1
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Timmermann A, Wasay A, Raia P. Phase synchronization between culture and climate forcing. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240320. [PMID: 38864318 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Over the history of humankind, cultural innovations have helped improve survival and adaptation to environmental stress. This has led to an overall increase in human population size, which in turn further contributed to cumulative cultural learning. During the Anthropocene, or arguably even earlier, this positive sociodemographic feedback has caused a strong decline in important resources that, coupled with projected future transgression of planetary boundaries, may potentially reverse the long-term trend in population growth. Here, we present a simple consumer/resource model that captures the coupled dynamics of stochastic cultural learning and transmission, population growth and resource depletion in a changing environment. The idealized stochastic mathematical model simulates boom/bust cycles between low-population subsistence, high-density resource exploitation and subsequent population decline. For slow resource recovery time scales and in the absence of climate forcing, the model predicts a long-term global population collapse. Including a simplified periodic climate forcing, we find that cultural innovation and population growth can couple with climatic forcing via nonlinear phase synchronization. We discuss the relevance of this finding in the context of cultural innovation, the anthropological record and long-term future resilience of our own predatory species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel Timmermann
- IBS Center for Climate Physics , Busan, South Korea
- Pusan National University , Busan, South Korea
| | - Abdul Wasay
- IBS Center for Climate Physics , Busan, South Korea
- Pusan National University , Busan, South Korea
| | - Pasquale Raia
- DiSTAR, Monte Sant'Angelo, Napoli Università di Napoli Federico II , Naples, Italy
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2
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Sekhavati Y, Strait D. Estimating ancestral ranges and biogeographical processes in early hominins. J Hum Evol 2024; 191:103547. [PMID: 38781711 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 05/05/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Historical biogeography provides crucial insights into understanding the evolutionary history of hominins. We applied maximum-likelihood and biogeographical stochastic mapping to infer the ancestral ranges of hominins and estimate the frequency of biogeographical events. These events were inferred using two time-calibrated phylogenetic trees that differ in the position of Australopithecus sediba. Results suggest that regardless of which phylogeny was selected, Northcentral Africa was the preferred ancestral region for the ancestor of the Homo-Pan clade, as well as the ancestor of Sahelanthropus and later hominins. The northern and middle part of eastern Africa was the preferred ancestral region for several clades originating at subsequent deep nodes of the trees (∼5-4 Ma). The choice of tree topology had one important effect on results: whether hominin ancestors appearing after ∼4 Ma were widespread or endemic. These different patterns highlight the biogeographic significance of the phylogenetic relationships of A. sediba. Overall, the results showed that dispersal, local extinction, and sympatry played vital roles in creating the hominin distribution, whereas vicariance and jump dispersal were not as common. The results suggested symmetry in the directionality of dispersals. Distance probably influenced how rapidly taxa colonized a new region, and dispersals often followed the closest path. These findings are potentially impacted by the imperfection of the fossil record, suggesting that the results should be interpreted cautiously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yeganeh Sekhavati
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
| | - David Strait
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Cnr Kingsway and University Road Auckland Park, PO Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa
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3
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Yaworsky PM, Nielsen ES, Nielsen TK. The Neanderthal niche space of Western Eurasia 145 ka to 30 ka ago. Sci Rep 2024; 14:7788. [PMID: 38565571 PMCID: PMC10987600 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57490-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Neanderthals occupied Western Eurasia between 350 ka and 40 ka ago, during the climatically volatile Pleistocene. A key issue is to what extent Neanderthal populations expanded into areas of Western Eurasia and what conditions facilitated such range expansions. The range extent of Neanderthals is generally based on the distribution of Neanderthal material, but the land-altering nature of glacial periods has erased much of the already sparse material evidence of Neanderthals, particularly in the northern latitudes. To overcome this obstacle species distribution models can estimate past distributions of Neanderthals, however, most implementations are generally constrained spatially and temporally and may be artificially truncating the Neanderthal niche space. Using dated contexts from Neanderthal sites from across Western Eurasia, millennial-scale paleoclimate reconstructions, and a spatiotemporal species distribution model, we infer the fundamental climatic niche space of Neanderthals and estimate the extent of Neanderthal occupation. We find that (a.) despite the long timeframe, Neanderthals occupy a relatively narrow fundamental climatic niche space, (b.) the estimated projected potential Neanderthal niche space suggests a larger geographic range than the material record suggests, and (c.) that there was a general decline in the size of the projected potential Neanderthal niche from 145 ka ago onward, possibly contributing to their extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter M Yaworsky
- Department of Archeology and Heritage Studies, School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Moesgård Allé 20, Building 4216, 8270, Højbjerg, Denmark.
