scholarly journals FuTRES: Functional Trait Resource for Environmental Studies

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan Balk ◽  
Ramona Walls ◽  
Robert Guralnick ◽  
Edward Davis ◽  
John Deck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Entire Range ◽  
Environmental Studies ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Logical Framework ◽  
Semantic Framework ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
The Individual

Functional traits are the features of organisms that directly interact with the environment. Studying change and variation in these traits across space, time, and taxonomy can inform how species have responded to environmental and climatic change, how communities are assembled, and other eco-evolutionary questions. Trait data are collected at the individual level; however, animal trait databases often report these data at the species level, undermining their value for researchers who want to look at variation within species and rendering trait data ambiguous when taxonomy is updated. Additionally, these data are often recorded in auxiliary fields, such as “field notes” or hidden in supplementary materials or published tables, making them difficult to recover by researchers. Furthermore, animal trait data from paleontological, zooarchaeological (from archaeological sites), and neontological specimens are typically curated in separate forums and formats that are not easily integrated to provide perspective across the entire range of time. We are developing a toolkit to overcome these challenges called FuTRES: Functional Trait Resource for Environmental Studies. We seek to make these data accessible, standardize trait descriptions across Vertebrata, and teach (future) scientists how to create FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) trait datasets. To make data more FAIR, FuTRES employs ontologies, a logical framework for relating terms to search datasets and standardizing traits across datasets. FuTRES builds off existing ontologies and standards, such as UBERON for anatomical terms and PATO and OBA for trait terms, as well as create new terms that are general enough to be used for all vertebrates and multiple disciplines. This talk will showcase the semantic framework underpinning FuTRES, describe how we are linking diverse trait datasets to ontologies and, therefore, each other, and report the results of a preliminary analysis of integrated datasets.

scholarly journals On the modelling of tropical tree growth: the importance of intra-specific trait variation, non-linear functions and phenotypic integration

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Yang ◽  
Xiaoyang Song ◽  
Min Cao ◽  
Xiaobao Deng ◽  
Wenfu Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Growth ◽  
Bayesian Models ◽  
Species Level ◽  
Linear Functions ◽  
Plant Performance ◽  
Growth Data ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Individual Trees

Abstract Background and Aims The composition and dynamics of plant communities arise from individual-level demographic outcomes, which are driven by interactions between phenotypes and the environment. Functional traits that can be measured across plants are frequently used to model plant growth and survival. Perhaps surprisingly, species average trait values are often used in these studies and, in some cases, these trait values come from other regions or averages calculated from global databases. This data aggregation potentially results in a large loss of valuable information that probably results in models of plant performance that are weak or even misleading. Methods We present individual-level trait and fine-scale growth data from >500 co-occurring individual trees from 20 species in a Chinese tropical rain forest. We construct Bayesian models of growth informed by theory and construct hierarchical Bayesian models that utilize both individual- and species-level trait data, and compare these models with models only using individual-level data. Key Results We show that trait–growth relationships measured at the individual level vary across species, are often weak using commonly measured traits and do not align with the results of analyses conducted at the species level. However, when we construct individual-level models of growth using leaf area ratio approximations and integrated phenotypes, we generated strong predictive models of tree growth. Conclusions Here, we have shown that individual-level models of tree growth that are built using integrative traits always outperform individual-level models of tree growth that use commonly measured traits. Furthermore, individual-level models, generally, do not support the findings of trait–growth relationships quantified at the species level. This indicates that aggregating trait and growth data to the species level results in poorer and probably misleading models of how traits are related to tree performance.

scholarly journals Converting, Monitoring, and Policing PrEP Citizenship: Biosexual Citizenship and the PrEP Surveillance Regime

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 641-661 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Orne ◽  
James Gall
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Community Resources ◽  
Institutional Practices ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Symbolic Resources ◽  
Health Strategy ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Exposure Prophylaxis

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a revolutionary public health strategy to prevent HIV infection but comes with a significant personal and structural surveillance regime. Using interview data with gay, bi, and queer men on PrEP, field notes, and document analysis, we discuss the individual and institutional practices that produce what we call PrEP citizenship. Drawing on the concept of biosexual citizenship, we show how PrEP citizenship involves surveillance for compliance with use and behavioral guidelines, expanding the PrEP population, and allocating community resources to PrEP users over non-PrEP users. On the individual level, users surveil themselves and others for proper use and sexual behavior, identify nonusers and evangelize PrEP use to them, and stigmatize non-PrEP users as irresponsible, immoral, and potentially infectious. Similarly, on the institutional level, public health, medical authorities, and sexual community infrastructure work to ensure PrEP users remain adherent, increase the user base, and grant material and symbolic resources to PrEP users. PrEP citizenship has implications for the role of the co-production of surveillance in conceptions of biosexual citizenship.

scholarly journals No simple answers for ecological immunology: relationships among immune indices at the individual level break down at the species level in waterfowl

2005 ◽  
Vol 273 (1588) ◽  
pp. 815-822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin D Matson ◽  
Alan A Cohen ◽  
Kirk C Klasing ◽  
Robert E Ricklefs ◽  
Alexander Scheuerlein
Keyword(s):  
Species Level ◽  
Ecological Immunology ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Individual

scholarly journals Where do Functional Traits Come From? The role of theory and models

