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Leaf and shoot apical meristem transcriptomes of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) in response to photoperiod and plant development

Our study focused on identifying key genes regulating flowering time and photoperiod response in quinoa. We examined the timing of photoperiod-induced floral transition and analyzed transcriptomes in photoperiod-sensitive and -insensitive quinoa accessions' leaf and shoot apical meristems. Histological analysis showed that floral transition in quinoa initiates two to three weeks after sowing. We found four groups of differentially expressed genes annotated in the QQ74-V2 reference genome that responded to plant development and floral transition, (i) 222 genes responsive to photoperiod in leaves, (ii) 1,812 genes differentially expressed between accessions under long-day conditions in leaves, (iii) 57 genes responding to developmental changes between weeks under short-day conditions in leaves, and (iv) 911 genes responding to floral transition within the shoot apical meristem. Interestingly, among numerous candidate genes, two putative FT orthologues and others (e.g., SOC1, COL, AP1) have been reported as key regulators of flowering time in other species. Additionally, we used co-expression networks to associate novel transcripts to a putative biological process based on the annotated genes within the same co-expression cluster. The candidate genes in this study would benefit quinoa breeding by identifying and integrating their beneficial haplotypes in crossing programs to develop adapted cultivars to diverse environmental conditions. We examined the timing of photoperiod-induced floral transition and analyzed transcriptomes in photoperiod-sensitive and -insensitive quinoa accessions' leaf and shoot apical meristems. Histological analysis revealed floral transition initiating two to three weeks after sowing. Differentially expressed genes were categorized in the QQ74-V2 reference genome, encompassing 222 genes responsive to photoperiod in leaves, 1,812 genes under long-day conditions, 57 genes during short-day conditions, and 911 genes during floral transition in shoot apical meristems. Notably, among numerous candidates, two putative FT orthologues and others (e.g., SOC1, COL, AP1) implicated in flowering time regulation in various species were identified. Co-expression networks associated novel transcripts with putative biological processes based on annotated genes in the same cluster. The candidate genes identified have potential applications in quinoa breeding, facilitating the incorporation of beneficial haplotypes in crossbreeding programs to develop cultivars adapted to diverse environmental conditions.

Non-target woody plant responses to broadcast herbicide treatment for mesquite and pricklypear control

Aerial spraying of herbicides is an option for treating undesirable woody species on grasslands and rangelands, but few studies have determined the effects of these products on non-target woody plants important to wildlife. A recently introduced herbicide containing a mixture of clopyralid and aminopyralid ("CA") is thought to be specific to honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) control. Our objective was to document the effects of CA alone and mixed with other brush herbicides, including picloram and triclopyr, on two target species, honey mesquite and pricklypear (Opuntia spp.), and two non-target woody plants, lotebush (Zizyphus obtusifolia) and hackberry (Celtis laevigata var reticulata). Treatments were 1) CA, 2) CA + triclopyr (CA+Tr), 3) CA + picloram (CA+Pc), and 4) clopyralid + triclopyr (Cp+Tr). We applied aerial spray treatments on four, 4-ha replicated plots of mature mesquite thickets that also contained pricklypear in each of 3 consecutive years in north-central Texas and evaluated plots at 1 year and 2 years post-treatment (YPT). We developed a tolerance-rating model with 5 levels (highly tolerant, tolerant, moderately tolerant, moderately susceptible, and susceptible) that integrated stand-level percent whole plant mortality (root-kill) and percent canopy reduction of surviving plants. Mesquite was susceptible to all treatments in all spray years. Pricklypear was susceptible to CA+Pc [root-kill more than doubled (33 to 84%) from 1 to 2 YPT], but highly tolerant of the other treatments. Lotebush was highly tolerant or tolerant of all treatments. Hackberry was tolerant of CA and Cp+Tr but susceptible to CA+Pc. The negative effect of CA+Pc on hackberry was greater when hackberry was drought-stressed. We recommend inspection of drought status, foliage condition, and abundance of non-target woody species prior to broadcast spraying for control of targeted woody species or cacti.

