1
|
Lauer DA, Lawing AM, Short RA, Manthi FK, Müller J, Head JJ, McGuire JL. Disruption of trait-environment relationships in African megafauna occurred in the middle Pleistocene. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4016. [PMID: 37463920 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39480-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Mammalian megafauna have been critical to the functioning of Earth's biosphere for millions of years. However, since the Plio-Pleistocene, their biodiversity has declined concurrently with dramatic environmental change and hominin evolution. While these biodiversity declines are well-documented, their implications for the ecological function of megafaunal communities remain uncertain. Here, we adapt ecometric methods to evaluate whether the functional link between communities of herbivorous, eastern African megafauna and their environments (i.e., functional trait-environment relationships) was disrupted as biodiversity losses occurred over the past 7.4 Ma. Herbivore taxonomic and functional diversity began to decline during the Pliocene as open grassland habitats emerged, persisted, and expanded. In the mid-Pleistocene, grassland expansion intensified, and climates became more variable and arid. It was then that phylogenetic diversity declined, and the trait-environment relationships of herbivore communities shifted significantly. Our results divulge the varying implications of different losses in megafaunal biodiversity. Only the losses that occurred since the mid-Pleistocene were coincident with a disturbance to community ecological function. Prior diversity losses, conversely, occurred as the megafaunal species and trait pool narrowed towards those adapted to grassland environments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A Lauer
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Quantitative Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA.
| | - A Michelle Lawing
- Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Rachel A Short
- Department of Natural Resource Management, South Dakota State University, Rapid City, SD, 57703, USA
| | - Fredrick K Manthi
- Department of Earth Sciences, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Johannes Müller
- Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jason J Head
- Department of Zoology and University Museum of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Jenny L McGuire
- Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Quantitative Biosciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
- School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Pyszko M, Němeček P, Horák O, Páral V, Kotrba R, Hoffman LC, Robovský J. Newly described anatomical opening on forelimb tendon in the artiodactyls and its relation to knee clicks. Sci Rep 2022; 12:4362. [PMID: 35288610 PMCID: PMC8921199 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08303-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
To understand which morphological/anatomical parts may be responsible in artiodactyl ungulates for the clicking sound made when moving, this research focuses on the forelimb tendon apparatus where an undescribed opening in the fibrous cuff (manica flexoria), called hereafter for its shape as an “oval window” in the manica flexoria (OWMF), was detected. This oval window was found in 24 of the 25 species of four families (Camelidae, Giraffidae, Cervidae, and Bovidae) evaluated; the exception being in Bos taurus taurus (Domestic cattle). The length and width of the OWMF enabled correct species discrimination between the majority of species, but remained conservative intraspecifically, as it did not differ between the left and right side of the forelimb, third and fourth digits, or between sexes. When evaluating the shape of OWMF in individual species, and measuring its length and width, 18 out of the 24 species investigated had this window as an oval shape, the remaining 25% of species exhibited more oval-oblong shapes with either proximal or distal asymmetry. The function of the OWMF in the thoracic autopodium of most ruminant even-toed ungulates is not yet fully understood. Its most likely function is to help balance the pressure inside the ligament cuff and reduce the friction of the touching surfaces of the muscle tendons—thus facilitating the movement of the digits when walking. None of the absolute or relative OWMF parameters fit exclusively with the occurrence and distribution of knee-clicks produced by some bovids and cervids during movement, so the mechanism responsible for this sound remains cryptic from the present anatomical perspective.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Martin Pyszko
- Department of Anatomy, Histology & Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Palackého třída 1946/1, 612 42, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Němeček
- Jiří Orten Grammar School, Jaselská 932, 284 80, Kutná Hora, Czech Republic.
| | - Ondřej Horák
- Department of Anatomy, Histology & Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Palackého třída 1946/1, 612 42, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Václav Páral
- Department of Anatomy, Histology & Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Palackého třída 1946/1, 612 42, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Radim Kotrba
- Department of Ethology, Institute of Animal Science, 104 00, Prague 10 - Uhříněves, Czech Republic.,Department of Animal Science and Food Processing, Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00, Praha 6 - Suchdol, Czech Republic
| | - Louwrens C Hoffman
- Department of Animal Sciences, University of Stellenbosch, Matieland, Private Bag X1, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa.,Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, Digital Agricultural Building, 8115, Office 110, Gatton, 4343, Australia
| | - Jan Robovský
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic. .,Liberec Zoo, Lidové sady 425/1, 460 01, Liberec, Czech Republic.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Short RA, Lawing AM. Geography of artiodactyl locomotor morphology as an environmental predictor. DIVERS DISTRIB 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Rachel A. Short
- Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology Texas A&M University College Station TX USA
- School of Biological Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA USA
| | - A. Michelle Lawing
- Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology Texas A&M University College Station TX USA
| |
Collapse
|