scholarly journals Coat Polymorphism in Eurasian Lynx: Adaptation to Environment or Phylogeographic Legacy?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romane Darul ◽  
Alexander Gavashelishvili ◽  
Alexander P. Saveljev ◽  
Ivan V. Seryodkin ◽  
John D. C. Linnell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Variability ◽  
Far East ◽  
Glacial Refugia ◽  
Eurasian Lynx ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
Habitat Matching ◽  
Coat Pattern ◽  
Environmental Adaptations ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractWe studied the relationship between the variability and contemporary distribution of pelage phenotypes in one of most widely distributed felid species and an array of environmental and demographic conditions. We collected 672 photographic georeferenced records of the Eurasian lynx throughout Eurasia. We assigned each lynx coat to one of five phenotypes. Then we fitted the coat patterns to different environmental and anthropogenic variables, as well as the effective geographic distances from inferred glacial refugia. A majority of lynx were either of the large spotted (41.5%) or unspotted (uniform, 36.2%) phenotype. The remaining patterns (rosettes, small spots and pseudo-rosettes) were represented in 11.0%, 7.4%, and 3.9% of samples, respectively. Although various environmental variables greatly affected lynx distribution and habitat suitability, it was the effect of least-cost distances from locations of the inferred refugia during the Last Glacial Maximum that explained the distribution of lynx coat patterns the best. Whereas the occurrence of lynx phenotypes with large spots was explained by the proximity to refugia located in the Caucasus/Middle East, the uniform phenotype was associated with refugia in the Far East and Central Asia. Despite the widely accepted hypothesis of adaptive functionality of coat patterns in mammals and exceptionally high phenotypic polymorphism in Eurasian lynx, we did not find well-defined signs of habitat matching in the coat pattern of this species. Instead, we showed how the global patterns of morphological variability in this large mammal and its environmental adaptations may have been shaped by past climatic change.

scholarly journals Cats in the forest: predicting habitat adaptations from humerus morphometry in extant and fossil Felidae (Carnivora)

Paleobiology ◽  
10.1666/12001 ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Meloro ◽  
Sarah Elton ◽  
Julien Louys ◽  
Laura C. Bishop ◽  
Peter Ditchfield
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Variability ◽  
Olduvai Gorge ◽  
Environmental Predictors ◽  
Linear Measurements ◽  
Multivariate Statistical ◽  
Linear Discriminant ◽  
Related Group ◽  
Discriminant Analyses ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Relationship

Mammalian carnivores are rarely incorporated in paleoenvironmental reconstructions, largely because of their rarity within the fossil record. However, multivariate statistical modeling can be successfully used to quantify specific anatomical features as environmental predictors. Here we explore morphological variability of the humerus in a closely related group of predators (Felidae) to investigate the relationship between morphometric descriptors and habitat categories. We analyze linear measurements of the humerus in three different morphometric combinations (log-transformed, size-free, and ratio), and explore four distinct ways of categorizing habitat adaptations. Open, Mixed, and Closed categories are defined according to criteria based on traditional descriptions of species, distributions, and biome occupancy. Extensive exploratory work is presented using linear discriminant analyses and several fossils are included to provide paleoecological reconstructions.We found no significant differences in the predictive power of distinct morphometric descriptors or habitat criteria, although sample splitting into small and large cat guilds greatly improves the stability of the models. Significant insights emerge for three long-canine cats:Smilodon populator,Paramachairodus orientalis, andDinofelissp. from Olduvai Gorge (East Africa).S. populatorandP. orientalisare both predicted to have been closed-habitat adapted taxa. The false “sabertooth”Dinofelissp. from Olduvai Gorge is predicted to be adapted to mixed habitat. The application of felid humerus ecomorphology to the carnivoran record of Olduvai Gorge shows that the older stratigraphic levels (Bed I, 1.99–1.79 Ma) included a broader range of environments than Beds II or V, where there is an abundance of cats adapted to open environments.

scholarly journals Molecular support for the recognition of the Mycoblastus fucatus group as the new genus Violella (Tephromelataceae, Lecanorales)

