Middle Pliocene hominin diversity : Australopithecus deyiremeda and Kenyanthropus platyops

Geometric morphometric shape analyses are used to compare the maxillae of the Kenyanthropus platyops holotype KNM-WT 40000, the Australopithecus deyiremeda holotype BRT-VP-3/1 and other australopiths. The main aim is to explore the relationship between these two specimens and contemporary Australopithecus afarensis. Five landmarks placed on lateral views of the maxillae quantify key aspects of the morphology. Generalized Procrustes analyses and principal component analyses of the resulting shape coordinates were performed. The magnitudes of differences in shape and their significances were assessed using Procrustes and Mahalanobis’ distances, respectively. Both KNM-WT 40000 and BRT-VP-3/1 show statistically significant differences in maxillary shape from A. afarensis, but do so in dissimilar ways. Moreover, the former differs more from A. afarensis than the latter. KNM-WT 40000 has a more anteriorly positioned zygomatic process with a transversely flat, and more orthognathic subnasal clivus. BRT-VP-3/1 has a more inferiorly positioned zygomatic process, a slightly retracted dental arcade, but without shortening of the anterior maxilla. These findings are consistent with previous conclusions that the two fossils should be attributed to separate species, rather than to A. afarensis, and with the presence of three contemporary hominin species in the Middle Pliocene of eastern Africa

The management of tree genetic resources and the livelihoods of rural communities in the tropics: non-timber forest products, smallholder agroforestry practices and tree commodity crops

Products and services provided by trees in forests and farmland support the needs and promote the wellbeing of hundreds of millions of people in the tropics. Value depends on managing both the diversity of tree species present in landscapes and the genetic variation within these species. The benefits from trees and their genetic resources are, however, often not well quantified because trade is frequently outside formal markets, there is a multiplicity of species and ways in which trees are used and managed, and genetic diversity within species is frequently not given proper consideration. We review here what is known about the value of trees to rural communities through considering three production categories: non-timber products harvested from trees in natural and managed forests and woodlands; the various products and services obtained from a wide range of trees planted and/or retained in smallholders’ agroforestry systems; and the commercial products harvested from cultivated tree commodity crops. Where possible, we focus on the role of intra-specific genetic variation in providing support to livelihoods, and for each of the three production categories we also consider wider conservation and sustainability issues, including the linkages between categories in terms of management. Challenges to ‘conventional wisdom’ on tree resource use, value and management – such as in the posited links between commercialisation, cultivation and conservation – are highlighted, and constraints and opportunities to maintain and enhance value are described

Hominin dental remains from the Pliocene localities at Lomekwi, Kenya (1982-2009)

Increasing evidence for both taxonomic diversity and early stone manufacture during the Pliocene highlight the importance of the hominin fossil record from this epoch in eastern Africa. Here, we describe dental remains from Lomekwi (West Turkana, Kenya), which date from between 3.2 and 3.5 Ma. The sample was collected between 1982 and 2009 and includes five gnathic specimens and a total of 67 teeth (mostly isolated permanent postcanine teeth). Standard linear dimensions indicate that, while the Lomekwi teeth are relatively small, there is broad overlap in size with contemporary Australopithecus afarensis and Australopithecus deyiremeda specimens at most tooth positions. However, some dental characters differentiate this sample from these species including: a relatively large P4 and M3 compared with the M1, a high incidence of well-developed protostylids and specific accessory molar cuspules. Due to a lack of well-preserved tooth crowns (and the complete absence of mandibular teeth) in the holotype and paratype of Kenyanthropus platyops, and limited comparable gnathic morphology in the new specimens, it cannot be determined whether these Lomekwi specimens should be attributed to this species. Attribution of these specimens is further complicated by a lack of certainty about position along the tooth row of many of the molar specimens. More comprehensive shape analyses of the external and internal morphology of these specimens, and additional fossil finds, would facilitate the taxonomic attribution of specimens in this taxonomically diverse period of human evolution

Coast to ocean: a Fife-eye view: ocean literacy in Fife, Scotland

[Extract from Executive Summary] Ocean Literacy (OL), or Ocean Citizenship, is the basis of a movement to sway positive, lasting change in communities that will benefit the sea, coast and climate. An ocean literate person is understanding of the ocean’s influence on their own lives, as well as the way that their behaviours influence the ocean and is knowledgeable concerning ocean threats. A degree of informed-ness (or ‘literacy’) is thought to inspire effective communication and allow for impactful decision-making regarding personal lifestyle and behaviours, which are subsequently beneficial to the marine and coastal environment. Not only that, a collective OL mindset may be translated into policy, informing marine spatial planning authorities of people’s expectations regarding their marine and coastal spaces.Publisher PD

