Eighteen million years of diverse enamel proteomes from the East African Rift.

Research into the palaeobiology of extinct taxa through ancient DNA and proteomics has been mostly limited to Plio-Pleistocene fossils, due to molecular breakdown over time, which is exacerbated in tropical settings. Here we sample small proteomes from the interior enamel of fossils at palaeontological sites from the Pleistocene to the Oligocene in the Turkana Basin, Kenya, which has produced a rich record of Cenozoic mammalian evolution. Through a mass-spectrometry-based proteomic workflow, and using criteria to locate diagenetiforms derived from enamel, we recover fragments of enamelin, ameloblastin, matrix metalloprotease-20 and dentin matrix acidic phosphoprotein 1 from an Early Miocene rhinocerotid and several proboscideans collected from the sites of Buluk (16 million years ago; Ma) and Loperot (18 Ma).

Cutaneous myiasis by Calliphoridae dipterans in dogs from Chad.

Cutaneous myiasis caused by various Calliphoridae dipteran species is prevalent worldwide and is of particular veterinary and public health concern. Recently, in a scientific exploration of the Guinea Worm Eradication Program to Chad, Africa, we observed that dogs with mutilated ears, based on local awareness, were caused by cutaneous myiasis. In this study, we analyzed epidemiological, morphological, and molecular data on cutaneous myiasis in dogs from Chad.

The microbiome of a Pacific moon jellyfish Aurelia coerulea.

The impact of microbiome in animal physiology is well appreciated, but characterization of animal-microbe symbiosis in marine environments remains a growing need. This study characterizes the microbial communities associated with the moon jellyfish Aurelia coerulea, first isolated from the East Pacific Ocean and has since been utilized as an experimental system. We find that the microbiome of this Pacific Aurelia culture is dominated by two taxa, a Mollicutes and Rickettsiales.

Co-occurring orchid species associated with different low-abundance mycorrhizal fungi from the soil in a high-diversity conservation area in Denmark.

Plant-fungal interactions are ubiquitous across ecosystems and contribute significantly to plant ecology and evolution. All orchids form obligate symbiotic relationships with specific fungi for germination and early growth, and the distribution of terrestrial orchid species has been linked to occurrence and abundance of specific orchid mycorrhizal fungi (OMF) in the soil. The availability of OMF can therefore be a habitat requirement that is relevant to consider when establishing management and conservation strategies for threatened orchid species, but knowledge on the spatial distribution of OMF in soil is limited.

Comparative Genomic Insights into Bacterial Induction of Larval Settlement and Metamorphosis in the Upside-Down Jellyfish .

Bacteria are important mediators of the larval transition from pelagic to benthic environments for marine organisms. Bacteria can therefore dictate species distribution and success of an individual. Despite the importance of marine bacteria to animal ecology, the identity of inductive microbes for many invertebrates are unknown.

First genomic resource for an endangered neotropical mega-herbivore: the complete mitochondrial genome of the forest-dweller (Baird's) tapir ().

Baird's tapir, or the Central American Tapir (family Tapiridae), is one of the largest mammals native to the forests and wetlands of southern North America and Central America, and is categorized as 'endangered' on the 2014 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This study reports, for the first time, the complete mitochondrial genome of and examines the phylogenetic position of amongst closely related species in the same family and order to which it belongs using mitochondrial protein-coding genes (PCG's). The circular, double-stranded, A-T rich mitochondrial genome of is 16,697 bp in length consisting of 13 protein-coding genes (PCG's), two ribosomal RNA genes ( ( ribosomal RNA and ( ribosomal RNA)), and 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes.

Tropical and subtropical Asia's valued tree species under threat.

Tree diversity in Asia's tropical and subtropical forests is central to nature-based solutions. Species vulnerability to multiple threats, which affect provision of ecosystem services, is poorly understood. We conducted a region-wide, spatially explicit assessment of the vulnerability of 63 socioeconomically important tree species to overexploitation, fire, overgrazing, habitat conversion, and climate change.

Functional recovery of secondary tropical forests.

One-third of all Neotropical forests are secondary forests that regrow naturally after agricultural use through secondary succession. We need to understand better how and why succession varies across environmental gradients and broad geographic scales. Here, we analyze functional recovery using community data on seven plant characteristics (traits) of 1,016 forest plots from 30 chronosequence sites across the Neotropics.

The interspecific growth-mortality trade-off is not a general framework for tropical forest community structure.

Resource allocation within trees is a zero-sum game. Unavoidable trade-offs dictate that allocation to growth-promoting functions curtails other functions, generating a gradient of investment in growth versus survival along which tree species align, known as the interspecific growth-mortality trade-off. This paradigm is widely accepted but not well established.

Collagen and carbonate isotope data of fauna from pre-Columbian Panama.

Raw isotope data of collagen (δC and δN) and carbonate (δC and δO) of bone, enamel, and dentine of 101 faunal samples from Parita Bay, Panama are presented. These samples were taken from four archeological sites that span a long termporal range beginning with early hamlet agriculture period marked by the introduction of agricultre (circa 6000 BCE), and extending into the time of Spanish contact (1521 CE). The collection represents twelve faunal species of secondary browsers (deer), potentially captive or habituated birds (waterfowl, parrots, guan, among others), and carnivores (ocelot and domesticated dog).

Impacts of the Toba eruption and montane forest expansion on diversification in Sumatran parachuting frogs (Rhacophorus).