Data for: Coherent long-term body-size responses across all Northwest Atlantic herring populations to warming and environmental change despite contrasting harvest and ecological factors

Body size is a key component of individual fitness and an important factor in the structure and functioning of populations and ecosystems. Disentangling the effects of environmental change, harvest, and intra- and inter-specific trophic effects on body size remains challenging for populations in the wild. Herring in the Northwest Atlantic provide a strong basis for evaluating hypotheses related to these drivers given that they have experienced significant warming and harvest over the past century, while also having been exposed to a wide range of other selective constraints across their range. Using data on mean length-at-age 4 for the sixteen principal populations over a period of 53 cohorts (1962-2014), we fitted a series of empirical models for temporal and between-population variation in the response to changes in sea surface temperature. We find evidence for a unified cross-population response in the form of a parabolic function according to which populations in naturally warmer environments have responded more negatively to increasing temperature compared with those in colder locations. Temporal variation in residuals from this function was highly coherent among populations, further suggesting a common response to a large-scale environmental driver. The synchrony observed in this study system, despite strong differences in harvest and ecological histories among populations and over time, clearly indicates a dominant role of environmental change on size-at-age in wild populations, in contrast to commonly reported effects of fishing. This finding has important implications for the management of fisheries as it indicates that a key trait associated with population productivity may be under considerably less short-term management control than currently assumed. Our study, overall, illustrates the need for a comparative approach within species for inferences concerning the many possible effects on body size of natural and anthropogenic drivers in the wild.

Data for: Fire season and time since fire determine AM fungal trait responses to fire management

Rationale: AM fungi are common mutualists in grassland and savanna systems that are adapted to recurrent fire disturbance. This long-term adaptation to fire means that AM fungi display disturbance associated traits which are useful for understanding environmental and temporal effects on AM fungal community assembly. Methods: In this work, we evaluated how fire driven ecological selection on AM fungal spore traits varies with fire season (Fall vs. Spring) and time since fire. We tested this by analyzing AM fungal spore traits (e.g., colorimetric, sporulation, and size) from a fire regime experiment. Key results: Immediately following Fall and Spring fires, spore pigmentation darkened; however, this did not mediate the observed differences between Fall burned and no burn communities. Six months after Fall fires, spores in burned plots were lower in volume, produced less color rich pigment, and had higher sporulation rates, and these differences in spore traits were associated with shifts in AM fungal spore communities. Main conclusion: This shows that AM fungal responses to fire vary based on season (stronger effects in the Fall) and with time since fire. Variation in AM fungal responses to fire time may reflect greater exposure to fire in Fall, when sporulation is highest.

Body size and trophic levels explain global asymmetric response of tetrapod diversity to climate effects

Although climate-based hypotheses are widely used to explain large-scale diversity patterns, they fall short of explaining the spatial variation among taxonomic groups. Integrating food web and metabolic theories into macroecology is a promising step forward, as they allow including explicit taxon-specific traits that can potentially mediate the relationship between climate and diversity. Our investigation focuses on the role of body size and trophic structure in mediating the influence of contemporary climate and historical climate change on global tetrapods species richness. We used piecewise structural equation modeling to assess the direct effects of contemporary climate and climate instability of species richness and the indirect effects of climate on tetrapod richness mediated by community-wide species traits. We found that birds and mammals are less sensitive to the direct effect of contemporary climate than amphibians and squamates. Contemporary climate and climate instability favored the species richness in mammals and amphibians. However, for birds and squamates, this link is only associated with contemporary climate. Moreover, we demonstrated that community-wide traits favored the species richness gradients of tetrapod groups, except amphibians, but this link depends on traits and taxonomic groups. Specifically, bird communities with smaller bodies and bottom-heavy structures support higher species richness. Squamates also tend to be more diverse in communities with prevalence of smaller bodies, while mammals are correlated with top-heavy structures. Moreover, we show that higher contemporary climate and climate instability reduce the species richness of birds and mammals through community-wide traits and tend indirectly improve squamate species richness. Thus, we showed the significance of body size and trophic structure effect in driving a global asymmetric response of tetrapod diversity to climate effects highlights the limitations of applying "typical" climate-based hypotheses. Furthermore, by combining multiple theories, our research contributes to a more realistic and mechanistic understanding of diversity patterns across taxonomic groups.

