Identifying early modern human ecological niche expansions and associated cultural dynamics in the South African Middle Stone Age

The archaeological record shows that typically human cultural traits emerged at different times, in different parts of the world, and among different hominin taxa. This pattern suggests that their emergence is the outcome of complex and nonlinear evolutionary trajectories, influenced by environmental, demographic, and social factors, that need to be understood and traced at regional scales. The application of predictive algorithms using archaeological and paleoenvironmental data allows one to estimate the ecological niches occupied by past human populations and identify niche changes through time, thus providing the possibility of investigating relationships between cultural innovations and possible niche shifts. By using such methods to examine two key southern Africa archaeological cultures, the Still Bay [76–71 thousand years before present (ka)] and the Howiesons Poort (HP; 66–59 ka), we identify a niche shift characterized by a significant expansion in the breadth of the HP ecological niche. This expansion is coincident with aridification occurring across Marine Isotope Stage 4 (ca.72–60 ka) and especially pronounced at 60 ka. We argue that this niche shift was made possible by the development of a flexible technological system, reliant on composite tools and cultural transmission strategies based more on “product copying” rather than “process copying.” These results counter the one niche/one human taxon equation. They indicate that what makes our cultures, and probably the cultures of other members of our lineage, unique is their flexibility and ability to produce innovations that allow a population to shift its ecological niche.

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An ecological niche shift for Neanderthal populations in Western Europe 70,000 years ago

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-84805-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

William E. Banks ◽

Marie-Hélène Moncel ◽

Jean-Paul Raynal ◽

Marlon E. Cobos ◽

Daniel Romero-Alvarez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Material Culture ◽

Ecological Niche ◽

Western Europe ◽

Ecological Niche Modeling ◽

Climatic Variability ◽

Niche Shift ◽

Ecological Niches ◽

Middle Paleolithic ◽

Niche Dynamics ◽

Anatomically Modern Humans

AbstractMiddle Paleolithic Neanderthal populations occupied Eurasia for at least 250,000 years prior to the arrival of anatomically modern humans. While a considerable body of archaeological research has focused on Neanderthal material culture and subsistence strategies, little attention has been paid to the relationship between regionally specific cultural trajectories and their associated existing fundamental ecological niches, nor to how the latter varied across periods of climatic variability. We examine the Middle Paleolithic archaeological record of a naturally constrained region of Western Europe between 82,000 and 60,000 years ago using ecological niche modeling methods. Evaluations of ecological niche estimations, in both geographic and environmental dimensions, indicate that 70,000 years ago the range of suitable habitats exploited by these Neanderthal populations contracted and shifted. These ecological niche dynamics are the result of groups continuing to occupy habitual territories that were characterized by new environmental conditions during Marine Isotope Stage 4. The development of original cultural adaptations permitted this territorial stability.

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The Biography of the Earth

10.1093/oso/9780197502464.003.0011 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 200-213

Author(s):

Elisabeth Ervin-Blankenheim

Keyword(s):

Small Mammals ◽

Ecological Niche ◽

Late Jurassic ◽

Big Bang ◽

Ecological Niches ◽

Asteroid Impact ◽

The Earth ◽

The One ◽

Extinction Events ◽

The Universe

The story of the Phanerozoic Eon continues in this chapter with the Mesozoic Era. The first period in the Mesozoic, the Triassic, was bookended by two extinction events, the one at the beginning, discussed in the prior chapter at the end of the Permian Period, the Great Dying, and then another at the end of the period, related to the further breakup of Pangea. Dinosaurs evolved and diversified during the Mesozoic to occupy nearly each and every ecological niche on the planet, with large dinosaurs and small dinosaurs, ones that flew, those that ate vegetation, and those that preyed upon the herbivores—making this time a dino-dominated age. In the late Jurassic Period, small mammals, many of them insectivores, were starting to become prevalent. The era ended with a “big bang” of a different type than is theorized as the start of the universe—with the Chicxulub asteroid impact 66 million years ago that ended the lives of most of the dinosaurs, the non-avian lines, and opened up new ecological niches for the next “masters of the universe,” the mammals.

