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Halali S, Brakefield PM, Brattström O. Phenotypic plasticity in tropical butterflies is linked to climatic seasonality on a macroevolutionary scale. Evolution 2024:qpae059. [PMID: 38635459 DOI: 10.1093/evolut/qpae059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity can be adaptive in fluctuating environments by providing rapid environment-phenotype matching and this applies particularly in seasonal environments. African Bicyclus butterflies have repeatedly colonized seasonal savannahs from ancestral forests around the Late Miocene and many species now exhibit seasonal polyphenism. On a macroevolutionary scale, it can be expected that savannah species will exhibit higher plasticity due to them experiencing stronger environmental seasonality than forest species. We quantified seasonality using environmental niche modelling, and surveyed the degree of plasticity in a key wing pattern element (eyespot size) using museum specimens. We show that species occurring in highly seasonal environments display strong plasticity, while species in less seasonal or aseasonal environments exhibit surprisingly variable degrees of plasticity, including strong to no plasticity. Furthermore, eyespot size plasticity has a moderate phylogenetic signal and the ancestral Bicyclus likely exhibited some degree of plasticity. We propose hypotheses to explain the range of plasticity patterns seen in less seasonal environments, and generate testable predictions for the evolution of plasticity in Bicyclus. Our study provides one of the most compelling cases showing links between seasonality and phenotypic plasticity on a macroevolutionary scale and the potential role of plasticity in facilitating the colonization of novel environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sridhar Halali
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | | | - Oskar Brattström
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- University of Glasgow, School of Biodiversity, One Health, and Veterinary Medicine, Glasgow, United Kingdom
- African Butterfly Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
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Stüeken EE, Viehmann S, Hohl SV. Exploring the Effects of Residence Time on the Utility of Stable Isotopes and S/C Ratios as Proxies for Ocean Connectivity. ACS Earth Space Chem 2023; 7:1337-1349. [PMID: 37492629 PMCID: PMC10364137 DOI: 10.1021/acsearthspacechem.3c00018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Revised: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023]
Abstract
Various geochemical proxies have been developed to determine if ancient sedimentary strata were deposited in marine or nonmarine environments. A critical parameter for proxy reliability is the residence time of aqueous species in seawater, which is rarely considered for proxies relying on stable isotopes and elemental abundance ratios. Differences in residence time may affect our ability to track geologically short-lived alternations between marine and nonmarine conditions. To test this effect for sulfur and nitrogen isotopes and sulfur/carbon ratios, we investigated a stratigraphic section in the Miocene Oberpullendorf Basin in Austria. Here, previous work revealed typical seawater-like rare earth element and yttrium (REY) systematics transitioning to nonmarine-like systematics. This shift was interpreted as a brief transition from an open marine depositional setting to a restricted embayment with a reduced level of exchange with the open ocean and possibly freshwater influence. Our isotopic results show no discernible response in carbonate-associated sulfate sulfur isotopes and carbon/sulfur abundance ratios during the interval of marine restriction inferred from the REY data, but nitrogen isotopes show a decrease by several permil. This observation is consistent with the much longer residence time of sulfate in seawater compared with REY and nitrate. Hence, this case study illustrates that the residence time is a key factor for the utility of seawater proxies. In some cases, it may make geochemical parameters more sensitive to marine water influx than paleontological observations, as in the Oberpullendorf Basin. Particular care is warranted in deep time, when marine residence times likely differ markedly from the modern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva E. Stüeken
- University
of St Andrews, School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Bute Building, Queen’s Terrace, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TS, United Kingdom
| | - Sebastian Viehmann
- Department
of Lithospheric Research, University of
Vienna, Josef Holaubek-Platz
2, 1090 Vienna, Austria
- Institute
of Mineralogy, Leibniz University Hannover, Callinstraβe 3, 30167 Hannover, Germany
| | - Simon V. Hohl
- State
Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji
University, Siping Road 1239, Shanghai, 200092, P.R. China
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Pessoa-Lima C, Tostes-Figueiredo J, Macedo-Ribeiro N, Hsiou AS, Muniz FP, Maulin JA, Franceschini-Santos VH, de Sousa FB, Barbosa F Jr, Line SRP, Gerlach RF, Langer MC. Structure and Chemical Composition of ca. 10-Million-Year-Old (Late Miocene of Western Amazon) and Present-Day Teeth of Related Species. Biology (Basel) 2022; 11. [PMID: 36358337 DOI: 10.3390/biology11111636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Revised: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Molecular information has been gathered from fossilized dental enamel, the best-preserved tissue of vertebrates. However, the association of morphological features with the possible mineral and organic information of this tissue is still poorly understood in the context of the emerging area of paleoproteomics. This study aims to compare the morphological features and chemical composition of dental enamel of extinct and extant terrestrial vertebrates of Crocodylia: Purussaurus sp. (extinct) and Melanosuchus niger (extant), and Rodentia: Neoepiblema sp. (extinct) and Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris (extant). To obtain structural and chemical data, superficial and internal enamel were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Organic, mineral, and water content were obtained using polarizing microscopy and microradiography on ground sections of four teeth, resulting in a higher organic volume than previously expected (up to 49%). It is observed that both modern and fossil tooth enamel exhibit the same major constituents: 36.7% Ca, 17.2% P, and 41% O, characteristic of hydroxyapatite. Additionally, 27 other elements were measured from superficial enamel by inductively coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Zinc was the most abundant microelement detected, followed by Pb, Fe, Mg, and Al. Morphological features observed include enamel rods in the rodent teeth, while incremental lines and semiprismatic enamel were observed in the alligator species. The fossil enamel was in an excellent state for microscopic analyses. Results show that all major dental enamel’s physical, chemical, and morphological features are present both in extant and extinct fossil tooth enamel (>8.5 Ma) in both taxa.
