Biology subjects

Hsu, G.-C.

Publications and source records attributed to Hsu, G.-C..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Can social media serve as a potential citizen science source for bird-window collision (BWC) data? A study using a decadal data set in Taiwan

Citizen science is increasingly used in bird-window collision (BWC) research to collect data. However, few studies have collected BWC data from social media, and it remains unknown whether the data quality is comparable to that of reported on dedicated platforms. To evaluate the potential of social media as a citizen science data source for BWC, we collected BWC data on social media Facebook as well as Taiwan Roadkill Observation Network (TaiRON), the main dedicated citizen science platform for reporting wildlife mortalities in Taiwan. We compared a decade of BWC data (2012-2022) from the two platforms by examining the nationwide geographical coverage and the species compositions of the BWC observations. Overall, we recorded 2,583 BWC cases involving 153 BWC species from Facebook, and 1,000 BWC cases involving 104 BWC species from TaiRON. More than half of the BWC individuals from Facebook were not found dead when observed, whereas all records on TaiRON were dead individuals. The nationwide geographical coverage and the species compositions of the top 80% cumulative BWC individuals were generally similar between the two platforms. Moreover, the sampling completeness of the two platforms both exceeded 95% (Facebook: 98.0%; TaiRON: 96.0%). To our knowledge, this study is among the first to collect BWC data through social media posts, and our results show that the quantity and quality of Facebook data can be comparable to that of the well-developed citizen science platform TaiRON. Taken together, social media Facebook may not only serve as a promising tool for collecting BWC data, but also provide a platform for public education, which can benefit bird conservation. Finally, integrating data from different citizen science sources helps paint a more complete picture of BWC patterns, especially in understudied areas such as Asia.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2022

Multiple climate change factors jointly increased the competitiveness of a C4 grass against its C3 competitor

C3 and C4 plants are the two major terrestrial plant groups that respond differently to temperature, water, and CO2. Although much research has focused on the individual effect of warming, water availability, and elevated CO2 on biomass production and competitive interactions between C3 and C4 plants, the joint effects of these factors remain underexplored. We grew naturally co-occurring C3 (Oplismenus composites) and C4 (Paspalum conjugatum) grass under three temperature warming scenarios (control, +2{degrees}C, and +4{degrees}C), two water supply intervals (normal 2 days vs. prolonged 7 days [drought]), and two CO2 concentrations (ambient 400 ppm vs. elevated 800 ppm) in growth chambers and measured their above- and below-ground dry biomass in monoculture and mixture to quantify their biomass performances and competitive responses. Warming and elevated CO2 together enhanced the above- and/or below-ground biomass of both C3 and C4 grass. Moreover, temperature, water, and CO2 interacted to increase the below-ground biomass of the C4 grass. Surprisingly, the C3 grass performed worse under interspecific competition (mixture biomass) relative to intraspecific competition (monoculture biomass) at elevated CO2 compared to ambient CO2, while the reverse is true for the C4 grass. Furthermore, the C4 grass was most competitive against the C3 grass under simultaneous 4{degrees}C warming, drought, and elevated CO2. Taken together, our results suggest that the competitive balance could potentially shift in favor of C4 plants under the projected temperature warming, increased drought frequencies, and rising atmospheric CO2, with an increase in C4 relative abundance in future plant communities.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2022

Increased academic performance and prolonged career duration among Taiwanese academic faculty in ecology and evolutionary biology

Academic job markets have become increasingly challenging worldwide, yet it remains poorly characterized how competitively-successful candidates should be and what the underlying determinants of their success are. Focusing on the field of ecology and evolutionary biology, we analyzed the academic performance (measured as h-index) as well as the duration before recruitment as a new faculty member and promotion to full professor of 145 principal investigators (PI) over the past 34 years in Taiwan. We found that PIs had higher performance and longer duration before recruitment more recently. Performance before promotion remained stable, whereas the duration increased over time. The origin and prestige of doctorate had no effect on the performance or duration either before recruitment or before promotion. We also found that the difference in performance before and after recruitment ("After" performance -- "Before" performance) decreased in recent years, with PIs recruited in earlier years maintaining their performance after recruitment while those recruited in later years exhibiting a performance drop. While PIs performed equally well before and after recruitment irrespective of doctorate origin, those with domestic PhD degrees showed a decrease in performance after promotion compared to their counterparts with foreign degrees. Taken together, our findings reveal a prolonged career duration for researchers as a result of intensifying competition in academia, and highlight the increasingly crucial role of academic performance, rather than PhD degree itself, in determining academic success.

scientific communication and education↗