Data from: Contrasting depth-related fine root plastic responses to soil warming in a subtropical Chinese fir plantation

Warming-induced soil drought especially in topsoil may enlarge the spatial mismatch between nutrients and water along the soil profile, which impedes the uptake of not only water but also nutrients by trees. Therefore, coordinating the acquisition of soil water and nutrients along the soil profile is an important strategy for trees to cope with global warming. This study examined soil depth-related changes in nutrient concentrations, biomass, and morphology of fine roots in a Chinese fir plantation after 3 years of large-scale manipulative soil warming. Soil warming (ambient + 4°C) increased fine root nitrogen (N) concentrations but decreased fine root phosphorus (P) concentrations across soil depths. Warming did not affect total fine root biomass and its vertical distribution. At the 0–10 cm depth, warming increased specific root length (SRL), specific root area (SRA), fine root diameter (RD), and root length density (RLD) but reduced root tissue density (RTD). In the 40–60 cm layer, warming reduced RD, SRL, and RLD while increasing RTD mainly for roots of the 1–2 mm diameter class. Synthesis: We concluded that roots of Chinese fir plantations could adapt to warming-induced moderate water stress through contrasting depth-related root morphological adjustments, probably to optimize the acquisition of both soil water and nutrients. The results of this study are crucial for understanding the adaptation strategies of subtropical forests under future climate conditions.

Macroinvertebrate and environmental responses to dredging and submerged macrophytes transplantation

Eutrophication of freshwater ecosystems is a major global problem, but restoration can be difficult due to ongoing problems relating to water pollution, sedimentary nutrient stores, and altered aquatic biodiversity. Mitigation of water quality stressors is often conducted alongside transplantation of submerged macrophytes and dredging, but knowledge of ecosystem response to post-dredging transplantation of submerged macrophytes is limited. Here, we report a long-term (2008-2018) in-situ monitoring study to evaluate the effects of two different restoration measures: dredging only (Dredged) and dredging with post-dredging transplantation of submerged macrophytes (Dredged with macrophytes) conducted in five subtropical eutrophic lakes in Lake Taihu basin, China. Water and sediment nutrients, bloom-forming algae Microcystis, and macroinvertebrate were monitored every two years for each treatment and compared with reference areas (Control) established in unrestored parts of the same lakes. Dredging only decreased sediment nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, total carbon, and water total phosphorus significantly, however, this effect diminished about five years later. Dredged with macrophytes had a stronger, longer-lasting positive effect on water quality than Dredged alone. Disturbance caused by dredging (without macrophytes transplantation) decreased the biomass of Microcystis, while transplantation of submerged macrophytes shortly after dredging did not contribute to the decrease of Microcystis biomass. The biomass of Microcystis in Dredged with macrophytes areas was always similar to Control over the period of our monitoring. A positive effect of submerged macrophytes transplantation post-dredging was found for macroinvertebrate abundance and diversity: Dredged with macrophytes areas had significantly higher macroinvertebrate biomass and richness than Dredged areas after 9 years' recovery. Macroinvertebrate richness in Dredged with macrophytes areas nearly doubled compared to Control; while Dredged areas were just restored to Control levels. Synthesis and applications. Our study provides an in-situ long-term field monitoring with new findings about the benefits and caution of submerged macrophytes transplantation post-dredging, and the effect of partial restoration, which could inform eutrophic waterbody restoration schemes.

