The Science of Nature最新文献

{"title":"Spiro’s portrait of Arnold Berliner—a testimonial to a deep friendship","authors":"Stefan L. Wolff","doi":"10.1007/s00114-023-01872-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-023-01872-7","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"110 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.954,"publicationDate":"2023-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10474972/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"10161447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A new large pantherine and a sabre-toothed cat (Mammalia, Carnivora, Felidae) from the late Miocene hominoid-bearing Khorat sand pits, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, northeastern Thailand","authors":"L. de Bonis,&nbsp;Y. Chaimanee,&nbsp;C. Grohé,&nbsp;O. Chavasseau,&nbsp;A. Mazurier,&nbsp;K. Suraprasit,&nbsp;J.J. Jaeger","doi":"10.1007/s00114-023-01867-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-023-01867-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>We describe two large predators from the hominoid-bearing Khorat sand pits, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, northeastern Thailand: a new genus of pantherine, <i>Pachypanthera </i>n. gen., represented by partial mandible and maxilla and an indeterminate sabre-toothed cat, represented by a fragment of upper canine. The morphological characters of <i>Pachypanthera</i> n. gen., notably the large and powerful canine, the great robustness of the mandibular body, the very deep fossa for the m. masseter, the zigzag HSB enamel pattern, indicate bone-cracking capacities. The genus is unique among Felidae as it has one of the most powerful and robust mandibles ever found. Moreover, it may be the oldest known pantherine, as other Asian pantherines are dated back to the early Pliocene. The taxa we report here are the only carnivorans known from the late Miocene of Thailand. Although the material is rather scarce, it brings new insights to the evolutionary history of Neogene mammals of Southeast Asia, in a geographic place which is partly “terra incognita.”</p></div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"110 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.954,"publicationDate":"2023-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"4929042","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Smart Simple Virtual Instrument for Measuring the Electrical Signal","authors":"Ronaldo Talapessy, T. Ikegami","doi":"10.30598/snvol4iss2pp338-345year2021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30598/snvol4iss2pp338-345year2021","url":null,"abstract":"Real-time measurement, especially in analyzing the electrical waveform, is necessary to explore physical phenomena. Virtual instrumentations have been studied for various applications such as water existence, characterization and modeling of electrical impedance, and electrical resistivity. This research presents software, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) was programmed in a LabVIEW environment that has been implemented to monitor and analyze the square wave. A pulse generator generated an electrical signal. The alteration of the current and potential wave presented in the measurement is used to determine resistivity. Additionally, the GUI can be proposed to investigate the electrical properties of materials in the subsurface using the electrical method.","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"55 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.954,"publicationDate":"2023-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76896155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Inferring the lifestyles of extinct Crocodyliformes using osteoderm ornamentation","authors":"Mariana Valéria de Araújo Sena,&nbsp;Jorge Cubo","doi":"10.1007/s00114-023-01871-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-023-01871-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Osteoderms are bony plates formed within the dermis of diverse vertebrate groups. They are present in all crocodylomorphs but Metriorhynchidae. Most of them show typical bone ornamentation consisting of pits and ridges on their outer surface. The most widely discussed functional hypothesis suggests that the ornamentation of osteoderms influences heat exchange with the environment through the adjacent vascular network, facilitating the absorption of solar radiation. This process allows semiaquatic crocodiles to compensate for heat loss resulting from the high thermal conductivity of surrounding water. In order to test this assertion, we conducted a phylogenetic logistic regression analysis to evaluate the relationship between osteoderm relative area of pits (RAP) and lifestyle (terrestrial versus aquatic) in a sample of crocodyliforms. Our results revealed that lifestyle is significantly explained by RAP: the lower the degree of ornamentation (RAP), the higher the probability of a terrestrial lifestyle. We used this model to infer the lifestyle of two extinct taxa, <i>Peirosaurus torminni</i> and <i>Microsuchus schilleri</i>. We concluded that terrestrial notosuchians may have lost osteoderm ornamentation due to the lower thermal conductivity of air and reduced heat loss in a terrestrial environment compared to what happens in water. Among these notosuchians, we hypothesize that large terrestrial baurusuchids maintained a stable body temperature due to thermal inertia, whereas small notosuchians took advantage of the early morning sun exposure to warm up and stayed in terrestrial burrows during periods of intense solar radiation. Finally, unlike the almost motionless behavior of freshwater crocodiles, fully marine Metriorhynchidae probably lost osteoderms because they constantly swim, generating heat by muscular contraction, so osteoderms with a thermoregulatory function for heat absorption were no longer positively selected.