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Salvatori M, Greco I, Petroni L, Massolo A, Dorigatti E, Miscioscia M, Natucci L, Oberosler V, Partel P, Pedrini P, Volcan G, Rovero F. Body mass mediates spatio-temporal responses of mammals to human frequentation across Italian protected areas. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20232874. [PMID: 38565152 PMCID: PMC10987237 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Protected area (PA) networks are a pivotal tool to fight biodiversity loss, yet they often need to balance the mission of nature conservation with the socio-economic need of giving opportunity for outdoor recreation. Recreation in natural areas is important for human health in an urbanized society, but can prompt behavioural modifications in wild animals. Rarely, however, have these responses being studied across multiple PAs and using standardized methods. We deployed a systematic camera trapping protocol at over 200 sites to sample medium and large mammals in four PAs within the European Natura 2000 network to assess their spatio-temporal responses to human frequentation, proximity to towns, amount of open habitat and topographical variables. By applying multi-species and single-species models for the number of diurnal, crepuscular and nocturnal detections and a multi-species model for nocturnality index, we estimated both species-specific- and meta-community-level effects, finding that increased nocturnality appeared the main strategy that the mammal meta-community used to cope with human disturbance. However, responses in the diurnal, crepuscular and nocturnal site use were mediated by species' body mass, with larger species exhibiting avoidance of humans and smaller species more opportunistic behaviours. Our results show the effectiveness of standardized sampling and provide insights for planning the expansion of PA networks as foreseen by the Kunming-Montreal biodiversity agreement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Salvatori
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
- MUSE—Museo delle Scienze, Corso del lavoro e della scienza 3, 38122 Trento, Italy
| | - Ilaria Greco
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
| | - Luca Petroni
- Ethology Unit, Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via Volta 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Alessandro Massolo
- Ethology Unit, Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via Volta 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy
- UMR CNRS 6249 Chrono-environnement, Université Franche-Comté, Campus La Bouloie–Route de Gray, 25030 Besançon, France
| | - Enrico Dorigatti
- Parco Naturale Paneveggio Pale di San Martino, località Castelpietra, 2, 38054 Primiero San Martino di Castrozza (TN), Italy
| | - Martina Miscioscia
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
| | - Luca Natucci
- Ethology Unit, Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via Volta 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Valentina Oberosler
- MUSE—Museo delle Scienze, Corso del lavoro e della scienza 3, 38122 Trento, Italy
| | - Piergiovanni Partel
- Parco Naturale Paneveggio Pale di San Martino, località Castelpietra, 2, 38054 Primiero San Martino di Castrozza (TN), Italy
| | - Paolo Pedrini
- MUSE—Museo delle Scienze, Corso del lavoro e della scienza 3, 38122 Trento, Italy
| | - Gilberto Volcan
- Parco Naturale Paneveggio Pale di San Martino, località Castelpietra, 2, 38054 Primiero San Martino di Castrozza (TN), Italy
| | - Francesco Rovero
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, via Madonna del Piano 6, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
- MUSE—Museo delle Scienze, Corso del lavoro e della scienza 3, 38122 Trento, Italy
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2
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Barbero-Palacios L, Ferraro KM, Barrio IC, Krumins JA, Bartolomé J, Albanell E, Jarque-Bascuñana L, Lavín S, Calleja JA, Carreira JA, Serrano E. Faecal nutrient deposition of domestic and wild herbivores in an alpine grassland. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 903:166616. [PMID: 37647958 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
The contribution of herbivores to ecosystem nutrient fluxes through dung deposition has the potential to, directly and indirectly, influence ecosystem functioning. This process can be particularly important in nutrient-limited ecosystems such as alpine systems. However, herbivore dung content (carbon, C; nitrogen, N; phosphorus, P; potassium, K) and stoichiometry (C/N) may differ among species due to differences in diet, seasonality, body type, feeding strategy, and/or digestive system with consequences for soil biogeochemistry. Here we explore how species, body size, and seasonality may result in differences in dung stoichiometry for four alpine herbivores (chamois, sheep, horse, and cattle). We found that herbivore dung nutrient content often varies among species as well as with body size, with the dung of small herbivores having larger C, N, and P faecal content. Seasonality also showed marked effects on faecal nutrient content, with a general pattern of decreasing levels of faecal P, N and an increase of C/N as the summer progresses following the loss of nutrient value of the vegetation. Moreover, we showed how herbivores play an important role as natural fertilizers of C, N, and P in our study area, especially cattle. Our study highlights the importance of considering the relative contribution of different herbivores to ecosystem nutrient fluxes in management practices, especially with ongoing changes in wild and domestic herbivore populations in alpine ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Barbero-Palacios
- Faculty of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Agricultural University of Iceland, Árleyni 22, Keldnaholt, IS-112 Reykjavík, Iceland.
| | - Kristy M Ferraro
- Yale University School of the Environment, 370 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Isabel C Barrio
- Faculty of Environmental and Forest Sciences, Agricultural University of Iceland, Árleyni 22, Keldnaholt, IS-112 Reykjavík, Iceland.
| | | | - Jordi Bartolomé
- Grup de Recerca en Remugants, Departament de Ciència Animal i dels Aliments, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Bellaterra, Spain.
| | - Elena Albanell
- Grup de Recerca en Remugants, Departament de Ciència Animal i dels Aliments, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Bellaterra, Spain.
| | - Laia Jarque-Bascuñana
- Wildlife Ecology & Health Group (WE&H) and Servei d'Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge (SEFaS), Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Santiago Lavín
- Wildlife Ecology & Health Group (WE&H) and Servei d'Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge (SEFaS), Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Juan A Calleja
- Departamento de Biología (Botánica), Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain; CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain.
| | - José A Carreira
- Departamento de Biología Animal, Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad de Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain
| | - Emmanuel Serrano
- Wildlife Ecology & Health Group (WE&H) and Servei d'Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge (SEFaS), Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
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3
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Vaglietti S, Villeri V, Dell’Oca M, Marchetti C, Cesano F, Rizzo F, Miller D, LaPierre L, Pelassa I, Monje FJ, Colnaghi L, Ghirardi M, Fiumara F. PolyQ length-based molecular encoding of vocalization frequency in FOXP2. iScience 2023; 26:108036. [PMID: 37860754 PMCID: PMC10582585 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The transcription factor FOXP2, a regulator of vocalization- and speech/language-related phenotypes, contains two long polyQ repeats (Q1 and Q2) displaying marked, still enigmatic length variation across mammals. We found that the Q1/Q2 length ratio quantitatively encodes vocalization frequency ranges, from the infrasonic to the ultrasonic, displaying striking convergent evolution patterns. Thus, species emitting ultrasonic vocalizations converge with bats in having a low ratio, whereas species vocalizing in the low-frequency/infrasonic range converge with elephants and whales, which have higher ratios. Similar, taxon-specific patterns were observed for the FOXP2-related protein FOXP1. At the molecular level, we observed that the FOXP2 polyQ tracts form coiled coils, assembling into condensates and fibrils, and drive liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS). By integrating evolutionary and molecular analyses, we found that polyQ length variation related to vocalization frequency impacts FOXP2 structure, LLPS, and transcriptional activity, thus defining a novel form of polyQ length-based molecular encoding of vocalization frequency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serena Vaglietti
- Rita Levi Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Veronica Villeri
- Rita Levi Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Marco Dell’Oca
- Rita Levi Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Chiara Marchetti
- Rita Levi Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Federico Cesano
- Department of Chemistry, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Francesca Rizzo
- Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR 518057, China
| | - Dave Miller
- Cascades Pika Watch, Oregon Zoo, Portland, OR 97221, USA
| | - Louis LaPierre
- Deptartment of Natural Science, Lower Columbia College, Longview, WA 98632, USA
| | - Ilaria Pelassa
- Rita Levi Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Francisco J. Monje
- Department of Neurophysiology and Neuropharmacology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Luca Colnaghi
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, 20132 Milan, Italy
- School of Medicine, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy
| | - Mirella Ghirardi
- Rita Levi Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
| | - Ferdinando Fiumara
- Rita Levi Montalcini Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, 10125 Turin, Italy
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Weil SS, Gallien L, Nicolaï MPJ, Lavergne S, Börger L, Allen WL. Body size and life history shape the historical biogeography of tetrapods. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:1467-1479. [PMID: 37604875 PMCID: PMC10482685 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02150-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023]
Abstract
Dispersal across biogeographic barriers is a key process determining global patterns of biodiversity as it allows lineages to colonize and diversify in new realms. Here we demonstrate that past biogeographic dispersal events often depended on species' traits, by analysing 7,009 tetrapod species in 56 clades. Biogeographic models incorporating body size or life history accrued more statistical support than trait-independent models in 91% of clades. In these clades, dispersal rates increased by 28-32% for lineages with traits favouring successful biogeographic dispersal. Differences between clades in the effect magnitude of life history on dispersal rates are linked to the strength and type of biogeographic barriers and intra-clade trait variability. In many cases, large body sizes and fast life histories facilitate dispersal success. However, species with small bodies and/or slow life histories, or those with average traits, have an advantage in a minority of clades. Body size-dispersal relationships were related to a clade's average body size and life history strategy. These results provide important new insight into how traits have shaped the historical biogeography of tetrapod lineages and may impact present-day and future biogeographic dispersal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah-Sophie Weil
- CNRS, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, University Savoie Mont Blanc, University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France.
