Matt Davis

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

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Jens‐Christian Svenning

Aarhus University

Nicholas J. Gotelli

University of Vermont

Silvia Pineda‐Munoz

Georgia Institute of Technology

Andrew Du

Colorado State University

Jussi T. Eronen

University of Helsinki

Joshua H. Miller

University of Cincinnati

S. Kathleen Lyons

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Amelia Villaseñor

University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

Anikó B. Tóth

UNSW Sydney

Anna K. Behrensmeyer

Smithsonian Institution

Cooperative Institutions

John Wiley & Sons (United States)

345

Ecological Society of America

338

IFC Research (United Kingdom)

317

Wyoming Game and Fish Department

110

University of California, Davis

National Museum of Natural History

University of Florida

University of California, Berkeley

Smithsonian Institution

University of Wisconsin–Madison

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Vertigo moulinsiana (Dupuy) in Dorset

Journal of conchology (1957)

A G Davis Matt Davis

10.5962/p.407265

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Australia's recently established predators restore complexity to food webs simplified by extinction

Current Biology (2024)

Eamonn I. F. Wooster Owen Middleton Arian D. Wallach Daniel Ramp Óscar Sanisidro

Extinction (optical mineralogy)

Megafauna

Paleoecology

10.1016/j.cub.2024.09.049

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Citations (1)

Software Carpentry: Workshop Template

Aron Ahmadia Phillip Alderman James D. Allen Piotr Banaszkiewicz P. Barmby

Carpentry

10.5072/zenodo.64148

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Problems using ordinal traits with continuous measures of functional diversity

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (2021)

Matt Davis

Abstract Continuous indices of functional diversity are popular in studies examining community structure and ecosystem function across a wide range of subfields from paleontology to range management. These indices were designed to replace the use of more arbitrary, discrete functional groups or guilds; however, the effect of typical methodological decisions on these new continuous measures has not been fully investigated. To test the effect of using ordinal traits in functional diversity analysis, I first calculated relative functional diversity index values in real plant communities with real continuous trait data and Euclidean distances. I then compared these original values to “treatment” functional diversity index values obtained by discretizing the trait data and using Gower’s distance. Agreement between original and treatment values was highly unpredictable and often abysmal. Small methodological choices, such as whether to treat a functional trait as continuous (mm) or ordinal (“small”, “medium”, “large”), could completely change a perceived functional diversity relationship along an environmental gradient. Some parameter combinations returned results that were no better than random noise. Because simple methodological choices can have such a large impact on continuous functional diversity indices, it is ambiguous whether analyses using ordinal traits are actually measuring an underlying functional diversity relationship between communities or just reflecting the arbitrary parameter choices of researchers.

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Functional Diversity

Diversity index

10.1101/2021.11.02.466687

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Was Frozen Mammoth or Giant Ground Sloth Served for Dinner at The Explorers Club?

PLoS ONE (2016)

Jessica R. Glass Matt Davis Timothy J. Walsh Eric J. Sargis Adalgisa Caccone

Accounts of woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) preserved so well in ice that their meat is still edible have a long history of intriguing the public and influencing paleontological thought on Quaternary extinctions and climate, with some scientists resorting to catastrophism to explain the instantaneous freezing necessary to preserve edible meat. Famously, members of The Explorers Club purportedly dined on frozen mammoth from Alaska, USA, in 1951. This event, well received by the press and general public, became an enduring legend for the Club and popularized the notorious annual tradition of serving rare and exotic food at Club dinners that continues to this day. The Yale Peabody Museum holds a sample of meat preserved from the 1951 meal, interestingly labeled as a South American giant ground sloth (Megatherium), not mammoth. We sequenced a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene and studied archival material to verify its identity, which if genuine, would extend the range of Megatherium over 600% and alter our views on ground sloth evolution. Our results indicate that the meat was not mammoth or Megatherium but green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas). The prehistoric dinner was likely an elaborate publicity stunt. Our study emphasizes the value of museums collecting and curating voucher specimens, particularly those used for evidence of extraordinary claims.

