cometadata/datacite-titles-descriptions-related-identifiers huggingface dataset:
DOI: 10.5683/sp2/jpxdgp
title: Data from: Do thermoregulatory costs limit altitude distributions of Andean forest birds?

description: AbstractAlong tropical mountains, species often occupy narrow altitude ranges. Numerous biotic and abiotic factors have been proposed as determinants of altitude occupancy. We measured several aspects of thermal physiology of 215 bird species across a 2·6-km altitude gradient in the Peruvian Andes. We predicted that highland species would show adaptation to the colder high-altitude climate and that energy costs of thermoregulation might limit upslope dispersal of lowland natives. We found reductions in thermal conductance, body temperature and lower critical temperature in highland birds compared with lowland species. These combine to make highland natives more resistant to heat loss. We did not find convincing evidence that acute thermal limits or energy costs of thermoregulation constrained altitude distributions. Heat-budget models predicted low-to-moderate long-term costs at native altitudes. Costs increased for lowland natives modelled in the highland climate, but for all but a few species, costs remained within putative expenditure limits. Although we did not test heat tolerances, we measured all species at temperatures similar to the hottest air temperatures at the lowland site. There was no evidence that high lowland temperatures preclude downslope movements of highland birds. While thermal tolerances probably do not directly determine altitude occupancy by most species, the additional energy cost of thermoregulation experienced by lowland species moving upslope may trade off against investment in important life-history components such as breeding, and thereby affect altitude range limits.
DOI: 10.5683/sp2/18vbfc
title: Data from: Domesticated tomatoes are more vulnerable to negative plant-soil feedbacks than their wild relatives

description: AbstractDomesticated plants can differ from their wild counterparts in the strength and outcome of species interactions, both above- and belowground. Plant-soil feedbacks influence plant success, and plant-associated soil microbial communities can influence plant interactions with herbivores and their natural enemies, yet, it is unclear if domestication has changed these relationships. To determine the effects of domestication on plant-soil interactions, we characterized soil microbial communities associated with various cultivars of domesticated tomato and some of its wild relatives. We measured the strength and direction of plant-soil feedbacks for domesticated and wild tomatoes, and the effects of soil on plant resistance to specialist herbivory by Manduca sexta, and the attraction of a parasitoid wasp, Cotesia congregata. Domesticated tomatoes and their wild relatives had negative plant-soil feedbacks, as conspecifics cultivated soil that negatively impacted performance of subsequent plants (longer germination time, lower biomass) than if they grew in non-tomato soils. Significant variation existed among domesticated and wild tomato varieties in the strength of these feedbacks, ranging from neutral to strongly negative. For aboveground plant biomass, tomato wild relatives were unaffected by growing in tomato-conditioned soil while domesticated tomatoes grew smaller in tomato soil, indicating effects of plant domestication. Overall, increased microbial biomass within the rhizosphere resulted in progressively less-negative plant-soil feedbacks. Plant cultivars had different levels of resistance to herbivory by M. sexta, but this did not depend on plant domestication or soil type. The parasitoid C. congregata was primarily attracted to herbivore damaged plants, independent of plant domestication status, and for these damaged plants, wasps preferred some cultivars over others, and wild plants grown in tomato soil over wild plants grown in non-tomato soil. Synthesis: These results indicate that crop tomatoes are more likely to show negative plant-soil feedbacks than wild progenitors, which could partially explain their sensitivity to monocultures in agricultural soils. Further, cultivar-specific variation in the ability to generate soil microbial biomass, independent of domestication status, appears to buffer the negative consequences of sharing the same soil. Last, soil legacies were relatively absent for herbivores, but not for parasitoid wasps, suggesting trophic level specificity in soil feedbacks on plant-insect interactions.
DOI: 10.5683/sp2/cm23ol
title: Data from: Double decomposition: decomposing the variance in subcomponents of male extra-pair reproductive success

