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23 results for “Grassland ecology”
Social networks and transformative behaviors in a grassland social-ecological system
<p>Dataframe for analysis presented in Nesbitt et al.'s <span>Social networks and transformative behaviors in a grassland social-ecological system published in People and Nature. Dataframe includes responses from an ego network survey administered to Nebraska (USA) ranchers in 2021. </span></p> <p><span>Metadata describes each variable in further detail including the question number from the survey.</span></p> <p> </p>
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 01 frontiersin.org Why grazing and soil matter for dry grassland diversity: New insights from multigroup structural equation modeling of micro-patterns
<p>Grazing is recognized as a major process driving the composition of plant<br> communities in grasslands, mostly due to the heterogeneous removal of<br> plant species and soil compaction that results in a mosaic of small patches<br> called micro-patterns. To date, no study has investigated the differences in<br> composition and functioning among these micro-patterns in grasslands in<br> relation to grazing and soil environmental variables at the micro-local scale.<br> In this study, we ask (1) To what extent are micro-patterns different from each<br> other in terms of species composition, species richness, vegetation volume,<br> evenness, and functioning? and (2) based on multigroup structural equation<br> modeling, are those differences directly or indirectly driven by grazing and soil<br> characteristics? We focused on three micro-patterns of the Mediterranean dry<br> grassland of the Crau area, a protected area traditionally grazed in the South-<br> East of France. From 70 plant community relevés carried out in three micro-<br> patterns located in four sites with different soil and grazing characteristics,<br> we performed univariate, multivariate analyses and applied structural equation<br> modeling for the first time to this type of data. Our results show evidence<br> of clear differences among micro-pattern patches in terms of species<br> composition, vegetation volume, species richness, evenness, and functioning<br> at the micro-local scale. These differences are maintained not only by direct<br> and indirect effects of grazing but also by several soil variables such as fine<br> granulometry. Biological crusts appeared mostly driven by these soil variables,<br> whereas reference and edge communities are mostly the result of different<br> levels of grazing pressure revealing three distinct functioning specific to each<br> micro-pattern, all of them coexisting at the micro-local scale in the studied<br> Mediterranean dry grassland. This first overview of the multiple effects of<br> grazing and soil characteristics on communities in micro-patterns is discussed<br> within the scope of the conservation of dry grasslands plant diversity.</p>
Egnuck Wida grassland vegetation survey (Kootenay Plains Ecological Reserve)
<p>Vegetation Survey of Egnuck Wida and the Kootenay Plains Ecological Reserve, Jul-Aug 2020, Alberta, Canada.</p> <p>For project details, see <br>Schepens et al. (2024). Colonial management drives ecological change following the exclusion of Indigenous stewardship in a Stoney Iyethka montane grassland, Canadian Rocky Mountains. (In press, People and Nature). </p> <p>and </p> <p>Schepens, G. (2022). <em>Ecological legacies of Stoney Nakoda stewardship in a montane grassland: a century of vegetation change in Egnuck Wida and the Kootenay Plains Ecological Reserve. </em>MSc Thesis, University of Victoria. https://dspace.library.uvic.ca/server/api/core/bitstreams/87a2642e-4fc6-4bd9-917e-77599fdd6ed0/content</p>
Population Ecology of Banner-Tailed Kangaroo Rats (Dipodomys spectabilis) in a Chihuahuan Desert Grassland at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico (2005-2009)
From March 2005-Februaury 2009, a population of banner-tailed kangaroo rats was monitored using mark-recapture methods. All active kangaroo rat mounds on the 18-ha Nunn Flats site were trapped monthly. All captured individuals were marked and reproductive status and mass were recorded. From February to July 2008 a subset of adult females received supplemental food. This dataset was collected to observe the survivorship, reproduction, and dispersal of banner-tailed kangaroo rats in response to changes in resources and density. Both observational and experimental methods were used to observe how ecological constraints affected juvenile dispersal.
