Early Siberians from Lake Baikal and Alaskan population affinities

Among the materials excavated by the 1975 joint USSR–USA team in Siberia are two burials from Shaman's Cape, Olkhon Island, Lake Baikal. One is a middle-aged male of the Serovo culture, 6,000 B.C. , and the other is a young male of the Glaskovo culture of 2,000 B.C. This later burial displays an unusual pathology affecting the nose and post-cranial regions of the pelvic girdle and lower limbs. Osteon analysis confirms the determination of age at death and illustrates the difference between normal and pathological bone. Numerous cultural materials were associated with these burials, including harpoon heads, knives, a compound fishhook and a pestle with the Serovo man, and nephrite ornaments with the Glaskovo man. The skulls, though far apart in time, are pronouncedly Mongoloid and alike in their low cranial vaults. A low, broad and inclined ascending ramus resembles Chukchi, Eskimos and Aleuts. These two specimens document the Mongoloid character of the early inhabitants of Lake Baikal.     

Differences between observed and predicted energy costs at rest and during exercise in three subsistence-level populations

Estimates of daily energy expenditure are important for many areas of research in human ecology and adaptability. The most common technique for estimating human energy expenditure under field conditions, the factorial method, generally relies on activity-specific energy costs derived from published sources, based largely on North American and European subjects. There is concern that such data may not be appropriate for non-Western populations because of differences in metabolic costs. The present study addresses this concern by comparing measured vs. predicted energy costs at rest and during sub-maximal exercise in 83 subjects (52 males, 31 females) from three subsistence-level populations (Siberian herders and high-land and coastal Ecuadorian farmers). Energy costs at rest (i.e., lying, sitting and standing) and while performing a standard stepping exercise did not significantly differ among the three groups. However, resting energy costs were significantly elevated over predicted levels (+16% in men, +11% in women), whereas exercising costs were comparable to predicted values (?6% in men, +3% in women). Elevations in resting energy needs appear to reflect responses to thermal stress. These results indicate that temperature adjustments of resting energy costs are critical for accurately predicting daily energy needs among traditionally living populations. o 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Sustainability,equity, and natural resource development in Northwest Siberia and Arctic Alaska

Today, the search for new energy sources continues unabated throughout the North. At the same time, scientists are increasingly concerned over the degradation of the Arctic and sub-Arctic environment stemming from fossil fuel and other large-scale energy projects already underway. Similar apprehensions are expressed by indigenous peoples who have often suffered from the impact of such development. While the most dramatic evidence of environmental devastation and social disruption is found in the Russian North, serious problems are by no means confined to that area alone. Nor are these negative effects necessarily limited to the borders of the country in which they originated. Indeed, the deleterious environmental impact of our global industrial economy has become sufficiently profound that social analysts are beginning to ask whether development strategies that cause such harm to the Arctic and sub-Arctic region should continue; and if not, what should replace them. This article addresses these issues as they relate to questions of sustainability, equity, political empowerment, and human rights in northwest Siberia and northern North America.     

The biostratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental significance of Lower Cambrian (Botomian) trilobites from the Ak-Kaya section of the Altai Mountains (southern Siberia,Russia)

The presence of one of the oldest records of polycystine Radiolaria in the Lower Cambrian sedimentary sequence of the Ak-Kaya section (Gorny Altai) requires a biostratigraphic dating. The trilobites found recently a few tens of meters below the radiolarian-bearing level belong to Calodiscus resimus Repina, Serrodiscus fossuliferus Repina and Alacephalus aff. contortus Repina; they suggest that this part of the Shashkunar Formation can be correlated with the lower part of the Botomian stage. The absence of eyes in the two former species suggests a mode of life buried in the fine pelagic sediments. Indications of the presence of a strongly developed musculature on the third species point to a palaeoenvironment characterized by a relatively high hydrodynamic regime.     

