Cranial shape diversification in horses: variation and covariation patterns under the impact of artificial selection

The potential of artificial selection to dramatically impact phenotypic diversity is well known. Large-scale morphological changes in domestic species, emerging over short timescales, offer an accelerated perspective on evolutionary processes. The domestic horse (Equus caballus) provides a striking example of rapid evolution, with major changes in morphology and size likely stemming from artificial selection. However, the microevolutionary mechanisms allowing to generate this variation in a short time interval remain little known. Here, we use 3D geometric morphometrics to quantify skull morphological diversity in the horse, and investigate modularity and integration patterns to understand how morphological associations contribute to cranial evolvability in this taxon. We find that changes in the magnitude of cranial integration contribute to the diversification of the skull morphology in horse breeds. Our results demonstrate that a conserved pattern of modularity does not constrain large-scale morphological variations in horses and that artificial selection has impacted mechanisms underlying phenotypic diversity to facilitate rapid shape changes. More broadly, this study demonstrates that studying microevolutionary processes in domestic species produces important insights into extant phenotypic diversity.Introduction Material and methods - Material - Acquisition of data - Shape analyses - Integration and modularity -- Modular patterning -- Covariation patterns -- Magnitude of morphological integration Results - Size and shape variation - Allometry‑free shape variation - Allometry‑free shape variation of the modules - Modularity and integration Discussion - Cranial shape variation in the horse: the role of allometry and artificial selection in the morphological diversification - Cranial modularity and shape diversification -- Stasis in patterns, changes in magnitude -- Influence of morphological integration on shape variance - The role of function and development in integration patterns -- Anterior region -- Posterior region Conclusio

Keeping predators out: testing fences to reduce livestock depredation at night-time corrals

Livestock depredation by large carnivores is a global conservation challenge, and mitigation measures to reduce livestock losses are crucial for the coexistence of large carnivores and people. Various measures are employed to reduce livestock depredation but their effectiveness has rarely been tested. In this study, we tested the effectiveness of tall fences to reduce livestock losses to snow leopards Panthera uncia and wolves Canis lupus at night-time corrals at the winter camps of livestock herders in the Tost Mountains in southern Mongolia. Self-reported livestock losses at the fenced corrals were reduced from a mean loss of 3.9 goats and sheep per family and winter prior to the study to zero losses in the two winters of the study. In contrast, self-reported livestock losses in winter pastures, and during the rest of the year, when herders used different camps, remained high, which indicates that livestock losses were reduced because of the fences, not because of temporal variation in predation pressure. Herder attitudes towards snow leopards were positive and remained positive during the study, whereas attitudes towards wolves, which attacked livestock also in summer when herders moved out on the steppes, were negative and worsened during the study. This study showed that tall fences can be very effective at reducing night-time losses at corrals and we conclude that fences can be an important tool for snow leopard conservation and for facilitating the coexistence of snow leopards and people

Hydrometeorological Reconstructions for Northeastern Mongolia Derived from Tree Rings: 1651–1995

Reconstructions of annual (prior August–current July) precipitation and streamflow, 345 yr in length (1651–1995), are presented for northeastern Mongolia based on tree-ring width data. These precipitation and streamflow reconstructions account for 54% and 48% of the respective variance in instrumental data over the past 50 years. Variations in instrumental precipitation and streamflow are within the range of those reconstructed over the length of tree-ring records. However, there appear to be more frequent extended wet periods during the twentieth century. Multitaper spectral analysis revealed statistically significant peaks at 10.8 and 12.8 yr for the precipitation reconstruction, and at 12.8 and 20.3–23.8 yr for the streamflow reconstruction. Similarly, singular spectrum analysis identified spectral modes of variation at 12 and 21 yr for both series. These spectra resemble those found for tree-ring-based precipitation reconstructions in central China as well as the western United States, and may reflect solar influences on the climate of Mongolia

Microwave Heating of Liquid Crystals and Ethanol-Hexane Mixed Solution and Its Features (Review)

