Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Joao Pedro Souza-Alves, Sarah A. Boyle, Adrian A. Barnett
Summary: Titi monkeys are the most species-rich group of primates in South America, but there are knowledge gaps regarding their biodiversity patterns and geographic ranges. Research efforts have mainly focused on Brazil and Peru, leaving limited information about other species and regions. Therefore, it is important to expand research and investment to fill these knowledge gaps through the creation/expansion of data repositories, citizen science programs, and increased financial support.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Ghislain Thiery, Corentin Gibert, Franck Guy, Vincent Lazzari, Denis Geraads, Nikolai Spassov, Gildas Merceron
Summary: The study on two colobine monkeys, Mesopithecus delsoni and Mesopithecus pentelicus, in late Miocene southeastern Europe revealed different dietary niches, with the former being better adapted to folivory while the latter showed characteristics of a seed eater. This suggests that colobines may have evolved adaptations to leaf consumption either before their dispersal to Europe or in multiple occurrences during evolution.
Article
Anthropology
Ingrid K. Lundeen, Richard F. Kay
Summary: The phyletic position of early Miocene platyrrhine Homunculus patagonicus is currently debated, with some considering it an early member of Pitheciidae and others viewing it as a stem platyrrhine. New details of its internal nasal anatomy help in resolving this debate and provide insight into the evolution of modern platyrrhine olfactory sensitivity. The fossil record data support the hypothesis that Homunculus functionally converged on modern platyrrhines rather than being an early representative of any extant clade.
JOURNAL OF HUMAN EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Anthropology
Christos Alexandros Plastiras, Ghislain Thiery, Franck Guy, Dimitris S. Kostopoulos, Vincent Lazzari, Gildas Merceron
Summary: Currently, little is known about the ecology of extinct Eurasian cercopithecids. This study examines the dental capabilities and feeding behavior of Dolichopithecus ruscinensis, an extinct colobine genus. The study suggests that D. ruscinensis had an opportunistic feeding behavior and the ability to process a wide range of foods. The findings contribute to our understanding of the dietary specialization and dispersion of early colobine taxa.
JOURNAL OF HUMAN EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Anthropology
Christos Alexandros Plastiras, Ghislain Thiery, Franck Guy, David M. Alba, Takeshi Nishimura, Dimitris S. Kostopoulos, Gildas Merceron
Summary: The study suggests that the endemic Macaca majori from Sardinia exhibited different dietary habits compared to mainland European macaques, consuming harder and more abrasive foods. This indicates potential differences in their paleoenvironment and ecological niche.
JOURNAL OF HUMAN EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Laurent Marivaux, Francisco R. Negri, Pierre-Olivier Antoine, Narla S. Stutz, Fabien L. Condamine, Leonardo Kerber, Francois Pujos, Roberto Ventura Santos, Andre M. V. Alvim, Annie S. Hsiou, Marcos C. Bissaro Jr, Karen Adami-Rodrigues, Ana Maria Ribeiro
Summary: Recent fossil discoveries in Western Amazonia suggest that three clades of anthropoid primates from Africa colonized South America during the Eocene/Oligocene transition. This study introduces a new primate taxon, Ashaninkacebus simpsoni, with dental affinities to Asian African stem anthropoids. It is proposed that Afro-Arabia served as a biogeographic stopover between South Asia and South America for these primates, facilitated by intense flooding events associated with the late middle Eocene climatic optimum.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Biology
Omar Cirilli, Helena Machado, Joaquin Arroyo-Cabrales, Christina Barron-Ortiz, Edward Davis, Christopher N. Jass, Advait M. Jukar, Zoe Landry, Alejandro H. Marin-Leyva, Luca Pandolfi, Diana Pushkina, Lorenzo Rook, Juha Saarinen, Eric Scott, Gina Semprebon, Flavia Strani, Natalia A. Villavicencio, Ferhat Kaya, Raymond L. Bernor
Summary: The study provides an updated taxonomic framework for the genus Equus and explores its relationship with other lineages of the family Equidae. It examines the correlations between body size and environmental changes using paleoclimatic map reconstructions. The study also presents the two most recent phylogenetic hypotheses on the evolution of Equus and compares them with molecular-based studies.
