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10,735 results for “dependability”
Data from: Seed quality and seed quantity in red maple depends on weather and individual tree characteristics
<p>Under future climate change, plant species are expected to shift their ranges in response to increasing temperatures and altered precipitation patterns. As seeds represent the single opportunity for plants to move, it is critical to quantify the factors that influence reproduction. While total seed production is clearly important, seed quality is equally as critical and often overlooked. Thus, to quantify how environmental and tree-level characteristics affect seed quality and quantity, the reproductive output of red maple (<i>Acer rubrum</i>) was measured along an elevation gradient in the Monongahela National Forest, WV. A variety of individual-level characteristics were measured (i.e., DBH, canopy area, tree cores), and seed traps were placed under seed-bearing trees to collect samaras and quantify total seed production. A random subsample of collected seeds from each tree were micro-CT scanned to determine embryo volume, photographed for morphology measurements, and used for germination trials. The number of seeds produced was negatively affected by frost events during flowering, and stand density. The trees with the most seeds also showed reduced growth in recent years. Only 63% of scanned seeds showed embryo development, and of those seeds – only 23% germinated. The likelihood of embryo presence increased as growth rate decreased, while embryo size increased with tree height, smaller DBH, and in areas dominated by hemlock. Both larger embryo volume and larger overall seed size increased the likelihood of germination. The results highlight the importance of including seed quality in addition to seed quantity for a more complete representation of reproductive output.</p>
Progression of Wave Breaker Types on a Plane Impermeable Slope, Depending on Experimental Design DATASETs
<p>Data set from the CIAO and IH2VOF experimental tests.</p>
Semi-analytical modeling of rate-dependent relative permeability in heterogeneous formations
<p>Numerical codes and results for MS: Semi-analytical modeling of rate-dependent relative permeability in heterogeneous formations</p>
Evolution of honey resistance in experimental populations of bacteria depends on the type of honey, and has no major side effects for antibiotic susceptibility
<p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>With rising antibiotic resistance, alternative treatments for communicable diseases are increasingly relevant. One possible alternative for some types of infections is honey, used in wound care since before 2000 BCE and more recently in licensed, medical-grade products. However, it is unclear whether medical application of honey results in the evolution of bacterial honey resistance, and whether this has collateral effects on other bacterial traits such as antibiotic resistance. Here, we used single-step screening assays and serial transfer at increasing concentrations to isolate honey-resistant mutants of <i>Escherichia coli</i>. We only detected bacteria with consistently increased resistance to the honey they evolved in with two of the four tested honey products, and the observed increases were small (maximum two-fold increase in IC<sub>90</sub>). Genomic sequencing and experiments with single-gene knockouts showed a key mechanism by which bacteria increased their honey resistance was by mutating genes involved in detoxifying methylglyoxal, which contributes to the antibacterial activity of <i>Leptospermum</i> honeys. Crucially, we found no evidence that honey adaptation conferred cross-resistance or collateral sensitivity against nine antibiotics from six different classes. These results reveal constraints on bacterial adaptation to different types of honey, improving our ability to predict downstream consequences of wider honey application in medicine.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
Data from: Pollinator dependence but no pollen limitation for eight plants occurring north of the Arctic Circle
<p>Intact interactions between plants and pollinators are essential for the reproduction of pollinator-dependent plant species. Global change factors, such as climate change, have the potential to disrupt these interactions and subsequently impair pollination service. This disruption can result in insufficient pollen receipt for plants and lower their reproduction success. High latitude sites experience particularly rapid climate change and plants at these locations are expected to be vulnerable to lower reproductive success due to pollen limitation. Pollen supplementation experiments, which assess the degree to which plant reproduction is pollen limited, have been conducted across the globe but are rare in high latitude regions. To fill this knowledge gap, we experimentally investigated the pollinator dependence and magnitude of pollen limitation in eight plant species north the Arctic Circle in Lapland, Finland. Our findings show that all plant species were pollinator dependent, but not pollen limited. We discuss several mechanisms that might buffer our focal plants from pollen limitation. Our results demonstrate that many plant species north of the Arctic Circle are currently receiving adequate pollinator service and provide a baseline for future comparisons of pollinator dependence and pollen limitation in the Arctic across species and time.</p>