Data from: Precipitation alters interactions in a grassland ecological community
Climate change is transforming precipitation regimes world-wide. Changes in precipitation regimes are known to have powerful effects on plant productivity, but the consequences of these shifts for the dynamics of ecological communities are poorly understood. This knowledge gap hinders our ability to anticipate and mitigate the impacts of climate change on biodiversity. Precipitation may affect fauna through direct effects on physiology, behaviour or demography, through plant-mediated indirect effects, or by modifying interactions among species. In this paper, we examined the response of a semi-arid ecological community to a fivefold change in precipitation over 7 years. We examined the effects of precipitation on the dynamics of a grassland ecosystem in central California from 2007 to 2013. We conducted vegetation surveys, pitfall trapping of invertebrates, visual surveys of lizards and capture–mark–recapture surveys of rodents on 30 plots each year. We used structural equation modelling to evaluate the direct, indirect and modifying effects of precipitation on plants, ants, beetles, orthopterans, kangaroo rats, ground squirrels and lizards. We found pervasive effects of precipitation on the ecological community. Although precipitation increased plant biomass, direct effects on fauna were often stronger than plant-mediated effects. In addition, precipitation altered the sign or strength of consumer-resource and facilitative interactions among the faunal community such that negative or neutral interactions became positive or vice versa with increasing precipitation. These findings indicate that precipitation influences ecological communities in multiple ways beyond its recognized effects on primary productivity. Stochastic variation in precipitation may weaken the average strength of biotic interactions over time, thereby increasing ecosystem stability and resilience to climate change.
Data from: Diverse ecological strategies increase invasion resistance in an experimental grassland restoration
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Spatial patterns and ecological drivers of soil nematode β-diversity in natural grasslands vary among vegetation types and trophic position
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Data from: Precipitation alters interactions in a grassland ecological community
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Ecological Effects of Prescribed Fire on Soils in a Chihuahuan Desert Grassland at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico (2003)
Fire resulting from natural ignition has become a more common event on the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) since the exclusion of domesticated livestock. Efforts to return fire to the native landscape has resulted in the use of prescribed fire during periods that meet burn prescriptions. A prescribed fire was performed on the Sevilleta NWR in June 2003. Among the measured site and burn characteristics that were measure, this project sampled soils before and after the fire from 5 previously-sampled locations that were burned in June 2003 and from 5 newly established locations that served as controls. The controls were within an area that was sampled between 1989 and 1996 for similar properties measured in this study and had previously been tested to be similar to the locations burned in 2003. The soil properties that are repeatedly measured at the burn and control locations include: field water content; water-holding capacity; organic matter; field extractable nitrate and ammonium; and potentially mineralizable nitrogen.
Data from: Finding clarity in ecological outcomes using empirical integrated social-ecological systems: a case study of agriculture-dependent grassland birds
<p>1. Efforts to monitor and conserve populations and ecosystems in human-dominated landscapes can benefit from an empirical social-ecological systems approach.<br> 2. Here we illustrate how latent variable structural equation modelling of regional time series data can effectively describe interconnected drivers of population fluctuations in dynamic landscapes and can help to reveal previously unknown system drivers.<br> 3. Using a declining farmland-dependent bird species (Ammodramus savannarum) in the eastern United States (1994-2015) as a case study, our analysis reveals how farm management decisions drive population fluctuations (R<sup>2</sup> = 20%), while management is in turn highly influenced by climate (R<sup>2</sup> = 23-51%), but not by regional conservation spending.<br> 4. Synthesis and applications. Structural equation modelling revealed potential social-ecological pathways for halting regional population declines in a grassland bird, the Grasshopper Sparrow. Lower population growth rates followed years of higher hay yields (~4 percentage points per metric ton increase in hay yield) and later harvests (~2 percentage points per 10-day delay in harvest). Thus, one pathway for stabilising regional populations could involve compensating farmers for reducing hay harvests, potentially requiring a six-fold increase in current annual agri-environmental conservation spending.</p>
Data from: The present and future effects of land use on ecological assemblages in tropical grasslands and savannas in Africa
The world is currently experiencing a period of rapid, human-driven biodiversity loss. Over the past decade, numerous metrics for biodiversity have been used to create indicators to track change in biodiversity. However, our ability to predict future changes has been limited. In this study, we use two very different models to predict the status and possible futures for the composition and diversity of ecological assemblages in African tropical grasslands and savannas under land-use change. We show that ecological assemblages are affected more by land use in African grasslands and savannas than in other biomes. We estimate that average losses of assemblage composition and diversity are already between 9.7 and 42.0%, depending on the model and measure used. If current socio-economic trajectories continue ('business-as-usual'), the likely associated land-use changes are predicted to lead to a further 5.6–12.3% loss of assemblage composition and diversity. In contrast, a scenario that assumes more efficient use of agricultural areas (thus requiring a smaller total area) could be associated with a partial reversal ‒ of as much as 3.2% ‒ of past losses. While the agriculture that causes the majority of land-use change is an important source of economic growth, projections of the effects of land use on ecological assemblages can allow for more informed decisions.
