The Black Death in Hereford,England: A demographic analysis of the Cathedral 14th-century plague mass graves and associated parish cemetery

Objectives

This study explores the paleoepidemiology of the Black Death (1348–52 AD) mass graves from Hereford, England, via osteological analysis. Hereford plague mortality is evaluated in the local context of the medieval city and examined alongside other Black Death burials.

Methods

The Hereford Cathedral site includes mass graves relating to the Black Death and a 12th-16th century parish cemetery. In total, 177 adult skeletons were analyzed macroscopically: 73 from the mass graves and 104 from the parish cemetery. Skeletal age-at-death was assessed using transition analysis, and sex and stress markers were analyzed.

Results

The age-at-death distributions for the mass graves and parish cemetery were significantly different (p = 0.0496). Within the mass graves, young adults (15–24 years) were substantially over-represented, and mortality peaked at 25–34 years. From 35 years of age onwards, there was little variation in the mortality profiles for the mass graves and parish cemetery. Males and females had similar representation across burial types. Linear enamel hypoplasia was more prevalent within the mass graves (p = 0.0340) whereas cribra orbitalia and tibial periostitis were underrepresented.

Conclusions

Mortality within the Hereford mass graves peaked at a slightly older age than is seen within plague burials from London, but the overall profiles are similar. This demonstrates that young adults were disproportionately at risk of dying from plague compared with other age groups. Our findings regarding stress markers may indicate that enamel hypoplasia is more strongly associated with vulnerability to plague than cribra orbitalia or tibial periostitis.     

Sandhill Crane Abundance and Nesting Ecology at Grays Lake,Idaho

Abstract: We examined population size and factors influencing nest survival of greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) at Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Idaho, USA, during 1997–2000. Average local population of cranes from late April to early May, 1998–2000, was 735 cranes, 34% higher than that reported for May 1970–1971. We estimated 228 (SE = 30) nests in the basin core (excluding renests), 14% higher than a 1971 estimate. Apparent nest success in our study (x̄ = 60%, n = 519 nests) was lower than reported for Grays Lake 30–50 years earlier. Daily survival rates (DSRs) of all nests averaged 0.9707 (41.2%). The best model explaining nest survival included year and water depth and their interaction. Nest survival was highest (DSR = 0.9827) in 1998 compared with other years (0.9698-0.9707). Nest survival changed little relative to water depth in 1998, when flooding was extensive and alternative prey (microtines) irrupted, but declined markedly with lower water levels in 2000, the driest year studied. Hypotheses relating nest survival to vegetation height, land use (idle, summer grazing, fall grazing), and date were not supported. In a before-after-control-impact design using 12 experimental fields, nest survival differed among years but not among management treatments (idle, fall graze, fall burn, and summer—graze—idle rotation), nor was there an interaction between year and treatments. However, DSRs in fall-burn fields declined from 0.9781 in 1997–1998 to 0.9503 in 1999–2000 (posttreatment). Changes in the predator community have likely contributed to declines in nest success since the 1950s and 1970s. Our results did not support earlier concerns about effects of habitat management practices on crane productivity. Nest survival could best be enhanced by managing spring water levels. Managers should continue censuses during late April to evaluate long-term relationships to habitat conditions and management.     

On the trail of pulmonary tuberculosis based on rib lesions: results from the Human Identified Skeletal Collection from the Museu Bocage (Lisbon, Portugal)

