of sexual conflict was mediated by kin selection. In the light of these results, we propose an alternative explanation for observed differences in male–male conflict and provide preliminary empirical support for this hypothesis.
Data from: Sexual cannibalism increases male material investment in offspring: quantifying terminal reproductive effort in a praying mantis
Models of the evolution of sexual cannibalism argue that males may offset the cost of cannibalism if components of the male body are directly allocated to the eggs that they fertilize. We tested this idea in the praying mantid Tenodera sinensis. Males and females were fed differently radiolabelled crickets and allowed to mate. Half of the pairs progressed to sexual cannibalism and we prevented cannibalism in the other half. We assess the relative allocation of both male-derived somatic materials and ejaculate materials into the eggs and soma of the female. Our results show that male somatic investment contributes to production of offspring. The eggs and reproductive tissues of cannibalistic females contained significantly more male-derived amino acids than those of non-cannibalistic females, and there was an increase in the number of eggs produced subsequent to sexual cannibalism. Sexual cannibalism thus increases male material investment in offspring. We also show that males provide substantial investment via the ejaculate, with males passing about 25% of their radiolabelled amino acids to females via the ejaculate even in the absence of cannibalism.
Data from: The accumulation of reproductive isolation in early stages of divergence supports a role for sexual selection
Models of speciation by sexual selection propose that male-female coevolution leads to the rapid evolution of behavioral reproductive isolation. Here, we compare the strength of behavioral isolation to ecological isolation, gametic incompatibility, and hybrid inviability in a group of dichromatic stream fishes. In addition, we examine whether any of these individual barriers, or a combined measure of total isolation, is predicted by body shape differences, male color differences, environmental differences, or genetic distance. Behavioral isolation reaches the highest values of any barrier and is significantly greater than ecological isolation. No individual reproductive barrier is associated with any of the predictor variables. However, marginally significant relationships between male color and body shape differences with ecological and behavioral isolation are discussed. Differences in male color and body shape predict total reproductive isolation between species; hierarchical partitioning of these two variables' effects suggests a stronger role for male color differences. Together, these results suggest an important role for divergent sexual selection in darter speciation but raise new questions about the mechanisms of sexual selection at play and the role of male nuptial ornaments.
Data from: Influence of asymmetrical mating patterns and male reproductive success on the maintenance of sexual polymorphism in Acer pictum subsp. mono (Aceraceae)
Populations of Acer species often contain more than three sexual phenotypes with very complex sexual polymorphism such as duodichogamy, protandry, and protogyny. We investigated whether mating patterns and male reproductive success are important factors that maintain sexual polymorphism in Acer. Paternity analyses were used to estimate rates of outcrossing and disassortative mating, as well as male reproductive success, in Acer pictum subsp. mono. A pollen-transfer model was modified to investigate whether the unequal ratios of sexual phenotypes were associated with observed mating patterns. The mating pattern of Acer pictum subsp. mono was mainly outcrossing and disassortative among the sexual phenotypes. Although the duodichogamous phenotype showed a significant amount of intraphenotypic mating, the frequency did not exceed that of disassortative mating. No significant differences in male reproductive success were observed among sexual phenotypes. The pollen-transfer model demonstrated that sexual phenotype ratios could be maintained by the observed mating pattern in the population. The results indicated that disassortative mating among the sexual phenotypes can maintain sexual polymorphism in A. pictum subsp. mono, and ratios biased towards duodichogamy can result from frequent intraphenotypic mating in this phenotype.
Data from: The ecological advantage of sexual reproduction in multicellular long-lived organisms
We present a model for the advantage of sexual reproduction in multicellular long-lived species in a world of structured resources in short supply. The model combines features of the Tangled Bank and the Red Queen hypothesis of sexual reproduction, and is of broad applicability. The model is ecologically explicit with the dynamics of resources and consumers being modelled by differential equations. The life history of consumers is shaped by body-mass dependent rates as implemented in the metabolic theory of ecology. We find that over a broad range of parameters sexual reproduction wins despite the twofold cost of producing males, due to the advantage of producing offspring that can exploit underutilized resources. The advantage is largest when maturation and production of offspring set in before the resources of the parents become depleted, but not too early, due to the cost of producing males. The model thus leads to the dominance of sexual reproduction in multicellular animals living in complex environments, with resource availability being the most important factor affecting survival and reproduction.
Data from: The effect of variable frequency of sexual reproduction on the genetic structure of natural populations of a cyclical parthenogen
Cyclical parthenogens are a valuable system in which to empirically test theoretical predictions as to the genetic consequences of sexual reproduction in natural populations, particularly if the frequency of sexual relative to asexual reproduction can be quantified. In this study we utilized a series of lake populations of the cyclical parthenogen, Daphnia pulicaria, that vary consistently in their investment in sexual reproduction, to address the questions of whether the ecological variation in investment in sex is detectable at the genetic level, and if so, whether the genetic patterns seen are consistent with theoretical predictions. We show that there is variation in the genetic structure of these populations in a manner consistent with their investment in sexual reproduction. Populations engaging in a high frequency of sex were in Hardy-Weinberg and gametic phase equilibrium, and showed little genotypic differentiation across sampled years. In contrast, populations with a lower frequency of sex deviated widely from equilibrium, had reduced multi-locus clonal diversity, and showed significant temporal genotypic deviation.