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK.
| | - Laure Gallien
- CNRS, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, University Savoie Mont Blanc, University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
| | - Michaël P J Nicolaï
- Biology Department, Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures Group, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Sébastien Lavergne
- CNRS, Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine, University Savoie Mont Blanc, University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
| | - Luca Börger
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
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Lauer DA, Lawing AM, Short RA, Manthi FK, Müller J, Head JJ, McGuire JL. Disruption of trait-environment relationships in African megafauna occurred in the middle Pleistocene. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4016. [PMID: 37463920 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39480-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Mammalian megafauna have been critical to the functioning of Earth's biosphere for millions of years. However, since the Plio-Pleistocene, their biodiversity has declined concurrently with dramatic environmental change and hominin evolution. While these biodiversity declines are well-documented, their implications for the ecological function of megafaunal communities remain uncertain. Here, we adapt ecometric methods to evaluate whether the functional link between communities of herbivorous, eastern African megafauna and their environments (i.e., functional trait-environment relationships) was disrupted as biodiversity losses occurred over the past 7.4 Ma. Herbivore taxonomic and functional diversity began to decline during the Pliocene as open grassland habitats emerged, persisted, and expanded. In the mid-Pleistocene, grassland expansion intensified, and climates became more variable and arid. It was then that phylogenetic diversity declined, and the trait-environment relationships of herbivore communities shifted significantly. Our results divulge the varying implications of different losses in megafaunal biodiversity. Only the losses that occurred since the mid-Pleistocene were coincident with a disturbance to community ecological function. Prior diversity losses, conversely, occurred as the megafaunal species and trait pool narrowed towards those adapted to grassland environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A Lauer
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Quantitative Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
| | - A Michelle Lawing
- Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Rachel A Short
- Department of Natural Resource Management, South Dakota State University, Rapid City, SD, 57703, USA
| | - Fredrick K Manthi
- Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Johannes Müller
- Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jason J Head
- Department of Zoology and University Museum of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Jenny L McGuire
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Quantitative Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
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Pringle RM, Abraham JO, Anderson TM, Coverdale TC, Davies AB, Dutton CL, Gaylard A, Goheen JR, Holdo RM, Hutchinson MC, Kimuyu DM, Long RA, Subalusky AL, Veldhuis MP. Impacts of large herbivores on terrestrial ecosystems. Curr Biol 2023; 33:R584-R610. [PMID: 37279691 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.04.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Large herbivores play unique ecological roles and are disproportionately imperiled by human activity. As many wild populations dwindle towards extinction, and as interest grows in restoring lost biodiversity, research on large herbivores and their ecological impacts has intensified. Yet, results are often conflicting or contingent on local conditions, and new findings have challenged conventional wisdom, making it hard to discern general principles. Here, we review what is known about the ecosystem impacts of large herbivores globally, identify key uncertainties, and suggest priorities to guide research. Many findings are generalizable across ecosystems: large herbivores consistently exert top-down control of plant demography, species composition, and biomass, thereby suppressing fires and the abundance of smaller animals. Other general patterns do not have clearly defined impacts: large herbivores respond to predation risk but the strength of trophic cascades is variable; large herbivores move vast quantities of seeds and nutrients but with poorly understood effects on vegetation and biogeochemistry. Questions of the greatest relevance for conservation and management are among the least certain, including effects on carbon storage and other ecosystem functions and the ability to predict outcomes of extinctions and reintroductions. A unifying theme is the role of body size in regulating ecological impact. Small herbivores cannot fully substitute for large ones, and large-herbivore species are not functionally redundant - losing any, especially the largest, will alter net impact, helping to explain why livestock are poor surrogates for wild species. We advocate leveraging a broad spectrum of techniques to mechanistically explain how large-herbivore traits and environmental context interactively govern the ecological impacts of these animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert M Pringle
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
| | - Joel O Abraham
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - T Michael Anderson
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC 27109, USA
| | - Tyler C Coverdale
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA; Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Andrew B Davies
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | | | | | - Jacob R Goheen
- Department of Zoology & Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82072, USA
| | - Ricardo M Holdo
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Matthew C Hutchinson
- Department of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of California Merced, Merced, CA 95343, USA
| | - Duncan M Kimuyu
- Department of Natural Resources, Karatina University, Karatina, Kenya
| | - Ryan A Long
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, USA
| | - Amanda L Subalusky
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Michiel P Veldhuis
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
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Van Huynh A. Effect of IUCN Red List category on public attention to mammals. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2023; 37:e14050. [PMID: 36661058 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2022] [Revised: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Cultural data is a powerful tool to analyze public awareness of key societal issues, including the conservation of nature. I used two publicly available repositories of cultural data, Google Trends and Google Ngram, to quantify the effect of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List conservation status on public attention toward 4539 mammal species. With Google Trends, I calculated whether Google searches for their common and scientific names have been increasing or decreasing over time. I also ran an anomaly detection analysis to investigate whether a change in red-list status directly results in an increase in Google searches. Additionally, I quantified the mentions of species' common and scientific names in English texts with Google Ngram. Overall, Google searches for most mammal species remained at similar levels or increased since 2008. The severity of species' IUCN Red List status was a significant predictor of increasing Google searches, although the effect size was relatively small. Red-list status seemed strongly confounded with mammal body size. Species that moved to a higher-risk category spiked significantly in Google searches directly after the new designation. The mention of species' common names in the Google Ngram's English 2019 corpus significantly increased as the red-list category increased. These results provide valuable insight into the importance of the IUCN Red List for increasing public awareness and the usefulness of publicly available cultural data on examining the effectiveness of specific conservation efforts and thus evaluating targets for support and funding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Van Huynh
- Department of Biology, Desales University, Center Valley, Pennsylvania, USA
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8
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Grosu GF, Hopp AV, Moca VV, Bârzan H, Ciuparu A, Ercsey-Ravasz M, Winkel M, Linde H, Mureșan RC. The fractal brain: scale-invariance in structure and dynamics. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:4574-4605. [PMID: 36156074 PMCID: PMC10110456 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Revised: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The past 40 years have witnessed extensive research on fractal structure and scale-free dynamics in the brain. Although considerable progress has been made, a comprehensive picture has yet to emerge, and needs further linking to a mechanistic account of brain function. Here, we review these concepts, connecting observations across different levels of organization, from both a structural and functional perspective. We argue that, paradoxically, the level of cortical circuits is the least understood from a structural point of view and perhaps the best studied from a dynamical one. We further link observations about scale-freeness and fractality with evidence that the environment provides constraints that may explain the usefulness of fractal structure and scale-free dynamics in the brain. Moreover, we discuss evidence that behavior exhibits scale-free properties, likely emerging from similarly organized brain dynamics, enabling an organism to thrive in an environment that shares the same organizational principles. Finally, we review the sparse evidence for and try to speculate on the functional consequences of fractality and scale-freeness for brain computation. These properties may endow the brain with computational capabilities that transcend current models of neural computation and could hold the key to unraveling how the brain constructs percepts and generates behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- George F Grosu
- Department of Experimental and Theoretical Neuroscience, Transylvanian Institute of Neuroscience, Str. Ploiesti 33, 400157 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Str. Memorandumului 28, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | | | - Vasile V Moca
- Department of Experimental and Theoretical Neuroscience, Transylvanian Institute of Neuroscience, Str. Ploiesti 33, 400157 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Harald Bârzan
- Department of Experimental and Theoretical Neuroscience, Transylvanian Institute of Neuroscience, Str. Ploiesti 33, 400157 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Str. Memorandumului 28, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Andrei Ciuparu
- Department of Experimental and Theoretical Neuroscience, Transylvanian Institute of Neuroscience, Str. Ploiesti 33, 400157 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Str. Memorandumului 28, 400114 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Maria Ercsey-Ravasz
- Department of Experimental and Theoretical Neuroscience, Transylvanian Institute of Neuroscience, Str. Ploiesti 33, 400157 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Faculty of Physics, Babes-Bolyai University, Str. Mihail Kogalniceanu 1, 400084 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Mathias Winkel
- Merck KGaA, Frankfurter Straße 250, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Helmut Linde
- Department of Experimental and Theoretical Neuroscience, Transylvanian Institute of Neuroscience, Str. Ploiesti 33, 400157 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Merck KGaA, Frankfurter Straße 250, 64293 Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Raul C Mureșan
- Department of Experimental and Theoretical Neuroscience, Transylvanian Institute of Neuroscience, Str. Ploiesti 33, 400157 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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9
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Rossi AJ, Klinger RC, Hellwig EC, Van Vuren DH. Niches of three sympatric montane ground‐dwelling squirrels: Relative importance of climate, topography, and landcover. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9949. [PMID: 37013103 PMCID: PMC10065979 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Species with different ecological niches will likely exhibit distinct responses to a changing environment. Differences in the magnitude of niche specialization may also indicate which species may be more vulnerable to environmental change, as many life‐history characteristics are known to affect climate change vulnerability. We characterized the niche space of three sympatric high‐elevation ground‐dwelling squirrels, yellow‐bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventer), Belding's ground squirrel (Urocitellus beldingi), and golden‐mantled ground squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis), in the alpine and upper subalpine regions of the Sierra Nevada in California. We used 5879 observations of individual squirrels, collected from 4 years (2009–2012) of transect survey data, to quantify which ecogeographical variable types (climate, topography, or landcover) were most important in defining the niche of each species. We conducted Ecological Niche Factor Analysis to quantify the niche and generate indices of “marginality” (magnitude of selection) and “specialization” (narrowness of niche space). All three species demonstrated differential use of niche space when compared to the available niche space. Moreover, the relative importance of the variables shaping the niche differed among these species. For example, the presence of meadows was important in defining the niche for U. beldingi and M. flaviventer, but the presence of conifers was important to C. lateralis. Precipitation was important in defining the niche for all three species, positively so for U. beldingi, and negatively for the other two species. The niche breadth of these three species was also positively associated with geographic range size. Mammals in high‐elevation mountain systems often are perceived as vulnerable to climate shifts, but our results underscore the importance of also including non‐climate‐based factors in defining the niche. The overall magnitude of niche selection for all three species was driven by a combination of topographic, climatic, and landcover factors; thus, efforts to forecast areas where these species can persist in the future need to evaluate from more than just a climatic perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aviva J. Rossi
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, & Conservation BiologyUniversity of California, DavisOne Shields AvenueDavisCalifornia95616USA
| | - Robert C. Klinger
- Western Ecological Research CenterU.S. Geological Survey2761 Glenbrook WayBishopCalifornia93514USA
| | - Elise C. Hellwig
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, & Conservation BiologyUniversity of California, DavisOne Shields AvenueDavisCalifornia95616USA
| | - Dirk H. Van Vuren
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, & Conservation BiologyUniversity of California, DavisOne Shields AvenueDavisCalifornia95616USA
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10
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Sitthiyot T, Holasut K. A universal model for the Lorenz curve with novel applications for datasets containing zeros and/or exhibiting extreme inequality. Sci Rep 2023; 13:4729. [PMID: 36959266 PMCID: PMC10036631 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31827-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Given that the existing parametric functional forms for the Lorenz curve do not fit all possible size distributions, a universal parametric functional form is introduced. By using the empirical data from different scientific disciplines and also the hypothetical data, this study shows that, the proposed model fits not only the data whose actual Lorenz plots have a typical convex segment but also the data whose actual Lorenz plots have both horizontal and convex segments practically well. It also perfectly fits the data whose observation is larger in size while the rest of observations are smaller and equal in size as characterized by two positive-slope linear segments. In addition, the proposed model has a closed-form expression for the Gini index, making it computationally convenient to calculate. Considering that the Lorenz curve and the Gini index are widely used in various disciplines of sciences, the proposed model and the closed-form expression for the Gini index could be used as alternative tools to analyze size distributions of non-negative quantities and examine their inequalities or unevennesses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thitithep Sitthiyot
- Department of Banking and Finance, Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, Chulalongkorn University, Mahitaladhibesra Bld., 10th Fl., Phayathai Rd., Pathumwan, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand.