Maternal provisioning and fluctuating thermal regimes enhance immune response in a reptile with temperature-dependent sex determination
<p>The Charnov-Bull model of differential fitness is often used to explain the evolution and maintenance of temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). Most tests of the model focus on morphological proxies of fitness, such as size traits, whereas early life physiological traits that are closely related to lifetime fitness might provide a framework for generalising the Charnov-Bull model across taxa. One such trait is the strength of early life immune response, which is strongly linked to early life survival and fitness. Here, we manipulate temperature, variance in temperature, and sex to test the Charnov-Bull model using a physiological trait, immune system strength, in the snapping turtle (<i>Chelydra serpentina </i>L. 1758). We find no evidence of sex-specific differences in bactericidal capacity of hatchling blood, and no evidence that mean temperature influences bactericidal capacity. However, we find that fluctuating incubation temperature (i.e., a more naturalized incubation regime) is associated with a greater bactericidal capacity compared to constant temperature incubation. We also find that egg mass, a proxy for maternal provisioning, is positively associated with bactericidal capacity. Our findings suggest that the evolution of temperature-dependent sex determination in reptiles is unrelated to our measure early-life innate immunity. Our study also underlines how immune response is condition-dependent in early life, and questions the biological relevance of constant temperature incubation in experimental studies on ectotherm development.</p>
Data from: Early plant development depends on embryo damage location: the role of seed size in partial seed predation
<p>Data on 1) Observed weevil-infested acorns in the field; 2) Germination rates and times, and seedling emergence of control and embryo-damaged acorns; 3) Seedling performance and physiology of seedlings</p>
Data from: Policing effectiveness depends on relatedness and group size
Cohesion of social groups requires the suppression of individual selfishness. Indeed, worker egg laying in insect societies is usually suppressed or punished through aggression and egg removal. The effectiveness of such "policing" is expected to increase with decreasing relatedness, as inclusive fitness of group members is more strongly affected by selfish worker reproduction when group members are less closely related to each other. As inclusive fitness is also influenced by the costs and benefits of helping, the effectiveness of policing should decrease with increasing colony size, because the costs for the whole colony from selfish worker reproduction are proportionally reduced in large groups. Here, we show that policing effectiveness in colonies of the ant Temnothorax unifasciatus is low in large groups and high in small groups when relatedness is high. When we experimentally decreased the relatedness in groups, the policing effectiveness reached the same high level as in small highly related groups, irrespectively of group size. Therefore, our results indicate that policing effectiveness is simultaneously shaped by relatedness and group size, i.e. an ecological factor. This may have major implications for testing policing across species of animals.
Data from: Condition-dependent expression of carotenoid- and melanin-based plumage colour of northern flicker nestlings revealed by manipulation of brood size
Carotenoid-based colouration in feathers is widely accepted to be a reliable signal of the health of an individual, but the condition-dependence of melanin-based plumage ornaments has been highly debated. Using broods that were manipulated in size, we tested whether nutritional stress during rearing affected the carotenoid pigmentation in secondary feathers and the size, shape, and symmetry of melanin spots on breast plumage of northern flicker Colaptes auratus nestlings. Two measures of carotenoid colour (chroma and brightness) of secondary flight feathers did not vary according to brood size treatment, but in a larger dataset from the population, carotenoid chroma was positively associated with nestling mass. Nestlings from experimentally enlarged broods had smaller melanin spots than those from reduced broods, which is some of the first experimental evidence that melanin ornament size in growing nestlings is condition-dependent. However, the shape and symmetry of the melanin breast spots was not associated with nestling mass. Sexual dimorphism was apparent in both types of pigmentation and future studies should investigate whether there are any trade-offs for nestlings between investing in carotenoid colouration and melanisation and whether trade-offs differ between the sexes.