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"110 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.954,"publicationDate":"2023-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"4289385","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"On the way from Asia to America: eutriconodontan mammals from the Early Cretaceous of Yakutia, Russia","authors":"Alexander O. Averianov,&nbsp;Thomas Martin,&nbsp;Alexey V. Lopatin,&nbsp;Pavel P. Skutschas,&nbsp;Dmitry D. Vitenko,&nbsp;Rico Schellhorn,&nbsp;Petr N. Kolosov","doi":"10.1007/s00114-023-01868-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-023-01868-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Eutriconodonta are an important group of early crown mammals with a wide distribution in the Jurassic-Cretaceous of the Northern Hemisphere and few occurrences in the Southern Hemisphere. Three taxa of eutriconodontans are known from the Early Cretaceous high-latitude Teete vertebrate assemblage in Yakutia, Russia: <i>Sangarotherium aquilonium</i> (Eutriconodonta incertae sedis), <i>Gobiconodon</i> sp. A (large), and <i>Gobiconodon</i> sp. B (small) (Gobiconodontidae). These three taxa are based on four specimens and indicate a remarkable taxonomic diversity of eutriconodontans at this locality. The coexistence of two <i>Gobiconodon</i> species, large and small, is characteristic for several Early Cretaceous vertebrate assemblages in Asia. <i>Gobiconodon</i> sp. A from the Teete locality is the largest species of this genus known from Asia, but is smaller than the North American <i>G. ostromi</i>. The spreading of <i>Gobiconodon</i> from Asia to North America likely occurred during the Aptian-Albian faunal dispersal event. The discovery of <i>Gobiconodon</i> in the Teete locality is further evidence for a dispersal route via Beringia from Asia to North America which previously has been postulated based on the occurrence of Asian dinosaur taxa in western North America at this time. The questionable record of <i>Gobiconodon</i> from Europe and its lack from eastern North America make a dispersal from Asia to North America via Europe less probable.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"110 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.954,"publicationDate":"2023-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"4070298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The 2023 Arnold Berliner Award for research on spider photoreceptors","authors":"Matthias Waltert","doi":"10.1007/s00114-023-01870-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-023-01870-9","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"110 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.954,"publicationDate":"2023-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00114-023-01870-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"4069197","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Synthesis of Polycyclic Imidazoles via α-C-H/N-H Annulation of Alicyclic Amines.","authors":"Subhradeep Dutta, Kamal Bhatt, Fabian Cuffel, Daniel Seidel","doi":"10.1055/a-2022-1511","DOIUrl":"10.1055/a-2022-1511","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Secondary alicyclic amines are converted to their corresponding ring-fused imidazoles in a simple procedure consisting of oxidative imine formation followed by a van Leusen reaction. Amines with an existing α-substituent undergo regioselective ring-fusion at the α'-position. This method was utilized in a synthesis of fadrozole.</p>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"62 3","pages":"2343-2352"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10836336/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72488714","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Diet composition of wild columbiform birds: next-generation sequencing of plant and metazoan DNA in faecal samples","authors":"Yvonne R. Schumm,&nbsp;Juan F. Masello,&nbsp;Jennifer Vreugdenhil-Rowlands,&nbsp;Dominik Fischer,&nbsp;Klaus Hillerich,&nbsp;Petra Quillfeldt","doi":"10.1007/s00114-023-01863-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-023-01863-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Accurate knowledge of a species’ diets is fundamental to understand their ecological requirements. Next-generation sequencing technology has become a powerful and non-invasive tool for diet reconstruction through DNA metabarcoding. Here, we applied those methods on faecal samples of Common Woodpigeons <i>Columba palumbus</i>, European Turtle Doves <i>Streptopelia turtur</i>, and Stock Doves <i>C. oenas</i> to investigate their dietary composition. By applying primer pairs targeting both the ITS2 region of plant nuclear DNA and the mitochondrial COI region of metazoan DNA, we provide a complete picture of the food ingested and estimate the dietary overlap between the columbiform species during the breeding season. Animal DNA was present very rarely, and a diverse range of plants from the class Spermatopsida dominated the diet, with Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Fabaceae, and