| | - Kanyarat Holasut
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Khon Kaen University, Mittapap Rd., Muang District, Khon Kaen, 40002, Thailand
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11
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Rutherford KL, Cottenie K, Denomme-Brown ST. To go or not to go: variable density-dependent dispersal in small mammals. J Mammal 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyac117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Population density has been widely understood to be a key influencer of dispersal behavior; however, the generality of density-dependent (DD) dispersal in vertebrates is unclear. We conducted a review of the available empirical data on small mammal DD dispersal, distinguishing between the three dispersal stages: emigration, immigration, and transience (dispersal distance). We focused on small mammals because they are a well-studied, functionally similar group of vertebrates, with a distinct ecological importance. We also examined the effect of season, body mass, study length, and study type on the strength and direction of DD dispersal. The majority of emigration and dispersal distance studies reported negative density dependence, while immigration was mostly independent of density. No correlative patterns were detected; however, interpretation of the available data was hindered by inconsistencies in experimental and analytical approach across studies. Our results suggest that the three phases of the dispersal process may be influenced differently by density and highlight the importance of distinguishing between emigration, immigration, and transience when considering the effects of density dependence. As well, our study identifies several limitations with the current available data which limit the ability to compare DD dispersal behavior across systems, and calls for future investigations that consider all three phases of dispersal in the same system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate L Rutherford
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph , 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1 , Canada
| | - Karl Cottenie
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph , 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1 , Canada
| | - Simon T Denomme-Brown
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph , 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1 , Canada
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12
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Amson E, Scheyer TM, Martinez Q, Schwermann AH, Koyabu D, He K, Ziegler R. Unique bone microanatomy reveals ancestry of subterranean specializations in mammals. Evol Lett 2022; 6:552-561. [PMID: 36579164 PMCID: PMC9783445 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Acquiring a subterranean lifestyle entails a substantial shift for many aspects of terrestrial vertebrates' biology. Although this lifestyle is associated with multiple instances of convergent evolution, the relative success of some subterranean lineages largely remains unexplained. Here, we focus on the mammalian transitions to life underground, quantifying bone microanatomy through high-resolution X-ray tomography. The true moles stand out in this dataset. Examination of this family's bone histology reveals that the highly fossorial moles acquired a unique phenotype involving large amounts of compacted coarse cancellous bone. This phenotype exceeds the adaptive optimum seemingly shared by several other subterranean mammals and can be traced back to some of the first known members of the family. This remarkable microanatomy was acquired early in the history of the group and evolved faster than the gross morphology innovations of true moles' forelimb. This echoes the pattern described for other lifestyle transitions, such as the acquisition of bone mass specializations in secondarily aquatic tetrapods. Highly plastic traits-such as those pertaining to bone structure-are hence involved in the early stages of different types of lifestyle transitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eli Amson
- Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde StuttgartDE‐70191StuttgartGermany
| | - Torsten M. Scheyer
- Palaeontological Institute and MuseumUniversity of ZurichZurichCH‐8006Switzerland
| | - Quentin Martinez
- Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde StuttgartDE‐70191StuttgartGermany
| | - Achim H. Schwermann
- LWL‐Museum für NaturkundeWestfälisches Landesmuseum mit PlanetariumDE‐48161MünsterGermany
| | - Daisuke Koyabu
- Research and Development Center for Precision MedicineUniversity of TsukubaTsukuba305‐8550Japan
| | - Kai He
- Key Laboratory of Conservation and Application in Biodiversity of South China, School of Life SciencesGuangzhou UniversityGuangzhou510006China
| | - Reinhard Ziegler
- Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde StuttgartDE‐70191StuttgartGermany
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13
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How Many Mammals Are Killed on Brazilian Roads? Assessing Impacts and Conservation Implications. DIVERSITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/d14100835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Millions of animals are killed on roads annually due to collisions with vehicles, particularly medium–large mammals. Studies on mammal road-kill flourished in Brazil in the last decade and an assessment of research on road-kill impacts at a country level will help define science-based conservation strategies. In this study, we used the compiled scientific literature to provide the state of knowledge on medium and large-sized mammals killed by road traffic in Brazil, their conservation status, and an approximation of the road-kill magnitude. We reviewed a total of 62 scientific papers that reported road-kill data accounting for 11.817 individuals. Of the 102 species of medium–large mammals found in the IUCN list, more than half (n = 62; 61%) were recorded as road-kill on Brazilian roads. The Carnivora order comprises over a quarter (n = 23; 37%) of the total road-killed species. A total of 9 species (14.5%) were classified as threatened, with a further 10 (16%) as Near Threatened. Over half of the road-killed species (n = 33, 53%) showed declining population trends according to their IUCN conservation status. Our extrapolation of the results for the entire Brazilian paved road network showed that the number of medium–large road-killed mammals can reach almost 9 million yearly (maximum 8.7 million; mean 1.3 million), representing a biomass of more than 10000 tons. The highest roadkill rates were recorded for common generalists and least concern species, although there were also threatened and near threatened species within the top 15 highest road-kill rates. The declining population trends found for most species reflect serious conservation concerns, since there is a lack of information on the mortality effects at population levels. Our results suggest that medium–large mammals are severally affected by road mortality in Brazil. More investigations are needed at local and abundance population levels, in a way that allows the inclusion of road network as an important threat for target species impacted by road-kill in the national territory, in order to develop adequate plans to mitigate those impacts.
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14
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Salvatori M, Oberosler V, Augugliaro C, Krofel M, Rovero F. Effects of free-ranging livestock on occurrence and interspecific interactions of a mammalian community. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2022; 32:e2644. [PMID: 35471769 PMCID: PMC9788037 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Mammalian communities inhabiting temperate grasslands are of conservation concern globally, especially in Central Asia, where livestock numbers have dramatically increased in recent decades, leading to overgrazing and land-use change. Yet, how this pervasive presence of livestock herds affects the community of wild mammals remains largely unstudied. We used systematic camera trapping at 216 sites across remote, mountainous areas of the Mongolian Altai Mountains to assess the spatial and temporal patterns of occurrence and the interspecific relationships within a mammalian community that includes different categories of livestock. By adopting a recently proposed multispecies occupancy model that incorporates interspecific correlation in occupancy, we found several statistically strong correlations in occupancy among species pairs, with the majority involving livestock. The sign of such associations was markedly species-dependent, with larger wild species of conservation concern, namely, snow leopard and Siberian ibex, avoiding livestock presence. As predicted, we found evidence of a positive correlation in occupancy between predators and their respective main prey. Contrary to our expectations, a number of intraguild species pairs also showed positive co-occurrence, with no evidence of spatiotemporal niche partitioning. Overall, our study suggests that livestock encroaching into protected areas influences the whole local community of wild mammals. Though pastoralism has coexisted with wildlife for millennia in central Asian grasslands, our findings suggest that policies and practices to decrease the pressure of livestock husbandry on wildlife are needed, with special attention on large species, such as the snow leopard and its wild prey, which seem to be particularly sensitive to this pervasive livestock presence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Salvatori
- Department of BiologyUniversity of FlorenceSesto FiorentinoItaly
- MUSE ‐ Science Museum of TrentoTrentoItaly
| | | | - Claudio Augugliaro
- Department of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of LausanneLausanneSwitzerland
- Wildlife Initiative NGOUlaanbaatarMongolia
| | - Miha Krofel
- Department of Forestry, Biotechnical FacultyUniversity of LjubljanaLjubljanaSlovenia
| | - Francesco Rovero
- Department of BiologyUniversity of FlorenceSesto FiorentinoItaly
- MUSE ‐ Science Museum of TrentoTrentoItaly
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15
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Porter CK, Golcher-Benavides J, Benkman CW. Seasonal patterns of dietary partitioning in vertebrates. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:2463-2475. [PMID: 36134722 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Revised: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Dietary partitioning plays a central role in biological communities, yet the extent of partitioning often varies dramatically over time. Food availability may drive temporal variation in dietary partitioning, but alternative paradigms offer contrasting predictions about its effect. We compiled estimates of dietary overlap between co-occurring vertebrates to test whether partitioning is greater during periods of high or low food abundance. We found that dietary partitioning was generally greatest when food abundance was low, suggesting that competition for limited food drives partitioning. The extent of dietary partitioning in birds and mammals was also related to seasonality in primary productivity. As seasonality increased, partitioning increased during the nonbreeding season for birds and the breeding season for mammals. Although some hypotheses invoke changes in dietary breadth to explain temporal variation in dietary partitioning, we found no association between dietary breadth and partitioning. These results have important implications for the evolution of dietary divergence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cody K Porter
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
| | - Jimena Golcher-Benavides
- Department of Botany, Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA.,Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
| | - Craig W Benkman
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
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16
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Hatfield JH, Davis KE, Thomas CD. Lost, gained, and regained functional and phylogenetic diversity of European mammals since 8000 years ago. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2022; 28:5283-5293. [PMID: 35748709 PMCID: PMC9540530 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Revised: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Mammals have experienced high levels of human-mediated extirpations but have also been widely introduced to new locations, and some have recovered from historic persecution. Both of these processes-losses and gains-have resulted in concern about functional losses and changes in ecological communities as new ecological states develop. The question of whether species turnover inevitably leads to declines in functional and phylogenetic diversity depends, however, on the traits and phylogenetic distinctiveness of the species that are lost, gained, or regained. Comparing ~8000 years ago with the last century, we show that extirpations and range retractions have indeed reduced the functional and phylogenetic diversity of mammals in most European regions (countries and island groups), but species recoveries and the introduction of non-native species have increased functional and phylogenetic diversity by equivalent or greater amounts in many regions. Overall, across Europe, species richness increased in 41 regions over the last 8000 years and declined in 1; phylogenetic diversity increased in 33 and declined in 12, while functional diversity results showed 20 increases and 25 decreases. The balance of losses (extirpations) and gains (introductions, range expansions) has, however, led to net increases in functional diversity on many islands, where the original diversity was low, and across most of western Europe. Historically extirpated mega- and mesofaunal species have recolonized or been reintroduced to many European regions, contributing to recent functional and phylogenetic diversity recovery. If conservation rewilding projects continue to reintroduce regionally extirpated species and domestic descendants of "extinct" species to provide replacement grazing, browsing, and predation, there is potential to generate net functional and phylogenetic diversity gains (relative to 8000 years ago) in most European regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack H. Hatfield
- Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene BiodiversityUniversity of YorkYorkUK
- Department of BiologyUniversity of YorkYorkUK
| | | | - Chris D. Thomas
- Leverhulme Centre for Anthropocene BiodiversityUniversity of YorkYorkUK
- Department of BiologyUniversity of YorkYorkUK
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17
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de Jonge IK, Olff H, Wormmeester R, Veldhuis MP. Spatiotemporal habitat use of large African herbivores across a conservation border. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.12754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Inger K. de Jonge