In the last 20 years, studies on human identified skeletal collections have revealed a significant relationship between new bone formation on the visceral surface of ribs and pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). To improve methods of differential diagnosis of respiratory diseases in archaeological skeletons, an investigation was conducted on 197 individuals from the Human Identified Skeletal Collection of the Museu Bocage (Lisbon, Portugal). This sample included 109 males and 88 females who lived during the 19th-20th centuries, with ages at death ranging from 13-88 years. The skeletons were grouped according to cause of death: 1) pulmonary TB (N = 84); 2) pulmonary non-TB diseases (N = 49); and 3) a control group (N = 64) composed of individuals randomly selected among the extrapulmonary non-TB causes of death. The ribs, sterna, scapulae, and clavicles were macroscopically observed. New bone formation on the visceral surface of ribs was recorded in 90.5% (76/84) of individuals who died from pulmonary TB, in 36.7% (18/49) with a pulmonary non-TB disease as cause of death, and in 25.0% (16/64) of the control group. These differences were statistically significant (P < 0.001). Furthermore, in individuals with pulmonary TB, the bony lesions presented mainly as lamellar bone on the vertebral end of the upper and middle thoracic rib cage. Proliferative alterations also occurred on one sternum and in nine clavicles and eight scapulae. This work strongly supports the results of similar studies performed on other documented collections, suggesting that new bone formation on ribs, although not pathognomonic, is a useful criterion for the differential diagnosis of pulmonary TB.     

Has the transition to agriculture reshaped the demographic structure of prehistoric populations? New evidence from the Levant

This paper presents the demographic changes that followed the transition from a hunting-gathering way of life (Natufian) to an agricultural, food-producing economy (Neolithic) in the southern Levant. The study is based on 217 Natufian (10,500-8,300 BC) skeletons and 262 Neolithic (8,300-5,500 BC) skeletons. Age and sex identification were carried out, and life tables were constructed. A five-parameter competing hazard model developed by Siler ([1979] Ecology 60:750-757) was used to smooth life-table data. No indication of increased mortality with the advent of agriculture was noted. On the contrary, both life expectancy at birth (24.6 vs. 25.5 years) and adults' mean age at death (31.2 vs. 32.1 years) increased slightly from the Natufian to the Neolithic period (assuming stationary populations). Yet the transition to agriculture affected males and females differently: mean age at death in the Natufian was higher for adult females compared to adult males, while in the Neolithic, it was the reverse. One interpretation given to the distribution of female ages at death is that with the onset of the Neolithic period, maternal mortality increased as a result of a concomitant increase in fertility. If the adoption of agriculture in the Levant increased the rate of population growth at the beginning of the Neolithic, expectation of life may have increased dramatically.     

Brief communication: the collection of identified human skeletons housed at the Bocage Museum (National Museum of Natural History), Lisbon, Portugal

A large collection of identified human skeletons curated at the Bocage Museum (National Museum of Natural History, Lisbon, Portugal) has remained in relative anonymity since its collecting protocol was initiated in the 1980s. This collection originates from modern cemetery sources and is comprised of 1,692 skeletons with basic documentary data (age at death, place of birth, occupation, place of residence, and date and cause of death). At present, this information is more readily available for 699 individuals. The remaining 993 are in the process of being fully documented. The skeletons consist largely of Portuguese nationals who lived in the 19th and 20th centuries (1805-1975) in Lisbon. Both sexes are equally represented, and ages at death range from birth to 98 years, including 92 subadults (<20 years old).     

Constitution and By-Laws of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists

From parent populations (N = 50,000) statistically generated, representing different levels of correlation (r) between the age at death and a hypothetical biological indicator (r = 0.8-0.98), reference samples and target demographic samples are randomly drawn. Two iterative techniques, proportional fitting procedure and Bayesian, are used to estimate from the reference samples the age distribution of the targets. Due to the random fluctuations of the pattern of aging, both in the reference and target samples, these techniques converge only in expectation toward the true value of a distribution, but not in practice for any particular realization. Nevertheless, these techniques allow the estimation of the average of an age distribution, even if its shape is unknown. Under the hypothesis that the target sample is drawn from a stationary population, this average represents the life expectancy at 20 years (plus 20 years). Using this mean age at death for the adults and the juvenility index at death (D5-14/D20-ω), a new set of paleodemographic estimators were derived from 40 archaic life tables. For a hypothesized stable population, they give the life expectancy at birth and at 20 years, and the probability of death at 1 and 5 years. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Cementum annulations,age estimation,and demographic dynamics in Mid-Holocene foragers of North India

