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FA Z-scores table
No full textFA Z-scores table represents the set of values of FA Z-scores for the seven LIS patients
Data from: Hox genes mediate the escalation of sexually antagonistic traits in water striders
No full textSexual conflict occurs when traits favoured in one sex impose fitness costs on the other sex. In the case of sexual conflict over mating rate, the sexes often undergo antagonistic coevolution and escalation of traits that enhance female’s resistance to superfluous mating and traits that increase male’s persistence. How this escalation in sexually antagonistic traits is established during ontogeny remains unclear. In the water strider Rhagovelia antilleana, male persistence traits consist of sex combs in the forelegs and multiple rows of spines and a thick femur in the rearlegs. Female resistance trait consists of a prominent spike-like projection of the pronotum. RNAi knockdown against the Hox gene Sex Combs Reduced resulted in the reduction of both the sex comb in males and the pronotum projection in females. RNAi against the Hox gene Ultrabithorax resulted in the complete loss or reduction of all persistence traits in male rearlegs. These results demonstrate that Hox genes can be involved in intra- and inter-locus sexual conflict and mediate escalation of sexually antagonistic traits
Supplementary Information - Rcodes for modular space
No full textR script for the computation of the modular space
Data from: Incorporating existing thermal tolerance into projections of compositional turnover under climate change
No full textAim: Observed, realized niche space often underestimates species’ physiological tolerances due to interactions with other species, dispersal constraints, and because some combinations of influential environmental factors do not currently exist in the real world. Conversely, correlative ecological niche models rely on the assumption that the range of environmental conditions encompassed by a species’ geographic distribution accurately reflects their environmental tolerances, including community-level approaches like Generalised Dissimilarity Modelling (GDM). We extend GDM to better understand what effect broader environmental tolerances could have on compositional turnover under climate change.
Innovation: We show how GDM can be adjusted as a function of best-available estimates of the average ratio between realized and potential niche widths to modify projected temporal turnover. We demonstrate this approach by using the estimated niche ratios of Australian plant species (n=7184) relative to thermal extremes, and the rate at which this ratio varied with temperature. The modified GDMs showed existing thermal tolerance could reduce the turnover predicted by standard models under climate change by up to 11%. We further show how the reduction in expected turnover by 2090 will influence where a greater proportion of the current community will persist in a region.
Main conclusions: We suggest that standard spatial GDMs and their modified versions represent the extremes of ecological niche perspectives (i.e. realized and potential) and the range of tolerance communities may have when responding to environmental change. GDM projections therefore identify the range of uncertainty associated with a critical model assumption, and as climate change continues, ongoing community monitoring could be used to validate the balance between the two possibilities
Data from: Hyperabundant herbivores limit habitat availability and influence nest-site selection of Arctic-breeding birds
No full text1. Understanding an organism’s habitat selection and behavioural flexibility in the face of environmental change can help managers plan for future conservation of that species. Hyperabundant tundra-nesting geese are influencing Arctic environments through their foraging activities. Goose-induced habitat change in Arctic wetlands may influence the availability of habitat for numerous shorebird species that breed sympatrically with geese. 2. Here, we explore whether goose-induced habitat alteration affects shorebird breeding density and nest-site selection. Using habitat data collected at sites with high, moderate, and low goose influence, and samples collected during two periods separated by 11 years, we document the habitat characteristics influenced by geese. We describe the habitat characteristics preferred by shorebirds and relate their availability to goose influence and shorebird density. Finally, we examine whether shorebird nest-site selection has changed over time and whether shorebirds select nest sites differently in habitat influenced by geese. 3. We report spatial and temporal changes in sedge meadow habitat and lateral concealment relating to goose influence. The availability of sedge meadow habitat and the degree of lateral concealment declined with increasing goose influence, and also declined at two sites over the 11 years of the study. 4. Densities of both cover- and open-nesting shorebirds were highest where goose influence was lowest. At sites with low goose influence, cover-nesting shorebirds selected nest sites with more sedge meadow and concealment than at sites with moderate and high goose influence, presumably because these high quality sites were more available. 5. Synthesis and applications. Our results suggest that goose-induced habitat alteration is influencing the availability of preferred habitat, and the densities of sympatric-nesting shorebirds. Cover-nesting species that prefer moist sedge habitat may be especially susceptible to goose-induced alteration, while upland specialists may be unaffected. Our results underscore the need for management of Arctic goose populations to reduce their impacts on sedge meadow habitats. Studies examining the degree to which these effects scale up to impact the population sizes of declining shorebirds should be considered a future research priority.13-Dec-201
Data & Code
No full textBody mass and fGCM data collected on wild meerkats in the field. R codes for model 1a (body mass in emigrants, returners, and residents), model 1b (fGCM in emigrants, returners, and residents), model 2a (emigrant body mass during dispersal stages), and model 2b (emigrant fGCM during dispersal stages)
Data from: Catastrophic dynamics limit Atlantic cod recovery
No full textCollapses and regime changes are pervasive in complex systems (such as marine ecosystems) governed by multiple stressors. The demise of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) stocks constitutes a text book example of the consequences of overexploiting marine living resources, yet the drivers of these nearly synchronous collapses are still debated. Moreover, it is still unclear why rebuilding of collapsed fish stocks such as cod is often slow or absent. Here we apply the stochastic cusp model, based on catastrophe theory, and show that collapse and recovery of cod stocks are potentially driven by the specific interaction between exploitation pressure and environmental drivers. Our statistical modelling study demonstrates that for most of the cod stocks ocean warming could induce a non-linear discontinuous relationship between fishing pressure and stock size, which would explain hysteresis in their response to reduced exploitation pressure. Our study suggests further that a continuing increase in ocean temperatures will likely limit productivity and hence future fishing opportunities for most cod stocks of the Atlantic Ocean. Moreover, our study contributes to the ongoing discussion on the importance of climate and fishing effects on commercially exploited fish stocks, highlighting the importance of considering discontinuous dynamics in holistic ecosystem-based management approaches, particularly under climate change