Paleopatología oral en la población medieval de Monte d'Argento (Roma, Italia)

Se ha estudiado la patología oral de una muestra de 60 individuos de la población altomedieval de "Monte d'Argento", Fondi, en la provincia de Latina. Los resultados más relevantes indican un 14.5% de piezas dentarias que presentan caries aunque con un grado moderado; la parodontopatía se puede inferir en los 34.4% de los alveolos y su intensidad es variable; los abscesos afectan al 1.3% de los alveolos y la reabsorción alveolar al 13.1% y la hipoplasia afecta al 25.1% de las piezas. Estos datos se han comparado con otras poblaciones medievales italianas y españolas. Los resultados sugieren una alimentación monótona y con escasez episódica, con gran preponderancia de carbohidratos, poco abrasiva y con pocas fibras, en ausencia de higiene oral, de conformidad con los datos históricos.A sample of 60 adult individuals found in a common grave at Monte d'Argento (Medieval Age, Fondi, Italy) was examined for dentoalveolar pathology. The results point to the presence of caries, generally with a moderate degree of severity, in a 14.5% of the individuals. Periodontal disease was found with a variable degree of severity on 34.4% of the observable alveoli. Abscesses were present on 1.3% and alveolar resorption on 13.1% of the alveoli. Enamel hypoplasia affected 25.1% of the subjects. A comparison with other Medieval Italian and Spanish samples suggests episodic stress and a diet mainly based on cereal consumption, poor in fibres and accompanied by conditions of scarce oral hygiene, in agreement with the historical data.Latina probintziako Fondi-ko "Monte d'Argento" Erdi Aro Garaiko populazioaren 60 gizabanakoak osaturiko laginaren aho-patologia aztertu da. Emaitzarik garrantzitsuenek adierazten dute hortz-aleetako % 14.5ak txantxarrak azaltzen dituela, maila apalean baina; paradontopatia ondorezta daiteke albeoloetako %34.4ean, intentsitate aldakorrekin; zornezorroek albeoloen %13.4a ukitzen dute, albeolobirzurgapenak %13.1a eta hipoplasiak hortz-aleen %25.1a. Datuok alderatu egin dira Erdi Aroko populazio italiar eta espainiarrekin. Emaitzek elikadura monotonoa eta eskasa sujeritzen dute populazioaren bizitzako denboraldiren batean. karbohidratoak nagusi direnekoa, urragarritasun apalekoa eta zuntz gutxikoa, aho-higienerik ezean, datu historikoekin bat eginez

Better Few than Hungry: Flexible Feeding Ecology of Collared Lemurs Eulemur collaris in Littoral Forest Fragments

Frugivorous primates are known to encounter many problems to cope with habitat degradation, due to the fluctuating spatial and temporal distribution of their food resources. Since lemur communities evolved strategies to deal with periods of food scarcity, these primates are expected to be naturally adapted to fluctuating ecological conditions and to tolerate a certain degree of habitat changes. However, behavioral and ecological strategies adopted by frugivorous lemurs to survive in secondary habitats have been little investigated. Here, we compared the behavioral ecology of collared lemurs (Eulemur collaris) in a degraded fragment of littoral forest of south-east Madagascar, Mandena, with that of their conspecifics in a more intact habitat, Sainte Luce.Lemur groups in Mandena and in Sainte Luce were censused in 2004/2007 and in 2000, respectively. Data were collected via instantaneous sampling on five lemur groups totaling 1,698 observation hours. The Shannon index was used to determine dietary diversity and nutritional analyses were conducted to assess food quality. All feeding trees were identified and measured, and ranging areas determined via the minimum convex polygon. In the degraded area lemurs were able to modify several aspects of their feeding strategies by decreasing group size and by increasing feeding time, ranging areas, and number of feeding trees. The above strategies were apparently able to counteract a clear reduction in both food quality and size of feeding trees.Our findings indicate that collared lemurs in littoral forest fragments modified their behavior to cope with the pressures of fluctuating resource availability. The observed flexibility is likely to be an adaptation to Malagasy rainforests, which are known to undergo periods of fruit scarcity and low productivity. These results should be carefully considered when relocating lemurs or when selecting suitable areas for their conservation