西北印度洋海域鸢乌贼耳石微结构及生长特性

耳石是研究头足类年龄与生长、种群结构和生活史的重要硬组织之一。为研究西北印度洋鸢乌贼耳石微结构及生长特性,根据2019年2—5月我国灯光罩网渔船在西北印度洋调查生产期间采集的1009尾鸢乌贼样本,以耳石总长(TSL)、侧区长(LDL)、翼区长(WL)和最大宽度(MW)作为耳石的外形生长指标,结合日龄数据,对西北印度洋鸢乌贼耳石微结构及其生长特性进行了研究。结果表明: 根据生长纹间宽度,可将耳石微结构分为后核心区、暗区和外围区。协方差分析表明,TSL、LDL、WL和MW与日龄的关系均不存在显著的性别间差异,TSL、WL和MW与日龄的关系最适合用幂函数表示,而LDL与日龄的关系最适合用线性函数表示。总体而言,随着鸢乌贼日龄的增加,TSL、WL、LDL与MW的瞬时相对生长率与绝对生长率基本呈现下降的趋势, 140~180 d可能是西北印度洋鸢乌贼性成熟的日龄段。     

近几十年来冀西北山地白桦次生林径向生长对气候变化的响应

研究不同海拔高度天然次生林径向生长特征及其对气候变化的响应, 揭示影响山地树木径向生长的主要因子, 对于研究气候变化对温带森林生态系统适应性生长、演替和可持续经营的影响具有重要意义。该研究以冀西北山地次生林优势树种白桦(Betula platyphylla)为对象, 于研究区海拔1 350、1 550、1 750、1 950 m处分别设置样地, 采集样木树芯和圆盘, 运用树木年轮气候学方法建立白桦天然次生林标准年表, 并将年轮宽度指数与气候因子进行相关、多元逐步回归分析。主要结果: (1) 1960-2018年研究区气候呈变暖变干趋势, 其中1960-1989年为平稳期, 1989-2018年为快速期。(2)白桦次生林径向生长在1989年发生改变, 年轮宽度指数呈现“增长-下降”的“Λ”形生长趋势。(3)在气候变化平稳期, 白桦次生林径向生长在低海拔样地(B1350、B1550)与气温(平均气温、最高气温、最低气温)呈正相关关系, 在高海拔样地(B1750、B1950)与上年和当年生长季降水量呈显著正相关关系; 在气候变化快速期, 低海拔样地(B1350、B1550)白桦次生林径向生长与生长季气温、生长季潜在蒸散发(ET₀)呈负相关关系, 高海拔样地(B1750、B1950)白桦次生林径向生长与生长季及生长季末期ET₀呈负相关关系。 (4)在气候变化平稳期, 温度对B1350、B1550、B1750样地白桦次生林径向生长的贡献率分别为76%、54%、51%, 水分的贡献率为24%、46%、49%; 在气候变化快速期, 温度对B1350、B1550、B1750样地树木径向生长的贡献率分别为58%、41%、38%, 水分的贡献率为42%、59%、62%; 高海拔B1950样地树木生长始终受水分因子的控制。     

Contrasting strategies for wing‐moult and pre‐migratory fuelling in western and eastern populations of Common Whitethroat Sylvia communis

Trade‐offs between moult and fuelling in migrant birds vary with migration distance and the environmental conditions they encounter. We compared wing moult and fuelling at the northern and southern ends of migration in two populations of adult Common Whitethroats Sylvia communis. The western population moults most remiges at the breeding grounds in Europe (e.g. Poland) and migrates 4000–5000 km to western Africa (e.g. Nigeria). The eastern population moults all remiges at the non‐breeding grounds and migrates 7000–10 000 km from western Asia (e.g. southwestern Siberia) to eastern and southern Africa. We tested the hypotheses that: (1) Whitethroats moult their wing feathers slowly in South Africa, where they face fewer time constraints than in Poland, and (2) fuelling is slower when it coincides with moulting (Poland, South Africa) than when it occurs alone (Siberia, Nigeria). We estimated moult timing of primaries, secondaries and tertials from moult records of Polish and South African Whitethroats ringed in 1987–2017 and determined fuelling patterns from the body mass of Whitethroats ringed in all four regions. The western population moulted wing feathers in Poland over 55 days (2 July–26 August) at a varying rate, up to 13 feathers simultaneously, but fuelled slowly until departure in August–mid‐September. In Nigeria, during the drier period of mid‐February–March they fuelled slowly, but the fuelling rate increased three‐fold in April–May after the rains before mid‐April–May departure. The eastern population did not moult in Siberia but fuelled three times faster before mid‐July–early August departure than did the western birds moulting in Poland. In South Africa, the Whitethroats moulted over 57 days (2 January–28 February) at a constant rate of up to nine feathers simultaneously and fuelled slowly from mid‐December until mid‐April–May departure. These results suggest the two populations use contrasting strategies to capitalize on food supplies before departure from breeding and non‐breeding grounds.     