The evolution of lifespan and ageing in response to dietary macronutrients in male and female decorated crickets

Dietary macronutrients regulate lifespan and ageing, yet little is known about their evolutionary effects. Here, we examine the evolutionary response of these traits in decorated crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus) maintained on diets varying in caloric content and protein-to-carbohydrate ratio. After 37 generations, each population was split: half remained on the evolution diet and half switched to a standardized diet. Crickets lived longer and aged slower when evolving on high-calorie (both sexes) and carbohydrate-biased (females only) diets and had lower baseline mortality on high-calorie (females only) diets. However, on the standardized diet, crickets lived longer when evolving on high-calorie diets (both sexes), aged slower on high-calorie (females only) and carbohydrate-biased (both sexes) diets, and had lower baseline mortality on high-calorie (males only) and protein-biased (both sexes) diets. Lifespan was longer and baseline mortality lower when provided the evolution versus the standardized diet but ageing rate was comparable. Moreover, lifespan was longer, ageing slower (females only) and baseline mortality lower (males only) compared to our evolved baseline suggesting varying degrees of dietary adaptation. Collectively, we show dietary components influence the evolution of lifespan and ageing in different ways and highlight the value of combining experimental evolution with nutritional geometry.

Data for: Body mass mediates spatio-temporal responses of mammals to human frequentation across Italian protected areas

Protected areas (PAs) networks are a pivotal tool to fight biodiversity loss, yet they often need to balance the mission of nature conservation with the socio-economic need of giving opportunity for outdoor recreation. Recreation in natural areas is important for human health in an urbanised society, but can prompt behavioural modifications in wild animals. Rarely, however, have these responses being studied across multiple PAs and using standardized methods. We deployed a systematic camera trapping protocol at over 200 sites to sample medium and large mammals in four PAs within the European Natura 2000 network to assess their spatio-temporal responses to human frequentation, proximity to towns, amount of open habitat, and topographical variables. By applying multi-species and single-species models on the number of diurnal, crepuscular, and nocturnal detections, and a multi-species model on nocturnality index, we estimated both species-specific and meta-community level effects, finding that increased nocturnality appeared the main strategy that the mammal meta-community used to cope with human disturbance. However, responses in the diurnal, crepuscular, and nocturnal site use were mediated by species' body mass, with larger species exhibiting avoidance of humans and smaller species more opportunistic behaviours. Our results show the effectiveness of standardised sampling and provide insights for planning the expansion of PA networks as foreseen by the Kunming-Montreal biodiversity agreement.

Genome evolution is associated with nutrition-responsive regulatory development in horned dung beetles

The Scarabaeinae, or true dung beetles, are a hyper-diverse clade of insects of ecological, evolutionary, and agricultural significance and have long served as informative models of evolutionary ecology and development. Perhaps the most conspicuous of their unique traits are head horns, novel structures that serve as secondary sexual weapons, exhibit extraordinary developmental plasticity, and have fueled one of the most dramatic morphological radiations in the animal kingdom. In this study, we investigate the evolutionary basis for dung beetle traits - including horns - via comparative genomic and developmental assays. We present chromosome-level genome assemblies of three dung beetle species in the species-rich Onthophagini tribe (> 2500 extant species) including Onthophagus taurus, Onthophagus sagittarius, and Digitonthophagus gazella. Contrasting these assemblies with seven other species across the order Coleoptera identifies rapidly evolving gene families associated with metabolic regulation of developmental plasticity and metamorphosis. Intraspecific comparisons of chromatin accessibility in developing head horns of O. taurus identify distinct cis-regulatory architectures underlying sex- and nutrition-responsive development of this novel trait, including a large proportion of recently evolved regulatory elements sensitive to horn morph determination. Binding motifs of diverse developmental transcription factors are enriched in these nutrition-responsive open chromatin regions, including the early embryonic patterning gene twist. Using RNA interference (RNAi), we show twist has been co-opted into the beetle horn regulatory network to mediate differential horn morphogenesis in alternate male morphs via its interactions with nutrition-sensitive DNA-binding sites, highlighting the utility of this approach in identifying new developmental regulators of morphological evolution. These results demonstrate gene networks are highly evolvable transducers of environmental and genetic signals critical for the formation and diversification of developmental traits, established in part by condition-responsive chromatin accessibility. Further, this work provides new reference-quality genome assemblies of three dung beetles that will bolster future developmental, ecological, and evolutionary studies of this insect group.

opencc-by-4.0Mar 2024View details →

Leeches Baicalobdella torquata feed on hemolymph but have a low effect on the cellular immune response of amphipod Eulimnogammarus verrucosus from Lake Baikal

Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2024View details →

Silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) dynamic response and dark count vs temperature correlation

Project FleX-RAY employed photon counting capable sensors in order to capture light that was generated by the scintillation phenomenon, in plastic scintillating fibres. These special photodiodes are called Silicon Photomultipliers, or SiPMs. In order to determine the suitability and performance of different SiPM models available in the market, we carried out a series of tests to :  <ol> <li>Evaluate the correlation of dark count rate against temperature and</li> <li>Compare the amplitude response of the actual devices when excited by a 50 picosecond light pulse.</li> </ol> <ul> <li>The data of series 1 are tabulated in the spreadsheet titled "darkCountVsTemp.xlsx".</li> <li>The data of series 2 are arranged in separate "zip" archives, each titled by the device model under test. These zip archives are within a master zip file titled "SiPM_laser_pulse_response.zip".</li> </ul> Test equipment and set-up: Devices under test: Hamamatsu models S13360-1375, S13360-3075 and ON-Semi models microFC-10020, microFC-10035  Measurement device(s)/board(s): To excite SiPMs, we used picosecond pulse laser type PLDD-100k-OEM from Alphalas. To record raw pulse output of SiPMs we used oscilloscope Tektronix DPO7104. To record the darkcount rate of SiPMs we used oscillsocope Keysight DSOX1204G. A custom, 3D-printed light-tight box was used to shield the SiPMs from ambient light.   This work was financed by the European Union's Horizon 2020 program under grant agreement No. 899634.

Behavioral response of delphinids to sonar - supporting acoustic data

Oceanic delphinids around naval operations are regularly exposed to intense military sonar broadcast within the frequency range of their hearing. However, empirically measuring the impact of sonar on the behavior of highly social, free-ranging dolphins is challenging. Additionally, baseline variability or the frequency of vocal state-switching among social oceanic dolphins during undisturbed conditions is lacking, making it difficult to attribute changes in vocal behavior to anthropogenic disturbance. Using a network of drifting acoustic buoys in controlled exposure experiments, we investigated the effects of mid-frequency (3-4 kHz) active sonar (MFAS) on whistle production in short-beaked (Delphinus delphis delphis) and long-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis bairdii) in southern California. Given the complexity of acoustic behavior exhibited by these group-living animals, we conducted our response analysis over varying temporal windows (10 min – 5 s) to describe both longer-term and instantaneous changes in sound production. We found that common dolphins exhibited acute and pronounced changes in whistle rate in the 5 s following exposure to simulated Navy MFAS. This response was sustained throughout sequential MFAS exposures within experiments simulating operational conditions, suggesting that dolphins may not habituate to this disturbance. These results indicate that common dolphins exhibit brief yet clearly detectable acoustic responses to MFAS. They also highlight how variable temporal analysis windows – tuned to key aspects of baseline vocal behavior as well as experimental parameters related to MFAS exposure – enable the detection of behavioral responses. We suggest future work with oceanic delphinids explore baseline vocal rates a-priori and use information on the rate of change in vocal behavior to inform the analysis time window over which behavioral responses are measured.

opencc-by-4.0Mar 2024View details →

Harmonized data and R code for "Coherent response of zoo- and phytoplankton assemblages to global warming since the Last Glacial Maximum"

