The British Lithostrotiontidae

A revision and systematic study of the British species of the Carboniferous rugose coral family Lithostrotiontidae is described. No revision of this group has appeared since the middle of the last century. Results show that 15 described cerioid species of Lithostrotion can be lumped into four species. In addition L. decipiens depressum subsp. nov, is described in this group. The fasciculate species of Lithostrotion have been extended by the separation of L. variabile sp. nov., L. scaleberense sp, nov., L. junceum communicatum subsp. nov,, L. martini praenuntium subsp. nov. and L. martini simplex subsp. nov. The genus piphyphyllum is shown to be polyphyletically derived and its species are referred back to Lithostrotion. The monospecific genus Nemistium is considered synonymous with Lithostrotion and ranoved. Its one species is an evolutionary intermediate between two species of Lithostrotion. The genus Orionastraea is reviewed and 0. sera sp. nov. is described. Two species of Orionastraea are referred to Hadsonia gen, nov. which, though similar morphologically to Orionastraea, has a different ancestral species. H. matura Sp. nov. is described in this genua. The genus Aulina is excluded from the Lithostrotiontidae as it is thought to have different ancestors. It is restricted to include only forms with massive coralla and A. botanica sp. nov. and A. rotif ormis aphroidia subsp. nov, are described. Fasciculate species of Aulina are referred to Easoioaulina gen, nov. as they are apparently unrelated to Aulina sensu stricto. The phylogeny of the Lithostrotiontidae is described and shown to proceed by following certain evolutionary trends which lead to an increasing level of colonial it within the group. The evolutionary centre and therefore the palaeomigration directions of the Lithostrotiontidae are shown to change during the phylogeny and this is related to the global palaeogeography of the Carboniferous period. Discovery of well preserved material has allowed the skeletal changes during the hystero-ontogeny of L. martini to be determined. This revision has led to a better understanding of the species in the Lithostrotiontidae so that their value as statigraphical zonal indices has been increased

The oldest Jurassic dinosaur:a Basal Neotheropod from the Hettangian of Great Britain

Approximately 40% of a skeleton including cranial and postcranial remains representing a new genus and species of basal neotheropod dinosaur is described. It was collected from fallen blocks from a sea cliff that exposes Late Triassic and Early Jurassic marine and quasi marine strata on the south Wales coast near the city of Cardiff. Matrix comparisons indicate that the specimen is from the lithological Jurassic part of the sequence, below the first occurrence of the index ammonite Psiloceras planorbis and above the last occurrence of the Rhaetian conodont Chirodella verecunda. Associated fauna of echinoderms and bivalves indicate that the specimen had drifted out to sea, presumably from the nearby Welsh Massif and associated islands (St David's Archipelago). Its occurrence close to the base of the Blue Lias Formation (Lower Jurassic, Hettangian) makes it the oldest known Jurassic dinosaur and it represents the first dinosaur skeleton from the Jurassic of Wales. A cladistic analysis indicates basal neotheropodan affinities, but the specimen retains plesiomorphic characters which it shares with Tawa and Daemonosaurus

Anthropogenic Disturbance and Population Viability of Woodland Caribou in Ontario

One of the most challenging tasks in wildlife conservation and management is to clarify how spatial variation in land cover due to anthropogenic disturbance influences wildlife demography and long‐term viability. To evaluate this, we compared rates of survival and population growth by woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) from 2 study sites in northern Ontario, Canada that differed in the degree of anthropogenic disturbance because of commercial logging and road development, resulting in differences in predation risk due to gray wolves (Canis lupus). We used an individual‐based model for population viability analysis (PVA) that incorporated adaptive patterns of caribou movement in relation to predation risk and food availability to predict stochastic variation in rates of caribou survival. Field estimates of annual survival rates for adult female caribou in the unlogged ( x̄ = 0.90) and logged ( x̄ = 0.76) study sites recorded during 2010–2014 did not differ significantly (P \u3e 0.05) from values predicted by the individual‐based PVA model (unlogged:  x̄ = 0.87; logged:  x̄ = 0.79). Outcomes from the individual‐based PVA model and a simpler stage‐structured matrix model suggest that substantial differences in adult survival largely due to wolf predation are likely to lead to long‐term decline of woodland caribou in the commercially logged landscape, whereas the unlogged landscape should be considerably more capable of sustaining caribou. Estimates of population growth rates (λ) for the 2010–2014 period differed little between the matrix model and the individual‐based PVA model for the unlogged (matrix model  x̄ = 1.01; individual‐based model x̄ = 0.98) and logged landscape (matrix model x̄ = 0.88; individual‐based model x̄ = 0.89). We applied the spatially explicit PVA model to assess the viability of woodland caribou across 14 woodland caribou ranges in Ontario. Outcomes of these simulations suggest that woodland caribou ranges that have experienced significant levels of commercial forestry activities in the past had annual growth rates 0.96. These differences were strongly related to regional variation in wolf densities. Our results suggest that increased wolf predation risk due to anthropogenic disturbance is of sufficient magnitude to cause appreciable risk of population decline in woodland caribou in Ontario. © 2020 The Authors. The Journal of Wildlife Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Wildlife Society

The Carboniferous coral Palaeacis in Ireland

Volume: 26Start Page: 211End Page: 22

Correction: The Oldest Jurassic Dinosaur: A Basal Neotheropod from the Hettangian of Great Britain.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145713.]