"Invisible burials" and fragmentation practices in Iron Age Europe:Excavations at the Monte Bernorio Necropolis (Northern Spain)

The scarcity of burial remains in large parts of Iron Age Europe, particularly in the Atlantic regions, has often led scholars to discuss the apparent “invisibility” of graves. This paper presents the results from several excavation campaigns at Monte Bernorio, one of the most important sites of the 1st millennium b.c. on the Iberian Peninsula. The fieldwork and post-excavation work carried out in the area of the necropolis have identified numerous burial pits, with complex ritual activities characterized by fragmentation and the practice of the pars pro toto. In addition, evidence for later rituals in some of the graves can be linked to ancestor worship. The results provide important insights into funerary practices in Late Iron Age Europe, leading us to rethink the very meaning of cemeteries in the study area and beyond.- Burial Traditions in Iron Age Europe - The Monte Bernorio Archaeological Zone - The 2007–2008 Necropolis Excavations - The 2015–2016 Necropolis Excavations - Post-Excavation Work and Interpretation: The Faunal and Human Remains - Structure and Chronology of Monte Bernorio Area 7 - Destruction of the Body, Commemoration in the Absence of a Corpse, and Visibility of the Mortuary Rite

Two Origins for the Gene Encoding α-Isopropylmalate Synthase in Fungi

BACKGROUND: The biosynthesis of leucine is a biochemical pathway common to prokaryotes, plants and fungi, but absent from humans and animals. The pathway is a proposed target for antimicrobial therapy. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we identified the leuA gene encoding alpha-isopropylmalate synthase in the zygomycete fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus using a genetic mapping approach with crosses between wild type and leucine auxotrophic strains. To confirm the function of the gene, Phycomyces leuA was used to complement the auxotrophic phenotype exhibited by mutation of the leu3+ gene of the ascomycete fungus Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the leuA gene in Phycomyces, other zygomycetes, and the chytrids is more closely related to homologs in plants and photosynthetic bacteria than ascomycetes or basidiomycetes, and suggests that the Dikarya have acquired the gene more recently. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The identification of leuA in Phycomyces adds to the growing body of evidence that some primary metabolic pathways or parts of them have arisen multiple times during the evolution of fungi, probably through horizontal gene transfer events

The Biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea: Estimates, Patterns, and Threats

The Mediterranean Sea is a marine biodiversity hot spot. Here we combined an extensive literature analysis with expert opinions to update publicly available estimates of major taxa in this marine ecosystem and to revise and update several species lists. We also assessed overall spatial and temporal patterns of species diversity and identified major changes and threats. Our results listed approximately 17,000 marine species occurring in the Mediterranean Sea. However, our estimates of marine diversity are still incomplete as yet—undescribed species will be added in the future. Diversity for microbes is substantially underestimated, and the deep-sea areas and portions of the southern and eastern region are still poorly known. In addition, the invasion of alien species is a crucial factor that will continue to change the biodiversity of the Mediterranean, mainly in its eastern basin that can spread rapidly northwards and westwards due to the warming of the Mediterranean Sea. Spatial patterns showed a general decrease in biodiversity from northwestern to southeastern regions following a gradient of production, with some exceptions and caution due to gaps in our knowledge of the biota along the southern and eastern rims. Biodiversity was also generally higher in coastal areas and continental shelves, and decreases with depth. Temporal trends indicated that overexploitation and habitat loss have been the main human drivers of historical changes in biodiversity. At present, habitat loss and degradation, followed by fishing impacts, pollution, climate change, eutrophication, and the establishment of alien species are the most important threats and affect the greatest number of taxonomic groups. All these impacts are expected to grow in importance in the future, especially climate change and habitat degradation. The spatial identification of hot spots highlighted the ecological importance of most of the western Mediterranean shelves (and in particular, the Strait of Gibraltar and the adjacent Alboran Sea), western African coast, the Adriatic, and the Aegean Sea, which show high concentrations of endangered, threatened, or vulnerable species. The Levantine Basin, severely impacted by the invasion of species, is endangered as well

THE COST OF REPRODUCTION AND EXPERIENCE-DEPENDENT VITAL RATES IN A SMALL PETREL

International audienceLife history theory predicts that higher levels of reproductive investment entail higher reproductive costs especially among young and inexperienced individuals that might not optimize reproductive investment. Using a long-term individual and state-dependent capture-recapture data on Storm Petrels (Hydrobates pelagicus) we analyzed whether breeding experience and current breeding investment were associated with the expression of the cost of reproduction in terms of reduced survival and/or future breeding performance. We found a positive relationship between current breeding investment, breeding experience, and future survival and an improvement in breeding performance with individual experience independently of the previous breeding outcome. Our results suggest that the survival cost paid by first-time breeders and the positive correlation between reproduction and survival corresponds to selection against low quality birds unrelated to the breeding effort. Our work outlines the need to investigate the effect of multiple individual traits on different life history trade-offs simultaneously