- Conservation Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
- Systems Ecology, Department of Ecological Science, Faculty of Science Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Han Olff
- Conservation Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Remo Wormmeester
- Conservation Ecology, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Michiel P. Veldhuis
- Department of Environmental Biology, Institute of Environmental Sciences Leiden University Leiden The Netherlands
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18
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Global protected areas seem insufficient to safeguard half of the world's mammals from human-induced extinction. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2200118119. [PMID: 35666869 PMCID: PMC9214487 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2200118119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Protected areas are vital for conserving global biodiversity, but we lack information on the extent to which the current global protected area network is able to prevent local extinctions. Here we investigate this by assessing the potential size of individual populations of nearly 4,000 terrestrial mammals within protected areas. We find that many existing protected areas are too small or too poorly connected to provide robust and resilient protection for almost all mammal species that are threatened with extinction and for over 1,000 species that are not currently threatened. These results highlight that global biodiversity targets must reflect ecological realities by incorporating spatial structure and estimates of population viability, rather than relying simply on the total area of land protected. Protected areas (PAs) are a cornerstone of global conservation and central to international plans to minimize global extinctions. During the coming century, global ecosystem destruction and fragmentation associated with increased human population and economic activity could make the long-term survival of most terrestrial vertebrates even more dependent on PAs. However, the capacity of the current global PA network to sustain species for the long term is unknown. Here, we explore this question for all nonvolant terrestrial mammals for which we found sufficient data, ∼4,000 species. We first estimate the potential population size of each such mammal species in each PA and then use three different criteria to estimate if solely the current global network of PAs might be sufficient for their long-term survival. Our analyses suggest that current PAs may fail to provide robust protection for about half the species analyzed, including most species currently listed as threatened with extinction and a third of species not currently listed as threatened. Hundreds of mammal species appear to have no viable protected populations. Underprotected species were found across all body sizes, taxonomic groups, and geographic regions. Large-bodied mammals, endemic species, and those in high-biodiversity tropical regions were particularly poorly protected by existing PAs. As new international biodiversity targets are formulated, our results suggest that the global network of PAs must be greatly expanded and most importantly that PAs must be located in diverse regions that encompass species not currently protected and must be large enough to ensure that protected species can persist for the long term.
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19
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20
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Evolutionary causes and consequences of ungulate migration. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:998-1006. [PMID: 35513579 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01749-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Ungulate migrations are crucial for maintaining abundant populations and functional ecosystems. However, little is known about how or why migratory behaviour evolved in ungulates. To investigate the evolutionary origins of ungulate migration, we employed phylogenetic path analysis using a comprehensive species-level phylogeny of mammals. We found that 95 of 207 extant ungulate species are at least partially migratory, with migratory behaviour originating independently in 17 lineages. The evolution of migratory behaviour is associated with reliance on grass forage and living at higher latitudes wherein seasonal resource waves are most prevalent. Indeed, originations coincide with mid-Miocene cooling and the subsequent rise of C4 grasslands. Also, evolving migratory behaviour supported the evolution of larger bodies, allowing ungulates to exploit new ecological space. Reconstructions of migratory behaviour further revealed that seven of ten recently extinct species were probably migratory, suggesting that contemporary migrations are important models for understanding the ecology of the past.
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21
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Draper JP, Young JK, Schupp EW, Beckman NG, Atwood TB. Frugivory and Seed Dispersal by Carnivorans. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.864864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Seed dispersal is critical to the ecological performance of sexually reproducing plant species and the communities that they form. The Mammalian order Carnivora provide valuable and effective seed dispersal services but tend to be overlooked in much of the seed dispersal literature. Here we review the literature on the role of Carnivorans in seed dispersal, with a literature search in the Scopus reference database. Overall, we found that Carnivorans are prolific seed dispersers. Carnivorans’ diverse and plastic diets allow them to consume large volumes of over a hundred families of fruit and disperse large quantities of seeds across landscapes. Gut passage by these taxa generally has a neutral effect on seed viability. While the overall effect of Carnivorans on seed dispersal quality is complex, Carnivorans likely increase long-distance dispersal services that may aid the ability of some plant species to persist in the face of climate change.
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22
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Estrada-Villegas S, Pérez-Torres J, McGill BJ, Stevens RD. Environmental Seasonality Regulates Community Evenness in Neotropical Bat Communities. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.839384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Evenness is a key community property that provides insights into resource acquisition and ecosystem functioning. However, it is unclear how other community properties influence evenness after integrating the effect of environmental gradients. Using 49 neotropical bat communities, we tested the hypothesis that evenness increases in communities that have low species richness and low biomass because the negative effect of richness and biomass on evenness is regulated by environmental seasonality. We selected among path models to determine how temperature seasonality, the most important gradient across study sites, affected richness and biomass as drivers of evenness. Employing three indices of evenness, we found that more seasonal climate reduces species richness, and lower richness increases evenness. Moreover, a decline in biomass with increasing seasonality also increases evenness. A decrease in resource specialization and rarity as sites become more seasonal may explain the negative relationship between seasonality, richness and evenness. Moreover, the negative effect of biomass on richness and evenness may be due to an expansion of niche space and a positive effect of smaller body size on diversification rates, which may allow more species packing and greater richness. We believe our results bring us closer to a unified theory of which factors control evenness in a community.
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23
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Si X, Cadotte MW, Davies TJ, Antonelli A, Ding P, Svenning JC, Faurby S. Phylogenetic and functional clustering illustrate the roles of adaptive radiation and dispersal filtering in jointly shaping late-Quaternary mammal assemblages on oceanic islands. Ecol Lett 2022; 25:1250-1262. [PMID: 35275608 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2021] [Revised: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Islands frequently harbour unique assemblages of species, yet their ecological roles and differences are largely ignored in island biogeography studies. Here, we examine eco-evolutionary processes structuring mammal assemblages on oceanic islands worldwide, including all extant and extinct late-Quaternary mammal species. We find island mammal assemblages tend to be phylogenetically clustered (share more recent evolutionary histories), with clustering increasing with island area and isolation. We also observe that mammal assemblages often tend to be functionally clustered (share similar traits), but the strength of clustering is weak and generally independent from island area or isolation. These findings indicate the important roles of in situ speciation and dispersal filtering in shaping island mammal assemblages under pre-anthropogenic conditions, notably through adaptive radiation of a few clades (e.g. bats, with generally high dispersal abilities). Our study demonstrates that considering the functional and phylogenetic axes of diversity can better reveal the eco-evolutionary processes of island community assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingfeng Si
- Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.,Institute of Eco-Chongming (IEC), Shanghai, China
| | - Marc W Cadotte
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto-Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - T Jonathan Davies
- Departments of Botany, and Forest & Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Alexandre Antonelli
- Department of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Royal Botanic Gardens, Richmond, Surrey, UK.,Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Ping Ding
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.,Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Søren Faurby
- Department of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
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24
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Christison BE, Gaidies F, Pineda-Munoz S, Evans AR, Gilbert MA, Fraser D. Dietary niches of creodonts and carnivorans of the late Eocene Cypress Hills Formation. J Mammal 2022; 103:2-17. [PMID: 35087328 PMCID: PMC8789764 DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyab123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Modern North American carnivorous mammal assemblages consist of species from a single clade: the Carnivora. Carnivorans once coexisted with members of other meat-eating clades, including the creodonts (Hyaenodontida and Oxyaenida). Creodonts, however, went extinct in North America during the late Eocene and early Oligocene, potentially due to niche overlap and resource competition with contemporary carnivorans. In this study, we employ a community ecology approach to understand whether the dietary niches of coexisting creodonts and carnivorans overlapped during the late Eocene (Chadronian North American Land Mammal Age), a time when creodonts were dwindling and carnivorans were diversifying. We quantify niche overlap based on inferences of diet from carnassial tooth shape estimated using Orientation Patch Count, Dirichlet's Normal Surface Energy, and linear dental measurements as well as from body mass for all species in the Calf Creek Local Fauna of Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan (Treaty 4 land). Although creodonts and carnivorans shared characteristics of their carnassial tooth shape, suggesting similar chewing mechanics and feeding habits, we find that marked differences in body size likely facilitated niche partitioning, at least between the largest creodonts and carnivorans. Calculations of prey focus masses and prey mass spectra indicate that only the smallest creodont may have experienced significant competition for prey with the coeval carnivorans. We suggest that the ultimate extinction of creodonts from North America during the late Eocene and Oligocene was unlikely to have been driven by factors related to niche overlap with carnivorans.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fred Gaidies
- Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Silvia Pineda-Munoz
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Alistair R Evans
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Geosciences, Museums Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Marisa A Gilbert
- Palaeobiology, Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Danielle Fraser
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
- Palaeobiology, Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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25
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Ramírez-Delgado JP, Di Marco M, Watson JEM, Johnson CJ, Rondinini C, Corredor Llano X, Arias M, Venter O. Matrix condition mediates the effects of habitat fragmentation on species extinction risk. Nat Commun 2022; 13:595. [PMID: 35105881 PMCID: PMC8807630 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28270-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Habitat loss is the leading cause of the global decline in biodiversity, but the influence of human pressure within the matrix surrounding habitat fragments remains poorly understood. Here, we measure the relationship between fragmentation (the degree of fragmentation and the degree of patch isolation), matrix condition (measured as the extent of high human footprint levels), and the change in extinction risk of 4,426 terrestrial mammals. We find that the degree of fragmentation is strongly associated with changes in extinction risk, with higher predictive importance than life-history traits and human pressure variables. Importantly, we discover that fragmentation and the matrix condition are stronger predictors of risk than habitat loss and habitat amount. Moreover, the importance of fragmentation increases with an increasing deterioration of the matrix condition. These findings suggest that restoration of the habitat matrix may be an important conservation action for mitigating the negative effects of fragmentation on biodiversity. The influence of human pressure within the matrix surrounding habitat fragments remains poorly understood. This study measures the relationship between habitat fragmentation, matrix condition and the change in extinction risk of 4,426 terrestrial mammals, finding that fragmentation and matrix condition are stronger predictors of risk than habitat loss and habitat amount.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Pablo Ramírez-Delgado
- Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Institute, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, V2N 4Z9, Canada.