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Demarchi B, Mackie M, Li Z, Deng T, Collins MJ, Clarke J. Survival of mineral-bound peptides into the Miocene. eLife 2022; 11:82849. [PMID: 36533893 PMCID: PMC9803351 DOI: 10.7554/elife.82849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Previously, we showed that authentic peptide sequences could be obtained from 3.8-Ma-old ostrich eggshell (OES) from the site of Laetoli, Tanzania (Demarchi et al., 2016). Here, we show that the same sequences survive in a >6.5 Ma OES recovered from a palaeosteppe setting in northwestern China. The eggshell is thicker than those observed in extant species and consistent with the Liushu Struthio sp. ootaxon. These findings push the preservation of ancient proteins back to the Miocene and highlight their potential for paleontology, paleoecology, and evolutionary biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beatrice Demarchi
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of TurinTorinoItaly
| | - Meaghan Mackie
- The Globe Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark,The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark
| | - Zhiheng Li
- Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Tao Deng
- Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Matthew J Collins
- The Globe Institute, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark,McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of CambridgeCambridgeUnited Kingdom
| | - Julia Clarke
- Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at AustinAustinUnited States
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Bailleul AM, Lu J, Li Z. DiceCT applied to fossilized hard tissues: A preliminary case study using a miocene bird. J Exp Zool B Mol Dev Evol 2021; 336:364-375. [PMID: 33666331 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.23037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Revised: 01/02/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Iodine-based contrasting agents for computed tomography (CT) have been used for decades in medicine. Agents like Lugol's iodine enhance the contrasts between soft tissues and mineralized (skeletal) tissues. Because a recent study on extant avian heads showed that iodine-ethanol (I2 E) is a better contrast enhancer overall than the standard Lugol's iodine, here, we tested if I2 E could also enhance the CT contrasts of two fossilized skeletal tissues: bone and calcified cartilage. For this, we used a partial ankle joint from an extinct pheasant from the Late Miocene of Northwest China (Linxia Basin). The pre-staining CT scans showed no microstructural details of the sample. After being immersed into a solution of 1% I2 E for 8 days and scanned a second time, the contrasts were drastically enhanced between the mineralized tissues (bony trabeculae and calcified cartilage) and the sediments and minerals inside vascular spaces. After three other staining-scanning cycles in 2%, 3%, and 6% I2 E solutions, the best contrasts were obtained after immersion in 6% I2 E for 7 days. Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy showed that iodine was preferentially absorbed by the mineralized tissues and the minerals in the vascular spaces, but not by the sediments. This method not only effectively increased the contrasts of two different fossilized skeletal tissues, it was also non-destructive and reversible because part of the fossil was successfully de-stained after a few days in pure ethanol. These preliminary results indicate that iodine-ethanol has the potential to be used widely in vertebrate paleontology to improve CT imaging of fossilized tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alida M Bailleul
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
| | - Jing Lu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
| | - Zhiheng Li
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
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Jaramillo C, Romero I, D’Apolito C, Bayona G, Duarte E, Louwye S, Escobar J, Luque J, Carrillo-Briceño JD, Zapata V, Mora A, Schouten S, Zavada M, Harrington G, Ortiz J, Wesselingh FP. Miocene flooding events of western Amazonia. Sci Adv 2017; 3:e1601693. [PMID: 28508052 PMCID: PMC5415333 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1601693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2016] [Accepted: 03/03/2017] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
There is a considerable controversy about whether western Amazonia was ever covered by marine waters during the Miocene [23 to 5 Ma (million years ago)]. We investigated the possible occurrence of Miocene marine incursions in the Llanos and Amazonas/Solimões basins, using sedimentological and palynological data from two sediment cores taken in eastern Colombia and northwestern Brazil together with seismic information. We observed two distinct marine intervals in the Llanos Basin, an early Miocene that lasted ~0.9 My (million years) (18.1 to 17.2 Ma) and a middle Miocene that lasted ~3.7 My (16.1 to 12.4 Ma). These two marine intervals are also seen in Amazonas/Solimões Basin (northwestern Amazonia) but were much shorter in duration, ~0.2 My (18.0 to 17.8 Ma) and ~0.4 My (14.1 to 13.7 Ma), respectively. Our results indicate that shallow marine waters covered the region at least twice during the Miocene, but the events were short-lived, rather than a continuous full-marine occupancy of Amazonian landscape over millions of years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Jaramillo
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Box 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Republic of Panama
- Corresponding author.