Data from: Parasite-induced plasticity in host social behaviour depends on sex and susceptibility
Understanding the effects of parasites on host behaviour, of host behaviour on parasite infection, and the reciprocal interactions between these processes is vital to improving our understanding of animal behaviour and disease dynamics. However, behaviour and parasite infection are both highly variable within and between individual hosts, and how this variation affects behaviour-parasite feedbacks is poorly understood. For example, it is unclear how an individual's behaviour before infection might change once it becomes infected, or as the infection progresses, and how these changes depend on the host's parasite susceptibility. Here, using the guppy, Poecilia reticulata, and a directly-transmitted ectoparasite, Gyrodactylus turnbulli, I show that parasite-induced behavioural plasticity depends on host sex and susceptibility. Among females, time spent shoaling ('sociality'), a behaviour that increases parasite transmission, did not depend on infection status (infected/not) or susceptibility. By contrast, male sociality in the absence of infection was negatively correlated with susceptibility, suggesting the most susceptible males use behaviour to avoid infection. However, in late infection when parasite transmission is most likely, male sociality and susceptibility became positively correlated, suggesting susceptible males modify their behaviour upon infection potentially to increase transmission and mating opportunities. I discuss the implications of these patterns for disease dynamics.
Data from: Horizontal Transmission of the Heritable Protective Endosymbiont Hamiltonella defensa Depends on Titre and Haplotype
<p></p><p>Secondary endosymbionts of aphids have an important ecological and evolutionary impact on their host, as they provide resistance to natural enemies but also reduce the host's lifespan and reproduction. While secondary symbionts of aphids are faithfully transmitted from mother to offspring, they also have some capacity to be transmitted horizontally between aphids. Here we explore whether 11 isolates from 3 haplotypes of the secondary endosymbiont Hamiltonella defensa differ in their capacity for horizontal transmission. These isolates vary in the protection they provide against parasitoid wasps as well as the costs they inflict on their host, Aphis fabae. We simulated natural horizontal transmission through parasitoid wasps by stabbing aphids with a thin needle and assessed horizontal transmission success of the isolates from one shared donor clone into three different recipient clones. Specifically, we asked whether potentially costly isolates reaching high cell densities in aphid hosts are more readily transmitted through this route. This hypothesis was only partially supported. While transmissibility increased with titre for isolates from two haplotypes, isolates of the H. defensa haplotype 1 were transmitted with greater frequency than isolates of other haplotypes with comparable titres. Thus, it is not sufficient to be merely frequent—endosymbionts might have to evolve specific adaptations to transmit effectively between hosts.</p><p></p>
Data from: Cats under cover: habitat models indicate a high dependency on woodlands by Atlantic Forest felids
Four Neotropical small and medium felids—the ocelot, jaguarundi, margay and southern tiger cat—have overlapping geographic distributions in the endangered Atlantic Forest. Local studies show that these felids avoid areas with high human impact, but the three smaller ones use human-modified areas more frequently than do ocelots. To understand how landscape changes affect the habitat distribution of these four felids in the Atlantic Forest of Argentina, we used maximum entropy models to analyze the effect of environmental and anthropogenic factors. We estimated niche breadth and overlap among these felids. The conversion of the native forest to land uses without trees was the most important variable that determined the habitat distribution of the four species. For all four species the optimal habitat covered less than 1/3 of the study area and corresponds mainly to the native forest areas. Nearly 50 percent of these areas had some level of protection. The niche width was higher for the small felids than for ocelots. Niche overlap was high for all species pairs, but higher among the small felids and lower for each of these with the ocelot. The four felids were negatively affected by native forest loss, with ocelots being more sensitive than the smaller felids. The conversion of unprotected forest areas to other types of land uses would imply a greater habitat loss for these felids. The protection of current remnants of Atlantic Forest in Argentina is important for the long-term conservation of the four felids.