Harmonized data and R code for "Coherent response of zoo- and phytoplankton assemblages to global warming since the Last Glacial Maximum" by Tonke Strack, Lukas Jonkers, Marina C. Rillo, Karl-Heinz Baumann, Helmut Hillebrand and Michal Kucera (submitted to Global Ecology and Biogeography, 2024). STRUCTURED ABSTRACT Aim: We use the fossil record of different marine plankton groups to determine how their biodiversity changed during past climate warming comparable to projected future warming. Location: North Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. Time series cover a latitudinal range of 75°N to 6°S. Time period: Past 24,000 years, i.e., from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the current warm period covering the last deglaciation. Major taxa studied: Planktonic foraminifera, dinoflagellates and coccolithophores. Methods: We analyse time series of fossil plankton communities using principal component analysis and generalised additive models to estimate the overall trend of temporal compositional change in each plankton group and identify periods of significant change. We further analyse local biodiversity change by analysing species richness, species gains and losses, and the effective number of species in each sample and compare alpha diversity to the LGM mean. Results: All plankton groups show remarkably similar trends in the rates and spatio-temporal dynamics of local biodiversity change and a pronounced non-linearity with climate change in the current warm period. Assemblages of planktonic foraminifera and dinoflagellates started to significantly change with the onset of global warming around 15,500 to 17,000 years ago and continued to change at the same pace during the current warm period until at least 5,000 years ago, while coccolithophores assemblages changed at a constant rate throughout the past 24,000 years seemingly irrespective of the prevailing temperature change. Main conclusions: The climate change during the transition from the LGM to the current warm period led to a long-lasting reshuffling of the zoo- and phytoplankton assemblages likely associated with the emergence of new ecological interactions and possibly a shift in the dominant drivers of plankton assemblage change from more abiotic-dominated causes during the last deglaciation to more biotic-dominated causes with the onset of the Holocene. CONTENT This dataset includes the harmonized assemblage data of the three investigated plankton groups (planktonic foraminifera, dinoflagellates and coccolithophores) as well as all the R code needed to re-produce the results of this study and it's main figures. Scripts written by Tonke Strack DATA SOURCES 1)  GMST: Osman, M. B. et al. Globally resolved surface temperatures since the Last Glacial Maximum.            Nature 599, 239-244, doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03984-4 (2021). 2) WOA18: Locarnini, R. A. et al. World Ocean Atlas 2018, Volume 1: Temperature. A. Mishonov, Technical Editor.            NOAA Atlas NESDIS 81, 52 (2019). 3) plankton assemblage data: individual data references provided in CoreList.csv DATA 1. Harmonized assemblage data*: FullDataTable_PF_harmonized.txt 2. Core list of additional information on time series: CoreList.csv 3. Reference lists for species names names: ReferenceList_PlanktonicForaminifera.csv, ReferenceList_Dino.csv, ReferenceList_Cocco.csv CODE 1. 01_LoadData.R: loads harmonized assemblage data from planktonic foraminifera, dinocyst and coccolithophores 2. 02_GMST_import.R: loads loads the globally resolved surface temperature since the LGM from Osman et al. (2011) 3. 03_DataAnalysis_PCA_GAM.R:  PCA/GAM analysis on the plankton assemblage data (results shown in Figure 2 and 3), sensititvity analysis (results shown in Figure 4), and some summary statistics 4. 04_DataAnalysis_MH_GAM_AlternativeApproach.R: alternative GAM approach using Morisita-Horn index (results shown in Figure S2, S3 and S4) 5. 05_DataAnalysis_BiodiversityChange.R: local biodiversity change analysis of individual time series  (results shown in Figure 5, 6 and S9) *Assemblage data of individual time series were manually downloaded, quality checked, taxonomically harmonized, and combined into one data file. Planktonic foraminifera data were harmonized following Siccha and Kuchera (2017). We merged Globigerinoides ruber ruber and Globigerinoides ruber  albus, because some studies only reported them together as Globigerinoides ruber. Also, P/D intergrades (an informal category of morphological intermediates between Neogloboquadrina incompta and Neogloboquadrina dutertrei) were merged with Neogloboquadrina incompta. Dinocyst taxonomy was harmonized following de Vernal et al. (2020) with slight additions following Zonneveld et al. (2013). Names that could not be resolved using synonym lists and assigned a harmonized name following de Vernal et al. (2020) and Zonneveld et al. (2013) were treated as unidentified specimens and were excluded from the assemblage analyses. These specimens were present in 4 time series and were rare taxa (relative abundances < 3%). The protoperidinoids were also excluded from further assemblage analyses as this category includes all unidentified brownish cysts (de Vernal et al., 2020). Coccolithophore taxonomy follows Young et al. (2003) and coccolith countings were conducted on a scanning-electron microscope (SEM) to ensure that all specimens are resolved to the species level. We merged Coccolithus pelagicus subspecies, because they were not distinguished in all studies.  Species not reported in the time series data were assumed to be absent (that is, zero abundance) which is in accordance with the completeness of the counts reported in the original studies. The original data were either given in absolute or relative abundances, and after excluding unnecessary columns (unidentified or rare taxa that could not be harmonised) the abundances were recalculated to 100 %. In total, 41 species of planktonic foraminifera, 30 species of coccolithophores and 53 species of organic-walled dinocysts were observed in our study. REFERENCES de Vernal, A., Radi, T., Zaragosi, S., Van Nieuwenhove, N., Rochon, A., Allan, E., . . . Richerol, T. (2020). Distribution of common modern dinoflagellate cyst taxa in surface sediments of the Northern Hemisphere in relation to environmental parameters: The new n=1968 database. Mar. Micropaleontol., 159. doi:10.1016/j.marmicro.2019.101796 Siccha, M. & Kucera, M. ForCenS, a curated database of planktonic foraminifera census counts in marine surface sediment samples. Sci. Data 4, 170109, doi:10.1038/sdata.2017.109 (2017). Young, J. R., Geisen, M., Cros, L., Kleijne, A., Sprengel, C., Probert, I., & Østergaard, J. B. (2003). A guide to extant coccolithophore taxonomy. Journal of Nannoplankton Research Special Issue, 1, 1-125. doi:10.58998/jnr2297 Zonneveld, K. A. F., Marret, F., Versteegh, G. J. M., Bogus, K., Bonnet, S., Bouimetarhan, I., . . . Young, M. (2013). Atlas of modern dinoflagellate cyst distribution based on 2405 data points. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol., 191, 1-197. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2012.08.003