Article
Ecology
Anna L. L. Wisniewski, Jonathan A. A. Nations, Graham J. J. Slater
Summary: Morphology can predict ecological roles, such as diet, for taxa without direct observations. Traditional diet categories may oversimplify analyses, but Bayesian multilevel modeling can accurately predict the importance of food items based on dental morphology and body size. This approach offers new insights into the dietary niches of extant and extinct carnivoran species and can be applied to predicting multivariate ecology from phenotypic traits.
AMERICAN NATURALIST
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
M. Jimena Franco, Mariana Brea, Esperanza Cerdeno
Summary: Two fossil Bignoniaceae stems with the unique anatomy of a liana were discovered in the Miocene of South America, providing the first evidence of climbing habit in the family. These fossils represent a new taxon, Dolichandra pacei sp. nov., related to extant Dolichandra unguis-cati (L.) Miers.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2021)
Article
Nutrition & Dietetics
Bridget Murphy Hussain, Andrea L. Deierlein, Alka M. Kanaya, Sameera A. Talegawkar, Joyce A. O'Connor, Meghana D. Gadgil, Yong Lin, Niyati Parekh
Summary: High blood pressure is an important predictor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), especially among South Asians, who have a higher risk for ASCVD compared to other population groups. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is the most effective non-pharmacological approach to prevent hypertension in adults. Using data from the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) cohort, researchers found that adherence to the DASH diet was associated with a significantly lower risk of incident hypertension among South Asian adults in the US.
Article
Geography, Physical
Thaisa Araujo, Helena Machado, Dimila Mothe, Leonardo dos Santos Avilla
Summary: This study uses species distribution modeling to show that during the last glacial maximum, horses and proboscideans mainly occupied arid and semiarid regions in South America, but suitable areas for them dramatically decreased as the climate changed from dry and cold to humid and warm during the middle Holocene. This supports the hypothesis that climatic changes were a driving cause of extinction for these megamammals in South America.
QUATERNARY RESEARCH
(2021)
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Qinqin Shi
Summary: Animal dental microwear texture analysis is useful for determining diet preferences in mammals and for studying paleoenvironment and climate change. The method has been widely used in various mammalian groups and has led to significant advancements in understanding the relationship between dental texture and diet.
CHINESE SCIENCE BULLETIN-CHINESE
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Mauro Berazategui, Pablo Raftopulos, Ariel A. Farias, Rafael E. Bernardi
Summary: The presence of trees in grasslands is influenced by factors such as climate, local conditions, land use, and disturbances. This study focuses on the Campos grasslands in Uruguay and identifies steep slopes, watercourses, higher surface runoff, deeper soils with higher water availability, longitudinal climate gradient, less livestock and land-use intensity, and higher human presence as key factors associated with forest cover. The study highlights the importance of sub-regional geology and local topography in generating spatial heterogeneity in forest cover probability.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Yinqiang Li, Kefu Yu, Lizeng Bian, Yeman Qin, Weihua Liao, Yang Yang, Yifang Ma
Summary: The study examines the Miocene coralline algal compositions in the South China Sea to understand their role in recording sea level changes. The research reveals that early and late Miocene had higher diversity and abundance of coralline algae compared to the middle Miocene, indicating fluctuations in coral reef development and sea level during different time periods.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Anthropology
Paul E. Morse, James D. Pampush, Richard F. Kay
Summary: Fossil primate dietary inference is enhanced through multiple proxies such as dental topography and wear measurement. In this study, convex Dirichlet normal energy was used to assess tooth use and function in two fossil anthropoid taxa and four extant platyrrhine taxa. The results suggest that both fossil taxa exhibited similar topographic changes with wear as a frugivorous extant platyrrhine and supported the previous suggestion of hard-object feeding in their dietary ecology. The study provides valuable insights into the diet of these ancient primates.