| | - Moreno Di Marco
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - James E M Watson
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072, Australia.,Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072, QLD, Australia
| | - Chris J Johnson
- Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Institute, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, V2N 4Z9, Canada
| | - Carlo Rondinini
- Global Mammal Assessment Program, Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00185, Italy
| | - Xavier Corredor Llano
- Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Institute, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, V2N 4Z9, Canada
| | - Miguel Arias
- Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Institute, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, V2N 4Z9, Canada
| | - Oscar Venter
- Natural Resources and Environmental Studies Institute, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, V2N 4Z9, Canada
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26
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Pampush JD, Fuselier EJ, Yapuncich GS. Using BayesModelS to provide Bayesian- and phylogenetically-informed primate body mass predictions. J Hum Evol 2021; 161:103077. [PMID: 34688978 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Revised: 09/01/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
An accurate prediction of the body mass of an extinct species can greatly inform the reconstruction of that species' ecology. Therefore, paleontologists frequently predict the body mass of extinct taxa from fossilized materials, particularly dental dimensions. Body mass prediction has traditionally been performed in a frequentist statistical framework, and accounting for phylogenetic relationships while calibrating prediction models has only recently become more commonplace. In this article, we apply BayesModelS-a phylogenetically informed Bayesian prediction method-to predict body mass in a sample of 49 euarchontan species (24 strepsirrhines, 20 platyrrhines, 3 tarsiids, 1 dermopteran, and 1 scandentian) and compare this approach's body mass prediction accuracy with other commonly used techniques, namely ordinary least squares, phylogenetic generalized least squares, and phylogenetic independent contrasts (PICs). When predicting the body masses of extant euarchontans from dental and postcranial variables, BayesModelS and PICs have substantially higher predictive accuracy than ordinary least squares and phylogenetic generalized least squares. The improved performances of BayesModelS and PIC are most evident for dentally derived body mass proxies or when body mass proxies have high degrees of phylogenetic covariance. Predicted values generated by BayesModelS and PIC methods also show less variance across body mass proxies when applied to the Eocene adapiform Notharctus tenebrosus. These more explicitly phylogenetically based methods should prove useful for predicting body mass in a paleontological context, and we provide executive scripts for both BayesModelS and PIC to increase ease of application.
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Affiliation(s)
- James D Pampush
- Department of Exercise Science, High Point University, High Point, NC 27260, USA; Department of Physician Assistant Studies, High Point University, High Point, NC 27260, USA.
| | - Edward J Fuselier
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, High Point University, High Point, NC 27260, USA
| | - Gabriel S Yapuncich
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA; Medical Education Administration, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
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27
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Pollock TI, Hocking DP, Evans AR. The killer’s toolkit: remarkable adaptations in the canine teeth of mammalian carnivores. Zool J Linn Soc 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Often the first point of contact between predator and prey, mammalian canine teeth are essential for killing, dismembering and consuming prey. Yet despite their importance, few associations among shape, function and phylogeny are established. We undertook the first comprehensive analysis of canine tooth shape across predatory mammals (Carnivora, Didelphimorphia and Dasyuromorphia), integrating shape analysis with function of this fundamental feature. Shape was quantified using three-dimensional geometric morphometrics and cross-sectional sharpness. Canines vary in three main ways (sharpness, robustness and curvature) which vary with diet, killing behaviour and phylogeny. Slender, sharp canines are associated with carnivores such as felids that target the neck of their prey and primarily consume the ‘softer’ parts of a carcass. Robust, blunt canines are found in mustelids and dasyurids that typically consume ‘harder’ materials, such as bone, or bite into skulls. Differences in the killing behaviours of felids and canids probably result in more curved canines in the latter, which act as hooks to hold prey. We find functional specialization in the upper and lower canines of individuals and across the major mammalian clades. These patterns demonstrate how canine teeth are adapted to suit diverse diets and hunting styles, enabling mammals to become some of nature's most successful predators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tahlia I Pollock
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - David P Hocking
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Zoology, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Alistair R Evans
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Geosciences, Museums Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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28
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Cruz LR, Muylaert RL, Galetti M, Pires MM. The geography of diet variation in Neotropical Carnivora. Mamm Rev 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/mam.12266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lívia R. Cruz
- Programa de Pós Graduação em Ecologia Instituto de Biologia Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) Campinas São Paulo Brazil
- Laboratório de Estrutura e Dinâmica da Diversidade (LEDDiv) Departamento de Biologia Animal Instituto de Biologia Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) Campinas São Paulo13083‐970Brazil
| | - Renata L. Muylaert
- Molecular Epidemiology and Public Health Laboratory Hopkirk Research InstituteMassey University Palmerston North Manawatu‐Wanganui New Zealand
| | - Mauro Galetti
- Department of Biology University of Miami Coral Gables FL33146USA
- Departamento de Biodiversidade Instituto de Biociências Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) Rio Claro São Paulo13506‐900Brazil
| | - Mathias M. Pires
- Laboratório de Estrutura e Dinâmica da Diversidade (LEDDiv) Departamento de Biologia Animal Instituto de Biologia Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) Campinas São Paulo13083‐970Brazil
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29
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Gómez JM, Verdú M, González-Megías A. Killing conspecific adults in mammals. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20211080. [PMID: 34284635 PMCID: PMC8292775 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Mammals kill both conspecific infants and adults. Whereas infanticide has been profusely studied, the killing of non-infants (adulticide) has seldom attracted the attention of researchers. Mammals kill conspecific adults by at least four, non-exclusive reasons: during intrasexual aggression for mating opportunities, to defend valuable resources, to protect their progeny and to prey upon conspecifics. In this study, we test which reason is most likely to explain male and female adulticide in mammals. For this, we recorded the presence of adulticide, the ecological and behavioural traits, and the phylogenetic relationship for more than 1000 species. Adulticide has been recorded in over 350 species from the most important Mammalian clades. Male adulticide was phylogenetically correlated with the presence of size dimorphism and intrasexually selected weapons. Female adulticide was phylogenetically associated with the occurrence of infanticide. These results indicate that the evolutionary pathways underlying the evolution of adulticide differ between sexes in mammals. Whereas males commit adulticide to increase breeding opportunities and to compete with other males for mating, females commit adulticide mainly to defend offspring from infanticidal conspecifics.
