Macroalgae metal-biomonitoring in Antarctica: Addressing the consequences of human presence in the white continent

Human presence or activities are perceived by animals as those associated with predation risk so activity and exploration patterns of animals should be shaped by indices of anthropogenic disturbances. The high level of human disturbances is noticed in big cities. Therefore, the aim of the study was to determine the occurrence of roe deer in Warsaw and its activity in the Warsaw urban forests. We used snow tracking on transect routes (winter seasons 2016, 2017, 2018; 115.1 km in total) to determine roe deer occurrence in four habitats: forests, open areas, parks, and built-up areas. The number of tracks was highest in forests (4.6 tracks/1 km/24 h), followed by open areas, built-up areas, and parks. We used camera traps to determine the activity of roe deer in selected urban forests. We collected 697 observations of roe deer in Warsaw forests in the years 2016–2019 (per 4826 trap-days in total). The peak of roe deer activity was noticed between 4:00 and 5:00 a.m. Animals were least active at 1:00–2:00 p.m. and between 11:00 p.m.–01:00 a.m. Our research showed that roe deer inhabiting the urban area avoided human presence by using well-covered habitats and being active in periods when humans’ disturbances’ level is lower.

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Analysis of the effects of spaceflight and local administration of thrombopoietin to a femoral defect injury on distal skeletal sites

npj Microgravity ◽

10.1038/s41526-021-00140-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ariane Zamarioli ◽

Zachery R. Campbell ◽

Kevin A. Maupin ◽

Paul J. Childress ◽

Joao P. B. Ximenez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bone Loss ◽

Mechanical Loading ◽

Bone Healing ◽

Space Flight ◽

Bone Fracture ◽

Local Administration ◽

Systemic Effects ◽

Human Presence ◽

Femoral Defect ◽

Healing Agent

AbstractWith increased human presence in space, bone loss and fractures will occur. Thrombopoietin (TPO) is a recently patented bone healing agent. Here, we investigated the systemic effects of TPO on mice subjected to spaceflight and sustaining a bone fracture. Forty, 9-week-old, male, C57BL/6 J were divided into 4 groups: (1) Saline+Earth; (2) TPO + Earth; (3) Saline+Flight; and (4) TPO + Flight (n = 10/group). Saline- and TPO-treated mice underwent a femoral defect surgery, and 20 mice were housed in space (“Flight”) and 20 mice on Earth for approximately 4 weeks. With the exception of the calvarium and incisor, positive changes were observed in TPO-treated, spaceflight bones, suggesting TPO may improve osteogenesis in the absence of mechanical loading. Thus, TPO, may serve as a new bone healing agent, and may also improve some skeletal properties of astronauts, which might be extrapolated for patients on Earth with restraint mobilization and/or are incapable of bearing weight on their bones.

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Late-Holocene landscape evolution and human presence in the northern Danube delta (Chilia distributary lobes)

The Holocene ◽

10.1177/09596836211019121 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 095968362110191

Author(s):

Luminița Preoteasa ◽

Alfred Vespremeanu-Stroe ◽

Anca Dan ◽

Laurențiu Țuțuianu ◽

Cristian Panaiotu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Middle Ages ◽

Economic History ◽

Late Holocene ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Sedimentary Facies ◽