JOURNAL OF HUMAN EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Anthropology
James D. Pampush, Jackson P. Spradley, Paul E. Morse, Arianna R. Harrington, Kari L. Allen, Doug M. Boyer, Richard F. Kay
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2016)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Allison A. Baczynski, Francesca A. McInerney, Scott L. Wing, Mary J. Kraus, Paul E. Morse, Jonathan I. Bloch, Angela H. Chung, Katherine H. Freeman
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN
(2016)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
James D. Pampush, Julia M. Winchester, Paul E. Morse, Alexander Q. Vining, Doug M. Boyer, Richard F. Kay
JOURNAL OF MAMMALIAN EVOLUTION
(2016)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
James D. Pampush, Jackson P. Spradley, Paul E. Morse, Darbi Griffith, Justin T. Gladman, Lauren A. Gonzales, Richard F. Kay
BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2018)
Article
Anthropology
Doug M. Boyer, Stephanie A. Maiolino, Patricia A. Holroyd, Paul E. Morse, Jonathan I. Bloch
JOURNAL OF HUMAN EVOLUTION
(2018)
Article
Anthropology
Paul E. Morse, Stephen G. B. Chester, Doug M. Boyer, Thierry Smith, Richard Smith, Paul Gigase, Jonathan I. Bloch
JOURNAL OF HUMAN EVOLUTION
(2019)
Article
Anthropology
Luke D. Fannin, Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg, Elise Geissler, Paul E. Morse, Paul J. Constantino, W. Scott McGraw
JOURNAL OF HUMAN EVOLUTION
(2020)
Article
Paleontology
Floreal Sole, Paul E. Morse, Jonathan Bloch, Philip D. Gingerich, Thierry Smith
Summary: Mesonychia is a group of ancient carnivorous mammals with uncertain phylogenetic relationships. Recent fossil discoveries suggest that D. praenuntius may have experienced a decrease in body size during the PETM, although this response was less pronounced compared to other mammals from the same period.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Natasha S. Vitek, Paul E. Morse, Doug M. Boyer, Suzanne G. Strait, Jonathan I. Bloch
Summary: Studying the morphological changes in three lineages of stem erinaceid eulipotyphlans during the PETM interval revealed no significant changes in tooth crown shape or size, in contrast to significant dwarfing observed in medium-sized mammals. This suggests that biotic drivers, such as shifts in community composition, may have played an important role in shaping species-level patterns during this dynamic interval in Earth history.
News Item
Anthropology
Paul E. Morse
EVOLUTIONARY ANTHROPOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Paul E. Morse, Michala K. Stock, Kelsey C. James, Lisa J. Natanson, Stuart R. Stock
Summary: Through laboratory microcomputed tomography (microCT), it was found that shark vertebrae from different species exhibit growth bands and distinct structural features, indicating that microstructural variation among them can be observed using microCT imaging.
JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
James D. Pampush, Paul E. Morse, Edward J. Fuselier, Matthew M. Skinner, Richard F. Kay
Summary: Dirichlet normal energy (DNE) is a dental topography measurement used to capture occlusal sharpness. However, the initial implementation of DNE fails to differentiate between concave and convex contributions to surface sharpness, leading to potential misinterpretation of dental functionality. The modified measurement, known as "Sign-oriented DNE," eliminates concave sharpness and focuses on features related to shearing, cutting, or shredding of food materials, providing more coherent results for both non-hominoid primate molars and hominoid molars.
JOURNAL OF MAMMALIAN EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Anthropology
Paul E. Morse, James D. Pampush, Richard F. Kay
Summary: Fossil primate dietary inference is enhanced through multiple proxies such as dental topography and wear measurement. In this study, convex Dirichlet normal energy was used to assess tooth use and function in two fossil anthropoid taxa and four extant platyrrhine taxa. The results suggest that both fossil taxa exhibited similar topographic changes with wear as a frugivorous extant platyrrhine and supported the previous suggestion of hard-object feeding in their dietary ecology. The study provides valuable insights into the diet of these ancient primates.
JOURNAL OF HUMAN EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Anthropology
Jackson P. Spradley, James D. Pampush, Paul E. Morse, Richard F. Kay
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
(2017)