Effect of Vegetation Rehabilitation on Soil Carbon and Its Fractions in Mu Us Desert,Northwest China

Although vegetation rehabilitation on semi-arid and arid regions may enhance soil carbon sequestration, its effects on soil carbon fractions remain uncertain. We carried out a study after planting Artemisia ordosica (AO, 17 years), Astragalus mongolicum (AM, 5 years), and Salix psammophila (SP, 16 years) on shifting sand land (SL) in the Mu Us Desert, northwest China. We measured total soil carbon (TSC) and its components, soil inorganic carbon (SIC) and soil organic carbon (SOC), as well as the light and heavy fractions within soil organic carbon (LF-SOC and HF-SOC), under the SL and shrublands at depths of 100 cm. TSC stock under SL was 27.6 Mg ha^?1, and vegetation rehabilitation remarkably elevated it by 40.6 Mgha^?1, 4.5 Mgha^?1, and 14.1 Mgha^?1 under AO, AM and SP land, respectively. Among the newly formed TSC under the three shrublands, SIC, LF-SOC and HF-SOC accounted for 75.0%, 10.7% and 13.1% for AO, respectively; they made up 37.0%, 50.7% and 10.6% for AM, respectively; they occupied 68.6%, 18.8% and 10.0% for SP, respectively. The accumulation rates of TSC within 0–100 cm reached 238.6 g m^?2y^?1, 89.9 g m^?2y^?1 and 87.9 g m^?2y^?1 under AO, AM and SP land, respectively. The present study proved that the accumulation of SIC considerably contributed to soil carbon sequestration, and vegetation rehabilitation on shifting sand land has a great potential for soil carbon sequestration.     

The Trilobite Subfamily Monorakinae (Pterygometopidae)

The Monorakinae is a subfamily of the Pterygometopidae characterised by the fusion of L2 and L3 in the glabella. The resulting bicomposite lobe is expanded backwards to reach the occipital furrow, displacing L1 from contact with the axial furrow and causing the realignment of S1 to a markedly oblique orientation. The bicomposite lobe is commonly bounded adaxially by a longitudinal furrow containing three pairs of apodemal pits. The Monorakinae was probably derived from the Pterygometopinae, and includes the genera and subgenera Monorakos , Carinopyge , Ceratevenkaspis , Elasmaspis , Evenkaspis ( Evenkaspis ) and E . ( Parevenkaspis ), of which Carinopyge , Elasmaspis and Evenkaspis ( Parevenkaspis ) are known only from limited parts of the exoskeleton. Monorakines have a stratigraphical range of Caradoc–Ashgill. Their known geographical distribution in the Siberian Platform, Taimyr, the Russian Far East, and the Seward Peninsula of Alaska is restricted to areas that in the Ordovician were part of the palaeocontinents of Siberia and Arctida, which must have been connected or situated close together at that time. The occurrence of monorakines in the Taimyr Peninsula but their absence from Baltica does not support the suggestion of some workers that Taimyr was part of Baltica in the Ordovician.     

Polymorphism of the human <Emphasis Type="Italic">MDR1</Emphasis> gene in Siberian and Central Asian populations

The multidrug resistance gene MDR1 (ABCB1) codes for a P-glycoprotein that acts as an ATP-dependent transporter and is involved in removing drugs, xenobiotics, and peptides from the cell. MDR1 is expressed in the brain, kidneys, liver, and gastrointestinal tract. The P-glycoprotein is thought to play a role in individual resistance to xenobiotics and infections. Several polymorphisms of MDR1 are associated with the level of its expression and resistance to various neurodegenerative and gastrointestinal diseases. The allele and haplotype frequencies, genetic differentiation, and linkage disequilibrium for five MDR1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (3435C/T, 2677G/T/A, 1236C/T, +139C/T, and ?1G/A) were studied in the Russian, Tuvinian, and northern and southern Kyrgyz populations. Significant genetic differences were observed between Russians and northern Kyrgyz and between Tuvinians and northern Kyrgyz. The linkage disequilibrium pattern was characterized by high population specificity.