Carnivore involvement in bone assemblages based on taphonomic and zooarchaeological analyses of Cova del Coll Verdaguer site (Barcelona,Iberian Peninsula)

Abstract

Carnivores are the main biological agents identified in the Upper Pleistocene assemblage of Cova del Coll Verdaguer (NE Iberian Peninsula). At the site, ungulate bones were primarily accumulated and modified by hyenas, as shown by partly digested bones, coprolites and the pattern of damage on bones. However, other small- to medium-sized carnivores seemed to be involved in the accumulation, owing primarily to the presence of their bones and coprolites. Finally, other carnivores, including the brown bear, used the cave to hibernate and for birthing cubs. The combination of zooarchaeological and taphonomic studies, together with previous coprogenic analyses, at the site indicates that it is only by using these combined approaches that it is possible to identify the majority of the agents involved in an accumulation.     

Effect of water activity and temperature on the growth of Eurotium species isolated from animal feeds

Background

Xerophilic fungi represent a serious problem due to their ability to grow at low water activities causing the spoiling of low and intermediate moisture foods, stored goods and animal feeds, with the consequent economic losses.

12. Bipolarity in the distribution of silica-scaled chrysophytes

An investigation of the chrysophyte flora of Tierra del Fuego (Argentina), 54–55 °S., has shown a high degree of similarity with the flora of climatically comparable regions on the northern hemisphere. All the Fuegian species (except two endemic to South America) also occur on the northern hemisphere—some are more or less cosmopolitan, others have pronounced bipolar distributions. Species in common with other Antarctic regions such as Tasmania are all cosmopolitan, and none of the interesting species originally described from Tasmania occur in Tierra del Fuego. Thus the Fuegian flora appears to be mainly climatically determined and a special Antarctic chrysophyte flora does not exist.     

Craniometric analysis in groups from tierra del Fuego/Patagonia and the peopling of the south extreme of the Americas

Five large craniometric samples from extinct tribes (Selk’nam, Kawéskar and Yámana) from Tierra del Fuego and from Patagonia have been analyzed through multivariate techniques. The purpose was to test the hypothesis of one or two different migration waves in the peopling of the south extreme of South America. A cluster analysis has been made, using the squared Euclidean distance as a measure of proximity, and the UPGMA and neighbor joining algorithms as a tree building method. The robustness of the branches has been assessed with bootstrap analysis through 100 random iterations of the original data set. Results show that, despite their cultural differences, the three hunter-gatherer groups. from Tierra del Fuego tend to cluster together, indicating a similar morphological pattern. This suggests that geographic distance (in latitudinal sense) is the main factor that influenced the differentiation of the human groups from Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia, from a single ancestral population.     

Human-nature connection and soundscape perception: Insights from Tierra del Fuego,Argentina

Human disconnection from nature is thought to have contributed to the environmental crises we currently face, and increasing connection with nature has been proposed as one way of promoting pro-environmental behavior, nature conservation, and social-ecological sustainability. Some efforts to increase connection with nature (“nature relatedness”) have centered on exploring the social-ecological importance of soundscapes, but there is a paucity of empirical evidence supporting the theoretical linkage between soundscape perception and nature relatedness. Using prerecorded and in situ soundscape prompts, we conducted a street intercept survey in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina to assess: 1) the relative importance of senses in experiences of nature, 2) the relationship between nature relatedness and soundscape perception, 3) differences in soundscape perception between various soundscapes, and 4) possible sociodemographic influences on sense importance, nature relatedness, and soundscape perception. Participants reported that hearing was of secondary importance to vision in experiences of nature. We also found that nature relatedness was positively correlated with the valuation of soundscapes—particularly more natural ones—but not with the discernment of soundscapes or identification of where soundscapes were recorded. Valuation of more natural soundscapes was higher than valuation of more technophonically dominated soundscapes, while soundscape discernment and location identification were higher for soundscapes that were likely more familiar to listeners. Sociodemographic influences on these variables were minor, but women reported higher sense importance, and having a nature-based occupation was associated with higher nature relatedness and valuation of a soundscape from a penguin colony. Our study highlighted a number of potential research areas concerning soundscape perception, including differences between prerecorded and in situ soundscape prompts, defining various aspects of soundscape perception, and the relative influences of sound sources and quantitative acoustic parameters on soundscape perception. Further research is certainly needed to account for global diversity in cultures and soundscapes, but we found some promising empirical support for the use of natural-soundscape-focused educational programs in efforts to promote nature relatedness.     