2011 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 445-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toby SPRIBILLE ◽  
Bernard GOFFINET ◽  
Barbara KLUG ◽  
Lucia MUGGIA ◽  
Walter OBERMAYER ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Russian Far East ◽  
Far East ◽  
Elongation Factor ◽  
New Combination ◽  
Translation Elongation ◽  
Secondary Chemistry ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThe crustose lichen genus Mycoblastus in the Northern Hemisphere includes eight recognized species sharing large, simple ascospores produced 1–2 per ascus in strongly pigmented biatorine apothecia. The monophyly of Mycoblastus and the relationship of its various species to Tephromelataceae have never been studied in detail. Data from ITS rDNA and the genes coding for translation elongation factor 1-α and DNA replication licensing factor mini-chromosome maintenance complex 7 support the distinctness of Mycoblastus s. str. from the core of the Tephromelataceae, but recover M. fucatus and an undescribed Asian species as strongly supported within the latter group. We propose accommodating these two species in a new genus, Violella, which is characterized by its brownish inner ascospore walls, Fucatus-violet hymenial pigment granules and secondary chemistry, and discuss the position of Violella relative to Calvitimela and Tephromela. We describe the new species Violella wangii T. Sprib. & Goffinet to accommodate a new species with roccellic acid from Bhutan, China, India and the Russian Far East. We also exclude Mycoblastus indicus Awasthi & Agarwal from the genus Mycoblastus and propose for it the new combination Malmidea indica (Awasthi & Agarwal) Hafellner & T. Sprib.

Islam, nationalism and state in the Muslim Caucasus

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Galina Yemelianova
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Process ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Seventh Century ◽  
Russian Orthodox ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
Russian North ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Relationship

Following the break-up of the USSR in 1991 the Muslim peoples of the Caucasus – corresponding to present-day Azerbaijan and the Russian North Caucasus – have been in a continuous process of renegotiating their Islamic identity and the role of Islam in the processes of nation-building. This has involved a complex set of factors, including the correlation between the rise of Islam and socio-economic well-being (or the lack of it), the level and longevity of Islamic heritage, the relationship between Islam and the nature of the ruling post-Soviet Caucasian regimes, and the degree of susceptibility to the region’s exposure to foreign influences, Islamic and Western. This article examines some of these factors from an historical perspective, concentrating on how the political elites and the populace variously dealt with essentially external influences in the course of their centuries-long incorporation within successive political empires. From the seventh century AD these were Islamic, emanating from the Umayyad, Abbasid, Timurid, Ottoman and Safavid empires; and from the nineteenth century, Russian Orthodox and Soviet atheist. An analysis of the dynamics set up by these influences and the distinctively Caucasian Muslim responses to them is crucial in understanding how current elites and their antagonists in the region embrace, reject and otherwise instrumentalise Islam.

scholarly journals Ancient and Medieval Authors on Georgian- Ossetian and Ossetian-Abkhazian Relations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
В.Д. Дзидзоев
Keyword(s):  
Journal Article ◽  
The Other ◽  
Mutual Understanding ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Written Sources

Рассматриваются древние и средневековые письменные источни- ки, в которых отражаются взаимоотношения народов Кавказа, а именно грузин и осетин, с одной стороны, осетин и абхазов – с другой. За многие века в их отно- шениях были периоды не только дружбы и взаимопонимания, но также времена- ми напряженность в силу различных объективных и субъективных причин. Автор пытается анализировать их с учетом возможностей журнальной статьи. The article considers ancient and medieval written sources, which refl ect the relationship between the peoples of the Caucasus, namely the Georgians and Ossetians, on the one hand, and the Ossetians and Abkhazians, on the other. For many centuries, in their relationship there were periods of not only friendship and mutual understanding, but also at times tension due to various objective and subjective reasons. The author tries to analyze them taking into account the possibilities of the journal article.

Climate change and tick-borne encephalitis in the Greater Alpine region.

2021 ◽  
pp. 354-359
Author(s):  
Franz Rubel
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Far East ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Alpine Region ◽  
European Alps ◽  
Far East Of Russia ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
Tick Density ◽  
Tick Borne Encephalitis ◽  
Tick Borne Disease

Abstract Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a viral tick-borne disease. The distribution of human TBE cases ranges from the French departments bordering Germany through Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Kazakhstan to the Far East of Russia and China. In this expert opinion, TBE is described in the greater area of the European Alps, denoted as the Greater Alpine Region (GAR). It also includes reported tick-borne encephalitis cases and evidence for climate change impacts on tick density and distribution as well as the prevalence and intensity of TBE.

scholarly journals Natural factors of technological accidents: the case of Russia

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2227-2234 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. G. Petrova
Keyword(s):  
Data Base ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Critical Infrastructure ◽  
Russian Far East ◽  
Far East ◽  
Overhead Lines ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Russian Far East ◽  
Special Protection

Abstract. The data base of technological accidents and disasters that have occurred in Russia has been created. More than 13 000 information units have been collected and analyzed. The proportion of accidents triggered by natural events (natural-technological accidents or NTA) in the total number of technological accidents as well as a part of every NTA type in the total number of NTA was estimated. About 10 percent of all accidents registered in the data base were caused by natural events; among some types of accidents this proportion is even higher. Transmission facilities with more than 90 percent of overhead lines are the most vulnerable to the impact of natural hazards. The contribution of different natural hazards was evaluated. Regions with the greatest NTA risk were revealed. The influence of natural events on the technosphere is stronger in the South of the European Russia and in the Russian Far East, which are more exposed to hurricanes, snowstorms, rainfalls, icing and other natural hazards producing NTA. The critical infrastructure needs special protection and modernization in these regions. The problem of the relationship between natural hazards and the technosphere is very complicated and needs further investigation, especially taking the expected climate changes into consideration.