Shifts in microbial communities in soil, rhizosphere and roots of two major crop systems under elevated CO2 and O3

Rising atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and O3 are key features of global environmental change. To investigate changes in the belowground bacterial community composition in response to elevated CO2 and O3 (eCO2 and eO3) the endosphere, rhizosphere and soil were sampled from soybeans under eCO2 and maize under eO3. The maize rhizosphere and endosphere α-diversity was higher than soybean, which may be due to a high relative abundance of Rhizobiales. Only the rhizosphere microbiome composition of the soybeans changed in response to eCO2, associated with an increased abundance of nitrogen fixing microbes. In maize, the microbiome composition was altered by the genotype and linked to differences in root exudate profiles. The eO3 treatment did not change the microbial communities in the rhizosphere, but altered the soil communities where hybrid maize was grown. In contrast to previous studies that focused exclusively on the soil, this study provides new insights into the effects of plant root exudates on the composition of the belowground microbiome in response to changing atmospheric conditions. Our results demonstrate that plant species and plant genotype were key factors driving the changes in the belowground bacterial community composition in agroecosystems that experience rising levels of atmospheric CO2 and O3

Preserving the impossible: conservation of soft-sediment hominin footprint sites and strategies for three-dimensional digital data capture.

Human footprints provide some of the most publically emotive and tangible evidence of our ancestors. To the scientific community they provide evidence of stature, presence, behaviour and in the case of early hominins potential evidence with respect to the evolution of gait. While rare in the geological record the number of footprint sites has increased in recent years along with the analytical tools available for their study. Many of these sites are at risk from rapid erosion, including the Ileret footprints in northern Kenya which are second only in age to those at Laetoli (Tanzania). Unlithified, soft-sediment footprint sites such these pose a significant geoconservation challenge. In the first part of this paper conservation and preservation options are explored leading to the conclusion that to 'record and digitally rescue' provides the only viable approach. Key to such strategies is the increasing availability of three-dimensional data capture either via optical laser scanning and/or digital photogrammetry. Within the discipline there is a developing schism between those that favour one approach over the other and a requirement from geoconservationists and the scientific community for some form of objective appraisal of these alternatives is necessary. Consequently in the second part of this paper we evaluate these alternative approaches and the role they can play in a 'record and digitally rescue' conservation strategy. Using modern footprint data, digital models created via optical laser scanning are compared to those generated by state-of-the-art photogrammetry. Both methods give comparable although subtly different results. This data is evaluated alongside a review of field deployment issues to provide guidance to the community with respect to the factors which need to be considered in digital conservation of human/hominin footprints

Uncovering hidden genetic variation in photosynthesis of field‐grown maize under ozone pollution

Ozone is the most damaging air pollutant to crops, currently reducing Midwest US maize production by up to 10%, yet there has been very little effort to adapt germ‐ plasm for ozone tolerance. Ozone enters plants through stomata, reacts to form reactive oxygen species in the apoplast and ultimately decreases photosynthetic C gain. In this study, 10 diverse inbred parents were crossed in a half‐diallel design to create 45 F1 hybrids, which were tested for ozone response in the field using free air concentration enrichment (FACE). Ozone stress increased the heritability of pho‐ tosynthetic traits and altered genetic correlations among traits. Hybrids from par‐ ents Hp301 and NC338 showed greater sensitivity to ozone stress, and disrupted relationships among photosynthetic traits. The physiological responses underlying sensitivity to ozone differed in hybrids from the two parents, suggesting multiple mechanisms of response to oxidative stress. FACE technology was essential to this evaluation because genetic variation in photosynthesis under elevated ozone was not predictable based on performance at ambient ozone. These findings suggest that selection under elevated ozone is needed to identify deleterious alleles in the world's largest commodity crop

The acheulean handaxe : More like a bird's song than a beatles' tune?

© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. KV is supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. MC is supported by the Canada Research Chairs Program, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research of Canada, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund, and Simon Fraser UniversityPeer reviewedPublisher PD