description: Abstract1. Extra-pair reproductive success (EPRS) is a key component of male fitness in socially monogamous systems and could cause selection on female extra-pair reproduction if extra-pair offspring (EPO) inherit high value for EPRS from their successful extra-pair fathers. However, EPRS is itself a composite trait that can be fully decomposed into subcomponents of variation, each of which can be further decomposed into genetic and environmental variances. However, such decompositions have not been implemented in wild populations, impeding evolutionary inference. 2. We first show that EPRS can be decomposed into the product of three life-history subcomponents: the number of broods available to a focal male to sire EPO, the male's probability of siring an EPO in an available brood and the number of offspring in available broods. This decomposition of EPRS facilitates estimation from field data because all subcomponents can be quantified from paternity data without need to quantify extra-pair matings. Our decomposition also highlights that the number of available broods, and hence population structure and demography, might contribute substantially to variance in male EPRS and fitness. 3. We then used 20 years of complete genetic paternity and pedigree data from wild song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) to partition variance in each of the three subcomponents of EPRS, and thereby estimate their additive genetic variance and heritability conditioned on effects of male coefficient of inbreeding, age and social status. 4. All three subcomponents of EPRS showed some degree of within-male repeatability, reflecting combined permanent environmental and genetic effects. Number of available broods and offspring per brood showed low additive genetic variances. The estimated additive genetic variance in extra-pair siring probability was larger, although the 95% credible interval still converged towards zero. Siring probability also showed inbreeding depression and increased with male age, while the numbers of available broods and offspring per brood did not. 5. Our results indicate that the probability that a male will sire an EPO in an available brood is the primary source of genetic variation in male EPRS, implying that the evolution of female extra-pair reproduction could be facilitated by genetic covariance with this subcomponent of EPRS.
DOI: 10.5683/sp2/1bdh0a
title: Data from: Early arrival and climatically-linked geographic expansion of New World monkeys from tiny African ancestors

description: AbstractNew World monkeys (platyrrhines) are one of the most diverse groups of primates, occupying today a wide range of ecosystems in the American tropics and exhibiting large variations in ecology, morphology, and behavior. Although the relationships among the almost 200 living species are relatively well understood, we lack robust estimates of the timing of origin, ancestral morphology, and geographic range evolution of the clade. Here we integrate paleontological and molecular evidence to assess the evolutionary dynamics of extinct and extant platyrrhines. We develop novel analytical frameworks to infer the evolution of body mass, changes in latitudinal ranges through time, and species diversification rates using a phylogenetic tree of living and fossil taxa. Our results show that platyrrhines originated 5–10 million years earlier than previously assumed, dating back to the Middle Eocene. The estimated ancestral platyrrhine was small – weighing 0.4 kg – and matched the size of their presumed African ancestors. As the three platyrrhine families diverged, we recover a rapid change in body mass range. During the Miocene Climatic Optimum, fossil diversity peaked and platyrrhines reached their widest latitudinal range, expanding as far South as Patagonia, favored by warm and humid climate and the lower elevation of the Andes. Finally, global cooling and aridification after the middle Miocene triggered a geographic contraction of New World monkeys and increased their extinction rates. These results unveil the full evolutionary trajectory of an iconic and ecologically important radiation of monkeys and showcase the necessity of integrating fossil and molecular data for reliably estimating evolutionary rates and trends.
DOI: 10.5683/sp2/nq5dgu
title: Data from: Early bursts of body size and shape evolution are rare in comparative data

