Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Alexander Tye, Mitchell McMillan, Lindsay Schoenbohm, Renjie Zhou
Summary: This study documents complex late Cenozoic upper crustal deformation in the Antofalla depression of the southern Puna orogenic plateau, Argentina, which includes basin formation by normal faulting and toggling between extensional and contractional kinematic regimes. These findings contrast with the deformation features in other areas of the Puna plateau and suggest a possible association with lithospheric foundering.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Evan C. Fricke, Chia Hsieh, Owen Middleton, Daniel Gorczynski, Caroline D. Cappello, Oscar Sanisidro, John Rowan, Jens-Christian Svenning, Lydia Beaudrot
Summary: Food webs play a crucial role in influencing ecosystem diversity and functioning. This study utilized extinct and extant mammal traits, geographic ranges, observed predator-prey interactions, and deep learning models to investigate the changes in terrestrial mammal food webs over the past 130,000 years globally. The results revealed significant declines in complexity of food webs due to loss of food web links after the arrival and expansion of human populations. The study estimates a 53% decline in food web links globally, primarily caused by extinctions but also by range losses for extant species. This highlights the potential for restoring food webs through recovery of extant species.
Article
Geography, Physical
Sukuan Hou, Yuan Zhang
Summary: The Linxia Basin in Gansu Province, China, is home to the most complete collection of Miocene kubanochoere fossils in Eurasia. The discovery of a kubanochoere in the late Early Miocene suggests its Eurasian origin and its slightly older age than the medium-sized Kubanochoerus marymunnguae found in Africa. Giant-sized kubanochoeres found in the Middle Miocene are also present in other faunas of similar age in China. The size and evolution of kubanochoeres were likely influenced by changes in climate and available nutrition, as well as the presence of other suid species.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Katharine M. Loughney, Catherine Badgley, Alireza Bahadori, William E. Holt, E. Troy Rasbury
Summary: The sedimentary record of the Basin and Range reflects the tectonic evolution of landscapes, while trends in species richness are related to actual increased richness in the Miocene rather than increased fossil burial.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Roger Rodrigues Guimaraes, Rita Gomes Rocha, Ana Carolina Loss, Ana Cristina Mendes-Oliveira, Bruce D. Patterson, Leonora Pires Costa
Summary: Marmosops is one of the most speciose genera of didelphid marsupials and has undergone several taxonomic revisions. The Pinheiroi complex in eastern Amazonia has been split into four lineages, potentially five species, with speciation estimated to have occurred in the late Miocene. The Amazon and Tapajos Rivers have played significant roles in the differentiation of this complex during the Late Pliocene.
SYSTEMATICS AND BIODIVERSITY
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Steffen Kiel, Michal Jakubowicz, Ali Altamirano, Zdzislaw Belka, Jolanta Dopieralska, Mario Urbina, Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi
Summary: The Humboldt Current System along the Pacific coast of South America creates a productive ecosystem. Neodymium isotope compositions (ENd) in tooth enameloid of coastal sharks were measured in Peru to trace water masses origin. ENd values indicated a modern-type upwelling regime, with a lower contribution of Antarctic waters than today until about 6 Ma. The negative excursion of ENd values in the Pisco/Sacaco basins coincided with a biogenic bloom and increased bottom current, suggesting the southern sourced input of nutrient-rich water contributed to the bloom.
Article
Ecology
J. Alistair Crame
Summary: The Late Cenozoic flourishing of polar marine ecosystems, despite the lowest temperatures, has been considered anomalous. Molecular phylogenetic evidence suggests high evolutionary rates in some polar taxa. This study reviews the question using polar-tropical comparisons, with an emphasis on the Southern Ocean.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Daniel Renison, Harold Rusbelth Quispe-Melgar, G. A. Erica Cuyckens, Ana M. Cingolani
Summary: This study conducted an analysis in a conservation area in central Argentina to determine the population and biomass of native and non-native mammal species. The results showed the importance of increasing the conservation efforts for native mammals, especially herbivores, while reducing the numbers of non-native species.
ECOLOGICAL PROCESSES
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Lidiane Asevedo, Alceu Ranzi, Risto Kalliola, Martti Parssinen, Kalle Ruokolainen, Mario Alberto Cozzuol, Ednair Rodrigues do Nascimento, Francisco Ricardo Negri, Jonas P. Souza-Filho, Alexander Cherkinsky, Mario Andre Trindade Dantas
Summary: This study utilized radiocarbon dating and stable isotope data to reconstruct the paleoecology of medium to large herbivorous mammals in the late Quaternary of southwestern Amazon, revealing their lifestyle in closed canopy forests to wooded savannas with varied feeding habits. Different feeding strategies helped avoid interspecific competition among the mammals.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geology
You Zhou, Zhong-Hai Wu, Yu-Jun Sun, Guo-Can Wang, Ji-Long Wang
Summary: The study presents 17 apatite (U-Th)/He ages from the southern Longmen Shan along different faults, showing an increase in exhumation rates across the Dachuan-Shuangshi Fault since the Late Miocene. These findings support the idea of continuous crustal shortening along the eastern Tibetan Plateau margin.
INTERNATIONAL GEOLOGY REVIEW
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Charlotte Prud'homme, Giancarlo Scardia, Hubert Vonhof, Damien Guinoiseau, Saida Nigmatova, Jens Fiebig, Axel Gerdes, Renee Janssen, Kathryn E. Fitzsimmons
Summary: Analyzing sediments from Charyn Canyon, Kazakhstan, researchers found that late Cenozoic variation in Central Asian hydroclimate was driven by the interaction between mid-latitude westerlies and the Siberian high-pressure system, potentially leading to terrestrial feedbacks affecting ocean and atmospheric circulation, highlighting the significance of land-water feedbacks for long-term global climate.
COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Agustina Reato, Oscar Alfredo Martinez, Elisa Beilinson, Alexander Cottescu, Rene W. Barendregt, John J. Clague
Summary: The Laguna de Agnia is located in an arid region of Patagonia and contains various well-preserved erosional and depositional landforms. Through geological, geomorphological, and sedimentological studies, researchers have been able to revise the stratigraphy and gain insight into the local landscape evolution, paleoenvironments, and paleoclimates. The presence of Miocene pyroclastic deposits and high paleo-lake levels suggest a complex history of environmental changes in the region.
JOURNAL OF SOUTH AMERICAN EARTH SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Hanlin Wang, Huayu Lu
Summary: This study establishes a database using geospatial and climate data to explore the quantitative relationship between major grass lineages and climate at global and regional scales. The results show that environmental factors play a significant role in the distribution of grass lineages, and there are variations in environmental niches among different regions.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Federico Degrange, Claudia Tambussi, Matias Taglioretti, Fernando Scaglia
Summary: We describe a new species of a large buzzard, Buteo dondasi sp. nov., from late Pliocene in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the first record of a non-scavenging diurnal bird of prey in the Chapadmalalan and one of the largest accipitrids known in Argentina.
ACTA PALAEONTOLOGICA POLONICA
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Sarah W. M. George, Nicholas D. Perez, William Struble, Magdalena Ellis Curry, Brian K. Horton
Summary: Subduction of aseismic ridges and flat slab subduction play important roles in Cordilleran orogenesis, enhancing rock uplift and exhumation in the overriding plate. Distinguishing between these drivers is possible in the Peruvian flat slab subduction zone, where the interactions between aseismic ridges and flat slab subduction can be assessed.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2022)