(Un-)Expected Nocturnal Activity in ‘‘Diurnal’’ Lemur catta Supports Cathemerality as One of the Key Adaptations of the Lemurid Radiation

The ability to operate during the day and at night (i.e., cathemerality) is common among mammals but has rarely been identified in primates. Adaptive hypotheses assume that cathemerality represents a stable adaptation in primates, while nonadaptive hypotheses propose that it is the result of an evolutionary disequilibrium arising from human impacts on natural habitats. Madagascar offers a unique opportunity to study the evolution of activity patterns as there we find a monophyletic primate radiation that shows nocturnal, diurnal, and cathemeral patterns. However, when and why cathemeral activity evolved in lemurs is the subject of intense debate. Thus far, this activity pattern has been regularly observed in only three lemurid genera but the actual number of lemur species exhibiting this activity is as yet unknown. Here we show that the ring-tailed lemur, Lemur catta, a species previously considered to be diurnal, can in fact be cathemeral in the wild. In neighboring but distinct forest areas these lemurs exhibited either mainly diurnal or cathemeral activity. We found that, as in other cathemeral lemurs, activity was entrained by photoperiod and masked by nocturnal luminosity. Our results confirm the relationship between transitional eye anatomy and physiology and 24-h activity, thus supporting the adaptive scenario. Also, on the basis of the most recent strepsirrhine phylogenetic reconstruction, using parsimony criterion, our findings suggest pushing back the emergence of cathemerality to stem lemurids. Flexible activity over 24-h could thus have been one of the key adaptations of the early lemurid radiation possibly driven by Madagascar's island ecology

Nonalimentary tooth use in prehistory: An example from early Holocene in Central Sahara (Uan Muhuggiag, Tadrart Acacus, Libya)

Signs of nonalimentary tooth use were observed on the dentition of an adult male from a single burial excavated in an area close to the Uan Muhuggiag rock shelter (Tadrart Acacus, Libya), dated to more than 7800 uncalibrated years BP, that represents the most ancient human remain found in the Libyan Sahara, and provides a first glimpse of human adaptation in the early Holocene of this region. The wear pattern shows large grooves running across the occlusal surfaces of maxillary and mandibular anterior teeth and premolars. The results of macroscopic and microscopic observation, together with scanning electron microscope (SEM) examination and experimental tests, suggest that the microdamage might be due to repeated friction of vegetal fibers, probably as a consequence of basket making, net production, or mat processing. Further data are needed to allow us to distinguish among plant-oriented activities related to food acquisition (e.g., rope and net processing), food storage (e.g., basket making), or domestic handicraft (e.g., mat processing), whose implications may generate different interpretations of sexual division of labor

Paleopatología oral en la población medieval de Monte d'Argento (Roma, Italia)

Se ha estudiado la patología oral de una muestra de 60 individuos de la población altomedieval de "Monte d'Argento", Fondi, en la provincia de Latina. Los resultados más relevantes indican un 14.5% de piezas dentarias que presentan caries aunque con un grado moderado; la parodontopatía se puede inferir en los 34.4% de los alveolos y su intensidad es variable; los abscesos afectan al 1.3% de los alveolos y la reabsorción alveolar al 13.1% y la hipoplasia afecta al 25.1% de las piezas. Estos datos se han comparado con otras poblaciones medievales italianas y españolas. Los resultados sugieren una alimentación monótona y con escasez episódica, con gran preponderancia de carbohidratos, poco abrasiva y con pocas fibras, en ausencia de higiene oral, de conformidad con los datos históricos.A sample of 60 adult individuals found in a common grave at Monte d'Argento (Medieval Age, Fondi, Italy) was examined for dentoalveolar pathology. The results point to the presence of caries, generally with a moderate degree of severity, in a 14.5% of the individuals. Periodontal disease was found with a variable degree of severity on 34.4% of the observable alveoli. Abscesses were present on 1.3% and alveolar resorption on 13.1% of the alveoli. Enamel hypoplasia affected 25.1% of the subjects. A comparison with other Medieval Italian and Spanish samples suggests episodic stress and a diet mainly based on cereal consumption, poor in fibres and accompanied by conditions of scarce oral hygiene, in agreement with the historical data.Latina probintziako Fondi-ko "Monte d'Argento" Erdi Aro Garaiko populazioaren 60 gizabanakoak osaturiko laginaren aho-patologia aztertu da. Emaitzarik garrantzitsuenek adierazten dute hortz-aleetako % 14.5ak txantxarrak azaltzen dituela, maila apalean baina; paradontopatia ondorezta daiteke albeoloetako %34.4ean, intentsitate aldakorrekin; zornezorroek albeoloen %13.4a ukitzen dute, albeolobirzurgapenak %13.1a eta hipoplasiak hortz-aleen %25.1a. Datuok alderatu egin dira Erdi Aroko populazio italiar eta espainiarrekin. Emaitzek elikadura monotonoa eta eskasa sujeritzen dute populazioaren bizitzako denboraldiren batean. karbohidratoak nagusi direnekoa, urragarritasun apalekoa eta zuntz gutxikoa, aho-higienerik ezean, datu historikoekin bat eginez

