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Mein E, Manne T, Veth P, Weisbecker V. Morphometric classification of kangaroo bones reveals paleoecological change in northwest Australia during the terminal Pleistocene. Sci Rep 2022; 12:18245. [PMID: 36309545 PMCID: PMC9617867 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21021-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Specimen identification is the backbone of archeozoological research. The challenge of differentiating postcranial skeletal elements of closely related wild animals in biodiverse regions can prove a barrier to understanding past human foraging behaviours. Morphometrics are increasingly being employed to classify paleozoological animal remains, however, the potential of these methods to discriminate between wild animal groups has yet to be fully realised. Here we demonstrate the applicability of a traditional morphometric approach to taxonomically classify foot and ankle bones of kangaroos, a large and highly diverse marsupial family. Using multiple discriminant analysis, we classify archaeological specimens from Boodie Cave, in northwest Australia and identify the presence of two locally extinct macropod species during the terminal Pleistocene. The appearance of the banded hare-wallaby and northern nail-tail wallaby in the Pilbara region at this time provides independent evidence of the ecological and human responses to a changing climate at the end of the last Ice Age. Traditional morphometrics provides an accessible, inexpensive, and non-destructive tool for paleozoological specimen classification and has substantial potential for applications to other diverse wild faunas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin Mein
- grid.1003.20000 0000 9320 7537School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
| | - Tiina Manne
- grid.1003.20000 0000 9320 7537School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia ,grid.1007.60000 0004 0486 528XAustralian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia ,Max Plank Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Peter Veth
- grid.1007.60000 0004 0486 528XAustralian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia ,grid.1012.20000 0004 1936 7910School of Social Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
| | - Vera Weisbecker
- grid.1007.60000 0004 0486 528XAustralian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia ,grid.1014.40000 0004 0367 2697College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Australia
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Page KD, Ruykys L, Miller DW, Adams PJ, Bateman PW, Fleming PA. Influences of behaviour and physiology on body mass gain in the woylie (Bettongia penicillata ogilbyi) post-translocation. WILDLIFE RESEARCH 2019. [DOI: 10.1071/wr18105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Context
Temperament can affect an individual’s fitness and survival if it also influences behaviours associated with predator avoidance, interactions with conspecifics, refuge selection and/or foraging. Furthermore, temperament can determine an individual’s response to novel stimuli and environmental challenges, such as those experienced through translocation. Increasing our understanding of the effect of temperament on post-translocation fitness is thus necessary for improving translocation outcomes.
Aims
The aim was to test whether differences in an individual’s behaviour or physiology could help predict body mass changes post-translocation in the woylie (brush-tailed bettong, Bettongia penicillata ogilbyi). In the absence of predation (due to release into a predator-free exclosure), body mass was used as a proxy for an individual’s success in securing resources in the new habitat, and therefore fitness.
Methods
Forty woylies were translocated from two predator-free exclosures to a larger exclosure, all in Western Australia. Behavioural and physiological measures were recorded during trapping, processing, holding, and release, and again at re-capture ~100 days post-release.
Key results
Translocated woylies generally increased in body mass post-translocation. This suggests that, in the absence of predation, the selected candidates were able to cope with the stress of translocation and possessed the behavioural plasticity to successfully find resources and adapt to a novel environment. The strongest predictors of body mass gain were sex, heart rate lability and escape behaviour when released (a convoluted escape path).
Conclusions
There was no significant difference in body mass between males and females pre-translocation but females showed greater mass gain post-translocation than did males, which could reflect greater investment in reproduction (all females had pouch young). Heart rate lability and escape behaviour are likely to reflect reactivity or fearfulness, a significant temperament trait in the context of translocation success.
Implications
Behavioural measures that can be easily incorporated into the translocation process – without increasing stress or affecting welfare of individuals – may hold promise for predicting the fate of translocated animals.
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Newton AH, Spoutil F, Prochazka J, Black JR, Medlock K, Paddle RN, Knitlova M, Hipsley CA, Pask AJ. Letting the 'cat' out of the bag: pouch young development of the extinct Tasmanian tiger revealed by X-ray computed tomography. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:171914. [PMID: 29515893 PMCID: PMC5830782 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.171914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2017] [Accepted: 01/22/2018] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
The Tasmanian tiger or thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) was an iconic Australian marsupial predator that was hunted to extinction in the early 1900s. Despite sharing striking similarities with canids, they failed to evolve many of the specialized anatomical features that characterize carnivorous placental mammals. These evolutionary limitations are thought to arise from functional constraints associated with the marsupial mode of reproduction, in which otherwise highly altricial young use their well-developed forelimbs to climb to the pouch and mouth to suckle. Here we present the first three-dimensional digital developmental series of the thylacine throughout its pouch life using X-ray computed tomography on all known ethanol-preserved specimens. Based on detailed skeletal measurements, we refine the species growth curve to improve age estimates for the individuals. Comparison of allometric growth trends in the appendicular skeleton (fore- and hindlimbs) with that of other placental and marsupial mammals revealed that despite their unique adult morphologies, thylacines retained a generalized early marsupial ontogeny. Our approach also revealed mislabelled specimens that possessed large epipubic bones (vestigial in thylacine) and differing vertebral numbers. All of our generated CT models are publicly available, preserving their developmental morphology and providing a novel digital resource for future studies of this unique marsupial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel H. Newton
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Melbourne Museum, Museums Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Frantisek Spoutil
- Czech Centre for Phenogenomics, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Prague, Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Prochazka
- Czech Centre for Phenogenomics, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, v.v.i., Prague, Vestec, Czech Republic
| | - Jay R. Black
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | | | - Robert N. Paddle
- School of Psychology, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | | | - Christy A. Hipsley
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Melbourne Museum, Museums Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Andrew J. Pask
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Melbourne Museum, Museums Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Thompson RA, Lymbery AJ, Godfrey SS. Parasites at Risk – Insights from an Endangered Marsupial. Trends Parasitol 2018; 34:12-22. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2017.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2017] [Revised: 09/04/2017] [Accepted: 09/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Hing S, Narayan EJ, Thompson RCA, Godfrey SS. Identifying factors that influence stress physiology of the woylie, a critically endangered marsupial. J Zool (1987) 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- S. Hing
- School of Veterinary and Life Sciences Murdoch University Murdoch WA Australia
| | - E. J. Narayan
- School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga NSW Australia
| | - R. C. A. Thompson
- School of Veterinary and Life Sciences Murdoch University Murdoch WA Australia
| | - S. S. Godfrey
- School of Veterinary and Life Sciences Murdoch University Murdoch WA Australia
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Old JM. Immunological Insights into the Life and Times of the Extinct Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus). PLoS One 2015; 10:e0144091. [PMID: 26655868 PMCID: PMC4684372 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2015] [Accepted: 11/12/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) was Australia’s largest marsupial carnivore until its extinction within the last century. There remains considerable interest and debate regarding the biology of this species. Studies of thylacine biology are now limited to preserved specimens, and parts thereof, as well as written historical accounts of its biology. This study describes the development of the immune tissues of a pouch young thylacine, one of only eleven in existence, and the only specimen to be histologically sectioned. The appearance of the immune tissue of the developing pouch young thylacine is compared to the immune tissues of extant marsupials, providing insights into the immunity, biology and ecology of the extinct thylacine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie M. Old
- Water and Wildlife Ecology, School of Science and Health, Hawkesbury, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
- * E-mail:
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