Reconstructing the neolithic landscape of Thessaly through a GIS and geological approach

Neolithic Thessaly has been traditionally studied to understand human partitioning and territoriality of the landscape by non-hierarchical human groups. Thessaly is a region of low relief with extensive coastline and a great alluvial plain, where hundreds of Neolithic settlements/tells called magoules were established from the Early Neolithic period until the Bronze Age. Archaeological data was collected forming a corpus of surveyed and excavated sites and settlements, differentiated by type, size or time-scale of occupation. Reconstruction of the Neolithic landscape was based on synthesis of geological maps, records of stratigraphic data collected from a total of 400 boreholes and the indexing of past studies relative to the geomorphological changes that have affected Neolithic Thessaly from Holocene until today. These were spatially and statistically processed to estimate the amount of alluvial deposits and their distribution on the Thessalian plain from the Early Neolithic period to the present

Detection of Neolithic Settlements in Thessaly (Greece) Through Multispectral and Hyperspectral Satellite Imagery

Thessaly is a low relief region in Greece where hundreds of Neolithic settlements/tells called magoules were established from the Early Neolithic period until the Bronze Age (6,000 – 3,000 BC). Multi-sensor remote sensing was applied to the study area in order to evaluate its potential to detect Neolithic settlements. Hundreds of sites were geo-referenced through systematic GPS surveying throughout the region. Data from four primary sensors were used, namely Landsat ETM, ASTER, EO1 - HYPERION and IKONOS. A range of image processing techniques were originally applied to the hyperspectral imagery in order to detect the settlements and validate the results of GPS surveying. Although specific difficulties were encountered in the automatic classification of archaeological features composed by a similar parent material with the surrounding landscape, the results of the research suggested a different response of each sensor to the detection of the Neolithic settlements, according to their spectral and spatial resolution

News selection and framing: the media as a stakeholder in human-carnivore coexistence

The media widely covers large carnivores and their impacts on human livelihood and plays an important role in their conservation. Yet, we know little about how species identity affects news selection, framing, accuracy and information flow. We investigated the online coverage of two cases of attacks or alleged attacks on humans alternatingly attributed to wolves and dogs in Greece and Germany. The period during which wolves were considered the primary suspects for the attacks was covered by up to two times more articles than when dogs were suspected. Wolves were presented as more likely suspects for the attacks than dogs, and wolf articles contained more inaccuracies measured as title-text mismatches. Press agencies played a significant role in the selection and dissemination of wolf news. We suggest that conservation scientists, journalists and policy makers work together to ensure an accurate representation in the media of human-carnivore coexistence and its challenges

Genetic Signatures of a Demographic Collapse in a Large-Bodied Forest Dwelling Primate (Mandrillus Leucophaeus)

It is difficult to predict how current climate change will affect wildlife species adapted to a tropical rainforest environment. Understanding how population dynamics fluctuated in such species throughout periods of past climatic change can provide insight into this issue. The drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus) is a large-bodied rainforest adapted mammal found in West Central Africa. In the middle of this endangered monkey’s geographic range is Lake Barombi Mbo, which has a well-documented palynological record of environmental change that dates to the Late Pleistocene. We used a Bayesian coalescent-based framework to analyze 2,076 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA across wild drill populations to infer past changes in female effective population size since the Late Pleistocene. Our results suggest that the drill underwent a nearly 15-fold demographic collapse in female effective population size that was most prominent during the Mid Holocene (approximately 3-5 Ka). This time period coincides with a period of increased dryness and seasonality across Africa and a dramatic reduction in forest coverage at Lake Barombi Mbo.We believe that these changes in climate and forest coverage were the driving forces behind the drill population decline. Furthermore, the warm temperatures and increased aridity of the Mid Holocene are potentially analogous to current and future conditions faced by many tropical rainforest communities. In order to prevent future declines in population size in rainforest-adapted species such as the drill, large tracts of forest should be protected to both preserve habitat and prevent forest loss through aridification. 55

Conservation strategies for understanding and combating the primate bushmeat trade on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea

© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea is among the important places in Africa for the conservation of primates, but a cultural preference for bushmeat and a lack of effective law enforcement has encouraged commercial bushmeat hunting, threatening the survival of the remaining primate population. For over 13 years, we collected bushmeat market data in the Malabo market, recording over 35,000 primate carcasses, documenting “mardi gras” consumption patterns, seasonal carcass availability, and negative effects resulting from government intervention. We also conducted forest surveys throughout Bioko's two protected areas in order to localize and quantify primate populations and hunting pressure. Using these data, we were able to document the significant negative impact bushmeat hunting had on monkey populations, estimate which species are most vulnerable to hunting, and develop ecological niche models to approximate the distribution of each of Bioko's diurnal primate species. These results also have allowed for the identification of primate hotspots, such as the critically important southwest region of the Gran Caldera Scientific Reserve, and thus, priority areas for conservation on Bioko, leading to more comprehensive conservation recommendations. Current and future efforts now focus on bridging the gap between investigators and legislators in order to develop and effectively implement a management plan for Bioko's Gran Caldera Scientific Reserve and to develop a targeted educational campaign to reduce demand by changing consumer attitudes toward bushmeat. Using this multidisciplinary approach, informed by biological, socioeconomic, and cultural research, there may yet be a positive future for the primates of Bioko

Genetic integrity of European wildcats: Variation across biomes mandates geographically tailored conservation strategies

Hybridisation between domestic and wild taxa can pose severe threats to wildlife conservation, and human-induced hybridisation, often linked to species' introductions and habitat degradation, may promote reproductive opportunities between species for which natural interbreeding would be highly unlikely. Using a biome-specific approach, we examine the effects of a suite of ecological drivers on the European wildcat's genetic integrity, while assessing the role played by protected areas in this process. We used genotype data from 1217 putative European wildcat samples from 13 European countries to assess the effects of landcover, disturbance and legal landscape protection on the European wildcat's genetic integrity across European biomes, through generalised linear models within a Bayesian framework. Overall, we found European wildcats to have genetic integrity levels above the wildcat-hybrid threshold (ca. 83%; threshold = 80%). However, Mediterranean and Temperate Insular biomes (i.e., Scotland) revealed lower levels, with 74% and 46% expected genetic integrity, respectively. We found that different drivers shape the level of genetic introgression across biomes, although forest integrity seems to be a common factor promoting European wildcat genetic integrity. Wildcat genetic integrity remains high, regardless of landscape legal protection, in biomes where populations appear to be healthy and show recent local range expansions. However, in biomes more susceptible to hybridisation, even protected areas show limited effectiveness in mitigating this threat. In the face of the detected patterns, we recommend that species conservation and management plans should be biome- and landscape-context-specific to ensure effective wildcat conservation, especially in the Mediterranean and Temperate Insular biomes.Thanks are due to FCT/MCTES for the financial support to cE3c (UIDB/00329/2020), through national funds, and the co-funding by the FEDER, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and Compete 2020. PM was supported by UID/BIA/50027/2021 with funding from FCT/MCTES through national funds. FDR was supported by a postdoctoral contract from the University of Málaga (I Plan Propio de Investigación y Transferencia, call 2020). This study was partly funded by research projects CGL2009-10741, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and EU-FEDER, and OAPN 352/2011, funded by the Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales (Spain). Luxembourg sample collection has been co-funded by the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development of Luxembourg. We would like to thank the Bavarian Forest National Park Administration for the approval and support in collecting samples.Peer reviewe