One of the principal problems facing palaeodemography is age estimation in adult skeletons and the centrist tendency that affects many age estimation methods by artificially increasing the proportion of individuals in the 30–45-year age category. Several recent publications have indicated that cementum annulations are significantly correlated with known age of extraction or death. This study addresses the question of how demographic dynamics are altered for an archaeological sample when cementum-based age estimates are used as opposed to those obtained via conventional macroscopic methods. Age pyramids were constructed and demographic profiles were compared for the early Holocene skeletal population from Damdama (India). The results demonstrate that the use of cementum annulations for age estimation in only a subset of the skeletal sample has a significant impact on the demographic profile with regard to specific parameters such as mean age at death and life expectancy at birth. This confirms the importance of using cementum annulations to refine age estimates in archaeological samples, which, when combined with a fertility-centred approach to demography, can provide new insights into population dynamics in the past.     

Proteomics of CaCO3 biomineral‐associated proteins: How to properly address their analysis

In a recent editorial (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 2013 110, E2144–E2146) and elsewhere, questions have been raised regarding the experimental practices in relation to the proteomic analysis of organic matrices associated to the biomineralized CaCO₃ skeletons of metazoans such as molluscan shells and coral skeletons. Indeed, although the use of new high sensitivity MS technology potentially allows to identify a greater number of proteins, it is also equally (or even more) sensitive to contamination of residual proteins from soft tissues, which are in close contact with the biomineral. Based on our own past and present experimental know‐how—observations that are reproducible and coherent with the current understanding of extracellular biomineralization processes—we are convinced that a careful and appropriate cleaning of biominerals prior to any analysis is crucial for accurate proteomic investigations and subsequent pertinent interpretation of the results. Our goal is to alert the scientific community about the associated bias that definitely should be avoided, and to provide critical recommendations on sample preparation and experimental design, in order to better take advantage of the aptness of proteomic approaches aiming at improving our understanding of the molecular mechanisms in biomineralization.     

A demographic analysis of skeletons from the Larson site (39WW2) Walworth County,South Dakota: Vital statistics

A life table methodology was used for paleodemographic analysis of skeletons from the Larson site (39WW2), an Arikara village and cemetery dated to circa A.D. 1750–1785. Vital statistics on mortality, survivorship, age-specific probability of death, life expectancy and crude mortality rate were derived from skeletal data. The population had an extremely high infant mortality rate and high rates of childhood mortality. The lowest probability of death was for adolescents. Mortality increased for young adults, ages 15–19. This increase was especially marked for females, the actual peak of adult female mortality was during ages 15–19. A second mode in the female mortality curve occurred at ages 35–39. The greatest percentage of male deaths was observed in the fourth decade, ages 30–34. Only 4.0% of the population attained the age of 50. The population crude death rate was 76 per thousand per year. This estimate, although high, is congruent with archaeological and historical sources which report a rapid Arikara population decline during the Post-Contact period. Causes of specific deaths appear to be linked to childbirth (affecting mother and infant), starvation, diseases especially tuberculosis, and intertribal warfare.     

The effect of pharmaceutical innovation on longevity: Evidence from the U.S. and 26 high-income countries

