University of North Florida Showcase

*Dataset Published in 2020, Deposited to DCD in 2024. Abstract The data was used in conducting research on Sexual Orientation and Gender-Identity (SOGI) Laws That Support and/or Limit International Development conducted by Thomas S. Serwatka. A sexual orientation and gender identity legal index (SOGI-LI) was developed for 185 countries where data were available for 2018 [see Column C]. The author used data from the 11th and 13th editions of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersexual Association’s State-Sponsored Homophobia Reports (Carroll 2016; Mendos 2019). Using the data from ILGA, the initial version of the Sexual Orientation and Gender-Identity-Legal Index (SOGI-LI) was constructed. It was supplemented by information on transgender 2019 annual report LGBT rights by country (Wikipedia’s 2019 update) [See Column E]. Sub-scores are listed in columns M-S. Democracy Index 2018 The Economist Intelligence Unit (2019) provides an indexed score on the democratic rule for 167 countries (See Column F) of which 151 were included in the current study on 185 nations. The Democracy Index scores could range from 0 to 10 points and were based on five subscales listed in columns U-Y. World Happiness Report The World Happiness Report was first published in April 2012, with the support of the United Nations (Helliwell et al. 2019). The survey is administered to at least 1,000 and up to 3,000 participants from each of 150 countries across the globe. The single question survey asks respondents to rate their level of happiness over the past year: Please imagine a ladder, with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time? [National Scores in Column G] Scores represent a three-year rolling average. In post-hoc analyses, the responses are found to strongly relate to GDP per-capita, social support systems, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices. [Correlated data tracked in columns Z-AE] Per-capita GDP Data on the 2018 per-capita GDP for 171 of the countries included in the study were downloaded from Knomea, which drew the data from The World Bank (2018) [Column H] Educational Level Data on the educational levels for 138 of the 185 nations under study were drawn from the World Data Atlas (2017). These data are presented as the percentage of the adult population that had completed a tertiary (post-secondary) education program [Column I].

Flexibility data from the four sessions are included.

These data are the sample information for each of the samples collected for metabarcoding of 16S and rbcL to describe Cyanobacterial and diatom diversity, respectively, in three sites in Alpena, Michigan, one site in Monroe, Michigan, and one site in Palm Coast, Florida. Sample data are for sequenced samples and include their associated water parameter information that was collected simultaneously. Each of these sites are high-sulfur, low-oxygen environments formed by underwater sinkholes and springs that create extreme habitats populated by microbial mat communities. Our study investigated previously undescribed diatom diversity in these habitats, and further explored the bacterial communities as well. Our results provide novel information on microbial mat community composition, and present evidence that microbial biogeography influences these unique communities.

Using the code in this file, we will process rbcL metabarcoding data using the Dada2 pipeline. (DATA REDUCTION STAGE). Our goal is to remove primers, and then use the DADA2 algorithm to assess read quality, denoise, and merge our sequences. Finally, we will assign our sequences to ASVs and assign these to taxonomy using DADA2 and a reference database.

Using the code in this file, we will process 16S metabarcoding data using the Dada2 pipeline. (DATA REDUCTION STAGE). Our goal is to use the DADA2 algorithm to assess read quality, denoise, and merge our sequences. Finally, we will assign our sequences to ASVs and assign these to taxonomy using DADA2 and a reference database.

These data are the information for each of the cultures generated from samples collected from three sites in Alpena, Michigan, one site in Monroe, Michigan, and one site in Palm Coast, Florida. Data are for cultures sequenced using Sanger sequencing and include taxonomic identification, location and water parameter information from samples used to develop the cultures, and growth medium. Each of these cultures was developed from high-sulfur, low-oxygen environments formed by underwater sinkholes and springs that create extreme habitats populated by microbial mat communities. Our study investigated previously undescribed diatom diversity in these habitats. Sequences from these cultures contribute to tying molecular data to morphologically identified isolates, providing a bridge between these two data types that can be used to improve metabarcoding analyses.