Mammoth

Sloth

10.1371/journal.pone.0146825

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Functional traits of the world’s late Quaternary large-bodied avian and mammalian herbivores

Scientific Data (2021)

Erick J. Lundgren Simon D. Schowanek John Rowan Owen Middleton Rasmus Østergaard Pedersen

Prehistoric and recent extinctions of large-bodied terrestrial herbivores had significant and lasting impacts on Earth's ecosystems due to the loss of their distinct trait combinations. The world's surviving large-bodied avian and mammalian herbivores remain among the most threatened taxa. As such, a greater understanding of the ecological impacts of large herbivore losses is increasingly important. However, comprehensive and ecologically-relevant trait datasets for extinct and extant herbivores are lacking. Here, we present HerbiTraits, a comprehensive functional trait dataset for all late Quaternary terrestrial avian and mammalian herbivores ≥10 kg (545 species). HerbiTraits includes key traits that influence how herbivores interact with ecosystems, namely body mass, diet, fermentation type, habitat use, and limb morphology. Trait data were compiled from 557 sources and comprise the best available knowledge on late Quaternary large-bodied herbivores. HerbiTraits provides a tool for the analysis of herbivore functional diversity both past and present and its effects on Earth's ecosystems.

Trait

Terrestrial ecosystem

10.1038/s41597-020-00788-5

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The Precision Expandable Radar Calibration Sphere (PERCS) With Applications for Laser Imaging and Ranging

Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance Technologies Conference (2008)

P. A. Bernhardt Andy Nicholas L. Thomas M. J. Davis Chuck Hoberman

Abstract : The Naval Research Laboratory will provide an orbiting calibration sphere to be used with ground-based laser imaging telescopes and HF radio systems. The Precision Expandable Radar Calibration Sphere (PERCS) is a practical, reliable, high-performance HF calibration sphere and laser imaging target to orbit at about 600 km altitude. The sphere will be made of a spherical wire frame with aspect independent radar cross section in the 3 to 35 MHz frequency range. The necessary launch vehicle to place the PERCS in orbit will be provided by the Department of Defense Space Test Program. The expandable calibration target has a stowed diameter of 1 meter and a fully deployed diameter of 10.2 meters. A separate deployment mechanism is provided for the sphere. After deployment the Precision Expandable Radar Calibration Sphere (PERCS) with 180 vertices will be in a high inclination orbit to scatter radio pulses from a number of ground systems, including (1) over-the-horizon (OTH) radars operated by the United States and Australia; (2) high power HF facilities such as HAARP in Alaska, EISCAT in Norway, and Arecibo in Puerto Rico; (3) the chain of high latitude SuperDARN radars used for auroral region mapping; and (4) HF direction finding for Navy ships. With the PERCS satellite, the accuracy of HF radars can be periodically checked for range, elevation, and azimuth errors. In addition, each of the 360 vertices on the PERCS sphere will support an optical retro-reflector for operations with ground laser facilities used to track satellites. The ground laser systems will be used to measure the precise location of the sphere within one cm accuracy and will provide the spatial orientation of the sphere as well as the rotation rate. The Department of Defense facilities that can use the corner-cube reflectors on the PERCS include (1) the Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS), (2) the

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Holocene shifts in the assembly of plant and animal communities implicate human impacts

Nature (2015)

S. Kathleen Lyons Kathryn L. Amatangelo Anna K. Behrensmeyer Antoine Bercovici Jessica L. Blois

10.1038/nature16447

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Citations (193)

astroplotlib: Astronomical library of plots

Astrophysics Source Code Library (2014)

Leonardo Úbeda Matt Davis R. I. Diaz D. Hammer Charles Philippe-Lajoie

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HerbiTraits: Functional traits of the world’s late Quaternary large-bodied avian and mammalian herbivores

Figshare (2021)

Jens‐Christian Svenning Daniel Ramp Christopher J. Sandom Erick J. Lundgren Simon D. Schowanek

This dataset describes functional traits that encompass key dimensions of herbivore ecology and its effects on the environment since the pre-extinction late Quaternary (130,000 years before present)

10.6084/m9.figshare.13289399

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