MotivationThe BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community‐led open‐source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene.Main types of variables includedThe database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains metadata relating to sampling methodology and contextual information about each record.Spatial location and grainBioTIME is a global database of 547,161 unique sampling locations spanning the marine, freshwater and terrestrial realms. Grain size varies across datasets from 0.0000000158 km2 (158 cm2) to 100 km2 (1,000,000,000,000 cm2).Time period and grainBioTIME records span from 1874 to 2016. The minimal temporal grain across all datasets in BioTIME is a year.Major taxa and level of measurementBioTIME includes data from 44,440 species across the plant and animal kingdoms, ranging from plants, plankton and terrestrial invertebrates to small and large vertebrates.Software format.csv and .SQL.
The use of unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), commonly referred to as drones, has rapidly expanded across many scientific disciplines. Like other fields, fisheries research would benefit significantly from broader use of this emerging technology but has lagged behind other disciplines. Like the implementation of satellite and aircraft‐based remote sensing technology in previous decades brought a greater understanding of large‐scale spatial patterns and processes, UAS technology has the potential to put those tools in the hands of individual researchers, allowing implementation at finer spatial and temporal scales for a fraction of the cost. Our goal is to provide a “how‐to” for fisheries researchers interested in using UAS technology. We outline the necessary steps for any UAS project from choosing the appropriate platform and sensors to data acquisition and analysis. We also present the current ways in which UASs are being used in a fisheries research context as well as potential future research directions.
A critical challenge to understanding the response of ecosystems to anthropogenic drivers is characterizing the spatial and temporal variability of controls on food web dynamics. We used a long-term (9 yr) isotope survey and a community metric isotope approach to determine the major physical factors influencing the source of energy to estuarine food webs. Overall, food web architecture was similar throughout the estuary, but there were some spatial differences. We observed greater overall variability in the primary production source to the food web in the upper estuary (which is more influenced by freshwater inputs) compared with the middle and lower estuary. The trophic level of one dominant species, mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus, was also highly correlated with tidal height, which controls high marsh access in the middle estuary. We also observed a strong influence of freshwater input on the benthic−pelagic coupling in the upper estuary. Our work demonstrates that the temporal and spatial variability of food webs in estuarine systems is highly coupled to physical drivers.
Seascape ecology, the marine-centric counterpart to landscape ecology, is rapidly emerging as an interdisciplinary and spatially explicit ecological science with relevance to marine management, biodiversity conservation, and restoration. While important progress in this field has been made in the past decade, there has been no coherent prioritisation of key research questions to help set the future research agenda for seascape ecology. We used a 2-stage modified Delphi method to solicit applied research questions from academic experts in seascape ecology and then asked respondents to identify priority questions across 9 interrelated research themes using 2 rounds of selection. We also invited senior management/conservation practitioners to prioritise the same research questions. Analyses highlighted congruence and discrepancies in perceived priorities for applied research. Themes related to both ecological concepts and management practice, and those identified as priorities include seascape change, seascape connectivity, spatial and temporal scale, ecosystem-based management, and emerging technologies and metrics. Highest-priority questions (upper tercile) received 50% agreement between respondent groups, and lowest priorities (lower tercile) received 58% agreement. Across all 3 priority tiers, 36 of the 55 questions were within a ±10% band of agreement. We present the most important applied research questions as determined by the proportion of votes received. For each theme, we provide a synthesis of the research challenges and the potential role of seascape ecology. These priority questions and themes serve as a roadmap for advancing applied seascape ecology during, and beyond, the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).
34We evaluated the potential contribution of allochthonous biomass subsidies to the upper 35 trophic levels of offshore food webs in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico (GOM). We made this 36 evaluation considering nitrogen, an essential and often limiting nutrient in coastal ecosystems, to 37 estimate the potential production of within-ecosystem biomass relative to the known import of 38 biomass from an adjacent seagrass dominated ecosystem. When adjusted for trophic transfer 39 efficiency, we found the biomass subsidy from a single species (pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides) 40 from neashore seagrass habitat to the offshore GOM to be greater than the amount of nitrogen 41 exported by a two major rivers and local submarine ground water discharge. Our calculations 42show that seagrass-derived biomass accounts for ~25% of the total potential production in the 43 northeastern GOM. This estimate is in agreement with a previous study that found 18.5-25% of 44 the biomass in a predatory reef fish was derived from seagrass biomass inputs. These results 45 indicate that all of the sources we consider account for the majority of the nitrogen available to 46 the food web in the northeastern GOM. Our approach could be adapted to other coupled 47 ecosystems to determine the relative importance of biomass subsidies to coastal ocean food 48 webs. 49
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