Data from: Nutrition during sexual maturation affects competitive ability but not reproductive productivity in burying beetles
1. Food availability can be unpredictable. When food becomes more abundant following a period of low food availability, developing larvae or juveniles often allocate resources preferentially towards increasing growth. This has important long-term effects on adult phenotypes and longevity. Despite the importance of strategic resource allocation during early development, few studies have examined how changes in resource availability during other windows of development affect reproductive strategies and fitness independent of growth. 2. We manipulated food availability in a burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides, during a subadult period of sexual maturation when individuals cannot increase structural size but are still undergoing reproductive maturation. 3. In contrast to the trade-offs during larval or juvenile growth, beetles that experienced delayed feeding during reproductive maturation allocated resources preferentially towards maintaining both reproductive function and longevity. 4. In both sexes, delayed feeding beetles were much less successful in competition for carcasses. However, delayed feeding males and females provided similar amounts of parental care and did not differ in reproductive success or longevity. 5. These results indicate that the nutritional environment experienced during a key developmental window may be an important determinant of the expression of alternative reproductive strategies in adulthood, independent of body size.
Data from: Sexual reproduction in Aspergillus flavus sclerotia: acquisition of novel alleles from soil populations and uniparental mitochondrial inheritance
Aspergillus flavus colonizes agricultural commodities worldwide and contaminates them with carcinogenic aflatoxins. The high genetic diversity of A. flavus populations is largely due to sexual reproduction characterized by the formation of ascospore-bearing ascocarps embedded within sclerotia. A. flavus is heterothallic and laboratory crosses between strains of the opposite mating type produce progeny showing genetic recombination. Sclerotia formed in crops are dispersed onto the soil surface at harvest and are predominantly produced by single strains of one mating type. Less commonly, sclerotia may be fertilized during co-infection of crops with sexually compatible strains. In this study, laboratory and field experiments were performed to examine sexual reproduction in single-strain and fertilized sclerotia following exposure of sclerotia to natural fungal populations in soil. Female and male roles and mitochondrial inheritance in A. flavus were also examined through reciprocal crosses between sclerotia and conidia. Single-strain sclerotia produced ascospores on soil and progeny showed biparental inheritance that included novel alleles originating from fertilization by native soil strains. Sclerotia fertilized in the laboratory and applied to soil before ascocarp formation also produced ascospores with evidence of recombination in progeny, but only known parental alleles were detected. In reciprocal crosses, sclerotia and conidia from both strains functioned as female and male, respectively, indicating A. flavus is hermaphroditic, although the degree of fertility depended upon the parental sources of sclerotia and conidia. All progeny showed maternal inheritance of mitochondria from the sclerotia. Compared to A. flavus populations in crops, soil populations would provide a higher likelihood of exposure of sclerotia to sexually compatible strains and a more diverse source of genetic material for outcrossing.
Data from: "Meiotic genes" are constitutively expressed in an asexual amoeba and are not necessarily involved in sexual reproduction
The amoebae (and many other protists) have traditionally been considered as asexual organisms but suspicion has been growing that these organisms are cryptically sexual or are at least related to sexual lineages. This contention is mainly based on genome studies in which the presence of "meiotic genes" has been discovered. Using RNA-seq (next generation shotgun sequencing, identifying and quantifying the RNA species in a sample), we have found that the entire repertoire of meiotic genes is expressed in exponentially growing Acanthamoeba and we argue that these so called meiotic genes are involved in the related process of homologous recombination in this amoeba. We contend that they are only involved in meiosis in other organisms that indulge in sexual reproduction and that homologous recombination is important in asexual protists as a guard against the accumulation of mutations. We also suggest that asexual reproduction is the ancestral state.
Figure 7 from: Nowińska A, Mróz E, Depa Ł (2017) Sexual morphs of Pterocomma tremulae Börner, 1940 (Aphididae, Aphidinae) with description of male reproductive system. ZooKeys 686: 125-136. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.686.14493
Figure 7 - Male reproductive system of P. tremulae: A longitudinal section through testicles B, C, D cross sections through testicles; ag – accessory gland, cec – cuboidal epithelial cells, tf – testicular follicles, vd – vas deferens.
Figure 6 from: Nowińska A, Mróz E, Depa Ł (2017) Sexual morphs of Pterocomma tremulae Börner, 1940 (Aphididae, Aphidinae) with description of male reproductive system. ZooKeys 686: 125-136. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.686.14493
Figure 6 - Male reproductive system of P. tremulae: A, B cross sections through testes; tf – testicular follicles, tfc – testicular follicle cysts.
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.