| | - Ingrid Romero
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Box 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Republic of Panama
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Corporación Geológica Ares, Calle 44A No. 53-96, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Carlos D’Apolito
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Box 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Republic of Panama
- Corporación Geológica Ares, Calle 44A No. 53-96, Bogotá, Colombia
- University of Birmingham, Birmingham, U.K
| | - German Bayona
- Corporación Geológica Ares, Calle 44A No. 53-96, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Edward Duarte
- Corporación Geológica Ares, Calle 44A No. 53-96, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Stephen Louwye
- Department of Geology, University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium
| | | | - Javier Luque
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Jorge D. Carrillo-Briceño
- Paleontological Institute and Museum, University of Zürich, Karl-Schmid-Strasse 4, Zürich 8006, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Stefan Schouten
- Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, Texel, Netherlands
| | - Michael Zavada
- University of Texas of the Permian Basin, Odessa, TX 79762, USA
| | | | - John Ortiz
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Box 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Republic of Panama
| | - Frank P. Wesselingh
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, Darwinweg 2, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands
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Worthy TH, Tennyson AJD, Archer M, Musser AM, Hand SJ, Jones C, Douglas BJ, McNamara JA, Beck RMD. Miocene mammal reveals a Mesozoic ghost lineage on insular New Zealand, southwest Pacific. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2006; 103:19419-23. [PMID: 17159151 PMCID: PMC1697831 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0605684103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2006] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
New Zealand (NZ) has long been upheld as the archetypical example of a land where the biota evolved without nonvolant terrestrial mammals. Their absence before human arrival is mysterious, because NZ was still attached to East Antarctica in the Early Cretaceous when a variety of terrestrial mammals occupied the adjacent Australian portion of Gondwana. Here we report discovery of a nonvolant mammal from Miocene (19-16 Ma) sediments of the Manuherikia Group near St Bathans (SB) in Central Otago, South Island, NZ. A partial relatively plesiomorphic femur and two autapomorphically specialized partial mandibles represent at least one mouse-sized mammal of unknown relationships. The material implies the existence of one or more ghost lineages, at least one of which (based on the relatively plesiomorphic partial femur) spanned the Middle Miocene to at least the Early Cretaceous, probably before the time of divergence of marsupials and placentals > 125 Ma. Its presence in NZ in the Middle Miocene and apparent absence from Australia and other adjacent landmasses at this time appear to reflect a Gondwanan vicariant event and imply persistence of emergent land during the Oligocene marine transgression of NZ. Nonvolant terrestrial mammals disappeared from NZ some time since the Middle Miocene, possibly because of late Neogene climatic cooling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trevor H Worthy
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Darling Building DP 418, Adelaide University, North Terrace, Adelaide 5005, South Australia, Australia.
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Abstract
Comparative morphological and functional analyses of the skeletal remains of Oreopithecus bambolii, a hominoid from the Miocene Mediterranean island of Tuscany-Sardinia (Italy), provides evidence that bipedal activities made up a significant part of the positional behavior of this primate. The mosaic pattern of its postcranial morphology is to some degree convergent with that of Australopithecus and functionally intermediate between apes and early hominids. Some unique traits could have been selected only under insular conditions where the absence of predators and the limitation of trophic resources play a crucial role in mammalian evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Köhler
- Institut de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, c/Industrial, 23, 08201 Sabadell, Spain.
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