This study examines the impact that pharmaceutical innovation, which accounts for most private biomedical research expenditure, has had on longevity. We perform two types of two-way fixed-effects analyses, which control for the effects of many potentially confounding variables. First, we analyze long-run (2006–2018) changes in longevity associated with different diseases in a single country: the U.S. Then, we analyze relative longevity levels associated with different diseases in 26 high-income countries during a single time period (2006–2016). The measure of longevity we analyze, mean age at time of death, is strongly positively correlated across countries with life expectancy at birth. The measure of pharmaceutical innovation we use is the mean vintage (year of initial world launch) of the drugs used to treat each disease in each country. Changes in the vintage distribution of drugs are due to both entry of new drugs and exit of old drugs. Our analysis of U.S. data indicates that the diseases for which there were larger increases in drug vintage tended to have larger increases in the longevity of Americans of all races and both sexes. In other words, the lower the mean age of the drugs, the higher the mean age at death. We test, and are unable to reject, the “parallel trends” hypothesis. We estimate that the 2006–2018 increase in drug vintage increased the mean age at death of Americans by about 6 months (66% of the observed increase). Controlling for sex, race, and education has only a small effect on the estimate of the vintage coefficient. The estimates indicate that drug vintage did not have a significant effect on the mean age at death of decedents with less than 9 years of education. Drug vintage had a positive and significant effect on the mean age at death of decedents with at least 9 years of education, and a larger effect on the mean age at death of decedents with at least 13 years of education. The finding that pharmaceutical innovation has a larger effect on the longevity of people with more education is consistent with previous evidence that more educated people are more likely to use newer drugs. Our analysis of data on 26 high-income countries indicates that the higher the vintage of drugs available to treat a disease in a country, the higher mean age at death was, controlling for fixed disease and country effects. The increase in drug vintage is estimated to have increased mean age at death in the 26 countries by 1.23 years between 2006 and 2016—73% of the observed increase. We obtain estimates of the cost of pharmaceutical innovation—its impact on drug expenditure—as well as estimates of an important benefit of pharmaceutical innovation—the number of life-years gained from it—and of their ratio, i.e., the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. Estimates of the cost per life-year gained for the U.S. and the 26 countries are $35,817 and $13,904, respectively. Both figures are well below per capita GDP in the respective regions, suggesting that, overall, pharmaceutical innovation was highly cost-effective.     

COMPARISON OF DAYLENGTH AND TEMPERATURE RESPONSES IN NICOTIANA AND ITS TAXONOMIC SECTIONS

Steinberg , Robert A. (U.S.D.A., Beltsville, Md.) Comparison of daylength and temperature responses in Nicotiana and its taxonomic sections. Amer. Jour. Bot. 46(4): 261–268. Illus. 1959.—Fifty-seven of the sixty species of Nicotiana were grown in the greenhouse under long- and short-day regimes. Supplemental tungsten light of about 30 ft.-c. (bench) was used to extend natural illumination to 16 hr. daily. Short-day controls received natural illumination for 9.5–12 hr. daily from about September to March. Two temperature levels were also employed—one with temperature held uniformly at about 25°C. and the other with a day temperature of about 20°C. and a night temperature of about 10°C. Daylength behavior of the species ranged from long-day to day-neutral to short-day. All species were brought into flower and all, except N. acaulis and N. ameghinoi, formed viable seed in at least 1 of the 4 environments. A modified classification of photoperiodic flowering responses based on rapidity and not ability to flower was adopted to permit quantitative comparison of species responses to both daylength and temperature. Very few species flowered equally rapidly (day-neutral) in both the 10- and 16-hr. day-lengths. Temperature level caused modifications in response from long-day to day-neutral and vice versa, and from short-day to day-neutral and vice versa. Data for N. glauca and some other species would indicate that a greater spread between temperature levels could possibly lead to opposite classifications at upper and lower temperatures. Excellent agreement was found between daylength responses of the species and the 14 taxonomic sections of Goodspeed for the genus Nicotiana. Only 2 of the sections (Paniculatae and Undulatae) were heterogeneous in that both included short- and long-day species in the same section. The native habitat of all short-day species was South America. Certain of the species gave a compensatory response to variations in light duration and low temperature similar to that given by sugarbeets and other biennials. This phenomenon may therefore be of general occurrence. Use of a quantitative expression for photoperiodic flowering responses is proposed to avoid ambiguity. It is the quotient of days from sowing to first blossom on short-days divided by that on long-days. The value 0.6₂₀°C. (9–12) would read short-day at 20°C. with 9–12 hr. daylengths. Close agreement was found in daylength flowering ratios in successive tests in the greenhouse. The ratios alter under cold treatment with species susceptible to low-temperature stimulation or inhibition of blossoming.     