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Affiliation(s)
- José María Gómez
- Dpto de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC), Carretera de Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, 0-4120 Almería, Spain
| | - Miguel Verdú
- Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación (CSIC-UV-GV), Ctra Moncada-Náquera km 4.5, 46113 Moncada (Valencia), Spain
| | - Adela González-Megías
- Dpto de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, Avda Fuentenueva s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain
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30
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Lawing AM, McCoy M, Reinke BA, Sarkar SK, Smith FA, Wright D. A Framework for Investigating Rules of Life by Establishing Zones of Influence. Integr Comp Biol 2021; 61:2095-2108. [PMID: 34297089 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icab169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2021] [Revised: 06/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The incredible complexity of biological processes across temporal and spatial scales hampers defining common underlying mechanisms driving the patterns of life. However, recent advances in sequencing, big data analysis, machine learning, and molecular dynamics simulation have renewed the hope and urgency of finding potential hidden rules of life. There currently exists no framework to develop such synoptic investigations. Some efforts aim to identify unifying rules of life across hierarchical levels of time, space, and biological organization, but not all phenomena occur across all the levels of these hierarchies. Instead of identifying the same parameters and rules across levels, we posit that each level of a temporal and spatial scale and each level of biological organization has unique parameters and rules that may or may not predict outcomes in neighboring levels. We define this neighborhood, or the set of levels, across which a rule functions as the zone of influence. Here, we introduce the zone of influence framework and explain using three examples: (Smocovitis, 1992) randomness in biology, where we use a Poisson process to describe processes from protein dynamics to DNA mutations to gene expressions, (Leroi, 2014) island biogeography, and (Gropp, 2016) animal coloration. The zone of influence framework may enable researchers to identify which levels are worth investigating for a particular phenomenon and reframe the narrative of searching for a unifying rule of life to the investigation of how, when, and where various rules of life operate.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michael McCoy
- Department of Biology, East Carolina University, NC, USA
| | - Beth A Reinke
- Department of Biology, Northeastern Illinois University, IL, USA
| | | | - Felisa A Smith
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, NM, USA
| | - Derek Wright
- Department of Physics, Colorado School of Mines, CO, USA
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31
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Webber QMR, McGuire LP. Heterothermy, body size, and locomotion as ecological predictors of migration in mammals. Mamm Rev 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/mam.12263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Quinn M. R. Webber
- Cognitive and Behavioural Ecology Interdisciplinary Program Memorial University of Newfoundland 232 Elizabeth Ave St. John’s NLA1B 3X9Canada
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Colorado Boulder Ramaley N122 Boulder CO80309‐0334USA
| | - Liam P. McGuire
- Department of Biology University of Waterloo 200 University Avenue West Waterloo ONN2L 3G1Canada
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32
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Museum genomics reveals the rapid decline and extinction of Australian rodents since European settlement. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2021390118. [PMID: 34183409 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2021390118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Australia has the highest historically recorded rate of mammalian extinction in the world, with 34 terrestrial species declared extinct since European colonization in 1788. Among Australian mammals, rodents have been the most severely affected by these recent extinctions; however, given a sparse historical record, the scale and timing of their decline remain unresolved. Using museum specimens up to 184 y old, we generate genomic-scale data from across the entire assemblage of Australian hydromyine rodents (i.e., eight extinct species and their 42 living relatives). We reconstruct a phylogenomic tree for these species spanning ∼5.2 million years, revealing a cumulative total of 10 million years (>10%) of unique evolutionary history lost to extinction within the past ∼150 y. We find no evidence for reduced genetic diversity in extinct species just prior to or during decline, indicating that their extinction was extremely rapid. This suggests that populations of extinct Australian rodents were large prior to European colonization, and that genetic diversity does not necessarily protect species from catastrophic extinction. In addition, comparative analyses suggest that body size and biome interact to predict extinction and decline, with larger species more likely to go extinct. Finally, we taxonomically resurrect a species from extinction, Gould's mouse (Pseudomys gouldii Waterhouse, 1839), which survives as an island population in Shark Bay, Western Australia (currently classified as Pseudomys fieldi Waite, 1896). With unprecedented sampling across a radiation of extinct and living species, we unlock a previously inaccessible historical perspective on extinction in Australia. Our results highlight the capacity of collections-based research to inform conservation and management of persisting species.
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33
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Beauchamp G, Li Z, Yu C, Bednekoff PA, Blumstein DT. A meta-analysis of the group-size effect on vigilance in mammals. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Group-size effects, whereby antipredator vigilance decreases as group size increases, are widely reported in mammals and birds but a meta-analysis has only been conducted in birds. We systematically reviewed the literature on mammalian group-size effects, estimated the effect sizes in each study, and conducted a phylogenetic meta-analysis. We obtained 296 effect sizes from 97 species belonging to 10 Orders and 26 Families. Overall, effect sizes indicated a moderate negative effect of group size (r = −0.44), but 43% of the effect sizes were compatible with a null effect of group size. There was significant heterogeneity in effect sizes. Weaker effect sizes occurred when vigilance was measured as a frequency or a duration rather than as a percentage of time spent vigilant, when measured in closed habitats, during the reproductive season, and in mixed-sex groups or during times when juveniles were absent. We infer a “file drawer problem” because there were relatively few studies with smaller sample sizes reporting small group-size effects. The results confirm the importance of group size in explaining variation in mammalian vigilance but also suggest which a substantial amount of variation remains unexplained. We suggest that future studies should aim to study mammalian group-size effects by quantifying the percentage of time allocated to vigilance rather than lower-power methods such as frequency or duration of vigilance.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Zhongqiu Li
- Lab of Animal Behavior and Conservation, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, 210023, Nanjing, China
| | - Cong Yu
- Lab of Animal Behavior and Conservation, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, 210023, Nanjing, China
| | - Peter A Bednekoff
- Department of Biology, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USA
| | - Daniel T Blumstein
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California, 621 Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095–1606, USA
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34
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Coatham SJ, Sellers WI, Püschel TA. Convex hull estimation of mammalian body segment parameters. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:210836. [PMID: 34234959 PMCID: PMC8242930 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Obtaining accurate values for body segment parameters (BSPs) is fundamental in many biomechanical studies, particularly for gait analysis. Convex hulling, where the smallest-possible convex object that surrounds a set of points is calculated, has been suggested as an effective and time-efficient method to estimate these parameters in extinct animals, where soft tissues are rarely preserved. We investigated the effectiveness of convex hull BSP estimation in a range of extant mammals, to inform the potential future usage of this technique with extinct taxa. Computed tomography scans of both the skeleton and skin of every species investigated were virtually segmented. BSPs (the mass, position of the centre of mass and inertial tensors of each segment) were calculated from the resultant soft tissue segments, while the bone segments were used as the basis for convex hull reconstructions. We performed phylogenetic generalized least squares and ordinary least squares regressions to compare the BSPs calculated from soft tissue segments with those estimated using convex hulls, finding consistent predictive relationships for each body segment. The resultant regression equations can, therefore, be used with confidence in future volumetric reconstruction and biomechanical analyses of mammals, in both extinct and extant species where such data may not be available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel J. Coatham
- Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Michael Smith Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK
| | - William I. Sellers
- Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Michael Smith Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK
| | - Thomas A. Püschel
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6BX, UK
- Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Oxford, 64 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 6PN, UK
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35
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Roycroft E, Achmadi A, Callahan CM, Esselstyn JA, Good JM, Moussalli A, Rowe KC. Molecular Evolution of Ecological Specialisation: Genomic Insights from the Diversification of Murine Rodents. Genome Biol Evol 2021; 13:6275684. [PMID: 33988699 PMCID: PMC8258016 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evab103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Adaptive radiations are characterized by the diversification and ecological differentiation of species, and replicated cases of this process provide natural experiments for understanding the repeatability and pace of molecular evolution. During adaptive radiation, genes related to ecological specialization may be subject to recurrent positive directional selection. However, it is not clear to what extent patterns of lineage-specific ecological specialization (including phenotypic convergence) are correlated with shared signatures of molecular evolution. To test this, we sequenced whole exomes from a phylogenetically dispersed sample of 38 murine rodent species, a group characterized by multiple, nested adaptive radiations comprising extensive ecological and phenotypic diversity. We found that genes associated with immunity, reproduction, diet, digestion, and taste have been subject to pervasive positive selection during the diversification of murine rodents. We also found a significant correlation between genome-wide positive selection and dietary specialization, with a higher proportion of positively selected codon sites in derived dietary forms (i.e., carnivores and herbivores) than in ancestral forms (i.e., omnivores). Despite striking convergent evolution of skull morphology and dentition in two distantly related worm-eating specialists, we did not detect more genes with shared signatures of positive or relaxed selection than in a nonconvergent species comparison. Although a small number of the genes we detected can be incidentally linked to craniofacial morphology or diet, protein-coding regions are unlikely to be the primary genetic basis of this complex convergent phenotype. Our results suggest a link between positive selection and derived ecological phenotypes, and highlight specific genes and general functional categories that may have played an integral role in the extensive and rapid diversification of murine rodents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Roycroft
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.,Sciences Department, Museums Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Acton, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Anang Achmadi
- Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Research Center for Biology, Cibinong, Jawa Barat, Indonesia
| | - Colin M Callahan
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - Jacob A Esselstyn
- Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Jeffrey M Good
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA.,Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - Adnan Moussalli
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.,Sciences Department, Museums Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Kevin C Rowe
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.,Sciences Department, Museums Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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36
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Mammal species occupy different climates following the expansion of human impacts. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:1922859118. [PMID: 33397717 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1922859118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Cities and agricultural fields encroach on the most fertile, habitable terrestrial landscapes, fundamentally altering global ecosystems. Today, 75% of terrestrial ecosystems are considerably altered by human activities, and landscape transformation continues to accelerate. Human impacts are one of the major drivers of the current biodiversity crisis, and they have had unprecedented consequences on ecosystem function and rates of species extinctions for thousands of years. Here we use the fossil record to investigate whether changes in geographic range that could result from human impacts have altered the climatic niches of 46 species covering six mammal orders within the contiguous United States. Sixty-seven percent of the studied mammals have significantly different climatic niches today than they did before the onset of the Industrial Revolution. Niches changed the most in the portions of the range that overlap with human-impacted landscapes. Whether by forcible elimination/introduction or more indirect means, large-bodied dietary specialists have been extirpated from climatic envelopes that characterize human-impacted areas, whereas smaller, generalist mammals have been facilitated, colonizing these same areas of the climatic space. Importantly, the climates where we find mammals today do not necessarily represent their past habitats. Without mitigation, as we move further into the Anthropocene, we can anticipate a low standing biodiversity dominated by small, generalist mammals.
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37
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Liew JH, Kho ZY, Lim RBH, Dingle C, Bonebrake TC, Sung YH, Dudgeon D. International socioeconomic inequality drives trade patterns in the global wildlife market. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/19/eabf7679. [PMID: 33952526 PMCID: PMC8099177 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abf7679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The wildlife trade is a major cause of species loss and a pathway for disease transmission. Socioeconomic drivers of the wildlife trade are influential at the local scale yet rarely accounted for in multinational agreements aimed at curtailing international trade in threatened species. In recent decades (1998-2018), approximately 421,000,000 threatened (i.e., CITES-listed) wild animals were traded between 226 nations/territories. The global trade network was more highly connected under conditions of greater international wealth inequality, when rich importers may have a larger economic advantage over poorer exporting nations/territories. Bilateral trade was driven primarily by socioeconomic factors at the supply end, with wealthier exporters likely to supply more animals to the global market. Our findings suggest that international policies for reducing the global wildlife trade should address inequalities between signatory states, possibly using incentive/compensation-driven programs modeled after other transnational environmental initiatives (e.g., REDD+).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia Huan Liew
- Division for Ecology and Biodiversity, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR.