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Invasion but not hybridisation is associated with ecological niche shift in monkeyflowers

10.1101/688515 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Daniele Da Re ◽

Angel P. Olivares ◽

William Smith ◽

Mario Vallejo-Marín

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Ecological Niche ◽

Secondary Contact ◽

Niche Shift ◽

Ecological Niches ◽

Introduced Populations ◽

Niche Dynamics ◽

Introduced Range ◽

Niche Shifts ◽

Native And Introduced Ranges

AbstractBackgroundThe ecological niche occupied by novel hybrids can influence their establishment as well as the potential to coexist with their parents. Hybridisation generates new phenotypic combinations, which, in some cases, may allow them to occupy ecological niches outside the environmental envelope of parental taxa. In other cases, hybrids may retain similar ecological niches to their parents, resulting in competition and affecting their coexistence. To date, few studies have quantitatively assessed niche shifts associated with hybridisation in recently introduced populations while simultaneously characterising the niche of parental species in both native and introduced ranges.AimsIn this study, we compared the ecological niche of a novel hybrid plant with the niches of its two parental taxa in the non-native geographic range. We also characterised and compared the parental taxa’s ecological niche of native and introduced populations in order to assess potential niche changes during the invasion process independent of hybridisation.MethodsWe studied monkeyflowers (Mimulus spp., Phrymaceae) that were introduced from the Americas to Europe and New Zealand in the last 200 years. We focused on a novel hybrid, triploid, asexual taxon (M. × robertsii) that occurs only in the British Isles where its two parents (M. guttatus and M. luteus) come into secondary contact. We assembled more than 12,000 geo-referenced occurrence records and eight environmental variables of the three taxa across native and introduced ranges, and conducted ecological niche model analysis using maximum entropy, principal component and niche dynamics analysis.ResultsWe found no evidence of niche shift in the hybrid, M. × robertsii compared to introduced populations of both of their parental taxa. The hybrid had a niche more similar to M. luteus, which is also the rarest of the parental taxa on the introduced range. Among parental monkeyflowers, M. guttatus showed niche conservatism in introduced populations in Europe, but a niche shift in New Zealand, while M. luteus showed a niche shift in Europe. However, the evidence of niche shift should be treated with caution due to the occurence of non-analog climatic conditions, small population size and unfilling niche dynamics.ConclusionsOur results suggest that hybridisation in non-native monkyeflowers did not result in a shift in ecological niche. This niche conservation could create competition between parental and derived taxa, the outcome of which will depend on relative competitive abilities. Further work is needed to establish if the expansion of the hybrid in the introduced range is causally related to the apparent rarity of one of the parents (M.luteus). Finally, the comparison of native and non-native populations of parental taxa, suggest that whether invasions result in niche shifts or not depends on both taxon and geographic region, highlighting the idiosyncratic nature of biological invasions.

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The Ecological Niche of bat Viruses Closely Related to SARS-CoV-2, as Inferred from Phylogeographic Analyses of Rhinolophus Species

10.21203/rs.3.rs-418434/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alexandre HASSANIN ◽

Vuong Tan Tu ◽

Manon Curaudeau ◽

Gabor Csorba

Keyword(s):

Southeast Asia ◽

Ecological Niche ◽

Transitional Zone ◽

Ecological Niches ◽

Human Populations ◽

Dispersal Capacity ◽

Recombinant Viruses ◽

Haplotype Networks ◽

High Dispersal ◽

Genomic Recombination

Abstract To date, viruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 have been reported in four bat species: Rhinolophus acuminatus, Rhinolophus affinis, Rhinolophus malayanus, and Rhinolophus shameli. Here, we analysed 343 sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (CO1) from georeferenced bats of the four Rhinolophus species identified as reservoirs of viruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2. Haplotype networks were constructed in order to investigate patterns of genetic diversity among bat populations of Southeast Asia and China. No strong geographic structure was found for the four Rhinolophus species, suggesting high dispersal capacity. The ecological niche of bat viruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 was predicted using the four localities in which bat viruses were recently discovered and the localities where bats showed the same CO1 haplotypes than virus-positive bats. The ecological niche of bat viruses related to SARS-CoV was deduced from the localities where bat viruses were previously detected. The results show that the ecological niche of bat viruses related to SARS-CoV2 includes several regions of mainland Southeast Asia whereas that of bat viruses related to SARS-CoV is mainly restricted to China. In agreement with these results, human populations in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand appear to be much less affected by the Covid-19 pandemic than other countries of Southeast Asia. In the climatic transitional zone between the two ecological niches (southern Yunnan, northern Laos, northern Vietnam), genomic recombination between highly divergent viruses is more likely to occur. Since recombinant viruses can threaten the benefit of vaccination campaigns, these regions should be under surveillance.