scholarly journals Mitochondrial DNA in Siberian conifers indicates multiple postglacial colonization centers

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (8) ◽  
pp. 875-883 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladimir L. Semerikov ◽  
Svetlana A. Semerikova ◽  
Yuliya A. Putintseva ◽  
Natalia V. Oreshkova ◽  
Konstantin V. Krutovsky
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Siberian Larch ◽  
Population Expansion ◽  
Glacial Refugia ◽  
Phylogeographic Pattern ◽  
Southern Siberia ◽  
Siberian Fir ◽  
Clear Differentiation ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

The geographic variation of the mitochondrial DNA in Siberian fir (Abies sibirica Ledeb.) was studied using the newly developed markers and compared with the phylogeographic pattern of another previously studied Siberian conifer, Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.). Similar to Siberian larch, the distribution of mtDNA haplotypes in Siberian fir revealed clear differentiation among distinct geographic regions of southern Siberia and the Urals, likely indicating postglacial recolonization from several sources. The northern part of the range of both species was genetically homogeneous, which is probably due to its recent colonization from one of the glacial refugia. This conclusion is in agreement with published pollen and macrofossil data in Siberian fir and with the reconstruction of environmental niches indicating a dramatic reduction of the range and a likely survival of fir in certain southern areas during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), 21 thousand years ago. Although the modeling of the Siberian larch ecological niche reconstructed a shift of the range to the south at that period, the paleontological data indicated the presence of this species in most areas of the current range during LGM, which corresponds to the results of a previous historical demographic study suggesting that the population expansion preceding the LGM.

scholarly journals Phylogeographical structure of the pygmy shrew: revisiting the roles of southern and northern refugia in Europe

2020 ◽  
Vol 129 (4) ◽  
pp. 901-917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Vega ◽  
Allan D McDevitt ◽  
Joanna Stojak ◽  
Alina Mishta ◽  
Jan M Wójcik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Demographic History ◽  
Glacial Refugia ◽  
Intraspecific Diversity ◽  
Evolutionary Potential ◽  
Mountain Ranges ◽  
Early Diversification ◽  
Patterns And Processes ◽  
Sorex Minutus ◽  
Pygmy Shrew ◽  
The Last Glacial

Abstract Southern and northern glacial refugia are considered paradigms that explain the complex phylogeographical patterns and processes of European biota. Here, we provide a revisited statistical phylogeographical analysis of the pygmy shrew Sorex minutus Linnaeus, 1766 (Eulipotyphla, Soricidae), examining its genetic diversity, genetic differentiation and demographic history in the Mediterranean peninsulas and in Western and Central Europe. The results showed support for genetically distinct and diverse phylogeographical groups consistent with southern and northern glacial refugia, as expected from previous studies. We also identified geographical barriers concordant with glaciated mountain ranges during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), early diversification events dated between the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene for the main phylogeographical groups, and recent (post-LGM) patterns of demographic expansions. This study is the most comprehensive investigation of this species to date, and the results have implications for the conservation of intraspecific diversity and the preservation of the evolutionary potential of S. minutus.

Morphological and genetic variation in disjunct populations of the avalanche lily Erythronium montanum

1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geraldine A. Allen ◽  
Joseph A. Antos ◽  
Anne C. Worley ◽  
Terri A. Suttill ◽  
Richard J. Hebda
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Genetic Variability ◽  
Morphological Variability ◽  
Glacial Refugia ◽  
Long Distance Dispersal ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Polymorphic Loci ◽  
Historical Factors ◽  
Disjunct Populations ◽  
Contrast Analysis

The genetic structure and morphological variability of species are influenced by both life-history traits and historical factors. We studied morphological and genetic variability in 12 populations of the avalanche lily, Erythronium montanum, representing the four disjunct regions of its geographic range in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Floral traits exhibited significant differences among regions and among populations within regions, but these differences showed no clear geographic pattern, and for all traits there was substantial overlap among populations. In contrast, analysis of isozyme variation indicated a marked north–south gradient in genetic variability. The northernmost populations (from the B.C. Coast Range) had an average of 13% polymorphic loci and 1.13 alleles per locus, whereas southern populations (from the Cascade Mountains) averaged 48% polymorphic loci and 1.67 alleles per locus. The northern populations possessed no unique alleles but contained a subset of the alleles found in regions further south. We conclude that disjunct populations of E. montanum in B.C. probably arose through long-distance dispersal from more southern populations following deglaciation. Keywords: Erythronium montanum, genetic variation, glacial refugia, isozymes, long-distance dispersal, phytogeography.

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