{"title":"Biodiversity in times of conflict","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02583-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41559-024-02583-6","url":null,"abstract":"Armed conflicts inflict a massive toll on people and nature, but hope exists in the recognition that lasting peace can be closely tied to ecosystem restoration","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-024-02583-6.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142589100","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Megapnosaurus rhodesiensis","authors":"Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02574-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41559-024-02574-7","url":null,"abstract":"A dinosaur with a disputed name opened Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan’s eyes to the world of palaeobiology.","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142589109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The fact that bat wings and legs must evolve together impedes ecological adaptation","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02573-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02573-8","url":null,"abstract":"Statistical analyses across hundreds of species revealed that bird wing and leg proportions evolve independently and accommodate divergent ecological tasks. By contrast, bat limbs evolve in unison, which potentially restricts their evolutionary capacity. We attribute this result to the common development and function of bat forelimbs and hindlimbs within the membranous wing.","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":16.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142588718","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Stefan Bengtson (1947–2024)","authors":"Vivi Vajda, Andrew H. Knoll","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02581-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02581-8","url":null,"abstract":"A palaeontologist of varied interests who realized biomineralized fauna were key to understanding early animal evolution","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":16.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142580373","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shi-Xia Yang, Jia-Fu Zhang, Jian-Ping Yue, Fa-Xiang Huan, Andreu Ollé, Francesco d’Errico, Michael Petraglia
{"title":"Publisher Correction: Reply to: An Initial Upper Palaeolithic attribution is not empirically supported at Shiyu, northern China","authors":"Shi-Xia Yang, Jia-Fu Zhang, Jian-Ping Yue, Fa-Xiang Huan, Andreu Ollé, Francesco d’Errico, Michael Petraglia","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02590-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02590-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Correction to: <i>Nature Ecology & Evolution</i> https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02554-x, published online 29 October 2024.</p>","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":16.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142574567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Vanessa Schendel, Brett R. Hamilton, Samuel D. Robinson, Kathryn Green, Marcel E. Sayre, Darren Brown, Jennifer L. Stow, Jan Philip Øyen, Kjetil L. Voje, S. Sean Millard, Irina Vetter, Lachlan D. Rash, Eivind A. B. Undheim
{"title":"Exaptation of an evolutionary constraint enables behavioural control over the composition of secreted venom in a giant centipede","authors":"Vanessa Schendel, Brett R. Hamilton, Samuel D. Robinson, Kathryn Green, Marcel E. Sayre, Darren Brown, Jennifer L. Stow, Jan Philip Øyen, Kjetil L. Voje, S. Sean Millard, Irina Vetter, Lachlan D. Rash, Eivind A. B. Undheim","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02556-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02556-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Venoms are biochemical arsenals that have emerged in numerous animal lineages, where they have co-evolved with morphological and behavioural traits for venom production and delivery. In centipedes, venom evolution is thought to be constrained by the morphological complexity of their venom glands due to physiological limitations on the number of toxins produced by their secretory cells. Here we show that the uneven toxin expression that results from these limitations have enabled <i>Scolopendra morsitans</i> to regulate the composition of their secreted venom despite the lack of gross morphologically complex venom glands. We show that this control is probably achieved by a combination of this heterogenous toxin distribution with a dual mechanism of venom secretion that involves neuromuscular innervation as well as stimulation via neurotransmitters. Our results suggest that behavioural control over venom composition may be an overlooked aspect of venom biology and provide an example of how exaptation can facilitate evolutionary innovation and novelty.</p>","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":16.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142574565","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Andrew Orkney, David B. Boerma, Brandon P. Hedrick
