The impossible coincidence. A single‐species model for the origins of modern human behavior in Europe

Few topics in palaeoanthropology have generated more recent debate than the nature and causes of the remarkable transformation in human behavioral patterns that marked the transition from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic in Europe. 1 - 11 Those of us who have argued for an effective technological and cultural “revolution” at this point in the Paleolithic sequence have emphasized three main dimensions 1 , 2 , 9 , 11 - 14 : the wide range of different aspects of behavior that appear to have been affected (Fig. 1); the relative speed and abruptness with which most of these changes can be documented in the archeological records from the different regions of Europe; and the potentially profound social and cognitive implications of many of the innovations involved. Most striking of all in this context is the abrupt appearance and proliferation of various forms of perforated animal teeth, shells, beads, and other personal ornaments, and the even more dramatic eruption of remarkably varied and sophisticated forms of art, ranging from representations of male and female sex organs, through the highly stylized animal and combined animal‐human figures from southern Germany, to the striking wall paintings of the Chauvet Cave. 8 , 15 - 18 One might add to this the similar proliferation of more enigmatic but potentially equally significant abstract “notation” systems on bone and ivory artifacts. 19 To describe the Upper Paleolithic revolution in Europe as reflecting preeminently an explosion in explicitly symbolic behavior and expression is in no sense an exaggeration, as most prehistorians would now agree. We are probably on safe ground in assuming that symbolic behavior and expression of this level of complexity would be inconceivable in the absence of highly structured language systems and brains closely similar, if not identical to, our own. 5 , 17 , 20 - 28 .     

Long-term memory modules

One particular kind of structure offers possible explanations, for long-term memory, efficient consolidation of stored information from the environment, clustering of data strings and multimodal functioning. It is a possible model for pieces of neural structure and its use offers a uniform method for both studying and constructing an extensive class of mechanisms.     

Horizontal cliffs: mountaintop mining and climate change

Poleward and upward shifts in ranges in plant and animal species are amongst the most confident impacts of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems. While mountain tops have long been recognised as an important limit in this regard, the implications of the practice of mountaintop removal mining, i.e., acting counter to the upward shift of species, have yet to be considered. In regions where climate warming and mountaintop mining occur together, species face increased risk of range contraction and local extinction.     

Temporal and spatial differences in the emission of calls by pipistrelle bats<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pipistrellus pipistrellus</Emphasis> and<Emphasis Type="Italic">P. pygmaeus</Emphasis>

The number of orientation, feeding and social calls emitted by pipistrelle batsPipistrellus pipistrellus Schreber, 1774 andP. pygmaeus Leach, 1825 was recorded throughout the night at eight different sites. Social calls were unaffected by weather variables, whereas orientation calls and feeding buzzes were both significantly affected by cloud and temperature conditions. The number of emissions of each call type was significantly different between sites, indicating that the bats used different sites for different activities. Significant positive correlations between all three combinations of call types occurred only during the middle of the night, corresponding with the nadir of flying insects. This suggests that bats were engaged in activities other than feeding at this time, such as territory protection or mate attraction.     

Alterations in high-affinity binding characteristics and levels of opioids in invertebrate ganglia during aging: Evidence for an opioid compensatory mechanism

In Mytilus and Leucophaea the high-affinity binding site density is significantly lower in old animals than in young animals, whereas the low-affinity site density remains unchanged. In Mytilus the estimated met-enkephalin and met-enkephalin-Arg6-Phe7 levels are significantly higher in old than in young animals. In Leucophaea only the met-enkephalin level can be determined, and it is also higher in old animals. The decrease in the high-affinity binding site density and the corresponding increase in endogenous enkephalin levels suggest the existence of an opioid compensatory mechanism associated with the aging process. In Mytilus there is a demonstrated decrease with age in intraganglionic dopamine levels in response to applied opiates. In addition, the inhibition of dopamine-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity by opiates also decreases in older animals. In Leucophaea the sex difference in opioid binding densities diminishes with age.     

