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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.

We evaluated students' perceptions and reactions to an active learning Karaoke Video project in both a large (104 student) undergraduate class in Natural History of Georgia and a small graduate seminar in Fish Ecology. Undergraduate responses were evaluated with both questionnaires and triangulation interviews and graduate student responses evaluated with interviews alone. There was a slight majority of first and second year students (64%) in the undergraduate class. Students' majors/proposed majors were dominated by non-science categories, with 76% reporting non-science and 11% reporting science (13% no response). The overwhelming response of students to the 10 question Karaoke Video project questionnaire was positive (p << 0.0001), and 83% responded that the project aided in learning class material. Triangulation interview responses from undergraduate students supported questionnaire results, and graduate students also generally perceived the exercise as positive. Our results indicate that both undergraduate and graduate students responded positively to the Karaoke Video project and that these responses did not vary over several potential inter-student biases. This project was completed with the approval of the Institutional Review Board of the University of Georgia.

The Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta (Delta) is a heterogeneous, highly modified aquatic system. I reviewed relevant predator–prey theory, and described extant data on predator–prey relationships of Delta fishes. I ranked predator consumption rates as occasional, moderate, and common, based on frequency-of-occurrence data, and evaluated the frequency, and hypothesized the effects of predation on native and invasive species. I identified 32 different predator categories and 41 different prey categories. Most predators were occasional consumers of individual prey species, although I also observed moderate and common consumption of some prey types. My analysis yielded few generalizations regarding predator–prey interactions for Delta fishes; most predators consumed a variety of both native and invasive fishes. The only evidence for predator specialization on either native or invasive fishes occurred in Prickly Sculpin which, when it consumed fishes, ate mostly native species. Both Striped and Largemouth Bass exhibited wide dietary breadth, preying upon 32 and 28 categories of fish prey respectively. Sacramento Pikeminnow, a native predator, also displayed wide dietary breadth of piscine prey, with 14 different prey categories consumed. Data for reptilian, avian, and mammalian predators were sparse; however, these predators may be significant fish predators in altered habitats or when hatchery salmonids are released. The database for predators and their fish prey was not strong, and I recommend long-term dietary studies combined with prey availability and behavioral and experimental studies to establish predator preferences and anti-predator behaviors, rather than just consumption. The behavioral effects of contaminants on prey species also warrant further examination. Although it has been suggested that a reduction in the Striped Bass population be implemented to reduce predation mortality of Chinook Salmon, the large number of salmon predators in the Delta make it unlikely that this effort will significantly affect salmon mortality.

We evaluated student perceptions of an inquiry-based, karaoke video exercise in six university classes ranging from first year to graduate level. Students created a 3-4 minute karaoke video on a topic relevant to class. Student responses to the project based on questionnaires and triangulation interviews were strongly positive. Students did not demonstrate a preference for the different parts of the exercise (e.g., writing lyrics, research, singing, etc.). Musical experience (low, average, high) had a significant effect on the number of positive responses from students; however, students' majors had no impact on their responses. Triangulation interviews from students in all classes were strongly positive, and a simple trend analysis indicated that many students found the exercise: (a) was new, (b) was creative, (c) facilitated deeper learning, and (d) was enjoyable. Studies that evaluate inquiry-based classroom exercises over multiple classes and university levels are uncommon, and this is one of the first to show strong positive student responses to an inquiry-based, music-based exercise over courses ranging from first-year to graduate seminars.