The Black Sea ◽

Danube Delta ◽

Human Presence ◽

Historical Texts

This paper documents the Late-Holocene environmental changes and human presence in the northern Danube delta using a multidisciplinary approach that combines geoscientific data with archaeological findings, historical texts, and maps. It follows the formation and progression of the Chilia distributary and the reconfiguration of socioeconomic activities. Sedimentary facies identified on five new cores by changes in texture properties, magnetic susceptibility, geochemistry, and macro- and microfauna composition together with the newly obtained chronology constrain the complex evolution of the Chilia branch as filling in a long-lasting bay and then of a giant lagoon (Thiagola) which covered most of the northern delta since the Old Danube lobe inception (ca. 7500 yrs BP) till modern Chilia development. It initiated during the Greek Antiquity (ca. 2500 yrs ar BP) at the delta apex, while in Roman times (ca. 1800 yrs BP) it pursued its slow flowing into the vast Thiagola Lagoon. The most dramatic transformations occurred in the last 800 years when the river passed east of the Chilia promontory, rapidly went through the present-day Matița-Merhei basin (several decades), and created its first open-sea outlet. Solid discharge increased in two distinct periods, once in the Middle Ages (ca. 750 yrs BP) and then in the Modern Period (ca. 150 yrs BP) due to human-induced land-use changes in the Danube watershed. The chronology of the cultural remains on the pre-deltaic Chilia promontory and the multiproxy analysis of a sediment core retrieved nearby downstream suggest the terrestrial connection of the island with the mainland in ancient times. The hitherto contended issue of the old Thiagola Lagoon and its location are redefined here, as are the original identifications of ancient and medieval toponyms and hydronyms, especially for Chilia-Licostomo, Byzantine, Genoese, Moldavian, Ottoman, and Russian trading point of great importance in the political and economic history of the Black Sea and neighboring regions.

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Evaluation of Human Disturbance on the Activity of Medium–Large Mammals in Myanmar Tropical Forests

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12030290 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 290

Author(s):

Giacomo Cremonesi ◽

Francesco Bisi ◽

Lorenzo Gaffi ◽

Thet Zaw ◽

Hla Naing ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Disturbance ◽

Daily Activity ◽

Wildlife Conservation ◽

Activity Patterns ◽

Circular Statistics ◽

Large Mammals ◽

Human Presence ◽

Significant Difference ◽

The Status ◽

Statistical Approaches

The effects of human disturbance represent one of the major threats for wildlife conservation. Many studies have shown that wildlife avoids or reduces direct contact with human activities through changes in activity patterns, and by minimizing spatiotemporal overlap. In this study, we investigated the possible effects of human presence on the temporal activity of medium-to-large mammals using two areas in Myanmar that differ in the intensity of human disturbance. We monitored temporal segregation mechanisms using camera trapping data and with two statistical approaches: daily activity overlaps between humans and wildlife and circular statistics. We did not find a significant difference in overlapping activity between areas but, thanks to circular statistics, we found that some species show changes in activity patterns, suggesting temporal avoidance. We observed that the daily activity of five species differed between areas of Myanmar, likely adopting mechanisms to reduce overlap in areas highly frequented by humans. Interestingly, these species are all threatened by hunting or poaching activities, four of which have been described in literature as “cathemeral”, or species that are active through day and night. This study suggests that some species adapt their behavior, at least partially, to avoid human presence in habitats with higher anthropic occurrence and increase our knowledge on the status of medium–large mammals in a poorly studied country as Myanmar.

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Oral tradition as emplacement: Ancestral Blackfoot memories of the Rocky Mountain Front

Journal of Social Archaeology ◽

10.1177/14696053211019837 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 146960532110198

Author(s):

María Nieves Zedeño ◽

Evelyn Pickering ◽

François Lanoë

Keyword(s):

Oral Tradition ◽

Rocky Mountain ◽

Place Making ◽

Human Presence ◽

Archaeological Practice ◽

Intimate Connection ◽

Origin Stories ◽

Mountain Front ◽

Process Event ◽

Early Human

We highlight the significance of process, event, and context of human practice in Indigenous Creation traditions to integrate Blackfoot “Napi” origin stories with environmental, geological, and archaeological information pertaining to the peopling of the Northwestern Plains, where the northern Rocky Mountain Front may have played a prominent role. First, we discuss the potential and limitations of origin stories generally, and Napi stories specifically, for complementing the fragmentary records of early human presence in the Blackfoot homeland. Second, we demonstrate the intimate connection among processes, events, place-making practices, and stories. Last, we aim to expand multivocality in the interpretation of the deep past through an archaeological practice that considers Indigenous philosophies and stories to be as valid as non-Indigenous ones.

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