These data are the information for each of the cultures generated from samples collected from three sites in Alpena, Michigan, one site in Monroe, Michigan, and one site in Palm Coast, Florida. Data are for cultures sequenced using Sanger sequencing and include taxonomic identification, location and sample type for samples used to develop the cultures. Each of these cultures was developed from high-sulfur, low-oxygen environments formed by underwater sinkholes and springs that create extreme habitats populated by microbial mat communities. Our study investigated previously undescribed diatom diversity in these habitats. Sequences from these cultures contribute to tying molecular data to morphologically identified isolates, providing a bridge between these two data types that can be used to improve metabarcoding analyses.

Human-driven land use change can fundamentally alter ecological communities, especially the diversity and abundance of large-bodied predators. Yet despite the important roles large-bodied predators play in structuring communities through feeding, there have been only a few investigations of how the feeding patterns of large-bodied predators change in human-dominated landscapes. One group of large-bodied predators that has been largely overlooked in the context of land use change is the crocodilians. To help fill these gaps we studied the feeding patterns of juvenile American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) on neighboring barrier islands on the southeast coast of Georgia, USA. Jekyll Island has multiple golf courses and substantial amounts of human activity, while Sapelo Island does not have any golf courses and a much smaller amount of human activity. We found that juvenile alligator populations on both islands ate the same types of prey but in vastly different quantities. Sapelo Island alligators primarily consumed crustaceans while alligators that lived on Jekyll Island's golf courses ate mostly insects/arachnids. Furthermore, the Jekyll Island alligators exhibited a much more generalist feeding pattern (individuals mostly ate the same types of prey in the same quantities) than the more specialized Sapelo Island alligators (diets were more varied across individuals). The most likely explanation for our results is that alligators living on golf courses have different habitat use patterns and have access to different prey communities relative to alligators in more natural habitats. Thus, land use change can strongly alter the feeding patterns of large-bodied predators and, as a result, may affect their body condition, exposure to human-made chemicals, and role within ecological communities.

In some species, the ability to acquire new vocalizations persists into adulthood and may be an important mediator of social interactions. While it is generally assumed that vocal learning persists undiminished throughout the lifespan of these open-ended learners, the stability of this trait remains largely unexplored. We hypothesize that vocal learning exhibits senescence, as is typical of complex cognitive traits, and that this decline may relate to age-dependent changes in sociality. The budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus), an open-ended learner which develops new contact call types that are shared with social associates upon joining new flocks, provides a robust assay for measuring the effects of aging on vocal learning ability. We formed captive flocks of 4 previously unfamiliar adult males of the same age class, either "young adults" (6 mo.-1 yr.) or "older adults" (≥ 3 yr.), and concurrently tracked changes in contact call structure and social interactions over time. Older adults exhibited decreased vocal diversity, which may be related to the sparser and weaker affiliative bonds observed in older adults. Older adults, however, displayed equivalent levels of vocal plasticity and vocal convergence compared to young adults, suggesting vocal learning ability is largely maintained into later adulthood in an open-ended learner.

In some species, the ability to acquire new vocalizations persists into adulthood and may be an important mediator of social interactions. While it is generally assumed that vocal learning persists undiminished throughout the lifespan of these open-ended learners, the stability of this trait remains largely unexplored. We hypothesize that vocal learning exhibits senescence, as is typical of complex cognitive traits, and that this decline may relate to age-dependent changes in sociality. The budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus), an open-ended learner which develops new contact call types that are shared with social associates upon joining new flocks, provides a robust assay for measuring the effects of aging on vocal learning ability. We formed captive flocks of 4 previously unfamiliar adult males of the same age class, either “young adults” (6 mo.-1 yr.) or “older adults” (≥ 3 yr.), and concurrently tracked changes in contact call structure and social interactions over time. Older adults exhibited decreased vocal diversity, which may be related to the sparser and weaker affiliative bonds observed in older adults. Older adults, however, displayed equivalent levels of vocal plasticity and vocal convergence compared to young adults, suggesting vocal learning ability is largely maintained into later adulthood in an open-ended learner.