Most fishes residing in temperate streams in the Northern Hemisphere are drift-feeders. Despite this fact, little is known about the mechanisms of drift-feeding itself. We used Alaskan Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus), an abundant boreal drift-feeder, to examine the effects of water velocity on several aspects of drift-feeding behavior and test predictions of the Grossman et al. (2002) net energy intake model for microhabitat choice. Water velocity had a negative effect on prey capture, a positive effect on holding velocity, and little effect on reactive distance. We also found that dominance was a better predictor of prey capture success than size rank, although neither of these variables influenced holding velocity or reactive distance. The Grossman et al. (2002) model successfully predicted holding velocities of grayling in one Alaskan stream, but not another. Model failure might have occurred due to higher turbulence, increased predation, or interspecific competition with Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma). These results help inform the study of habitat selection in drift-feeding fishes as well as management and conservation of Arctic grayling. Bien que la plupart des poissons residant dans des cours d'eau temperes de l'hemisphere nord s'alimentent d'organismes en derive, les connaissances sur les mecanismes qui sous-tendent ce type d'alimentation sont tres limitees. Nous utilisons l'ombre arctique (Thymallus arcticus) de l'Alaska, un poisson boreal abondant se nourrissant d'organismes en derive, pour examiner les effets de la vitesse de l'eau sur plusieurs aspects du comportement de consommation d'organismes en derive et pour valider des predictions du modele d'apport energetique net de Grossman et al. (2002) pour le choix de microhabitats. La vitesse de l'eau a un effet negatif sur la capture de proies, un effet positif sur la vitesse de maintien et peu d'effet sur la distance de reaction. Nous avons egalement note que la dominance est un meilleur predicteur du succes de capture de proies que le rang de la taille, bien que ni l'une ni l'autre de ces variables n'influence la vitesse de maintien ni la distance de reaction. Le modele de Grossman etal. (2002) predit avec succes les vitesses de maintien d'ombres dans un cours d'eau en Alaska, mais pas dans un autre. L'echec du modele pourrait etre le fait d'une plus grande turbulence, d'une predation accrue ou de la concurrence interspecifique de Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma). Ces resultats sont utiles pour l'etude de la selection d'habitats chez les poissons s'alimentent d'organismes en derive ainsi que pour la gestion et la conservation de l'ombre arctique. [Traduit par la Redaction], Introduction Why do individuals occupy some microhabitats (the physical and biological characteristics at the position of an individual) and not others? In freshwater organisms, a variety of mechanistic processes affect [...]

Understanding how variation in reproductive success is related to demography is a critical component in understanding the life history of an organism. Parentage analysis using molecular markers can be used to estimate the reproductive success of different groups of individuals in natural populations. Previous models have been developed for cases where offspring are random samples from the population but these models do not account for the presence of full- and half-sibs commonly found in large clutches of many organisms. Here we develop a model for comparing reproductive success among different groups of individuals that explicitly incorporates within-nest relatedness. Inference for the parameters of the model is done in a Bayesian framework, where we sample from the joint posterior of parental assignments and fertility parameters. We use computer simulations to determine how well our model recovers known parameters and investigate how various data collection scenarios (varying the number of nests or the number of offspring) affect the estimates. We then apply our model to compare reproductive success among different age groups of mottled sculpin, Cottus bairdi, from a natural population. We demonstrate that older adults are more likely to contribute to a nest and that females in the older age groups contribute more eggs to a nest than younger individuals.

Most genetic surveys of parentage in nature sample only a small fraction of the breeding population. Here we apply microsatellite markers to deduce the genetic mating system and assess the reproductive success of females and males in an extensively collected, semi-closed stream population of the mottled sculpin fish, Cottus bairdi. In this species, males guard nest rocks where females deposit the eggs for fertilization. The potential exists for both males and females to mate with multiple partners and for males to provide parental care to genetically unrelated offspring. Four hundred and fifty-five adults and subadults, as well as 1,259 offspring from 23 nests, were genotyped at five polymorphic microsatellite loci. Multilocus maternal genotypes, deduced via genetic analyses of embryos, were reconstructed for more than 90% of the analysed nests, thus allowing both male and female reproductive success to be estimated accurately. There was no genetic evidence for cuckoldry, but one nest probably represents a takeover event. Successful males spawned with a mean of 2.8 partners, whereas each female apparently deposited her entire clutch of eggs in a single nest (mean fecundity = 66 eggs/female). On average, genetically deduced sires and dams were captured 1.6 and 9.3 metres from their respective nests, indicating little movement by breeders during the spawning season. Based on a 'genetic mark-recapture' estimate, the total number of potentially breeding adults (c. 570) was an order-of-magnitude larger than genetically based estimates of the effective number of breeders (c. 54). In addition, significantly fewer eggs per female were deposited in single than in multidam nests. Not only were perceived high-quality males spawning with multiple partners, but they were receiving more eggs from each female.

The group foraging behavior of a North American stream minnow, the rosyside dace, was observed. Results show that dace forage independently of each other and only form groups as a result of attraction to profitable foraging locations. Aggression towards individual dace results in departure of the target from the foraging group. Group size does not affect departure probability when there is low aggression within the group. Group foraging behavior is more evident in autumn and may be a response to perceived predation risk.