- Science Unit, Lingnan University, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong SAR
| | - Zi Yi Kho
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Hong Kong SAR
| | - Rayson Bock Hing Lim
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 16 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117558, Republic of Singapore
| | - Caroline Dingle
- Division for Ecology and Biodiversity, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR
| | - Timothy Carlton Bonebrake
- Division for Ecology and Biodiversity, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR
| | - Yik Hei Sung
- Science Unit, Lingnan University, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong SAR
| | - David Dudgeon
- Division for Ecology and Biodiversity, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR
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38
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Santini L, Isaac NJB. Rapid Anthropocene realignment of allometric scaling rules. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:1318-1327. [PMID: 33932267 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The negative relationship between body size and population density in mammals is often interpreted as resulting from energetic constraints. In a global change scenario, however, this relationship might be expected to change, given the size-dependent nature of anthropogenic pressures and vulnerability to extinction. Here we test whether the size-density relationship (SDR) in mammals has changed over the last 50 years. We show that the relationship has shifted down and became shallower, corresponding to a decline in population density of 31-73%, for the largest and smallest mammals, respectively. However, the SDRs became steeper in some groups (e.g. carnivores) and shallower in others (e.g. herbivores). The Anthropocene reorganisation of biotic systems is apparent in macroecological relationships, reinforcing the notion that biodiversity pattens are contingent upon conditions at the time of investigation. We call for an increased attention to the role of global change on macroecological inferences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Santini
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies "Charles Darwin", Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy.,National Research Council, Institute of Research on Terrestrial Ecosystems (CNR-IRET), Monterotondo (Rome), Italy
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39
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Amson E, Bibi F. Differing effects of size and lifestyle on bone structure in mammals. BMC Biol 2021; 19:87. [PMID: 33926429 PMCID: PMC8086358 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-01016-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mammals are a highly diverse group, with body mass ranging from 2 g to 170 t, and encompassing species with terrestrial, aquatic, aerial, and subterranean lifestyles. The skeleton is involved in most aspects of vertebrate life history, but while previous macroevolutionary analyses have shown that structural, phylogenetic, and functional factors influence the gross morphology of skeletal elements, their inner structure has received comparatively little attention. Here we analysed bone structure of the humerus and mid-lumbar vertebrae across mammals and their correlations with different lifestyles and body size. RESULTS We acquired bone structure parameters in appendicular and axial elements (humerus and mid-lumbar vertebra) from 190 species across therian mammals (placentals + marsupials). Our sample captures all transitions to aerial, fully aquatic, and subterranean lifestyles in extant therian clades. We found that mammalian bone structure is highly disparate and we show that the investigated vertebral structure parameters mostly correlate with body size, but not lifestyle, while the opposite is true for humeral parameters. The latter also show a high degree of convergence among the clades that have acquired specialised (non-terrestrial) lifestyles. CONCLUSIONS In light of phylogenetic, size, and functional factors, the distribution of each investigated structural parameter reveals patterns explaining the construction of appendicular and axial skeletal elements in mammalian species spanning most of the extant diversity of the clade in terms of body size and lifestyle. These patterns should be further investigated with analyses focused on specific lifestyle transitions that would ideally include key fossils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eli Amson
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany.
- Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart, Rosenstein 1, 70191, Stuttgart, Germany.
| | - Faysal Bibi
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany
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40
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Brischoux F, Lillywhite HB, Shine R, Pinaud D. Osmoregulatory ability predicts geographical range size in marine amniotes. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20203191. [PMID: 33823670 PMCID: PMC8059505 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.3191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Species that are distributed over wide geographical ranges are likely to encounter a greater diversity of environmental conditions than do narrowly distributed taxa, and thus we expect a correlation between size of geographical range and breadth of physiological tolerances to abiotic challenges. That correlation could arise either because higher physiological capacity enables range expansion, or because widely distributed taxa experience more intense (but spatially variable) selection on physiological tolerances. The invasion of oceanic habitats by amniotic vertebrates provides an ideal system with which to test the predicted correlation between range size and physiological tolerances, because all three lineages that have secondarily moved into marine habitats (mammals, birds, reptiles) exhibit morphological and physiological adaptations to excrete excess salt. Our analyses of data on 62 species (19 mammals, 18 birds, 24 reptiles) confirm that more-widely distributed taxa encounter habitats with a wider range of salinities, and that they have higher osmoregulatory ability as determined by sodium concentrations in fluids expelled from salt-excreting organs. This result remains highly significant even in models that incorporate additional explanatory variables such as metabolic mode, body size and dietary habits. Physiological data thus may help to predict potential range size and perhaps a species' vulnerability to anthropogenic disturbance.
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Affiliation(s)
- François Brischoux
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, CEBC UMR 7372 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 79360 Villiers en Bois, France
| | | | - Richard Shine
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - David Pinaud
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, CEBC UMR 7372 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 79360 Villiers en Bois, France
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41
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Vertebrate frugivory on jackfruit Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. (Moraceae) in its native and exotic ranges. Trop Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s42965-021-00145-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
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42
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McCain CM, King SRB, Szewczyk TM. Unusually large upward shifts in cold-adapted, montane mammals as temperature warms. Ecology 2021; 102:e03300. [PMID: 33565621 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Revised: 10/27/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The largest and tallest mountain range in the contiguous United States, the Southern Rocky Mountains, has warmed considerably in the past several decades due to anthropogenic climate change. Herein we examine how 47 mammal elevational ranges (27 rodent and 4 shrew species) have changed from their historical distributions (1886-1979) to their contemporary distributions (post 2005) along 2,400-m elevational gradients in the Front Range and San Juan Mountains of Colorado. Historical elevational ranges were based on more than 4,580 georeferenced museum specimen and publication records. Contemporary elevational ranges were based on 7,444 records from systematic sampling efforts and museum specimen records. We constructed Bayesian models to estimate the probability a species was present, but undetected, due to undersampling at each 50-m elevational bin for each time period and mountain range. These models leveraged individual-level detection probabilities, the number and patchiness of detections across 50-m bands of elevation, and a decaying likelihood of presence from last known detections. We compared 95% likelihood elevational ranges between historical and contemporary time periods to detect directional change. Responses were variable as 26 mammal ranges changed upward, 6 did not change, 11 changed downward, and 4 were extirpated locally. The average range shift was 131 m upward, while exclusively montane species shifted upward more often (75%) and displayed larger average range shifts (346 m). The best predictors of upper limit and total directional change were species with higher maximum latitude in their geographic range, montane affiliation, and the study mountain was at the southern edge of their geographic range. Thus, mammals in the Southern Rocky Mountains serve as harbingers of more changes to come, particularly for montane, cold-adapted species in the southern portion of their ranges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christy M McCain
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA.,CU Museum of Natural History, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA
| | - Sarah R B King
- CU Museum of Natural History, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA.,Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80523, USA
| | - Tim M Szewczyk
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA.,Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, 03824, USA.,Department of Computer Science, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, 03824, USA
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43
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Short-term occupations at high elevation during the Middle Paleolithic at Kalavan 2 (Republic of Armenia). PLoS One 2021; 16:e0245700. [PMID: 33539405 PMCID: PMC7861461 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Accepted: 01/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The Armenian highlands encompasses rugged and environmentally diverse landscapes and is characterized by a mosaic of distinct ecological niches and large temperature gradients. Strong seasonal fluctuations in resource availability along topographic gradients likely prompted Pleistocene hominin groups to adapt by adjusting their mobility strategies. However, the role that elevated landscapes played in hunter-gatherer settlement systems during the Late Pleistocene (Middle Palaeolithic [MP]) remains poorly understood. At 1640 m above sea level, the MP site of Kalavan 2 (Armenia) is ideally positioned for testing hypotheses involving elevation-dependent seasonal mobility and subsistence strategies. Renewed excavations at Kalavan 2 exposed three main occupation horizons and ten additional low densities lithic and faunal assemblages. The results provide a new chronological, stratigraphical, and paleoenvironmental framework for hominin behaviors between ca. 60 to 45 ka. The evidence presented suggests that the stratified occupations at Kalavan 2 locale were repeated ephemerally most likely related to hunting in a high-elevation within the mountainous steppe landscape.
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44
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Kilbourne BM. Differing limb functions and their potential influence upon the diversification of the mustelid hindlimb skeleton. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Though form-function relationships of the mammalian locomotor system have been investigated for over a century, recent models of trait evolution have hitherto been seldom used to identify likely evolutionary processes underlying the locomotor system’s morphological diversity. Using mustelids, an ecologically diverse carnivoran lineage, I investigated whether variation in hindlimb skeletal morphology functionally coincides with climbing, digging, swimming and generalized locomotor habits by using 15 linear traits of the femur, tibia, fibula, calcaneum and metatarsal III across 44 species in a principal component analysis. I subsequently fit different models of Brownian motion and adaptive trait diversification individually to each trait. Climbing, digging and swimming mustelids occupy distinct regions of phenotypic space characterized by differences in bone robustness. Models of adaptive and neutral evolution are, respectively, the best fits for long bone lengths and muscle in-levers, suggesting that different kinds of traits may be associated with different evolutionary processes. However, simulations based upon models of best fit reveal low statistical power to rank the models. Though differences in mustelid hindlimb skeletal morphology appear to coincide with locomotor habits, further study, with sampling expanded beyond the Mustelidae, is necessary to better understand to what degree adaptive evolution shapes morphological diversity of the locomotor system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon M Kilbourne
- Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Leibniz Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Berlin, Germany
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45
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Lundgren EJ, Schowanek SD, Rowan J, Middleton O, Pedersen RØ, Wallach AD, Ramp D, Davis M, Sandom CJ, Svenning JC. Functional traits of the world's late Quaternary large-bodied avian and mammalian herbivores. Sci Data 2021; 8:17. [PMID: 33473149 PMCID: PMC7817692 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-020-00788-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erick J Lundgren
- Centre for Compassionate Conservation, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia.