{"title":"Evolutionary integration of forelimb and hindlimb proportions within the bat wing membrane inhibits ecological adaptation","authors":"Andrew Orkney, David B. Boerma, Brandon P. Hedrick","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02572-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02572-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Bats and birds are defined by their convergent evolution of flight, hypothesized to require the modular decoupling of wing and leg evolution. Although a wealth of evidence supports this interpretation in birds, there has been no systematic attempt to identify modular organization in the bat limb skeleton. Here we present a phylogenetically representative and ecologically diverse collection of limb skeletal measurements from 111 extant bat species. We compare this dataset with a compendium of 149 bird species, known to exhibit modular evolution and anatomically regionalized skeletal adaptation. We demonstrate that, in contrast to birds, morphological diversification across crown bats is associated with strong trait integration both within and between the forelimb and hindlimb. Different regions of the bat limb skeleton adapt to accommodate variation in distinct ecological activities, with flight-style variety accommodated by adaptation of the distal wing, while the thumb and hindlimb play an important role facilitating adaptive responses to variation in roosting habits. We suggest that the wing membrane enforces evolutionary integration across the bat skeleton, highlighting that the evolution of the bat thumb is less correlated with the evolution of other limb bone proportions. We propose that strong limb integration inhibits bat adaptive responses, explaining their lower rates of phenotypic evolution and relatively homogeneous evolutionary dynamics in contrast to birds. Powered flight, enabled by the membranous wing, is therefore not only a key bat innovation but their defining inhibition.</p>","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":16.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142561896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shi-Xia Yang, Jia-Fu Zhang, Jian-Ping Yue, Fa-Xiang Huan, Andreu Ollé, Francesco d’Errico, Michael Petraglia
{"title":"Reply to: An Initial Upper Palaeolithic attribution is not empirically supported at Shiyu, northern China","authors":"Shi-Xia Yang, Jia-Fu Zhang, Jian-Ping Yue, Fa-Xiang Huan, Andreu Ollé, Francesco d’Errico, Michael Petraglia","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02554-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02554-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><span>replying to</span> L. Carmignani et al. <i>Nature Ecology & Evolution</i> https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02548-9 (2024)</p><p>Carmignani and colleagues<sup>1</sup> contend that our identification of the oldest and easternmost Initial Upper Palaeolithic (IUP) attribution at Shiyu, northern China<sup>2</sup> is based on a misuse of technological definitions and biased artefact sampling. However, this criticism is hampered by restrictive Eurocentric definitions and methodological misunderstandings. Carmignani et al.<sup>1</sup> apply a narrow definition of the Asian IUP based on the presence of points and blades reduced from sub-volumetric, non-Levallois-system burin cores. Shiyu does not perfectly conform to this definition, so they exclude its lithic industry from the IUP. We argue that this definition hampers understanding of modern human dispersals across Eurasia. Like any other discipline where classification is central, archaeologists define categories of objects and assemblages based on similarities in sets of traits. These categories are not inherently meaningful; rather, their significance arises from assumptions about underlying biological and cultural processes. The assumption that lends meaning to the IUP is that it reflects a combination of demic and cultural diffusion processes associated with the spread of <i>Homo sapiens</i> throughout Eurasia<sup>3</sup>. To understand this evolutionary history, we need to adopt a flexible comparative approach that uses the original IUP definition as a baseline rather than a set of strict, restrictive criteria. A more flexible approach may help to disentangle cultural innovations and diffusion occurring during or after demic diffusion, as well as cultural blending with local populations on a regional scale, thereby illuminating the complex interactions that certainly occurred, with possible implications for gene exchange. Success in this endeavour depends on being able to distinguish diffusion of innovation from cultural convergence. Opening up our definitions admittedly creates greater uncertainty about the drivers of similarity and the meaning that underlies cultural constructs<sup>4,5</sup>, but there are good reasons for taking this risk. Can we reasonably believe that in a territory of 44 million km<sup>2</sup>, stretching from the Arctic to the Equator, the expansion of <i>H. sapiens</i> over thousands of years, encountering different hominin species, was associated with a single, uniform technology? It is clear in this context that the strict application by Carmignani et al.<sup>1</sup> of a points, blades and volumetric burin core definition, possibly useful in characterizing the IUP in one region, will fail to capture the overall complexity of <i>H. sapiens</i>’ expansion in others. This strict Eurocentric definition and interpretive framework does not pay attention to regional traditions in which cultural novelties occur, possibly signalling the dispersal of <i>H. sapiens<","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":16.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142519949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rosalind E. Gillis, Iain P. Kendall, Mélanie Roffet-Salque, Marco Zanon, Alexandra Anders, Rose-Marie Arbogast, Peter Bogucki, Veronika Brychova, Emmanuelle Casanova, Erich Classen, Piroska Csengeri, Lech Czerniak, László Domboróczki, Denis Fiorillo, Detlef Gronenborn, Lamys Hachem, János Jakucs, Michael Ilett, Kyra Lyublyanovics, Eva Lenneis, Arkadiusz Marciniak, Tibor Marton, Krisztián Oross, Juraj Pavúk, Joachim Pechtl, Joanna Pyzel, Peter Stadler, Harald Stäuble, Ivana Vostrovská, Ivo van Wijk, Jean-Denis Vigne, Marie Balasse, Richard P. Evershed