Data from: Genetic differentiation within multiple common grassland plants supports seed transfer zones for ecological restoration
Ecological restoration of grasslands is increasingly based on regional seeds derived from predefined seed transfer zones. However, the degree and spatial pattern of genetic differentiation among provenances of different seed transfer zones is largely unknown. We assessed the genetic differentiation among eight out of 22 German seed transfer zones for seven common grassland species (Arrhenatherum elatius, Centaurea jacea, Daucus carota, Galium album, Hypochaeris radicata, Knautia arvensis and Lychnis flos-cuculi) using AFLP markers. We analysed genetic population structure with AMOVA and Bayesian cluster analysis and tested for isolation by distance and isolation by environment. In all of the investigated species, almost all pairs of provenances were genetically differentiated. Bayesian cluster analysis revealed species-specific numbers and spatial patterns of gene pools, with between two (Arrhenatherum) and eight clusters (Lychnis). Most investigated seed transfer zones represented a unique gene pool in the majority of the species. We found isolation by distance in four species, isolation by environment, driven by climatic seasonality, in three species, and a lack of both in three species. Thus, the observed genetic differentiation appears to be caused by both neutral and adaptive processes. Synthesis and applications. Our study shows that grassland plants are indeed strongly genetically differentiated across Germany supporting the strategy of seed transfer zones for ecological restoration. Although the predefined seed transfer zones are unlikely to match the exact genetic structure of many species, they serve their purpose by capturing a substantial amount of intraspecific genetic variation across species.
Data from: Social-ecological landscape patterns predict woody encroachment from native tree plantings in a temperate grassland
Afforestation is often viewed as the purposeful planting of trees in historically non-forested grasslands, but an unintended consequence is woody encroachment, which should be considered part of the afforestation process. In North America's temperate grassland biome, Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana L.) is a native species used in tree plantings that aggressively invades in the absence of controlling processes. Cedar is a well-studied woody encroacher, but little is known about the degree to which cedar windbreaks, which are advocated for in agroforestry programs, are contributing to woody encroachment, what factors are associated with cedar spread from windbreaks, nor where encroachment from windbreaks is occurring in contemporary social–ecological landscapes. We used remotely sensed imagery to identify the presence and pattern of woody encroachment from windbreaks in the Nebraska Sandhills. We used multimodel inference to compare three classes of models representing three hypotheses about factors that could influence cedar spread: (a) windbreak models based on windbreak structure and design elements; (b) abiotic models focused on local environmental conditions; and (c) landscape models characterizing coupled human-natural features within the broader matrix. Woody encroachment was evident for 22% of sampled windbreaks in the Nebraska Sandhills. Of our candidate models, our inclusive landscape model carried 92% of the model weight. This model indicated that encroachment from windbreaks was more likely near roadways and less likely near farmsteads, other cedar plantings, and waterbodies, highlighting strong social ties to the distribution of woody encroachment from tree plantings across contemporary landscapes. Cedar control efforts are insufficient for nearly one-quarter of windbreaks in the Nebraska Sandhills. Our model findings indicate where additional investments into cedar control can be prioritized to prevent cedar spread from windbreaks. This approach can serve as a model in other temperate regions to identify where woody encroachment resulting from temperate agroforestry programs is emerging.
Video recording and vegetation classification elucidate sheep foraging ecology in species-rich grassland
<p>Dataset as Excel file</p>
Data used to generate results for Meireles et al. 2023. The future of suitable habitats of an endangered Neotropical grassland bird: a path to extinction? Ecology and Evolution.
<p>Here we include all occurrence records (264) found for Campo Miner, in addition to the 47 records of current distribution of the species (*) used for ecological niche modeling analyses. </p>
Data from: Genetic differentiation within multiple common grassland plants supports seed transfer zones for ecological restoration
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Data from: Finding clarity in ecological outcomes using empirical integrated social-ecological systems: a case study of agriculture-dependent grassland birds
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Data from: Social-ecological landscape patterns predict woody encroachment from native tree plantings in a temperate grassland
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Data from: The present and future effects of land use on ecological assemblages in tropical grasslands and savannas in Africa
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How and to what extent have degraded grasslands recovered after ecological restoration in China: A meta-analysis?
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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.