Death among geladas (Theropithecus gelada): a broader perspective on mummified infants and primate thanatology

Despite intensive study in humans, responses to dying and death have been a neglected area of research in other social mammals, including nonhuman primates. Two recent reports [Anderson JR, Gillies A, Lock LC. 2010. Pan thanatology. Current Biology 20:R349–R351; Biro D, Humle T, Koops K, Souse C, Hayashi M, Matsuzawa T. 2010. Chimpanzee mothers at Bossou, Guinea carry the mummified remains of their dead infants. Current Biology 20:R351–R352] offered exciting new insights into behavior toward dying and dead conspecifics in our closest living relatives—chimpanzees. Here, we provide a comparative perspective on primate thanatology using observations from a more distant human relative—gelada monkeys (Theropithecus gelada)—and discuss how gelada reactions to dead and dying groupmates differ from those recently reported for chimpanzees. Over a 3.75‐year study period, we observed 14 female geladas at Guassa, Ethiopia carrying dead infants from 1 hr to ≥48 days after death. Dead infants were carried by their mothers, other females in their group, and even by females belonging to other groups. Like other primate populations in which extended (>10 days) infant carrying after death has been reported, geladas at Guassa experience an extreme climate for primates, creating conditions which may favor slower rates of decomposition of dead individuals. We also witnessed the events leading up to the deaths of two individuals and the responses by groupmates to these dying individuals. Our results suggest that while chimpanzee mothers are not unique among primates in carrying their dead infants for long periods, seemingly “compassionate” caretaking behavior toward dying groupmates may be unique to chimpanzees among nonhuman primates (though it remains unknown whether such “compassionate” behavior occurs outside captivity). Am. J. Primatol. 73:405–409, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Social economics of childhood glucocorticoid stress response and health

This study examines socioeconomic conditions, psychosocial stress, and health among 264 infants, children, adolescents, and young adults aged 2 months to 18 years residing in a rural Caribbean village. Fieldwork was conducted over a 9 year period (1988–1996). Research methods and techniques include salivary cortisol radioimmunoassay (N = 22,438), systematic behavioral observations, psychological questionnaires, health evaluations, medical records, informal interviews, and participant observation. Analyses of data indicate complex relations among socioeconomic conditions, stress, and health. Household income, land ownership, parental education, and other socioeconomic measures are weakly associated with child illness. There is no evidence that apparent material benefits of high socioeconomic status—such as improved housing, diet, work loads, and access to private healthcare—have important direct effects on child health in this population. However, social relationships, especially family environment, may have important effects on childhood psychosocial stress and illness. Abnormal glucocorticoid response profiles, diminished immunity, and frequent illness are associated with unstable mating relationships of parents/caretakers and household composition. We suggest that family relationships and concomitant stress and immunosuppression are important intermediary links between socioeconomic conditions and child health. Am J Phys Anthropol 102:33–53, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Age‐based demographic and reproductive assessment of orangespine Naso lituratus and bluespine Naso unicornis unicornfishes

Bluespine unicornfish Naso unicornis and orangespine unicornfish Naso lituratus were sampled in Pohnpei and Guam, Micronesia, over 13 months to identify reproductive and age‐based demographic features necessary for informed management. Age and reproductive information were derived from analysis of sagittal otoliths and gonads. Both species had moderate life spans [maximum ages of 23 (N. unicornis) and 14 years (N. lituratus)] compared with published estimates of conspecifics from other locations (>30 years) and of other Naso species. Length at maturation for N. unicornis was similar between Pohnpei and Guam while females consistently matured at a larger size [c. 30 cm fork length (L_F)] than males (c. 27 cm L_F). This sex‐specific pattern was reversed in N. lituratus for which estimates of maturation length (females: 15 cm L_F; males: 18 cm L_F) were only obtained from Guam. Developmental patterns in female gonads of both species suggested that initiation of maturation occurs very early. Growth patterns of N. lituratus displayed rapid asymptotic growth compared with N. unicornis and other congeners as well as slight sex‐specific patterns of length‐at‐age. Results highlight the considerable spatial variation that may occur in the population biology of these species across various scales. Additionally, proper management remains complicated without improved knowledge of fishery trends and reproductive behaviour in unicornfishes, species that are prime fishery targets in Micronesia and elsewhere.     