Catastrophic events, such as volcanic eruptions, can have profound impacts on the demographic histories of resident taxa. Due to its presumed effect on biodiversity, the Pleistocene eruption of super-volcano Toba has received abundant attention. We test the effects of the Toba eruption on the diversification, genetic diversity, and demography of three co-distributed species of parachuting frogs (Genus Rhacophorus) on Sumatra.

What's Missing in Our Thinking About Quality of Life in VCA?

Drawing on the principles of respect for autonomy and beneficence, many scholars have argued that despite significant drawbacks of immunosuppression and surgery, vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA), such as hand and face transplantation, has the potential to enhance the lives of patients who meet appropriate criteria and are well supported. This article provides a brief overview of the literature on VCA with a focus on hand transplantation (HTx) and offers a critique of the lack of empirical data on HTx patients' perspectives.

Radiocarbon dating and cultural dynamics across Mongolia's early pastoral transition.

The emergence of mobile herding lifeways in Mongolia and eastern Eurasia was one of the most crucial economic and cultural transitions in human prehistory. Understanding the process by which this played out, however, has been impeded by the absence of a precise chronological framework for the prehistoric era in Mongolia. One rare source of empirically dateable material useful for understanding eastern Eurasia's pastoral tradition comes from the stone burial mounds and monumental constructions that began to appear across the landscape of Mongolia and adjacent regions during the Bronze Age (ca.

Use of RNA and DNA to Identify Mechanisms of Bacterial Community Homogenization.

Biotic homogenization, i.e., the increase in community similarity through time or space, is a commonly observed response following conversion of native ecosystems to agriculture, but our understanding of the ecological mechanisms underlying this process is limited for bacterial communities.

An update and reassessment of fern and lycophyte diversity data in the Japanese Archipelago.

The fern and lycophyte flora of Japan comprising 721 native taxa (including subspecies and varieties) plus 371 interspecific hybrids was reassessed using a nearly comprehensively sampled distribution map at 10 km resolution vouchered by 216,687 specimens, up-to-date cytotaxonomic information covering 74% of the taxa, and an rbcL sequence dataset covering 97.9% of the taxa. Spatial distribution of species richness and phylogenetic diversity was visualized.

Diversification of bent-toed geckos (Cyrtodactylus) on Sumatra and west Java.

Complex geological processes often drive biotic diversification on islands. The islands of Sumatra and Java have experienced dramatic historical changes, including isolation by marine incursions followed by periodic connectivity with the rest of Sundaland across highland connections. To determine how this geological history influenced island invasions, we investigated the colonization history and diversification of bent-toed geckos (genus Cyrtodactylus) on Sumatra and west Java.

Grassland fire ecology has roots in the late Miocene.

That fire facilitated the late Miocene C grassland expansion is widely suspected but poorly documented. Fire potentially tied global climate to this profound biosphere transition by serving as a regional-to-local driver of vegetation change. In modern environments, seasonal extremes in moisture amplify the occurrence of fire, disturbing forest ecosystems to create niche space for flammable grasses, which in turn provide fuel for frequent fires.

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis of triclinic and hexagonal birnessites.

The characterization of birnessite structures is particularly challenging for poorly crystalline materials of biogenic origin, and a determination of the relative concentrations of triclinic and hexagonal birnessite in a mixed assemblage has typically required synchrotron-based spectroscopy and diffraction approaches. In this study, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is demonstrated to be capable of differentiating synthetic triclinic Na-birnessite and synthetic hexagonal H-birnessite. Furthermore, IR spectral deconvolution of peaks resulting from MnO lattice vibrations between 400 and 750cm yield results comparable to those obtained by linear combination fitting of synchrotron X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) data when applied to known mixtures of triclinic and hexagonal birnessites.

Herbivore teeth predict climatic limits in Kenyan ecosystems.

A major focus in evolutionary biology is to understand how the evolution of organisms relates to changes in their physical environment. In the terrestrial realm, the interrelationships among climate, vegetation, and herbivores lie at the heart of this question. Here we introduce and test a scoring scheme for functional traits present on the worn surfaces of large mammalian herbivore teeth to capture their relationship to environmental conditions.

Reciprocal genomic evolution in the ant-fungus agricultural symbiosis.

The attine ant-fungus agricultural symbiosis evolved over tens of millions of years, producing complex societies with industrial-scale farming analogous to that of humans. Here we document reciprocal shifts in the genomes and transcriptomes of seven fungus-farming ant species and their fungal cultivars. We show that ant subsistence farming probably originated in the early Tertiary (55-60 MYA), followed by further transitions to the farming of fully domesticated cultivars and leaf-cutting, both arising earlier than previously estimated.

Molecular phylogeny and taxonomy of the Epictia goudotii Species complex (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae: Epictinae) in Middle America and northern South America.

Here we review the systematics of the threadsnakes of the Epictia goudotii Species complex in Middle and northern South America using external morphology and molecular data. Two species, Epictia goudotii and E. magnamaculata, are currently recognized from that region, but we provide evidence for recognizing, as species, three other nominal forms usually treated as subspecies of E.

Working memory constraints on imitation and emulation.

Does working memory (WM) constrain the amount and type of information children copy from a model? To answer this question, preschool-age children (N=165) were trained and then tested on a touch-screen task that involved touching simultaneously presented pictures. Prior to responding, children saw a model generate two target responses: Order (touching all of the pictures on the screen in a target sequence three consecutive times) and Multi-Tap (consistently touching one of the pictures two times). Children's accuracy copying Order and Multi-Tap was assessed on two types of sequences: low WM load (2 pictures) and high WM load (3 pictures).