Osmia lignaria larval development response to heatwave treatments

Heatwaves are expected to increase in frequency, intensity, and duration due to climate change. For organisms like insects with discrete development, sensitivity may differ among life stages. Thermal sensitivity is of particular concern for species like bees that provide critical ecosystem services. Although social bees moderate nest temperatures through worker behavior, solitary bees do not thermoregulate their nests, making immobile developing offspring especially vulnerable to such extreme events. We studied the effects of heatwaves on larval development in the solitary bee, Osmia lignaria, an important orchard pollinator and model species for solitary bee biology. We used a factorial design to assess the impacts of heatwave temperature and duration on larval mortality and development rate. Larvae were exposed to heatwaves under realistic diel temperature regimes, with daytime maxima of 31˚C or 37˚C for four or seven days at the beginning of development. Heatwave temperature strongly affected larval mortality. Exposure to 37˚C heatwaves increased larval mortality by 130%, but the cooler 31˚C heatwaves did not significantly impact mortality. Heatwave duration did not impact larval mortality. Larval development time also was affected by heatwave exposure. Compared to the no-heatwave-control, bees in the 31˚C heatwave developed faster, and bees in the 37˚C heatwave developed slower. Our study reveals the importance of stage-specific effects of extreme events and suggests that the timing and maximum temperature of projected heatwaves may be more detrimental to populations than heatwave duration.

Dependence of tropical cyclone weakening rate in response to an imposed moderate environmental vertical wind shear on the warm-core strength and height of the initial vortex

This study investigated the dependence of the early tropical cyclone (TC) weakening rate in response to an imposed moderate environmental vertical wind shear (VWS) on the warm-core strength and height of the TC vortex using idealized numerical simulations. Results show that the weakening of the warm core by upper-level ventilation is the primary factor leading to the early TC weakening in response to an imposed environmental VWS. The upper-level ventilation is dominated by eddy radial advection of the warm-core air. The TC weakening rate is roughly proportional to the warm-core strength and height of the initial TC vortex. The boundary-layer ventilation shows no relationship with the early weakening rate of the TC in response to an imposed moderate VWS. The findings suggest that some previous diverse results regarding the TC weakening in environmental VWS could be partly due to the different warm-core strengths and heights of the initial TC vortex.

opencc-by-4.0Mar 2024View details →

Data from: Macaque mothers' responses to the deaths of their infants: evidence for protest grief?