Data from: Plasticity-led evolution: evaluating the key prediction of frequency-dependent adaptation
Plasticity-led evolution occurs when a change in the environment triggers a change in phenotype via phenotypic plasticity, and this pre-existing plasticity is subsequently refined by selection into an adaptive phenotype. A critical, but largely untested prediction of plasticity-led evolution (and evolution by natural selection generally) is that the rate and magnitude of evolutionary change should be positively associated with a phenotype's frequency of expression in a population. Essentially, the more often a phenotype is expressed and exposed to selection, the greater its opportunity for adaptive refinement. We tested this prediction by competing against each other spadefoot toad tadpoles from different natural populations that vary in how frequently they express a novel, environmentally induced carnivore ecomorph. As expected, lab-reared tadpoles whose parents were derived from populations that express the carnivore ecomorph more frequently were superior competitors for the resource for which this ecomorph is specialized—fairy shrimp. These tadpoles were better at utilizing this resource both because they were more efficient at capturing and consuming shrimp and because they produced more exaggerated carnivore traits. Moreover, they exhibited these more carnivore-like features even without experiencing the inducing cue, suggesting that this ecomorph has undergone an extreme form of plasticity-led evolution––genetic assimilation. Thus, our findings provide evidence that the frequency of trait expression drives the magnitude of adaptive refinement, thereby validating a key prediction of plasticity-led evolution specifically and adaptive evolution generally.
Sex and age differences in tree cavity dependence in a small arboreal marsupial
<p>Many mammal species depend on tree cavities for shelter and for breeding. Some species may use tree cavities as well as other varied shelters but the extent of their dependence on tree cavities is unknown. One such species is the eastern pygmy-possum (<i>Cercartetus nanus</i>) from eastern Australia which typically shelters alone. I addressed four key questions: i) do different age and sex classes differ in their preferences for small (4 cm diameter) and large (10 cm diameter) cavities, ii) does the availability of large cavities influence female breeding status, iii) does the availability of large cavities influence where adult females and males are detected, and iv) does the availability of large cavities influence survival and abundance? I provisioned two 9-ha plots containing few (≤2 per ha) 'large' natural cavities with artificial cavities in different years. When plots were provisioned with small and large cavities breeding females (<i>n</i> = 46) showed a pronounced preference for sheltering in the large cavities whilst adult males (<i>n</i> = 67) and subadults (<i>n </i>= 40) preferred the small cavities. When one plot and not the other was provisioned with large cavities adult females were significantly more likely to be reproductive and be detected on the plot with large cavities, but survival was not influenced. Detection of adult males did not vary with large cavity provisioning. The abundance of adult pygmy-possums varied among years, being higher on the plot provisioned with large cavities when the other plot was not provisioned, but equivalent when both were provisioned. The findings of this study are consistent with the hypothesis that breeding females are dependent on a large cavity to raise a litter. Other mammal species around the world are likely to exhibit similar but currently unrecognised shelter site strategies which have implications for their management.</p>
Data from: Echolocation and roosting ecology determine sensitivity of forest-dependent bats to coffee agriculture
Species differ in vulnerability to anthropogenic landuse changes. Knowledge of the mechanisms driving differential sensitivity can inform conservation strategies but is generally lacking for species-rich taxa in the tropics. The diverse bat fauna of Southeast Asia is threatened by rapid loss of forest and expanding agricultural activities, but the associations between species, traits, vulnerability to agriculture and the underlying drivers have yet to be elucidated. We studied the responses of speciose insectivorous bat assemblages to robusta coffee cultivation in Sumatra, Indonesia. We compared abundance, species richness and assemblage structures of bats between forests and coffee farms based on trapping data and evaluated the influence of vegetation complexity on assemblage composition and species-level reactions. Bat abundance and species richness were significantly lower in coffee farms than in forests. Bat assemblage structure differed between landuses, and the overall variation can be largely explained by vegetation simplification. Species sensitive to coffee agriculture were associated with more complex vegetation structure, whereas tolerant species were associated with simpler vegetation structure. Sensitive and tolerant species differed in the type, frequency, and bandwidth of echolocation calls and roost use. Species sensitive to coffee use broadband and high-pitched frequency-modulated calls, which are efficient at detecting insects in complex vegetation, and roost in plant structures that may be lost as vegetation is simplified. In contrast, tolerant species used lower-pitched constant frequency calls and roost in caves. We advocate for greater use of trait analyses in studies seeking to clarify the influence of agriculture on diverse tropical bat faunas.