description: AbstractGeorge Gaylord Simpson famously postulated that much of life's diversity originated as adaptive radiations—more or less simultaneous divergences of numerous lines from a single ancestral adaptive type. However, identifying adaptive radiations has proven difficult due to a lack of broad-scale comparative datasets. Here, we use phylogenetic comparative data on body size and shape in a diversity of animal clades to test a key model of adaptive radiation, in which initially rapid morphological evolution is followed by relative stasis. We compared the fit of this model to both single selective peak and random walk models. We found little support for the early-burst model of adaptive radiation, whereas both other models, particularly that of selective peaks, were commonly supported. In addition, we found that the net rate of morphological evolution varied inversely with clade age. The youngest clades appear to evolve most rapidly because long-term change typically does not attain the amount of divergence predicted from rates measured over short time scales. Across our entire analysis, the dominant pattern was one of constraints shaping evolution continually through time rather than rapid evolution followed by stasis. We suggest that the classical model of adaptive radiation, where morphological evolution is initially rapid and slows through time, may be rare in comparative data.
DOI: 10.5683/sp2/e8aygf
title: Data from: Ecological mechanisms and phylogeny shape invertebrate stoichiometry: a test using detritus-based communities across Central and South America

description: Abstract1. Stoichiometric differences among organisms can affect trophic interactions and rates of nutrient cycling within ecosystems. However, we still know little about either the underlying causes of these stoichiometric differences, or the consistency of these differences across large geographic extents. 2. Here we analyze elemental (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus) composition of 872 aquatic macroinvertebrates (71 species) inhabiting tank bromeliads (n = 140) from five distantly located sites across Central and South America to (1) test phylogenetic, trophic and body size scaling explanations for why organisms differ in elemental composition, and (2) determine if patterns in elemental composition are universal or context-dependent. 3. Taxonomy explained most variance in elemental composition, even though phylogenetic signals were weak and limited to regional spatial extents and to the family level. The highest elemental contents and lowest carbon:nutrient ratios were found in organisms at high trophic levels and with smaller body size, regardless of geographic location. 4. Carnivores may have higher nutrient content and lower carbon:nutrient ratios than their prey, as organisms optimize growth by choosing the most nutrient-rich resources to consume and then preferentially retain nutrients over carbon in their bodies. Smaller organisms grow proportionally faster than large organisms, and so are predicted to have higher nutrient requirements to fuel RNA and protein synthesis. Geography influenced the magnitude, more than the direction, of the ecological and/or phylogenetic effects on elemental composition. 5. Overall, our results show that both ecological (i.e., trophic group) and evolutionary drivers explain among-taxa variation in the elemental content of invertebrates, whereas intraspecific variation is mainly a function of body size. Our findings also demonstrate that restricting analyses of macroinvertebrate stoichiometry solely to either the local scale or species level affects inferences of the patterns in invertebrate elemental content, and their underlying mechanisms.
DOI: 10.5683/sp2/cddbhu
title: Data from: Effects of climate change on habitat availability and configuration for an endemic coastal alpine bird

description: AbstractNorth America’s coastal mountains are particularly vulnerable to climate change, yet harbour a number of endemic species. With little room “at the top” to track shifting climate envelopes, alpine species may be especially negatively affected by climate-induced habitat fragmentation. We ask how climate change will affect the total amount, mean patch size, and number of patches of suitable habitat for Vancouver Island White-tailed Ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura saxatilis; VIWTP), a threatened, endemic alpine bird. Using a Random Forest model and a unique dataset consisting of citizen science observations combined with field surveys, we predict the distribution and configuration of potential suitable summer habitat for VIWTP under current and future (2020s, 2050s, and 2080s) climates using three general circulation models and two greenhouse gas concentration scenarios. VIWTP summer habitat is predicted to decline by an average of 25%, 44%, and 56% by the 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s, respectively, under the low greenhouse gas scenario and 27%, 59%, and 74% under the high scenario. Habitat patches are predicted to become fragmented into several smaller patches, with a 52-79% reduction in mean patch size. All climate change models and greenhouse gas scenarios depict near total loss of all patches &gt; 1 km2. Most remaining habitat, or climate macro-refugia, will be located in the center of the island. The extent to which ptarmigan will be able to persist in increasingly fragmented habitat is unclear. Much will depend on the ability of ptarmigan to move throughout a more heterogeneous landscape, utilize smaller breeding areas, and survive increasingly variable climate extremes. Our results emphasize the importance of continued monitoring and protection for high elevation specialist species, and suggest that White-tailed Ptarmigan should be considered an indicator species for alpine ecosystems in the face of climate change.
DOI: 10.5683/sp2/uj4yvp
title: Data from: Effects of gene action, marker density, and time since selection on the performance of landscape genomic scans of local adaptation

