How STRANGE are your study animals?

Webster, Michael J.; Rutz, Christian

doi:10.1038/d41586-020-01751-5

Cited by 241 publications

(251 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Even in such a case, using just a few strains, our tool could provide potentially useful benchmarks. Incidentally, heterogenization would be key to make one's experimental outcome more generalizable (49). Importantly, when two groups (e.g., males and females) show differences in variability, we violate homogeneity of variance or homoscedasticity assumptions.…”

Section: Statistical and Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Sexual dimorphism in trait variability and its eco-evolutionary and statistical implications

Zajitschek

Bonduriansky

et al. 2020

eLife

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Biomedical and clinical sciences are experiencing a renewed interest in the fact that males and females differ in many anatomic, physiological, and behavioural traits. Sex differences in trait variability, however, are yet to receive similar recognition. In medical science, mammalian females are assumed to have higher trait variability due to estrous cycles (the ‘estrus-mediated variability hypothesis’); historically in biomedical research, females have been excluded for this reason. Contrastingly, evolutionary theory and associated data support the ‘greater male variability hypothesis’. Here, we test these competing hypotheses in 218 traits measured in >26,900 mice, using meta-analysis methods. Neither hypothesis could universally explain patterns in trait variability. Sex bias in variability was trait-dependent. While greater male variability was found in morphological traits, females were much more variable in immunological traits. Sex-specific variability has eco-evolutionary ramifications, including sex-dependent responses to climate change, as well as statistical implications including power analysis considering sex difference in variance.

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Section: Statistical and Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Sexual dimorphism in trait variability and its eco-evolutionary and statistical implications

Zajitschek

Bonduriansky

et al. 2020

eLife

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“…While we observed patterns of movement, space use and habitat selection that were fairly uniform across our sample, we acknowledge that our inferences are limited due to several biases that may affect our study animals, highlighted by Webster and Rutz (2020). These biases include:…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Restricted constrictors: Space use and habitat selection of native Burmese pythons in Northeast Thailand

Smith

Jones

Marshall

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Animal movement and resource use are tightly linked. Investigating these links to understand how animals utilize space and select habitats is especially relevant in areas that have been affected by habitat fragmentation and agricultural conversion. We set out to explore the space use and habitat selection of Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) in a patchy land use matrix dominated by agricultural crops and human settlements. We used radio telemetry to record daily locations of seven Burmese pythons over the course of our study period of approximately 22 months. We created dynamic Brownian Bridge Movement Models (dBBMMs) for all individuals, using occurrence distributions to estimate extent of movements and motion variance to reveal temporal patterns. Then we used integrated step selection functions to determine whether individual movements were associated with particular landscape features (aquatic agriculture, forest, roads, settlements, terrestrial agriculture, water), and whether there were consistent associations at the population level. Our dBBMM estimates suggested that Burmese pythons made use of small areas (98.97 ± 35.42 ha), with low mean individual motion variance characterized by infrequent moves and long periods at a single location. At both the individual and population level, Burmese pythons in the agricultural matrix were associated with aquatic environments. Only one individual showed a strong avoidance for human settlements which is troublesome from a human-wildlife conflict angle, especially as Burmese pythons have been observed entering human settlements and consuming livestock in our study site. Our study is one of the first to contribute to the knowledge of Burmese python ecology in their native range as the majority of studies have focused on invasive populations.

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“…Despite support for patterns of reduced movement by King Cobras in agricultural landscapes, we encourage caution when extrapolating these findings beyond the study sample. Our sample is likely affected by biases in Trappability & self-selection, Acclimation & habituation, and Genetic make-up (following the categories defined by Webster & Rutz [109]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

No room to roam: King Cobras reduce movement in agriculture

et al. 2020

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Background: Studying animal movement provides insights into how animals react to land-use changes. As agriculture expands, we can use animal movement to examine how animals change their behaviour in response. Recent reviews show a tendency for mammalian species to reduce movements in response to increased human landscape modification, but reptile movements have not been as extensively studied. Methods: We examined movements of a large reptilian predator, the King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah), in Northeast Thailand. We used a consistent regime of radio telemetry tracking to document movements across protected forest and adjacent agricultural areas. Using dynamic Brownian Bridge Movement Model derived motion variance, Integrated Step-Selection Functions, and metrics of site reuse, we examined how King Cobra movements changed in agricultural areas. Results: Motion variance values indicated that King Cobra movements increased in forested areas and tended to decrease in agricultural areas. Our Integrated Step-Selection Functions revealed that when moving in agricultural areas King Cobras restricted their movements to remain within vegetated semi-natural areas, often located along the banks of irrigation canals. Site reuse metrics of residency time and number of revisits appeared unaffected by distance to landscape features (forests, semi-natural areas, settlements, water bodies, and roads). Neither motion variance nor reuse metrics were consistently affected by the presence of threatening landscape features (e.g. roads, human settlements), suggesting that King Cobras will remain in close proximity to threats, provided habitat patches are available. Conclusions: Although King Cobras displayed individual heterogeneity in their response to agricultural landscapes, the overall trend suggested reduced movements when faced with fragmented habitat patches embedded in an otherwise inhospitable land-use matrix. Movement reductions are consistent with findings for mammals and forest specialist species.

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How STRANGE are your study animals?

Cited by 241 publications

References 40 publications

Sexual dimorphism in trait variability and its eco-evolutionary and statistical implications

Sexual dimorphism in trait variability and its eco-evolutionary and statistical implications

Restricted constrictors: Space use and habitat selection of native Burmese pythons in Northeast Thailand

No room to roam: King Cobras reduce movement in agriculture

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