Microwave heating is widely used to accelerate organic reactions in the chemistry field. However, the effect of microwaves on chemical reaction has not yet been well characterized at the molecular level. In this review chapter, microwave heating processes of liquid crystals and an ethanol-hexane mixed solution under microwave irradiation were experimentally and theoretically investigated using in situ microwave irradiation nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, respectively. The temperature of the solution under microwave irradiation was estimated from a chemical shift calibrated temperature (CSC-temperature) which was determined from the temperature dependence of the 1H chemical shift. The CSC-temperatures of CH2 and CH3 non-polar protons of ethanol reflect the bulk temperature of a solution by the thermal microwave effect. The lower CSC-temperature of the OH polar protons in ethanol and much higher CSC-temperature of H-C=N (7′) and CH3-O (α’) protons of N-(4-methoxybenzyliden)-4-butylaniline with respect to the bulk temperature are attributed to the non-thermal microwave effects. According to the MD simulation under microwave irradiation, the number of hydrogen bonds increased in the ethanol-hexane mixed solution as a result of a non-thermal microwave effect. It is concluded that a coherently ordered low entropy state of polar molecules is induced by a non-thermal microwave effect. The ordered state induces molecular interaction, which may accelerate the chemical reaction rate between molecules with polar groups

Applying a gender lens to biodiversity conservation in High Asia

Community-based conservation efforts represent an important approach to facilitate the coexistence of people and wildlife. A concern, however, is that these efforts build on existing community structures and social norms, which are commonly dominated by men. Some biodiversity conservation approaches may consequently neglect women’s voices and deepen existing inequalities and inequities. This paper presents two community case studies that draw upon the knowledge and experience gained in our snow leopard conservation practice in pastoral and agro-pastoral settings in Mongolia and India to better understand women’s roles and responsibilities. In these settings, roles and responsibilities in livestock management and agriculture are strongly differentiated along gender lines, and significant gaps remain in women’s decision-making power about natural resources at the community level. We argue that context-specific and gender-responsive approaches are needed to build community support for conservation actions and leverage women’s potential contributions to conservation outcomes.Peer Reviewe

Health and zoonotic infections of snow leopards Panthera unica in the South Gobi desert of Mongolia

Background: Snow leopards, Panthera uncia, are a threatened apex predator, scattered across the mountains of Central and South Asia. Disease threats to wild snow leopards have not been investigated.Methods and Results: Between 2008 and 2015, twenty snow leopards in the South Gobi desert of Mongolia were captured and immobilised for health screening and radio-collaring. Blood samples and external parasites were collected for pathogen analyses using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), microscopic agglutination test (MAT), and next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques. The animals showed no clinical signs of disease, however, serum antibodies to significant zoonotic pathogens were detected. These pathogens included, Coxiella burnetii, (25% prevalence), Leptospira spp., (20%), and Toxoplasma gondii (20%). Ticks collected from snow leopards contained potentially zoonotic bacteria from the genera Bacillus, Bacteroides, Campylobacter, Coxiella, Rickettsia, Staphylococcus and Streptococcus.Conclusions: The zoonotic pathogens identified in this study, in the short-term did not appear to cause illness in the snow leopards, but have caused illness in other wild felids. Therefore, surveillance for pathogens should be implemented to monitor for potential longer- term disease impacts on this snow leopard population

1738 years of Mongolian temperature variability inferred from a tree-ring width chronology of Siberian pine

1738 years (AD 262–1999) of temperature variability are inferred from tree-ring widths of Siberian pine at Solongotyn Davaa (Sol Dav), a timberline (2420 m) site in Mongolia. This chronology can account for 33% of the temperature variance from 1882–1993. The warmest conditions over the past millennium are during the 20th century. The 1999 ring width has the highest index value over the past millennium. Both warmer and colder intervals are inferred during the “Medieval Warm Epoch”. The most severe cold occurred in the 19th century. Unusual cold and frost in AD 536–545 coincide with extremes in other proxies and historical accounts, confirming a widespread, catastrophic event. Trends resemble those of other Eurasian paleoseries, and hemispheric-scale reconstructions over the past millennium. More chronologies such as Sol Dav are essential to improve coverage in the uncertain earlier centuries of these reconstructions and their estimates of natural variability relative to recent anthropogenic change