Height and biomass research data for the article "Plant-soil feedback from eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) inhibits the growth of grasses in encroaching range," by L. Bennion & D. Ward.

Two datasets containing point-pattern samples from sites in Oklahoma, Ohio, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania.

The title of this research project is: "Differentiated plant-defense strategies: herbivore community dynamics affect plant-herbivore interactions" and it ran from May 2017 until October 2020.

There were 6 deer exclosures set up at Liberty Park in the Summit County Metroparks. There were 4 swamp white oaks (Quercus bicolor) planted inside each exclosure and 4 planted outside each exclosure. Insecticide was applied to half of the exclosures to establish 4 different herbivore feeding communities: 1) No herbivores, 2) deer only, 3) insect only, and 4) deer and insect herbivores. From each tree, we measured phytochemical changes in trees above and below the browseline over the four years. Measurements were taken in May and September each year. Additionally, we analyzed insect-feeding guilds and recorded the dominant feeding guild in each tree.

One dataset has the insect feeding guild diversity and the other contains the phytochemical changes from the plants.

Associated data set from research project.

The relationship between stress and behavior can help us to understand how physiological adaptations shape primate societies. Most studies have focused on glucocorticoids (GC) as stress biomarkers, but other extrinsic and intrinsic factors can influence GC levels and confound the results. To overcome this issue, including analyses of dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEAS), a GC antagonist, can be useful in evaluating overall adrenal function in response to biological, social, and environmental factors. Our goal was to evaluate the effect of reproductive state, social behavior, ambient temperature, and season (mating and non-mating) on DHEAS levels and the ratio between GC metabolites and DHEAS (GCM:DHEAS) in 11 free-ranging, female, Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) (7 pregnant/lactating, 4 nonpregnant/nonlactating) from Jigokudani Monkey Park (Japan). We validated and measured fecal DHEAS levels in 354 samples by enzyme immunoassay and calculated GCM:DHEAS by using previously reported data for GC metabolites. We tested the effects of reproductive state, dominance rank, social behavior, season, and ambient temperature on adrenal steroids using Generalized Linear Mixed-Effect Models. We found that pregnant and lactating females had higher DHEAS levels than nonpregnant/nonlactating females and that DHEAS levels were higher during the mating season. Temperature was positively correlated with GCM:DHEAS. Dominant females had higher DHEAS levels and lower GCM:DHEAS than subordinate females. We suggest that the high DHEAS to GC ratio in high-ranking females explains why they have better body condition than low-ranking females despite high GCM levels. This study confirms that including DHEAS provides valuable information for evaluating the stress response in primates.

Adrenarche, or the postnatal activation of the adrenal gland, is a phenomenon exclusive to some primates that is evidenced by high levels of the hormones dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfated form (DHEAS), independent of the onset of puberty. Within primates, two patterns of adrenal secretions occur: a prepubertal increase in DHEAS levels (adrenarche) that has been reported in humans and great apes, and a continuous
postnatal decline on DHEAS levels with age, observed in cercopithecines (e.g., macaques and baboons). Our research seeks to determine the pattern of DHEAS secretion during hylobatid development. DHEAS was measured by enzyme immunoassay in cross-sectional fecal samples from 35 female and 29 male zoo-housed hylobatids (Hylobates, Nomascus, Symphalangus) ranging from age 1 to 54 years. Additionally, we measured longitudinal fecal samples from 7 female hylobatids under human care (6 Nomascus, 1 Hoolock). Our study tested the effects of age, sex, and genus on fecal DHEAS levels using generalized linear mixed-effects models. The models were separated by genus and showed that age was positively correlated with a prepubertal increase in fecal DHEAS across all genera, indicating that the hylobatids exhibit delayed adrenarche. A significant effect of sex was only identified in the Symphalangus model. Results from adult and old hylobatids did not exhibit decreasing DHEAS associated with adrenal senescence, which is characteristic of humans and other primates. The evidence of a delayed DHEAS increase observed across all hylobatid genera suggests a shared developmental characteristic among all ape species.

 Experimental data from "Finding the Equilibrium of Organic Electrochemical Transistors"