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Barash A, Preiss-Bloom S, Machluf Y, Fabbri E, Malkinson D, Velli E, Mucci N, Barash A, Caniglia R, Dayan T, Dekel Y. Possible origins and implications of atypical morphologies and domestication-like traits in wild golden jackals (Canis aureus). Sci Rep 2023; 13:7388. [PMID: 37149712 PMCID: PMC10164184 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34533-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Deciphering the origins of phenotypic variations in natural animal populations is a challenging topic for evolutionary and conservation biologists. Atypical morphologies in mammals are usually attributed to interspecific hybridisation or de-novo mutations. Here we report the case of four golden jackals (Canis aureus), that were observed during a camera-trapping wildlife survey in Northern Israel, displaying anomalous morphological traits, such as white patches, an upturned tail, and long thick fur which resemble features of domesticated mammals. Another individual was culled under permit and was genetically and morphologically examined. Paternal and nuclear genetic profiles, as well as geometric morphometric data, identified this individual as a golden jackal rather than a recent dog/wolf-jackal hybrid. Its maternal haplotype suggested past introgression of African wolf (Canis lupaster) mitochondrial DNA, as previously documented in other jackals from Israel. When viewed in the context of the jackal as an overabundant species in Israel, the rural nature of the surveyed area, the abundance of anthropogenic waste, and molecular and morphological findings, the possibility of an individual presenting incipient stages of domestication should also be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayelet Barash
- School of Zoology and The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Unit of Agrigenomics, Shamir Research Institute, University of Haifa, 1290000, Kazerin, Israel
| | - Shlomo Preiss-Bloom
- School of Zoology and The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Yossy Machluf
- Unit of Agrigenomics, Shamir Research Institute, University of Haifa, 1290000, Kazerin, Israel
| | - Elena Fabbri
- Unit for Conservation Genetics (BIO‑CGE), Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), Via Cà Fornacetta 9, Ozzano dell'Emilia, 40064, Bologna, Italy
| | - Dan Malkinson
- Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Haifa, 3498838, Haifa, Israel
| | - Edoardo Velli
- Unit for Conservation Genetics (BIO‑CGE), Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), Via Cà Fornacetta 9, Ozzano dell'Emilia, 40064, Bologna, Italy
| | - Nadia Mucci
- Unit for Conservation Genetics (BIO‑CGE), Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), Via Cà Fornacetta 9, Ozzano dell'Emilia, 40064, Bologna, Italy
| | - Alon Barash
- The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, 8 Henrietta Szold St, Safed, Israel
| | - Romolo Caniglia
- Unit for Conservation Genetics (BIO‑CGE), Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), Via Cà Fornacetta 9, Ozzano dell'Emilia, 40064, Bologna, Italy.
| | - Tamar Dayan
- School of Zoology and The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
| | - Yaron Dekel
- Unit of Agrigenomics, Shamir Research Institute, University of Haifa, 1290000, Kazerin, Israel.
- The Cheryl Spencer Department of Nursing and The Cheryl Spencer Institute of Nursing Research, University of Haifa, 3498838, Haifa, Israel.
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Schroeder L, Ackermann RR. Moving beyond the adaptationist paradigm for human evolution, and why it matters. J Hum Evol 2023; 174:103296. [PMID: 36527977 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Revised: 11/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The Journal of Human Evolution (JHE) was founded 50 years ago when much of the foundation for how we think about human evolution was in place or being put in place, providing the main framework for how we consider our origins today. Here, we will explore historical developments, including early JHE outputs, as they relate to our understanding of the relationship between phenotypic variation and evolutionary process, and use that as a springboard for considering our current understanding of these links as applied to human evolution. We will focus specifically on how the study of variation itself has shifted us away from taxonomic and adaptationist perspectives toward a richer understanding of the processes shaping human evolutionary history, using literature searches and specific test cases to highlight this. We argue that natural selection, gene exchange, genetic drift, and mutation should not be considered individually when considering the production of hominin diversity. In this context, we offer suggestions for future research directions and reflect on this more complex understanding of human evolution and its broader relevance to society. Finally, we end by considering authorship demographics and practices in the last 50 years within JHE and how a shift in these demographics has the potential to reshape the science of human evolution going forward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Schroeder
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada; Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa.
| | - Rebecca Rogers Ackermann
- Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa; Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7701, South Africa.
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Harvati K, Ackermann RR. Merging morphological and genetic evidence to assess hybridization in Western Eurasian late Pleistocene hominins. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:1573-1585. [PMID: 36064759 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01875-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2019] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Previous scientific consensus saw human evolution as defined by adaptive differences (behavioural and/or biological) and the emergence of Homo sapiens as the ultimate replacement of non-modern groups by a modern, adaptively more competitive group. However, recent research has shown that the process underlying our origins was considerably more complex. While archaeological and fossil evidence suggests that behavioural complexity may not be confined to the modern human lineage, recent palaeogenomic work shows that gene flow between distinct lineages (for example, Neanderthals, Denisovans, early H. sapiens) occurred repeatedly in the late Pleistocene, probably contributing elements to our genetic make-up that might have been crucial to our success as a diverse, adaptable species. Following these advances, the prevailing human origins model has shifted from one of near-complete replacement to a more nuanced view of partial replacement with considerable reticulation. Here we provide a brief introduction to the current genetic evidence for hybridization among hominins, its prevalence in, and effects on, comparative mammal groups, and especially how it manifests in the skull. We then explore the degree to which cranial variation seen in the fossil record of late Pleistocene hominins from Western Eurasia corresponds with our current genetic and comparative data. We are especially interested in understanding the degree to which skeletal data can reflect admixture. Our findings indicate some correspondence between these different lines of evidence, flag individual fossils as possibly admixed, and suggest that different cranial regions may preserve hybridization signals differentially. We urge further studies of the phenotype to expand our ability to detect the ways in which migration, interaction and genetic exchange have shaped the human past, beyond what is currently visible with the lens of ancient DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Harvati
- Paleoanthropology section, Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
- DFG Centre for Advanced Studies 'Words, Bones, Genes, Tools', Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - R R Ackermann
- Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
- DFG Centre for Advanced Studies 'Words, Bones, Genes, Tools', Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
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