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
| | - Simon D Schowanek
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
| | - John Rowan
- Department of Anthropology, University at Albany, Albany, NY, 12222, USA
| | - Owen Middleton
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Sussex, UK
| | - Rasmus Ø Pedersen
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Arian D Wallach
- Centre for Compassionate Conservation, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia
| | - Daniel Ramp
- Centre for Compassionate Conservation, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, Australia
| | - Matt Davis
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, 90007, USA
| | | | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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46
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Amson E. Humeral diaphysis structure across mammals. Evolution 2021; 75:748-755. [PMID: 33433007 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Revised: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Long bones comprise articular ends (epiphyses) joined by transitional metaphyses and a diaphysis (shaft). The structure of the latter is often viewed as regularly tubular across tetrapods (limbed vertebrates). However, assessments of the bone structure along the whole diaphysis are rare. Here, I assess whole-diaphysis profiles of global compactness (bone fraction) of 164 species of extant and extinct therian mammals (marsupials + placentals) in a phylogenetically informed context. Generally terrestrial, mammals have acquired multiple times the highly specialized aerial, fully aquatic, and subterranean lifestyles, allowing to potentially associate specific traits with these lifestyles. I show that there is a consistent increase in global compactness along the diaphysis in most mammals. This pattern is modified in a limited number of specialized species: all aerial clades (gliders and bats) have rather uniform and low values, while cetaceans' humeral diaphysis is marked by a slightly more compact mid-diaphyseal region. Among subterranean clades, structure alterations are most obvious in fossorial talpids (true moles) and their highly modified humerus. These results call for the investigation of bone structure in whole skeletal elements of key fossils in order to reconstruct the patterns of evolutionary modifications associated with lifestyle transitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eli Amson
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße 43, Berlin, 10115, Germany
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47
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Boris Castillo-Ravanal, Vallejos-Garrido P, Rodríguez-Serrano E. Diet of Culpeo fox (Lycalopex culpaeus, Molina 1782): the role of non-native prey in a strongly seasonal environment of south-central Chile. MAMMALIA 2020. [DOI: 10.1515/mammalia-2019-0142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
In this study, we establish the seasonal variation of the Culpeo fox’s diet in a seasonal ecosystem of south-central Chile. By scat analyses, 21 prey taxa were identified, 16 were animal and five were plant species. Mammals (88.47%) were the main biomass contribution with small seasonal fluctuations. Plants contributed the most to the differences observed in all seasons since they showed very marked changes. We determined that the Culpeo fox inhabiting the Andes of south-central Chile feeds mainly on small non-native mammals all year round, and supplements its diet opportunistically from items whose abundance oscillates seasonally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boris Castillo-Ravanal
- Laboratorio de Mastozoología, Departamento de Zoología , Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción , Barrio Universitario s/n, Casilla 160-C , Concepción , Chile
| | - Paulo Vallejos-Garrido
- Laboratorio de Mastozoología, Departamento de Zoología , Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción , Barrio Universitario s/n, Casilla 160-C , Concepción , Chile
| | - Enrique Rodríguez-Serrano
- Laboratorio de Mastozoología, Departamento de Zoología , Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción , Barrio Universitario s/n, Casilla 160-C , Concepción , Chile
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48
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Villalobos-Segura MDC, García-Prieto L, Rico-Chávez O. Effects of latitude, host body size, and host trophic guild on patterns of diversity of helminths associated with humans, wild and domestic mammals of Mexico. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PARASITOLOGY-PARASITES AND WILDLIFE 2020; 13:221-230. [PMID: 33224727 PMCID: PMC7666364 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2020.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Revised: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Parasites are strictly associated with their hosts and present a great diversity of life histories, often resulting in different diversity patterns than those observed in free-living species. However, ecological approaches have detected that, in some cases, mammal-associated helminths respond similarly to non-parasitic species in terms of diversity patterns. Using 2200 recorded interactions, we analysed the diversity patterns of helminths (Acanthocephala, Nematoda and Platyhelminthes) harbored by humans, wild and domestic mammals of Mexico, depending on latitude, host body mass and trophic guild (carnivore, herbivore, insectivore, omnivore), considering helminth richness and average taxonomic distinctness, and host phylogenetic diversity and phylogenetic clustering. Latitude was positively correlated with the average taxonomic distinctness encompassing the three parasite phyla and nematodes. Northern latitudes had less taxonomically related parasite assemblages. Host body mass had a significant negative relationship with the average taxonomic distinctness of acanthocephalans and the richness of helminths associated to wild hosts. The omnivore hosts had greater parasite richness, while insectivores had a less taxonomically related parasite assemblage and herbivores had a more heterogeneous parasite assemblage. Our results highlight the importance of incorporating different dimensions of diversity, such as average taxonomic distinctness and to consider the composition of parasite assemblages to better understand their diversity patterns. Four diversity measures were used to describe diversity patterns of helminths. Latitude was positively correlated with helminth average taxonomic distinctness. Host body mass was negatively related with the helminth richness of wildlife hosts. Helminth sets of omnivore hosts were richer in parasite species. Helminth sets of insectivore hosts had a wider taxonomic breadth.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Del Carmen Villalobos-Segura
- Laboratorio de Ecología de Enfermedades y Una Salud, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, México City, Mexico
| | - Luis García-Prieto
- Laboratorio de Helmintología, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Apartado Postal 70-153, 04510, México City, Mexico
| | - Oscar Rico-Chávez
- Laboratorio de Ecología de Enfermedades y Una Salud, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 04510, México City, Mexico
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49
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Negro JJ, Doña J, Blázquez MC, Rodríguez A, Herbert-Read JE, Brooke MDL. Contrasting stripes are a widespread feature of group living in birds, mammals and fishes. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20202021. [PMID: 33049169 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Grouping is a widespread form of predator defence, with individuals in groups often performing evasive collective movements in response to attack by predators. Individuals in these groups use behavioural rules to coordinate their movements, with visual cues about neighbours' positions and orientations often informing movement decisions. Although the exact visual cues individuals use to coordinate their movements with neighbours have not yet been decoded, some studies have suggested that stripes, lines, or other body patterns may act as conspicuous conveyors of movement information that could promote coordinated group movement, or promote dazzle camouflage, thereby confusing predators. We used phylogenetic logistic regressions to test whether the contrasting achromatic stripes present in four different taxa vulnerable to predation, including species within two orders of birds (Anseriformes and Charadriiformes), a suborder of Artiodactyla (the ruminants), and several orders of marine fishes (predominantly Perciformes) were associated with group living. Contrasting patterns were significantly more prevalent in social species, and tended to be absent in solitary species or species less vulnerable to predation. We suggest that stripes taking the form of light-coloured lines on dark backgrounds, or vice versa, provide a widespread mechanism across taxa that either serves to inform conspecifics of neighbours' movements, or to confuse predators, when moving in groups. Because detection and processing of patterns and of motion in the visual channel is essentially colour-blind, diverse animal taxa with widely different vision systems (including mono-, di-, tri-, and tetrachromats) appear to have converged on a similar use of achromatic patterns, as would be expected given signal-detection theory. This hypothesis would explain the convergent evolution of conspicuous achromatic patterns as an antipredator mechanism in numerous vertebrate species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan J Negro
- Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC, Avda. Americo Vespucio 26, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Jorge Doña
- Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1816 S. Oak St., Champaign, IL 61820, USA.,Departamento de Biología Animal, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - M Carmen Blázquez
- Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste (CIBNOR), 23096 La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico
| | - Airam Rodríguez
- Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC, Avda. Americo Vespucio 26, 41092 Sevilla, Spain.,Grupo de Ornitología e Historia Natural de las Islas Canarias, GOHNIC, Canarias, Spain
| | - James E Herbert-Read
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.,Department of Biology, Aquatic Ecology Unit, Lund University, Lund 223 62, Sweden
| | - M de L Brooke
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
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50
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Newham E, Gill PG, Brewer P, Benton MJ, Fernandez V, Gostling NJ, Haberthür D, Jernvall J, Kankaanpää T, Kallonen A, Navarro C, Pacureanu A, Richards K, Brown KR, Schneider P, Suhonen H, Tafforeau P, Williams KA, Zeller-Plumhoff B, Corfe IJ. Reptile-like physiology in Early Jurassic stem-mammals. Nat Commun 2020; 11:5121. [PMID: 33046697 PMCID: PMC7550344 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18898-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2019] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite considerable advances in knowledge of the anatomy, ecology and evolution of early mammals, far less is known about their physiology. Evidence is contradictory concerning the timing and fossil groups in which mammalian endothermy arose. To determine the state of metabolic evolution in two of the earliest stem-mammals, the Early Jurassic Morganucodon and Kuehneotherium, we use separate proxies for basal and maximum metabolic rate. Here we report, using synchrotron X-ray tomographic imaging of incremental tooth cementum, that they had maximum lifespans considerably longer than comparably sized living mammals, but similar to those of reptiles, and so they likely had reptilian-level basal metabolic rates. Measurements of femoral nutrient foramina show Morganucodon had blood flow rates intermediate between living mammals and reptiles, suggesting maximum metabolic rates increased evolutionarily before basal metabolic rates. Stem mammals lacked the elevated endothermic metabolism of living mammals, highlighting the mosaic nature of mammalian physiological evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elis Newham
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. .,Bioengineering Science Research Group, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
| | - Pamela G Gill
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. .,Earth Sciences Department, The Natural History Museum, London, UK.
| | - Philippa Brewer
- Earth Sciences Department, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | | | - Vincent Fernandez
- Core Research Laboratories, The Natural History Museum, London, UK.,ESRF, The European Synchrotron, Grenoble, France
| | - Neil J Gostling
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - David Haberthür
- Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen, Switzerland.,Institute of Anatomy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Jukka Jernvall
- Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Tuomas Kankaanpää
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Aki Kallonen
- Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Charles Navarro
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | | | | | - Kate Robson Brown
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Philipp Schneider
- Bioengineering Science Research Group, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Heikki Suhonen
- Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Katherine A Williams
- Bioengineering Science Research Group, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Berit Zeller-Plumhoff
- Institute for Materials Research, Division of Metallic Biomaterials, Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht, Geesthacht, Germany
| | - Ian J Corfe
- Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. .,Geomaterials and Applied Mineralogy group, Geological Survey of Finland, Espoo, Finland.
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