Isopod trackways from the Crayssac Lagerstätte, upper Jurassic, France

International audienceWell-preserved arthropod trackways are described from the laminated limestones of the Crayssac Lagerstätte (south-west France, Lower Tithonian). They occur in sediments deposited in the temporary coastal mudflats of intertidal to supratidal zones. The trackways are referred to Pterichnus isopodicus isp. nov., and are interpreted as the locomotion traces of isopods. Different trackway morphotypes are recognized and clearly resulted from variations in the original consistency of the sediment. Sinuous trackways may correspond to vagrant activity on wet mud whereas numerous straight ones indicate a more rapid crawling on a soft-to-firm substratum (e.g. tidal flat during emersion). The preferred orientation of trackways indicates that isopods were crawling in a direction perpendicular to shoreline as a result of possible taxis induced by sediment wetness and ⁄ or by a migratory behaviour controlled by tidal rhythm. Unusually long emergence of the sediments may have favoured the preservation of dense networks of trackways. An isopod identity is supported by the general morphology of the tracks and the association of trackways with isopod body fossils. Archaeoniscus, which occurs abundantly in Late Jurassic deposit

Compilation and Network Analyses of Cambrian Food Webs

A rich body of empirically grounded theory has developed about food webs—the networks of feeding relationships among species within habitats. However, detailed food-web data and analyses are lacking for ancient ecosystems, largely because of the low resolution of taxa coupled with uncertain and incomplete information about feeding interactions. These impediments appear insurmountable for most fossil assemblages; however, a few assemblages with excellent soft-body preservation across trophic levels are candidates for food-web data compilation and topological analysis. Here we present plausible, detailed food webs for the Chengjiang and Burgess Shale assemblages from the Cambrian Period. Analyses of degree distributions and other structural network properties, including sensitivity analyses of the effects of uncertainty associated with Cambrian diet designations, suggest that these early Paleozoic communities share remarkably similar topology with modern food webs. Observed regularities reflect a systematic dependence of structure on the numbers of taxa and links in a web. Most aspects of Cambrian food-web structure are well-characterized by a simple “niche model,” which was developed for modern food webs and takes into account this scale dependence. However, a few aspects of topology differ between the ancient and recent webs: longer path lengths between species and more species in feeding loops in the earlier Chengjiang web, and higher variability in the number of links per species for both Cambrian webs. Our results are relatively insensitive to the exclusion of low-certainty or random links. The many similarities between Cambrian and recent food webs point toward surprisingly strong and enduring constraints on the organization of complex feeding interactions among metazoan species. The few differences could reflect a transition to more strongly integrated and constrained trophic organization within ecosystems following the rapid diversification of species, body plans, and trophic roles during the Cambrian radiation. More research is needed to explore the generality of food-web structure through deep time and across habitats, especially to investigate potential mechanisms that could give rise to similar structure, as well as any differences

Conference Coordinating Committee Member

I am not presenting my own work per se at this conference. I am the vice-chairman of the Conference Coordinating Committee. My fellow committee members and I have assembled this conference because there are not formal societies or other scholarly organizations that bring together scholars who study, work with, and theorize around non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in anthropology. This conference is crucial for my personal research dissemination since here I will be able, for the first time, to network with others from around the world with similar research interest and discuss with them a chief topic of the conference: assembling edited volumes, launching a journal, and instituting more conferences to organize the dissemination of research surrounding NGOs in society and the world system. The stated purpose of the conference is below: Interest in NGOs is rapidly growing among anthropologists. The American Anthropological Association\u27s Special Interest Group on NGOs and Nonprofits is now the largest SIG, with over 1,000 members. Scholars are studying NGOs, nonprofits, and voluntary associations in connection with a vast array of cultural processes, including governance, social movements, professionalization, militarization, morality, religion, gender, neocolonialism, and neoliberal restructuring. The proliferation of studies is, on the one hand, advancing understanding of theoretical and practical issues by bringing scholars together to explore connections across diverse geographies and to debate the changing power and significance of NGOs. On the other hand, the immense number and diversity of nongovernmental organizations worldwide has produced a fragmented body of research and divergent styles of engagement by anthropologists, ranging from active participation to more traditional \u27fly on the wall\u27 fieldwork. Anthropologists practicing \u27NGO-graphy\u27 confront the question of whether NGOs comprise a coherent object of analysis. Collectively, we face conceptual, methodological and ethical issues that require more intensive discussion. The purpose of this first anthropology of NGOs conference is to assess, define, refine, and invigorate the field of NGO studies as it applies to the anthropological community

The Influence of International Medical Tourism on Health Belief Systems in Rural Belize

It is becoming evident that hypertensive diseases and diabetes are becoming critical health issues in Central America. Recent health related studies in Belize have demonstrated the increasing prevalence and morbidity of these non-communicable diseases. In response, a growing number of non-governmental organizations are facilitating US-based health initiatives throughout the country. The preliminary research presented here represented an initiative that sought to ascertain overall beliefs and perceptions of personal health among villagers who demonstrated hypertension and diabetes. Utilizing the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised and SF12 survey instruments, an inter-disciplinary team conducted survey research in eight villages surrounding the urban center of San Ignacio in the Cayo district of Belize. Villagers participated in voluntary health screenings for hypertension and diabetes and survey data was collected as a follow up to determine belief systems regarding causation and overall health. Survey results presented a conundrum. Participating individuals presented very negative beliefs regarding personal physical and mental health yet very positive beliefs regarding treatment and a strong knowledge base regarding causation and symptoms. Based on this preliminary data and discussions with locally based NGO staff, correlative assumptions will be made regarding the ongoing saturation of medical development tourism in the area. The nature and extent of these often university-based study trips is causing disconnects between participants self-perception of health and the medical realities of diabetes and hypertension. These preliminary findings raise further questions regarding the efficacy and ethics of the current models that typically inform medical tourism in rural Belize

Atikevodu: Medicine and Spirituality in a Gorovodu Community of Southern Togo

Trans-State public health institutions such as the World Health Organization are increasingly recognizing the importance and potential of indigenous knowledge of plant-based medicines. The administration of herbal plant remedies is frequently embedded in culturally informed religious contexts through which illness and healing are understood. This paper explores the intersection between spirituality and plant medicines in an Ewe Gorovodu community in Southern Togo. Atikevodu medicine is highly adept at treating a multitude of illnesses including blood bourne diseases, infectious diseases, and mental illnesses. Here, healing and illness are as physical as they are emotional, psychological, and spiritual, with many originating in sorcery or witchcraft. Priests diagnose illnesses and treat the individual as a physical-social subject, materially through the application of herbal plant remedies and non-materially through mediation with the Gorovodu spirits. Spatially, the village\u27s sacred forest houses the spirit-fetishes and is where medicinal herbs and stored and administered. Through this agency and space, material and non-material, faith, ritual, and science are holistically integrated. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with head priests who acted as key informants and participant observation in healing rituals and community ceremonies. This presentation concludes by raising significant issues regarding the cultural boundaries surrounding plant-based medicine and the role of medical anthropologists in translating indigenous medicinal practice into biomedical science

Endoplasmic Reticulum-Plasma Membrane Associations: Structures and Functions.

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