description: AbstractGenomic “scans” to identify loci that contribute to local adaptation are becoming increasingly common. Many methods used for such studies have assumed that local adaptation is created by loci experiencing antagonistic pleiotropy and that the selected locus itself is assayed, and few consider how signals of selection change through time. However, most empirical data sets have marker density too low to assume that a selected locus itself is assayed, researchers seldom know when selection was first imposed, and many locally adapted loci likely experience not antagonistic pleiotropy but conditional neutrality. We simulated data to evaluate how these factors affect the performance of tests for genotype-environment association. We found that three types of regression-based analyses (linear models, mixed linear models, and latent factor mixed models) and an implementation of BayEnv all performed well, with high rates of true positives and low rates of false positives, when the selected locus experienced antagonistic pleiotropy, and when the selected locus was assayed directly. However, all tests had reduced power to detect loci experiencing conditional neutrality, and the probability of detecting associations was sharply reduced when physically linked rather than causative loci were sampled. Antagonistic pleiotropy also maintained detectable genotype-environment associations much longer than conditional neutrality. Our analyses suggest that if local adaptation is often driven by loci experiencing conditional neutrality, genome-scan methods will have limited capacity to find loci responsible for local adaptation.
DOI: 10.5683/sp2/uzfc4z
title: Data from: Effects of host colony size and hygiene behaviors on social spider kleptoparasite loads along an elevation gradient

description: Abstract1.Group living animals are likely to attract more parasites than solitary ones. Parasite loads, however, should also depend on environmental conditions and on host characteristics and behaviors. Previous work has found that social spider colonies harbor communities of kleptoparasitic spiders thats forego building their own web and, instead, steal prey from their social host. 2.We examined parasite loads and host hygiene behaviors in colonies of social and subsocial spiders in the genus Anelosimus along an elevation gradient in eastern Ecuador. 3.We found that parasite loads declined dramatically with increasing elevation. Host hygiene behaviors, such as debris removal, web repair, and interactions with the parasites, also declined with elevation. Within elevations, species with more frequent hygiene behaviors appeared more successful at keeping parasites at bay. Contrary to our predictions, parasite density declined with host nest and colony size. 4.The decline in parasite loads at higher elevations likely reflects a lower rate of energy exchange between colonies and their environments, where colder temperatures mean fewer and smaller prey for colonies to process. The decline in parasite density with host colony size may reflect a decline in the number of accessible prey in larger host colonies, as larger colonies should capture fewer but larger insects due to scaling properties of their three dimensional webs. 5.Social immunity, whereby a social host uses social behaviour to fight against parasites, has been studied in eusocial and non‐eusocial insects. This study opens up social spiders as a novel system in which to study how host characteristics interact with environmental factors to affect parasite loads. It also introduces the concept of group‐level immunity to social spiders and suggests a role for colony‐level metabolism in determining ecological patterns in parasitism.
DOI: 10.5683/sp2/vfrnkg
title: Data from: Effects of predatory ants within and across ecosystems in bromeliad food webs