{"title":"Diverse prehistoric cattle husbandry strategies in the forests of Central Europe","authors":"Rosalind E. Gillis, Iain P. Kendall, Mélanie Roffet-Salque, Marco Zanon, Alexandra Anders, Rose-Marie Arbogast, Peter Bogucki, Veronika Brychova, Emmanuelle Casanova, Erich Classen, Piroska Csengeri, Lech Czerniak, László Domboróczki, Denis Fiorillo, Detlef Gronenborn, Lamys Hachem, János Jakucs, Michael Ilett, Kyra Lyublyanovics, Eva Lenneis, Arkadiusz Marciniak, Tibor Marton, Krisztián Oross, Juraj Pavúk, Joachim Pechtl, Joanna Pyzel, Peter Stadler, Harald Stäuble, Ivana Vostrovská, Ivo van Wijk, Jean-Denis Vigne, Marie Balasse, Richard P. Evershed","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02553-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02553-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p>During the sixth millennium <span>bce</span>, the first farmers of Central Europe rapidly expanded across a varied mosaic of forested environments. Such environments would have offered important sources of mineral-rich animal feed and shelter, prompting the question: to what extent did early farmers exploit forests to raise their herds? Here, to resolve this, we have assembled multi-regional datasets, comprising bulk and compound-specific stable isotope values from zooarchaeological remains and pottery, and conducted cross-correlation analyses within a palaeo-environmental framework. Our findings reveal a diversity of pasturing strategies for cattle employed by early farmers, with a notable emphasis on intensive utilization of forests for grazing and seasonal foddering in some regions. This experimentation with forest-based animal feeds by early farmers would have enhanced animal fertility and milk yields for human consumption, concurrently contributing to the expansion of prehistoric farming settlements and the transformation of forest ecosystems. Our study emphasizes the intricate relationship that existed between early farmers and forested landscapes, shedding light on the adaptive dynamics that shaped humans, animals and environments in the past.</p>","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":16.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142520174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Leonardo Carmignani, Igor Djakovic, Peiqi Zhang, Nicolas Teyssandier, Nicolas Zwyns, Marie Soressi
{"title":"An Initial Upper Palaeolithic attribution is not empirically supported at Shiyu, northern China","authors":"Leonardo Carmignani, Igor Djakovic, Peiqi Zhang, Nicolas Teyssandier, Nicolas Zwyns, Marie Soressi","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02548-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02548-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><span>arising from</span>: S.-X. Yang et al. <i>Nature Ecology & Evolution</i> https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02294-4 (2024)</p><p>Initial Upper Palaeolithic (IUP) assemblages are increasingly thought to be linked to the first widespread dispersal of <i>Homo sapiens</i> across Eurasia between 55 and 40 thousand years ago (kya cal <span>bp</span>). As a result, today the identification of IUP assemblages plays a key role in archaeological research focused on this key period, which is also characterized by the eventual disappearance of Neandertals and Denisovans from the fossil record. In a recent paper, Yang et al.<sup>1</sup> claim to have identified the oldest and easternmost IUP at Shiyu, northern China, dated to ~45 kya cal <span>bp</span> and with this to transform knowledge of the routes and timing of the migration of <i>H. sapiens</i> in Asia. We argue, however, that this attribution is based on a biased sample of artefacts, the misuse of technological definitions and the misreading of stone artefacts central to their argument. Furthermore, it relies on the questionable assumption that the studied material (750 lithic artefacts from an original number of ~15,000) is a representative sample of a single assemblage. Although we recognize the value of technological re-evaluations of previously excavated assemblages, we believe that an IUP attribution is not empirically supported. In fact, it detracts attention from more pressing issues concerning the character of this technology, the association between lithics and personal ornaments and the overall integrity of the assemblage. Below, we highlight the key problems in the conclusions reached by Yang et al. <sup>1</sup>.</p>","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":16.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142520172","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}