Data from: Balancing ecological costs and benefits of fire for population viability of disturbance-dependent butterflies
Disturbance is a fundamental ecological process and driver of population dynamics. Ecologists seek to understand the effects of disturbance on ecological systems and to use disturbance to modify habitats degraded by anthropogenic change. Demographic responses by plants to disturbance are often well described, but demographic responses by animals are less understood. This limits development of applied strategies that leverage disturbance to augment animal populations. We estimated demographic and behavioural responses of an endangered butterfly, Fender's blue, Plebejus icarioides fenderi, to experimental burning in Oregon, USA. We monitored butterfly vital rates for four years post-fire. Prescribed fire killed Fender's blue larvae. However, fecundity was higher relative to reference/unburned areas for two years after the burn and overwinter larval survivorship was higher for a year after the burn. Fire treatments did not influence adult movement behaviour. We used matrix models to project butterfly population dynamics in fire-driven successional landscapes. We compared optimal burn strategies given targeted burns, such as prescribed fire, to undirected burns, such as wildfires. Disturbance enhances population growth rate under both strategies, and the optimal proportion of landscape burned is similar in both cases. However, targeted burning leads to substantially higher population growth rates. Synthesis and applications. Demographic models allow planning of long-term and large-scale disturbance by balancing initial costs of disturbance with subsequent benefits. We use matrix models to project population growth in fire-driven successional landscapes and contrast prescribed burns with undirected burns (wildfires). We also use these models to evaluate the influence of local vs. non-local dispersal. Because random (non-local) dispersal allows individuals to disperse into areas that were just burned, non-local dispersal always increases population growth rates in this system. This contrasts with source-sink dynamics in stationary environments, in which local dispersal leads to higher population growth rates. Our matrix modelling approach has broad application to other disturbance-dependent taxa surviving in anthropogenically modified landscapes, and could be more widely applied to animal populations.
Data from: Density-dependent habitat selection predicts fitness and abundance in a small lizard
Density-dependent habitat selection has been used to predict and explain patterns of abundance of species between habitats. Thermal quality, a density-independent component of habitat suitability, is often the most important factor for habitat selection in ectotherms which comprise the vast majority of animal species. Ectotherms may reach high densities such that individual fitness is reduced in a habitat due to increased competition for finite resources. Therefore, density and thermal quality may present conflicting information about which habitat will provide the highest fitness reward and ectotherm habitat selection may be density-independent. Using ornate tree lizards Urosaurus ornatus at 10 sites each straddling two adjacent habitats (wash and upland), we tested the hypothesis that habitat selection is density-dependent even when thermal quality differs between habitats. We first tested that fitness proxies decline with density in each habitat, indicating density-dependent effects on habitat suitability. We also confirmed that the two habitats vary in suitability (quantified by food abundance and thermal quality). Next, we tested the predictions that habitat selection depends on density with isodar analyses and that fitness proxies are equal in the two habitats within a site. We found that monthly survival rates decreased with density, and that the wash habitat had more prey and higher thermal quality than the upland habitat. Lizards preferred the habitat with more food and higher thermal quality, lizard densities in the two habitats were positively correlated, and fitness proxies of lizards did not differ between habitats. These patterns are consistent with density-dependent habitat selection, despite differences in thermal quality between habitats. We expect that density-dependent habitat selection is widespread in terrestrial ectotherms when densities are high and temperatures are close to their optimal performance range. In areas where thermal quality is low, however, we expect that depletable resources, such as food, become less limiting because assimilating resources is more difficult.