Data were collected on adult female rhesus macaques on Cayo Santiago. Included is the dataset and the R code used to analyse the data. Data variables: Date: Date of observation Troop: Troop to which the female belongs Status: Whether the focal individual is bereaved (Bereaved), a control female without an infant (Control), or a control female with an infant (ConMum) Rank: Estimated rank (three categories: Low, Middle, High) ID: Individual code for the female Age: Age in years Diplacement: Time (s) spent in displacement behaviours Feeding: Time (s) spent feeding Rest: Time (s) spent resting Grooming: Time (s) spent grooming Total: Duration (s) of the observation HOUR: hour of the day in which the observation took place Cluster: the group of females observed for the same infant death days_since_start: days since the death of the infant

Young and older adult vowel categorization responses

Age-related changes in auditory processing may reduce physiological coding of acoustic cues, contributing to older adults' difficulty perceiving speech in background noise. This study investigated whether older adults differed from young adults in patterns of acoustic cue weighting for categorizing vowels in quiet and in noise. All participants relied primarily on spectral quality to categorize /Ꜫ/ and /æ/ sounds in both listening conditions. However, relative to young adults, older adults exhibited greater reliance on duration and less reliance on spectral quality. These results suggest that aging alters patterns of perceptual cue weights that may influence speech recognition abilities.

Data from: Fish responses to manipulated microhabitat complexity in urbanised shorelines

The diversity-habitat complexity relationship has been utilised widely in conservation and biodiversity enhancement interventions, but few studies have attempted to tease apart the components of complexity that drive this relationship. The ecological engineering of seawalls is one area where this topic has advanced, albeit not at scales relevant to fish. We constructed habitat enhancement units (Simple, Complex, and Freestyle 'fish houses') out of hollow concrete blocks and installed them at the base of tropical rip-rap seawalls. Both the Simple and Complex fish houses were cuboid, had the same surface area and volume, and included 100 holes (microhabitats). The holes in Simple fish houses were all the same size, whereas 25 size variations were used in the Complex design (volume-independent manipulation of a single complexity element). The Freestyle fish house was non-cuboid and had more overall volume, microhabitat types and sizes. We examined the volume-independent (Simple vs Complex fish houses) and volume-dependent (Freestyle fish house) effects of microhabitat complexity on fish taxonomic and functional assemblage metrics at two spatial scales and across diel cycles We also investigated diurnal and nocturnal fish-microhabitat size relationships. There was a modest, but not significant, volume-independent effect of complexity on fish assemblages. The Freestyle design supported significantly greater abundance, species richness and distinct taxonomic and functional compositions. These results were dependent on spatial scales and diel cycles. Diel variation in fish activity patterns resulted in stronger size-matching relationships between fish and microhabitat at night than day. Synthesis and applications. Our study shows that, to enhance fish diversity, it is important to provide three-dimensional habitat architecture that incorporates a wide range of microhabitat sizes and types. Our findings also highlight some key considerations when assessing the performance of intervention designs, including spatial-scale dependent effects of structural complexity, diel variation in fish-microhabitat relationships, and choice of intervention assessment metric (i.e. taxonomic vs functional diversity).

Data from: Evolutionary change in flight-to-light response in urban moths comes with changes in wing morphology

Moths and other insects are attracted by artificial light sources. This flight-to-light behaviour disrupts their general activity focused on finding essential habitat resources, such as mating partners, and increases predation risk. It thus has substantial fitness costs. In illuminated urban areas, spindle ermine moths Yponomeuta cagnagella were reported to have evolved a reduced flight-to-light response. Yet, the specific mechanism remained unknown, and was hypothesized to involve either changes in visual perception or general flight ability or overall mobility traits. Here, we test whether spindle ermine moths from urban and rural populations—with known differences in flight-to-light response—differ in flight-related morphological traits. Urban individuals were found to have on average smaller wings than rural moths, which in turn correlated with a lower probability of being attracted to an artificial light source. Our finding supports the reduced mobility hypothesis, which states that reduced mobility in urban areas is associated with specific morphological changes in the flight apparatus.