The dark-colour-inducing neurohormone of locusts in relation to an albino mutant of Schistocerca gregaria

In the albino mutant of an Okinawa strain of Locusta migratoria (L.) (Orthoptera: Acrididae), albinism is caused by the absence of the dark‐colour‐inducing neurohormone (DCIN), which is present in the corpora cardiaca (CC) of normally coloured phenotypes. This study tests whether the absence of DCIN is responsible for albinism in an albino mutant of another locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forsk.) (Orthoptera: Acrididae). This seemed feasible because a single Mendelian unit controls albinism in both species. However, implantation of CC, or injection of an extract of CC, from albino donors of S. gregaria, induce dark coloration in crowded nymph recipients of the Okinawa albino mutant of L. migratoria, as effectively as do implanted CC, or injections of extract of CC, from normal phenotype donors of S. gregaria. Therefore, DCIN is present in the albino mutant of S. gregaria, and consequently, the albinism in this mutant is not caused by its absence. Implantation of CC, or injection of extracts of CC, from albino donors of S. gregaria to conspecific albino nymphs does not induce darkening. Only extremely high doses of synthetic DCIN injected into albino nymphs of S. gregaria are effective, inducing some darkening. The dose to induce such darkening in albino nymphs of S. gregaria is 50 nmol, ≈ 5 × 10⁶ times higher than that (10 femtomol) needed to induce equivalent darkening in nymphs of the Okinawa albinos of L. migratoria. The results are discussed and some possible explanations of the observed effects outlined.     

青藏高原草地承载力空间演变特征及其预警

为研究青藏高原草地承载力的空间演变特征并对其进行预警，以已有的青藏高原净初级生产力数据为基础，核算了该地区的草地理论载畜量及演变趋势，并结合县域实际存栏量，划定了草地承载力的预警等级。结果表明：（1）青藏高原草地承载力整体呈东高西低的格局，其中高寒草原和高寒草甸是该地区草地承载力的主要组成部分；（2）2000-2015年，青藏高原理论载畜量由8614.89万羊单位增至9451.53万羊单位；（3）青藏高原整体处于超载状态，2000-2010年超载状况加剧，至2015年超载状况稍有缓解，草畜平衡指数由67.88%增至79.90%，再降至67.91%。目前亟需优先控制72个红色预警县（超载状态正在加剧）的牲畜存栏量，避免超载状况进一步恶化。未来需要通过控制牲畜存栏量、调整畜牧区发展布局和提高草地生产力等多项措施的结合来改善青藏高原地区的草地承载状况，维持草地生态系统的可持续发展。     

Climatic forcing and larval dispersal capabilities shape the replenishment of fishes and their habitat‐forming biota on a tropical coral reef

Fluctuations in marine populations often relate to the supply of recruits by oceanic currents. Variation in these currents is typically driven by large‐scale changes in climate, in particular ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation). The dependence on large‐scale climatic changes may, however, be modified by early life history traits of marine taxa. Based on eight years of annual surveys, along 150 km of coastline, we examined how ENSO influenced abundance of juvenile fish, coral spat, and canopy‐forming macroalgae. We then investigated what traits make populations of some fish families more reliant on the ENSO relationship than others. Abundance of juvenile fish and coral recruits was generally positively correlated with the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), higher densities recorded during La Niña years, when the ENSO‐influenced Leeuwin Current is stronger and sea surface temperature higher. The relationship is typically positive and stronger among fish families with shorter pelagic larval durations and stronger swimming abilities. The relationship is also stronger at sites on the coral back reef, although the strongest of all relationships were among the lethrinids (r = .9), siganids (r = .9), and mullids (r = .8), which recruit to macroalgal meadows in the lagoon. ENSO effects on habitat seem to moderate SOI–juvenile abundance relationship. Macroalgal canopies are higher during La Niña years, providing more favorable habitat for juvenile fish and strengthening the SOI effect on juvenile abundance. Conversely, loss of coral following a La Niña‐related heat wave may have compromised postsettlement survival of coral dependent species, weakening the influence of SOI on their abundance. This assessment of ENSO effects on tropical fish and habitat‐forming biota and how it is mediated by functional ecology improves our ability to predict and manage changes in the replenishment of marine populations.