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114-116, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark.
| | - Emil S Nielsen
- Department of Archeology and Heritage Studies, School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Moesgård Allé 20, Building 4216, 8270, Højbjerg, Denmark
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114-116, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Trine K Nielsen
- Department of Archeology and Heritage Studies, School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Moesgård Allé 20, Building 4216, 8270, Højbjerg, Denmark
- Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114-116, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
- Moesgaard Museum, Moesgård Allé 15, 8270, Højbjerg, Denmark
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4
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Foister TIF, Žliobaitė I, Wilson OE, Fortelius M, Tallavaara M. Homo heterogenus: Variability in early Pleistocene Homo environments. Evol Anthropol 2023; 32:373-385. [PMID: 37877200 DOI: 10.1002/evan.22005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023]
Abstract
To understand the ecological dominance of Homo sapiens, we need to investigate the origins of the plasticity that has enabled our colonization of the planet. We can approach this by exploring the variability of habitats to which different hominin populations have adapted over time. In this article, we draw upon and synthesize the current research on habitats of genus Homo during the early Pleistocene. We examined 121 published environmental reconstructions from 74 early Pleistocene sites or site phases to assess the balance of arguments in the research community. We found that, while grasslands and savannahs were prominent features of Homo habitats in the early Pleistocene, current research does not place early Pleistocene Homo, in any single environmental type, but in a wide variety of environments, ranging from open grasslands to forests. Our analysis also suggests that the first known dispersal of Homo out of Africa was accompanied by niche expansion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tegan I F Foister
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Indrė Žliobaitė
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Computer Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Finnish Museum of Natural History, LUOMUS, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Oscar E Wilson
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Mikael Fortelius
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Finnish Museum of Natural History, LUOMUS, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Miikka Tallavaara
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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5
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Ruan J, Timmermann A, Raia P, Yun KS, Zeller E, Mondanaro A, Di Febbraro M, Lemmon D, Castiglione S, Melchionna M. Climate shifts orchestrated hominin interbreeding events across Eurasia. Science 2023; 381:699-704. [PMID: 37561879 DOI: 10.1126/science.add4459] [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: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
When, where, and how often hominin interbreeding happened is largely unknown. We study the potential for Neanderthal-Denisovan admixture using species distribution models that integrate extensive fossil, archaeological, and genetic data with transient coupled general circulation model simulations of global climate and biomes. Our Pleistocene hindcast of past hominins' habitat suitability reveals pronounced climate-driven zonal shifts in the main overlap region of Denisovans and Neanderthals in central Eurasia. These shifts, which influenced the timing and intensity of potential interbreeding events, can be attributed to the response of climate and vegetation to past variations in atmospheric carbon dioxide and Northern Hemisphere ice-sheet volume. Therefore, glacial-interglacial climate swings likely played an important role in favoring gene flow between archaic humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaoyang Ruan
- Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan, South Korea
- Center for Climate Physics, Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea
| | - Axel Timmermann
- Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan, South Korea
- Center for Climate Physics, Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea
| | - Pasquale Raia
- DiSTAR, Monte Sant'Angelo, Napoli Università di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Kyung-Sook Yun
- Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan, South Korea