Data from: Biophysical dependences among functional wood traits
1. Wood properties and especially wood density have been used as functional traits organized along major axes of species life history and strategy. Beyond statistical analyses, a better mechanistic understanding of relationships among wood traits is essential for ecologically relevant interpretation of wood trait variations. 2. A set of theoretical relationships mechanistically linking wood basic density with some other wood traits is derived from cellular material physics. These theoretical models picture basic physical constraints and thus provide null-hypotheses for further ecological studies. Analysis is applied to data from two original datasets and several datasets extracted from literature. 3. Results emphasize the strong physical constraint behind the link between basic density and maximal storable water on the one hand, and elastic modulus on the other hand. Beyond these basic physical constraints, the developed framework reveals physically less expected trends: the amount of free water available for physiological needs increases in less dense wood of fast growing species, the cell wall stiffness decreases with density in temperate species and is higher in sapling stages in the rainforest understorey where competition for light is associated to high mechanical risk. 4. We emphasize the use of theoretically independent traits derived from models of cellular material physics to investigate the functional variation of wood traits together with their environmental and phylogenetic variations. Although the current study is limited to basic density, green wood lumen saturation and wood specific modulus, we further emphasize the identification of complementary independent wood traits representing other biomechanical functions, nutrient storage, hydraulic conductance and resistance to drought.
Data from: Negative frequency-dependent selection is intensified at higher population densities in protist populations
Natural populations of free-living protists often exhibit high-levels of intraspecific diversity, yet this is puzzling as classic evolutionary theory predicts dominance by genotypes with high fitness, particularly in large populations where selection is efficient. Here, we test whether negative frequency-dependent selection (NFDS) plays a role in the maintenance of diversity in the marine flagellate Oxyrrhis marina using competition experiments between multiple pairs of strains. We observed strain-specific responses to frequency and density, but an overall signature of NFDS that was intensified at higher population densities. Because our strains were not selected a priori on the basis of particular traits expected to exhibit NFDS, these data represent a relatively unbiased estimate of the role for NFDS in maintaining diversity in protist populations. These findings could help to explain how bloom-forming plankton, which periodically achieve exceptionally high population densities, maintain substantial intraspecific diversity.
Data from: Inbreeding alters context‐dependent reproductive effort and immunity in male crickets
Infection can cause hosts to drastically alter their investment in key life‐history traits of reproduction and defence. Infected individuals are expected to increase investment in defence (e.g., by increasing immune function) and, due to trade‐offs, investment in other traits (e.g., current reproduction) should decrease. However, the terminal investment hypothesis postulates that decreased lifespan due to infection and the associated reduction in the expectation for future offspring will favour increased investment towards current reproduction. Variation in intrinsic condition will likely influence shifts in reproductive investment post‐infection, but this is often not considered in such assessments. For example, the extent of inbreeding can significantly impact an individual's lifetime fitness and may influence its reproductive behaviour following a threat of infection. Here, we investigated the effects of inbreeding status on an individual's reproductive investment upon infection, including the propensity to terminally invest. Male crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus) from four genetically distinct inbred lines and one outbred line were subjected to a treatment from an increasing spectrum of simulated infection cue intensities, using heat‐killed bacteria. We then measured reproductive effort (calling effort), survival and immune function (antibacterial activity, circulating haemocytes and haemocyte microaggregations). Inbred and outbred males diverged in how they responded to a low‐dose infection cue: relative to unmanipulated males, outbred males decreased calling effort, whereas inbred males increased calling effort. Moreover, we found that inbred males exhibited higher antibacterial activity and numbers of circulating haemocytes compared with outbred males. These results suggest that an individual's inbreeding status may have consequences for context‐dependent shifts in reproductive strategies, such as those triggered by infection.
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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.