STOMACH CONTENTS OF FALSE KILLER WHALES (PSEUDORCA CRASSIDENS) STRANDED ON THE COASTS OF THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN,TIERRA DEL FUEGO

We examined the stomachs of 25 false killer whales collected from a mass stranding of 181 animals along both coasts of the Strait of Magellan, Chile, in March 1989. The 21 stomachs (nine males and 12 females), with food remains contained 11 prey species (nine cephalopods and two fishes) with a total of 442 individuals. Except for one case, food remains were meager, indicating that the animals had not eaten for some time or through stress had vomited on the beach. Eleven of the 21 animals had mud (often with squid beaks) in the esophagus and first stomach. The prey were identified employing squid beaks, fish otoliths and bones, and their wet weights were estimated using regressions between hard parts and known weights of species. The most important prey were the oceanic and neritic-oceanic squids, Martialia byadesi and Illex argentinus, followed by the neritic fish, Macruronus magellanicus. Of less importance were the oceanic squid, Todaroes fillipovae, the oceanic and epipelagic octopus, Ocytboe sp., and the oceanic squid, Moroteuthis ingens. The rest of the prey were poorly represented and included four oceanic squids and one neritic fish. The prey species of these animals were subantarctic, with two antarctic species, abundant over the Patagonian shelf and adjacent oceanic waters around Tierra del Fuego.     

Fueguian cranial morphology: The adaptation to a cold,harsh environment

Craniometric data from the three extinct tribes that inhabited Tierra del Fuego (Selk'nam, Yámana, and Kawéskar) were gathered following Howells's measurement technique. We studied 180 skulls preserved at thirteen different institutions. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) between groups showed that morphological similarities among Fueguian groups are far more important than some differences between marine (Yámana and Kawéskar) and terrestrial (Selk'nam) groups. A principal component analysis (PCA) generated from the correlation matrix shows that Fueguians fall as outliers with respect to the typical Mongoloid morphology. In addition, a UPGMA tree generated from a squared Euclidean distance matrix indicates that Fueguian groups have a morphological pattern that is very distinct from that of other present-day Amerindian groups, with the exception of the Eskimos. One of the variables that contributes substantially to the differentiation of Eskimos and Fueguians is the nasal height. This suggests that nasal morphology in both groups could be a response to adaptive pressures related to the cold environment. However, other morphological particularities of Fueguian skulls, such as craniofacial robustness and variables of craniofacial width, can be attributed to a large masticatory stress. As a whole, the morphological features of Fueguian groups can be regarded as a general adaptive response to a very harsh environment, along with the retention of some plesiomorphic features. Assuming that the initial entry in Tierra de Fuego took place around 10,000 years BP, before the disappearance of the last land bridges in the Magellan Straits, then this adaptation might have arisen in a relatively short period, hastened by the extreme environmental conditions. Am J Phys Anthropol 103:103–117, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

The first Gondwanan Euphorbiaceae fossils reset the biogeographic history of the Macaranga-Mallotus clade

Premise

The spurge family Euphorbiaceae is prominent in tropical rainforests worldwide, particularly in Asia. There is little consensus on the biogeographic origins of the family or its principal lineages. No confirmed spurge macrofossils have come from Gondwana.

Methods

We describe the first Gondwanan macrofossils of Euphorbiaceae, represented by two infructescences and associated peltate leaves from the early Eocene (52 Myr ago [Ma]) Laguna del Hunco site in Chubut, Argentina.

Results

The infructescences are panicles bearing tiny, pedicellate, spineless capsular fruits with two locules, two axile lenticular seeds, and two unbranched, plumose stigmas. The fossils' character combination only occurs today in some species of the Macaranga-Mallotus clade (MMC; Euphorbiaceae), a widespread Old-World understory group often thought to have tropical Asian origins. The associated leaves are consistent with extant Macaranga.

Conclusions

The new fossils are the oldest known for the MMC, demonstrating its Gondwanan history and marking its divergence by at least 52 Ma. This discovery makes an Asian origin of the MMC unlikely because immense oceanic distances separated Asia and South America 52 Ma. The only other MMC reproductive fossils so far known are also from the southern hemisphere (early Miocene, southern New Zealand), far from the Asian tropics. The MMC, along with many other Gondwanan survivors, most likely entered Asia during the Neogene Sahul-Sunda collision. Our discovery adds to a substantial series of well-dated, well-preserved fossils from one undersampled region, Patagonia, that have changed our understanding of plant biogeographic history.     

How can we predict which morbidly obese patients will adhere to weight-loss programs based on life style changes?

IntroductionDropout is a highly prevalent and serious problem in assessing the effectiveness of weight loss studies and a major cause of treatment failure in the management of morbidly obese patients.ObjectivesTo determine which tests used for the psychometric evaluation of morbidly obese patients are more predictive of success/dropout in a weight loss program.MethodsSixty patients aged 18–65 attending the Outpatient Obesity Clinic between 2009 and 2011, were recruited for an intensive life style weight loss program. We compared the results obtained in Hamilton Depression scale, Hamilton Anxiety scale, Golombok Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction, Eating Disorders Inventory-2, SF-36 Health Survey and Plutchik's Impulsivity questionnaire between patients who completed the intervention with those obtained in patients who did not complete it.ResultsThe rate of decline in the patients attending our program was 41.6% in the first year. Our results suggest that the Plutchik Impulsivity questionnaire, could be used as a predictive tool for success/attrition in intensive life style weight loss program.ConclusionsOur results suggest that the Plutchik Impulsivity questionnaire, could be used as a predictive tool for success/attrition in intensive life style weight loss program. The screening of patients prior to inclusion in these programs should help to optimize its efficacy and efficiency.