- Center for Climate Physics, Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea
| | - Elke Zeller
- Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan, South Korea
- Department of Climate System, Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea
| | | | - Mirko Di Febbraro
- Department of Biosciences and Territory, University of Molise, C. da Fonte Lappone, Pesche, Italy
| | - Danielle Lemmon
- Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan, South Korea
- Center for Climate Physics, Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea
| | - Silvia Castiglione
- DiSTAR, Monte Sant'Angelo, Napoli Università di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | - Marina Melchionna
- DiSTAR, Monte Sant'Angelo, Napoli Università di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy
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6
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Zeller E, Timmermann A, Yun KS, Raia P, Stein K, Ruan J. Human adaptation to diverse biomes over the past 3 million years. Science 2023; 380:604-608. [PMID: 37167387 DOI: 10.1126/science.abq1288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
To investigate the role of vegetation and ecosystem diversity on hominin adaptation and migration, we identify past human habitat preferences over time using a transient 3-million-year earth system-biome model simulation and an extensive hominin fossil and archaeological database. Our analysis shows that early African hominins predominantly lived in open environments such as grassland and dry shrubland. Migrating into Eurasia, hominins adapted to a broader range of biomes over time. By linking the location and age of hominin sites with corresponding simulated regional biomes, we also find that our ancestors actively selected for spatially diverse environments. The quantitative results lead to a new diversity hypothesis: Homo species, in particular Homo sapiens, were specially equipped to adapt to landscape mosaics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elke Zeller
- Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan, Republic of Korea
- Department of Climate System, Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Axel Timmermann
- Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan, Republic of Korea
- Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyung-Sook Yun
- Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan, Republic of Korea
- Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Pasquale Raia
- DiSTAR, Napoli Università di Napoli Federico II, Monte Sant'Angelo, Italy
| | - Karl Stein
- Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan, Republic of Korea
- Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Jiaoyang Ruan
- Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan, Republic of Korea
- Pusan National University, Busan, Republic of Korea
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7
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Rodrigues AMM, Barker JL, Robinson EJH. The evolution of intergroup cooperation. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220074. [PMID: 36802776 PMCID: PMC9939261 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Sociality is widespread among animals, and involves complex relationships within and between social groups. While intragroup interactions are often cooperative, intergroup interactions typically involve conflict, or at best tolerance. Active cooperation between members of distinct, separate groups occurs very rarely, predominantly in some primate and ant species. Here, we ask why intergroup cooperation is so rare, and what conditions favour its evolution. We present a model incorporating intra- and intergroup relationships and local and long-distance dispersal. We show that dispersal modes play a pivotal role in the evolution of intergroup interactions. Both long-distance and local dispersal processes drive population social structure, and the costs and benefits of intergroup conflict, tolerance and cooperation. Overall, the evolution of multi-group interaction patterns, including both intergroup aggression and intergroup tolerance, or even altruism, is more likely with mostly localized dispersal. However, the evolution of these intergroup relationships may have significant ecological impacts, and this feedback may alter the ecological conditions that favour its own evolution. These results show that the evolution of intergroup cooperation is favoured by a specific set of conditions, and may not be evolutionarily stable. We discuss how our results relate to empirical evidence of intergroup cooperation in ants and primates. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Collective behaviour through time'.