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Development of Middle Stone Age innovation linked to rapid climate change

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/ncomms2897 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 102

Author(s):

Martin Ziegler ◽

Margit H. Simon ◽

Ian R. Hall ◽

Stephen Barker ◽

Chris Stringer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

South Africa ◽

South African ◽

Ocean Circulation ◽

Modern Human ◽

Middle Stone Age ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Human Populations ◽

Stone Age ◽

Sub Saharan

Abstract The development of modernity in early human populations has been linked to pulsed phases of technological and behavioural innovation within the Middle Stone Age of South Africa. However, the trigger for these intermittent pulses of technological innovation is an enigma. Here we show that, contrary to some previous studies, the occurrence of innovation was tightly linked to abrupt climate change. Major innovational pulses occurred at times when South African climate changed rapidly towards more humid conditions, while northern sub-Saharan Africa experienced widespread droughts, as the Northern Hemisphere entered phases of extreme cooling. These millennial-scale teleconnections resulted from the bipolar seesaw behaviour of the Atlantic Ocean related to changes in the ocean circulation. These conditions led to humid pulses in South Africa and potentially to the creation of favourable environmental conditions. This strongly implies that innovational pulses of early modern human behaviour were climatically influenced and linked to the adoption of refugia.

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Inferring the ecological niche of bat viruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 using phylogeographic analyses of Rhinolophus species

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-93738-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Alexandre Hassanin ◽

Vuong Tan Tu ◽

Manon Curaudeau ◽

Gabor Csorba

Keyword(s):

Southeast Asia ◽

Ecological Niche ◽

Transitional Zone ◽

Ecological Niches ◽

Human Populations ◽

Dispersal Capacity ◽

Geographic Structure ◽

Haplotype Networks ◽

High Dispersal ◽

Genomic Recombination

AbstractThe Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causal agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. To date, viruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 have been reported in four bat species: Rhinolophus acuminatus, Rhinolophus affinis, Rhinolophus malayanus, and Rhinolophus shameli. Here, we analysed 343 sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (CO1) from georeferenced bats of the four Rhinolophus species identified as reservoirs of viruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2. Haplotype networks were constructed in order to investigate patterns of genetic diversity among bat populations of Southeast Asia and China. No strong geographic structure was found for the four Rhinolophus species, suggesting high dispersal capacity. The ecological niche of bat viruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 was predicted using the four localities in which bat viruses were recently discovered and the localities where bats showed the same CO1 haplotypes than virus-positive bats. The ecological niche of bat viruses related to SARS-CoV was deduced from the localities where bat viruses were previously detected. The results show that the ecological niche of bat viruses related to SARS-CoV2 includes several regions of mainland Southeast Asia whereas the ecological niche of bat viruses related to SARS-CoV is mainly restricted to China. In agreement with these results, human populations in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand appear to be much less affected by the COVID-19 pandemic than other countries of Southeast Asia. In the climatic transitional zone between the two ecological niches (southern Yunnan, northern Laos, northern Vietnam), genomic recombination between highly divergent viruses is more likely to occur. Considering the limited data and the risk of recombinant bat-CoVs emergence as the source of new pandemics in humans, the bat populations in these regions should be under surveillance.

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Learning the ecological niche

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2006.3663 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 274 (1606) ◽

pp. 19-23 ◽

Cited By ~ 76

Author(s):

Tore Slagsvold ◽

Karen L Wiebe

Keyword(s):

Cultural Transmission ◽

Ecological Niche ◽

Parus Major ◽

Early Learning ◽

Ecological Niches ◽

Cyanistes Caeruleus ◽

Feeding Niche ◽

In The Wild ◽

Cross Fostering ◽

Blue Tits

A cornerstone of ecological theory is the ecological niche. Yet little is known about how individuals come to adopt it: whether it is innate or learned. Here, we report a cross-fostering experiment in the wild where we transferred eggs of blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus , to nests of great tits, Parus major , and vice versa, to quantify the consequences of being reared in a different social context, but in an environment otherwise natural to the birds. We show that early learning causes a shift in the feeding niche in the direction of the foster species and that this shift lasts for life (foraging conservatism). Both species changed their feeding niches, but the change was greater in the great tit with its less specialized feeding behaviour. The study shows that cultural transmission through early learning is fundamental to the realization of ecological niches, and suggests a mechanism to explain learned habitat preference and sympatric speciation in animals.