Mortality in neurofibromatosis 1: an analysis using U.S. death certificates

Although neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) is a relatively common autosomal dominant condition, information about its effect on mortality is limited. We used Multiple-Cause Mortality Files, compiled from U.S. death certificates by the National Center for Health Statistics, for 1983 through 1997. We identified 3,770 cases of presumed NF1 among 32,722,122 deaths in the United States, a frequency of 1/8,700, which is one-third to one-half the estimated prevalence. Mean and median ages at death for persons with NF1 were 54.4 and 59 years, respectively, compared with 70.1 and 74 years in the general population. Results of proportionate mortality ratio (PMR) analyses showed that persons with NF1 were 34 times more likely (PMR=34.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 30.8-38.0) to have a malignant connective or other soft-tissue neoplasm listed on their death certificates than were persons without NF1. Overall, persons with NF1 were 1.2 times more likely than expected (PMR=1.21, 95% CI 1.14-1.28) to have a malignant neoplasm listed on their death certificates, but the PMR was 6.07 (95% CI 4.88-7.45) for persons who died at 10-19 years of age and was 4.93 (95% CI 4.14-5.82) for those who died at 20-29 years of age. Similarly, vascular disease was recorded more often than expected on death certificates of persons with NF1 who died at <30 years of age (PMR=3.26, 95% CI 1.31-6.71 at age <10 years; PMR=2.68, 95% CI 1.38-4.68 at age 10-19 years; and PMR=2.25, 95% CI 1.46-3.32 at 20-29 years) but not in older persons. This study supports previous findings of decreased life expectancy for persons with NF1 and, within the limitations of death certificates, provides population-based data about NF1 morbidity and mortality that are useful to clinicians caring for patients with NF1.     

pH-jump titration of the tyrosyl groups of bovine plasma albumin

Ionization properties of the tyrosyl groups of bovine plasma albumin in various conformational states—the native state (N), the two acid states (F and E), and the state (B) stable at slightly alkaline pH—were studied by means of a stopped-flow-pH-jump technique. The technique allows us to obtain the tyrosyl titration curve in a conformational state that is unstable in the pH region of the titration. The pH jumps from the N and B states to various alkaline pH's, where the tyrosines ionize to bring about a time-dependent increase in absorption at 296 nm, indicating that a number of the tyrosines buried initially become susceptible to ionization as a result of the alkaline transition occurring above pH 10.8. Extrapolation of the observed absorption change to zero time gives a spectrophotometric titration curve in the initial conformational state. Only 30–401% of the 19 tyrosines of the protein can ionize both in the N and the B state at pH 12. The pH jumps from the F and E states, on the other hand, give a decrease in absorption between pH 9 and 11.7, indicating that the tyrosyl groups initially exposed are remarked by refolding after the pH jumps, and the zero-time titration curves show that essentially all the tyrosyl groups ionize normally in these acid states. The results are discussed in relation to the known results of the tyrosyl exposure of the protein measured by other techniques, and the consistency among them demonstrates the effectiveness of the pH-jump titration method. Hydrogen bonding between the abnormal tyrosyl and carboxylate groups as a mechanism to stabilize native albumin is suggested from characteristics of the alkaline transition, which also involves the exposure of the tyrosyl groups, and from the tyrosyl titration curves in the native and acid states.     

Root dentine transparency: age determination of human teeth using computerized densitometric analysis.

Root dentine transparency (RDT) was used to estimate the ages of human subjects from 152 intact teeth. Teeth were from 134 subjects, both historical and recent, of known age and sex. The aims of this work are 1) to compare two methods of using RDT to estimate age; 2) to test the applicability of the regression formulae for estimating age obtained from a recent sample on an historical sample; and 3) to estimate the suitability of RDT to determine age at death of 100-year-old skeletons. RDT was measured by two techniques: 1) computerized densitometric analysis and 2) vernier caliper. Age estimations based on computerized densitometric analysis were no more accurate than were those determined by caliper measurement; both give a predictive success of +/- 5 years in about 45-48% of cases for premolars. The television-based digitization system has some disadvantages: It is expensive, not portable, and requires some training to use. However, it furnishes a more standardized method, a rapid graphic illustration of the results, and an immediate storage of statistical information for future use.     