Proximate and ultimate determinants of cathemeral activity in brown lemurs

Among primates, only two lemur genera, Eulemur and Hapalemur, and a population of the platyrrhine Aotus azarai are known to be cathemeral (i.e. show a mixture of daytime and night-time activity). Given the rarity of this phenomenon in primates except for Malagasy lemurs, its proximate and ultimate factors are still debated. The adaptive reasons for this apparently odd lifestyle are mainly based on four not mutually exclusive hypotheses: thermoregulatory benefits, antipredator strategy, competition avoidance and metabolic dietary-related needs. However, little effort has been made to tease apart proximate cues from potential ultimate factors in the multivariate context of activity correlates. To investigate these hypotheses, we compared the year-round cathemeral activity of two groups of Eulemur collaris and one group of hybrids E. collaris  Eulemur fulvus rufus in a humid littoral and in a dry gallery forest of southern Madagascar. Data were collected using a 5 min instantaneous method, with sampling equally distributed between day and night. We weighted the different effects of proximate and ultimate factors via the ANCOVA analysis using as the dependent variable the ratio between diurnal and nocturnal activity. Photoperiodic changes and nocturnal luminosity were the two proximate factors that accounted for most of the variability at the two sites. Diet quality was the only ultimate factor that had a significant effect on the diurnality index of the two lemur populations, suggesting a role of metabolic dietary-related needs in determining cathemeral activity in these lemurs.

Living in Islands of Forests: Nutritional Ecology of the Howler Monkey ( Alouatta palliata) at La Suerte Biological Field Station, North-Eastern Costa Rica

This unique book allows to be used as a textbook and a resource in field schools and universities, as well as for field research. It can easily provide a general and deep overview, as well serve as a species and inventory guide of Central American biodiversity, its natural resources and habitats for some of the most prolific habitats: the low elevation rainforest (location of La Suerte Biological station, Costa Rica), the tropical dry forest and lake system (location of the Ometepe Island station, Nicaragua), and Central America as a whole (including its unique coastal, marine and atmospheric heritage). These land—and seascapes are globally praised for their huge and unique species richness, but are also known for their fast decay. This book fills a niche, and it is based on over a decade of teaching and research experience of the main author, his international colleagues and students at both sites run by the Maderas Rainforest Conservancy The authors also have a wide experience with the historical and international context and with the political ecology for the region, as well as with analyzing complex biodiversity and landscapes, the Caribbean, Central America, and with open access geographic information system (GIS) data and modeling; this emphasize is shared here with the audience. Locally, the two field sites featured cover many relevant habitats (tropical rainforest, dry forest, freshwater, volcano, cloud forest, Caribbean and Pacific coast, agriculture). The conservation urgency regarding biodiversity and tropical forest loss, habitat conversion, and its social decay does hardly need further mentioning and in times of ongoing climate change and globalization. Unique data have been compiled in this publication for the first time (digitally, with GIS and online). This book tackles wildlife management in the tropics: from sea turtles and sea floor benthos over plants and trees to insects, birds, small mammals, monkeys, sloths, tapirs, amphibians, and reptiles. The digital online appendix of this book provides relevant and highly seeked-after background material for any naturalist, e.g., digital species check lists for field stations, GIS maps, course syllabi, and photos