description: AbstractPredation is one of the most fundamental ecological processes affecting biotic communities. Terrestrial predators that live at ecosystem boundaries may alter the diversity of terrestrial organisms, but they may also have cross-ecosystem cascading effects when they feed on organisms with complex life cycles (i.e. organisms that shift from aquatic juvenile stages to terrestrial adult stages) or inhibit female oviposition in the aquatic environment. The predatory ant Odontomachus hastatus establishes its colonies among roots of Vriesea procera, an epiphytic bromeliad species with water-filled tanks that shelters many terrestrial and aquatic organisms. Ants may impact terrestrial communities and deter adult insects from ovipositing in the water of bromeliads via consumptive and non-consumptive effects. Ants do not forage within the aquatic environment; thus, they may be more efficient predators on terrestrial organisms. Therefore, we predict that ants will have stronger effects on terrestrial than aquatic food webs. However, such effects may also be site contingent and depend on the local composition of food webs. To test our hypothesis, we surveyed bromeliads with and without O. hastatus colonies from three different coastal field sites in the Atlantic Forest of southeast Brazil, and quantified the effect of this predatory ant on the composition, density and richness of aquatic and terrestrial metazoans found in these bromeliads. We found that ants changed the composition and reduced the overall density of aquatic and terrestrial metazoans in bromeliad ecosystems. However, effects of ants on species diversity were contingent on site. In general terms, the effects of the ant on aquatic and terrestrial metazoan communities were similar in strength and magnitude. Ants reduced the density of virtually all aquatic functional groups, especially detritivore insects as well as metazoans that reach bromeliads through phoresy on the skin of terrestrial animals (i.e. Ostracoda and Helobdella sp.). Our results suggest that the cross-ecosystem effect of this terrestrial predator on the aquatic metazoans was at least as strong as its within-ecosystem effect on the terrestrial ecosystem, and demonstrates that the same predator can simultaneously initiate cascades in multiple ecosystems.
DOI: 10.5683/sp2/8fyons
title: Data from: Effects of riparian forest harvest on streams: a meta-analysis

description: Abstract1. Riparian forest harvesting impacts streams in many ways, from altering temperature regimes, shifting geomorphic structure, increasing sediment fluxes and affecting fish populations. However, we have noted considerable variation in the results between studies that led us to ask whether the effects of forest harvesting on streams were consistent between studies. We used meta-analysis of 34 replicated studies to address the effects of riparian logging on biological and chemical components of streams in contrast to control sites. 2. We found that the overall effect sizes of several response variables in replicated studies were significantly higher than zero, especially benthic invertebrates, and nitrogen and potassium concentrations. However, there was a very large amount of variation in the effect sizes between studies, and for many measures, the effect sizes from different studies were positive or negative, indicating site-specific responses. 3. We explored whether stream size, stream gradient and regional potential evapotranspiration could explain some of the effect size variation between studies. Relations with these environmental variables were weak, but suggestive that some of the context-specific, individual outcomes might be due to underlying environmental differences between sites. 4. Synthesis and applications. Despite relatively low numbers of replicated studies, we found significant overall effects of riparian forest harvesting although the magnitude and direction of responses within individual studies were site specific. This lack of consistency in the direction of effect sizes suggests we need a more context-dependent approach to the protection of freshwaters from forest management.
DOI: 10.5683/sp2/lbj5hf
title: Data from: EFHC1, implicated in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, functions at the cilium and synapse to modulate dopamine signaling

description: AbstractNeurons throughout the mammalian brain possess non-motile cilia, organelles with varied functions in sensory physiology and cellular signaling, yet their roles in these neurons are poorly understood. To shed light into their functions, we studied EFHC1, an evolutionarily conserved protein required for motile cilia function and linked to a common form of inherited epilepsy in humans, juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). We demonstrate that C. elegans EFHC1 functions within specialized non-motile mechanosensory cilia, where it regulates neuronal activation and dopamine signaling. EFHC1 also localizes at the synapse, where it further modulates dopamine signaling in cooperation with the orthologue of an R-type voltage-gated calcium channel. Our findings unveil a previously undescribed dual-regulation of neuronal excitability at sites of neuronal sensory input (cilium) and neuronal output (synapse). Such a distributed regulatory mechanism may be essential for establishing neuronal activation thresholds under physiological conditions, and when impaired, may represent a novel pathomechanism for epilepsy.