Poaceae as the most frequently represented families. Generally, we detected a variability between species but also amongst individual samples. Plant species already known from previous studies, mainly visual analyses, could be confirmed for our individuals sampled in Germany and the Netherlands. Our molecular approach revealed new plant taxa, e.g. plants of the families Malvaceae for Woodpigeons, Lythraceae for Turtle Doves, and Pinaceae for Stock Doves, not found in previous studies using visual analyses. Although most of the plant species observed were of wild origin, the majority of cultivated plants found were present in higher frequencies of occurrence, suggesting that cultivated food items likely constitute an important part of the diet of the studied species. For Turtle Doves, a comparison with previous studies suggested regional differences, and that food items (historically) considered as important part of their diet, such as Fumitory <i>Fumaria</i> sp. and Chickweed <i>Stellaria media</i>, were missing in our samples. This indicates that regional variations as well as historic and current data on diet should be considered to plan tailored seed mixtures, which are currently proposed as an important management measure for conservation of the rapidly declining Turtle Dove.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"110 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.954,"publicationDate":"2023-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00114-023-01863-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"4865033","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Female solitary bees flexibly change foraging behaviour according to their floral resource requirements and foraging experiences","authors":"Yuta Nagano,&nbsp;Naoto Wabiko,&nbsp;Tomoyuki Yokoi","doi":"10.1007/s00114-023-01864-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-023-01864-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Intraspecific variation in foraging behaviour is related to the floral resource requirements and foraging experiences of social bees. These behavioural changes influence their pollination efficiency. However, the extent of such behavioural changes in solitary bees, which constitute the majority of bee species, remains largely unknown. As pollen contains essential nutrients for ovarian and offspring development, a relationship between the resource requirements of female bees and their ovarian development is expected. Additionally, wing damage could reflect foraging experiences, as the wings are damaged during foraging. Here, we aimed to clarify the relationships between ovarian development, wing damage, foraging behaviours, and pollination efficiency in female long-horned bees (<i>Eucera nipponensis</i> and <i>Eucera spurcatipes</i>) visiting red clovers. The bee handling times were recorded. Wing damage and pollen load on the hind legs were confirmed and the number of pollen grains on bee’s bodies was counted. We then dissected the bees and recorded the presence or absence of nectar and pollen in the digestive tubes, as well as the mature egg number. The mature egg number positively correlated with nectar feeding and pollen collection, whereas handling time decreased with wing damage. Bees with pollen loads on their legs attach more pollen grains to their bodies. Therefore, solitary bees flexibly change their foraging behaviour based on resource requirements and foraging experiences, and these behavioural changes can influence pollination efficiency. The asynchrony of foraging behaviours and pollination efficiency within a bee population may provide stable pollination for flowering plants throughout the season.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"110 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.954,"publicationDate":"2023-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"4752166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evidence of a thoracic crop in workers, soldiers, and queens of Carebara perpusilla ants (Formicidae: Myrmicinae)","authors":"Adam Khalife,&nbsp;Johan Billen,&nbsp;Evan P. Economo","doi":"10.1007/s00114-023-01866-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00114-023-01866-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The ability to share and store food is paramount in group-living animals, allowing a finely tuned distribution of resources over time and individuals and an enhanced survival over periods of food scarcity. Ants have several ways to store food: one of them is their gastral crop, also known as a “social stomach.” Nutrients in the crop can be regurgitated to nestmates through oral trophallaxis (mouth-to-mouth) or proceed to the midgut by opening the proventriculus, a valve connecting the crop to the midgut. However, some ants are also known to have a so-called “thoracic crop,” an extension of the esophagus that allows for additional storage space. In this study, we provide the first evidence of a thoracic crop in the genus <i>Carebara</i>, in reproductive (queen) and sterile (soldier and worker) castes. We discuss how the ant body plan allowed for the evolution of a novel food storage structure in the mesothorax.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":794,"journal":{"name":"The Science of Nature","volume":"110 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.954,"publicationDate":"2023-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"4724589","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}