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Early, intensive marine resource exploitation by Middle Stone Age humans at Ysterfontein 1 rockshelter, South Africa

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.2020042118 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 118 (16) ◽

pp. e2020042118

Author(s):

Elizabeth M. Niespolo ◽

Warren D. Sharp ◽

Graham Avery ◽

Todd E. Dawson

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Local Environment ◽

Modern Human ◽

Middle Stone Age ◽

Human Populations ◽

Western Cape ◽

Stone Age ◽

Resource Exploitation ◽

Shell Midden ◽

Coastal Adaptation

Modern human behavioral innovations from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) include the earliest indicators of full coastal adaptation evidenced by shell middens, yet many MSA middens remain poorly dated. We apply 230Th/U burial dating to ostrich eggshells (OES) from Ysterfontein 1 (YFT1, Western Cape, South Africa), a stratified MSA shell midden. 230Th/U burial ages of YFT1 OES are relatively precise (median ± 2.7%), consistent with other age constraints, and preserve stratigraphic principles. Bayesian age–depth modeling indicates YFT1 was deposited between 119.9 to 113.1 thousand years ago (ka) (95% CI of model ages), and the entire 3.8 m thick midden may have accumulated within ∼2,300 y. Stable carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotopes of OES indicate that during occupation the local environment was dominated by C3 vegetation and was initially significantly wetter than at present but became drier and cooler with time. Integrating archaeological evidence with OES 230Th/U ages and stable isotopes shows the following: 1) YFT1 is the oldest shell midden known, providing minimum constraints on full coastal adaptation by ∼120 ka; 2) despite rapid sea-level drop and other climatic changes during occupation, relative shellfish proportions and sizes remain similar, suggesting adaptive foraging along a changing coastline; 3) the YFT1 lithic technocomplex is similar to other west coast assemblages but distinct from potentially synchronous industries along the southern African coast, suggesting human populations were fragmented between seasonal rainfall zones; and 4) accumulation rates (up to 1.8 m/ka) are much higher than previously observed for dated, stratified MSA middens, implying more intense site occupation akin to Later Stone Age middens.

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The Ecological Niche of SARS-CoV-2-like Viruses in Bats, as Inferred from Phylogeographic Analyses of Rhinolophus Species

10.20944/preprints202103.0409.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alexandre Hassanin ◽

Vuong Tan Tu ◽

Manon Curaudeau ◽

and Gabor Csorba

Keyword(s):

Southeast Asia ◽

Ecological Niche ◽

Transitional Zone ◽

Ecological Niches ◽

Human Populations ◽

Dispersal Capacity ◽

Recombinant Viruses ◽

Haplotype Networks ◽

High Dispersal ◽

Genomic Recombination

To date, viruses closely related to SARS-CoV-2 have been reported in four bat species: Rhinolophus acuminatus, Rhinolophus affinis, Rhinolophus malayanus, and Rhinolophus shameli. Here, we analysed 343 sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (CO1) from georeferenced bats of the four Rhinolophus species identified as reservoirs of SARS-CoV-2-like viruses. Haplotype networks were constructed in order to investigate patterns of genetic diversity among bat populations of Southeast Asia. No strong geographic structure was found for the four Rhinolophus species, suggesting high dispersal capacity. The ecological niche of SARS-CoV-2 like viruses was predicted using the four localities of bat SARS-CoV-2-like viruses and the localities where bats showed identical or very similar CO1 haplotypes than virus-positive bats. The ecological niche of SARS-CoV-like viruses was deduced from the localities where bat SARS-CoV-like viruses were previously detected. The results show that the ecological niche of SARS-CoV2-like viruses includes several regions of mainland Southeast Asia whereas that of SARS-CoV-like viruses is mainly restricted to China. In agreement with these results, human populations in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand appear to be much less affected by the Covid-19 pandemic than other countries of Southeast Asia. In the climatic transitional zone between the two ecological niches (southern Yunnan, northern Laos, northern Vietnam, and possibly Hainan and Taiwan), genomic recombination between highly divergent viruses is more likely to occur. Since recombinant viruses can threaten the benefit of vaccination campaigns, these regions should be under surveillance.

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Defining the niche for niche construction: evolutionary and ecological niches

Biology & Philosophy ◽

10.1007/s10539-021-09805-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Rose Trappes

Keyword(s):

Evolutionary Biology ◽

Ecological Niche ◽

Niche Construction ◽

Habitat Degradation ◽

Ecological Niches ◽

Niche Concept ◽

Definition Of ◽

Compare And Contrast ◽

Extreme Habitat

AbstractNiche construction theory (NCT) aims to transform and unite evolutionary biology and ecology. Much of the debate about NCT has focused on construction. Less attention has been accorded to the niche: what is it, exactly, that organisms are constructing? In this paper I compare and contrast the definition of the niche used in NCT with ecological niche definitions. NCT’s concept of the evolutionary niche is defined as the sum of selection pressures affecting a population. So defined, the evolutionary niche is narrower than the ecological niche. Moreover, when contrasted with a more restricted ecological niche concept, it has a slightly different extension. I point out three kinds of cases in which the evolutionary niche does not coincide with realized ecological niches: extreme habitat degradation, commensalism, and non-limiting or super-abundant resources. These conceptual differences affect the role of NCT in unifying ecology and evolutionary biology.

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