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Kearney ◽  
Melodie McGeoch ◽  
Steven Chown
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Environmental Variability ◽  
Predictive Modelling ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Species Traits ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Predictive Capacity ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
High Level

There is a growing focus on species’ traits in ecology, including initiatives to integrate trait data into biodiversity databases. This focus is motivated in part by a need to develop better predictive capacity for how species respond to environmental change. In this context, one is interested in functional traits – i.e. those with a defined link to environmental variability. This leads immediately to the questions of which traits to prioritise and how to characterise them. Here we argue that this can be achieved with greatest clarity by letting traits be defined by the equations of theoretical models that link individuals to their environments, i.e. mechanistic niche models. We illustrate this approach using the biophysical equations of heat and water exchange, and the metabolic equations of ontogentic growth. From this we derive a schema for a functional trait database that provides a high level of generality and consistency across taxa, and hooks into integrated predictive modelling frameworks. We argue that functional trait attribution at levels above the individual are unhelpful, but discuss how inferences can be made from individual-level functional trait data to populations and species.

Differential Effects of Competence and Morality on Self-Esteem at the Individual and the Collective Level

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-198
Author(s):  
Wiktor Soral ◽  
Mirosław Kofta
Keyword(s):  
Self Esteem ◽  
Differential Effects ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Individual

Abstract. The importance of various trait dimensions explaining positive global self-esteem has been the subject of numerous studies. While some have provided support for the importance of agency, others have highlighted the importance of communion. This discrepancy can be explained, if one takes into account that people define and value their self both in individual and in collective terms. Two studies ( N = 367 and N = 263) examined the extent to which competence (an aspect of agency), morality, and sociability (the aspects of communion) promote high self-esteem at the individual and the collective level. In both studies, competence was the strongest predictor of self-esteem at the individual level, whereas morality was the strongest predictor of self-esteem at the collective level.

Metonymy in Dance: Ballet Bunheads Take a Cognitive Turn

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-34
Author(s):  
Edward C. Warburton
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Artistic Development ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Figures Of Speech ◽  
Self Image ◽  
Level I ◽  
Dance Educators ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Metaphor And Metonymy

This essay considers metonymy in dance from the perspective of cognitive science. My goal is to unpack the roles of metaphor and metonymy in dance thought and action: how do they arise, how are they understood, how are they to be explained, and in what ways do they determine a person's doing of dance? The premise of this essay is that language matters at the cultural level and can be determinative at the individual level. I contend that some figures of speech, especially metonymic labels like ‘bunhead’, can not only discourage but dehumanize young dancers, treating them not as subjects who dance but as objects to be danced. The use of metonymy to sort young dancers may undermine the development of healthy self-image, impede strong identity formation, and retard creative-artistic development. The paper concludes with a discussion of the influence of metonymy in dance and implications for dance educators.

AN IMPROVED METHOD FOR THE ASSAY OF PROGESTERONE BY COMPETITIVE PROTEIN BINDING

1970 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. D. Reeves ◽  
M. L. A. de Souza ◽  
I. E. Thompson ◽  
E. Diczfalusy
Keyword(s):  
Protein Binding ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Entire Range ◽  
Improved Method ◽  
Plasma Progesterone ◽  
Extraction And Purification ◽  
Corticosteroid Binding Globulin ◽  
Competitive Protein Binding ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Range Of Values

ABSTRACT An improved method for the assay of plasma progesterone by competitive protein binding is described. The improvement is based upon rigorous control of the variables, the compensation for and standardisation of interfering factors inherent in the method and the use of a human corticosteroid binding globulin, that meets the requirements for sensitivity at levels of 1.0 ng of progesterone and below. The assessment of the reliability of the individual steps in the method as well as that of the complete method is presented. The sensitivity of the method is around 0.2 ng progesterone per ml plasma. Accuracy was measured by adding progesterone in amounts ranging from 0.0 to 1.0 ng to 1.0 ml plasma. There was a linear relationship between the progesterone added and recovered throughout the entire range of values, with a coefficient of correlation (r) of 0.94. Of 52 related steroids tested, none was found which would remain associated with progesterone following extraction and purification and which would also compete with progesterone for binding sites.

Exploring the effect of weight loss on food reward at the individual level

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Oustric ◽  
Kristine Beaulieu ◽  
Nuno Casanova ◽  
Francois Husson ◽  
Catherine Gibbons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
Food Reward ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Individual

Personality change and environmental concerns

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher James Hopwood ◽  
Ted Schwaba ◽  
Wiebke Bleidorn
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Environmental Concerns ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
German Population ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Sustainable Behavior ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Over Time

Personal concerns about climate change and the environment are a powerful motivator of sustainable behavior. People’s level of concern varies as a function of a variety of social and individual factors. Using data from 58,748 participants from a nationally representative German sample, we tested preregistered hypotheses about factors that impact concerns about the environment over time. We found that environmental concerns increased modestly from 2009-2017 in the German population. However, individuals in middle adulthood tended to be more concerned and showed more consistent increases in concern over time than younger or older people. Consistent with previous research, Big Five personality traits were correlated with environmental concerns. We present novel evidence that increases in concern were related to increases in the personality traits neuroticism and openness to experience. Indeed, changes in openness explained roughly 50% of the variance in changes in environmental concerns. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the individual level factors associated with changes in environmental concerns over time, towards the promotion of more sustainable behavior at the individual level.

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