Dynamics of Salix caprea L. populations during forest regeneration after strong herbivore pressure

Abstract. Broadleaved forest communities degenerated through strong pressure from large herbivores. Relief of this pressure led to regeneration, in particular of Salix caprea and other light-seeded pioneer trees: Populus tremula, Betula pendula and B. pubescens. This regeneration proceeded following conservation protection of degenerate stands in a nature reserve and later in Biaowiéza National Park. The emergence and development of the Salix caprea population proceeded following the expansion of Picea abies, which coincided with the period of enhanced animal pressure on the broadleaved forest. Salix caprea filled all the gaps in the tree stand after the destruction of trees and undergrowth by herbivores (in the years 1892–1915). The species also appeared abundantly in old, at the time unforested, clearings and felled areas. Here, S. caprea developed large populations with certain trees in good condition, with a growth form typical of forest trees and attaining considerable heights. The majority of trees were 50 - 60 yr old at the time of death, although some individuals reached 74 yr of age. The process of extinction of the Salix population — observed over 19 yr on permanent plots with marked trees — proceeded very quickly, especially in the first decade of observation. It led to the almost complete disappearance of S. caprea from the forest communities of Biaowiéza National Park. The death of individual trees is preceded by impairment of their health and reduced annual increments in the last 4–9 years of their life. The development of populations of permanent constituents of the forest, notably Carpinus betulus, Tilia cordata, Acer platanoides and Ulmus glabra, under the canopy of light-seeded trees, and the absence of a new generation of pioneer trees points to the end of the process of regeneration in the forest communities of BiaHwiéza National Park.     

Semen evaluation of giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) at the Wolong Reserve

Semen from 4 wild-caught giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) held at the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda was collected (22 samples during 1991–1993) by electroejaculation, and evaluated for use in artificial insemination. Semen characteristics (mean ± SD) recorded were as follows: semen volume–1.5 ± .9 ml (range—0.3–3.5); sperm density 1.5 ± 0.1 × 10⁹/ml (range—0.24–4.2); motility 79 ± 10% (range—60–95); abnormal sperm 14 ± 5% (range—10–27); and pH 7.1 ± 0.2 (range—6.7–7.5). There were significant differences from year to year (P < 0.05) in semen volume collected and in the percentage abnormal sperm in 1993 compared to other years. There were no significant differences among semen produced from the four different pandas. Data collected were similar to reports for other giant pandas, and semen from all 4 giant pandas was considered suitable for use in artificial insemination. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Spondylolysis in prehistoric human remains from Guam and its possible etiology

This study reports the findings of complete bilateral separation of the neural arch (spondylolysis) in 176 inhumations from the Hyatt Site, Tumon Bay, which is located on the west side of the island of Guam. Skeletons were excavated and analyzed by the Paul H. Rosendahl Inc. (PHRI) team in 1989–1990. The inhumations were associated with the pre-European Latte Period (circa 1,200–1,521 A.D.). This period was characterized by the use of large stone pillars, called latte sets, for the construction of houses. Of the 176 individuals, only 38 adult skeletons had complete spines, and 21% (8/38) of these had evidence of spondylolysis in their lumbar vertebrae, particularly in L-5. The age of the eight individuals range from 30 to 50 years. No children were found with spondylolysis. Of the males 29.4% (5/17) had spondylolysis, as did 14.3% (3/21) of the females. However, the difference between the sexes was not statistically significant. Though the sample is small, it is suggested that the high incidence of lumbar spondylolysis found in these ancient Chamorros was related to lower back traumatic events. The transport of latte stones, involving hyperextension and torque of the lower back, while dragging the stones, probably contributed to the development of microfractures in the spine and subsequent spondylolysis. If this hypothesis is correct, then both males and females appear to have been participants in an organized community labor force. It is predicted that similar frequencies of spondylolysis will be found at other Latte sites. Am J Phys Anthropol 104:393–397, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.