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Affiliation(s)
- António M. M. Rodrigues
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9TH, UK,Schools of Medicine and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA,Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Jessica L. Barker
- Surgo Ventures, Washington, DC 20036, USA,Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark,Division of Population Health Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA
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8
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Homo sapiens and Neanderthals share high cerebral cortex integration into adulthood. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:42-50. [PMID: 36604552 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01933-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
There is controversy around the mechanisms that guided the change in brain shape during the evolution of modern humans. It has long been held that different cortical areas evolved independently from each other to develop their unique functional specializations. However, some recent studies suggest that high integration between different cortical areas could facilitate the emergence of equally extreme, highly specialized brain functions. Here, we analyse the evolution of brain shape in primates using three-dimensional geometric morphometrics of endocasts. We aim to determine, firstly, whether modern humans present unique developmental patterns of covariation between brain cortical areas; and secondly, whether hominins experienced unusually high rates of evolution in brain covariation as compared to other primates. On the basis of analyses including modern humans and other extant great apes at different developmental stages, we first demonstrate that, unlike our closest living relatives, Homo sapiens retain high levels of covariation between cortical areas into adulthood. Among the other great apes, high levels of covariation are only found in immature individuals. Secondly, at the macro-evolutionary level, our analysis of 400 endocasts, representing 148 extant primate species and 6 fossil hominins, shows that strong covariation between different areas of the brain in H. sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis evolved under distinctly higher evolutionary rates than in any other primate, suggesting that natural selection favoured a greatly integrated brain in both species. These results hold when extinct species are excluded and allometric effects are accounted for. Our findings demonstrate that high covariation in the brain may have played a critical role in the evolution of unique cognitive capacities and complex behaviours in both modern humans and Neanderthals.
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Castiglione S, Mondanaro A, Di Febbraro M, Melchionna M, Serio C, Girardi G, Belfiore AM, Raia P. Testing for changes in rate of evolution and position of the climatic niche of clades. Mamm Rev 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/mam.12303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Castiglione
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources University of Naples Federico II 80138 Naples Italy
| | | | - Mirko Di Febbraro
- Department of Biosciences and Territory University of Molise C. da Fonte Lappone, 15 86090 Pesche IS Italy
| | - Marina Melchionna
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources University of Naples Federico II 80138 Naples Italy
| | - Carmela Serio
- Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool UK
| | - Giorgia Girardi
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources University of Naples Federico II 80138 Naples Italy
| | - Arianna Morena Belfiore
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources University of Naples Federico II 80138 Naples Italy
| | - Pasquale Raia
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources University of Naples Federico II 80138 Naples Italy
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10
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Timmermann A, Yun KS, Raia P, Ruan J, Mondanaro A, Zeller E, Zollikofer C, Ponce de León M, Lemmon D, Willeit M, Ganopolski A. Climate effects on archaic human habitats and species successions. Nature 2022; 604:495-501. [PMID: 35418680 PMCID: PMC9021022 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04600-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
It has long been believed that climate shifts during the last 2 million years had a pivotal role in the evolution of our genus Homo1–3. However, given the limited number of representative palaeo-climate datasets from regions of anthropological interest, it has remained challenging to quantify this linkage. Here, we use an unprecedented transient Pleistocene coupled general circulation model simulation in combination with an extensive compilation of fossil and archaeological records to study the spatiotemporal habitat suitability for five hominin species over the past 2 million years. We show that astronomically forced changes in temperature, rainfall and terrestrial net primary production had a major impact on the observed distributions of these species. During the Early Pleistocene, hominins settled primarily in environments with weak orbital-scale climate variability. This behaviour changed substantially after the mid-Pleistocene transition, when archaic humans became global wanderers who adapted to a wide range of spatial climatic gradients. Analysis of the simulated hominin habitat overlap from approximately 300–400 thousand years ago further suggests that antiphased climate disruptions in southern Africa and Eurasia contributed to the evolutionary transformation of Homo heidelbergensis populations into Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, respectively. Our robust numerical simulations of climate-induced habitat changes provide a framework to test hypotheses on our human origin. A new model simulation of climate change during the past 2 million years indicates that the appearances and disappearances of hominin species correlate with long-term climatic anomalies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel Timmermann
- Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan, South Korea. .,Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea.
| | - Kyung-Sook Yun
- Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan, South Korea.,Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea
| | - Pasquale Raia
- DiSTAR, Università di Napoli Federico II, Monte Sant'Angelo, Naples, Italy
| | - Jiaoyang Ruan
- Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan, South Korea.,Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea
| | | | - Elke Zeller
- Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan, South Korea.,Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea
| | | | | | - Danielle Lemmon
- Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan, South Korea.,Pusan National University, Busan, South Korea
| | - Matteo Willeit
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam, Germany
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