New Complex Investigations of the Novhorod-Siverskyi Upper Palaeolithic Site

In the article the materials of the Novhorod-Siverskyi site research both in the 1930's, and relatively recently, are analyzed. First of all, attention is paid to the faunal collection. The faunal associations from old excavations are coherent, typical of a cold steppe environment from the glacial period, near a riparian forest. However, it seems to result to a mix between natural taphonomic complexes and animal remains associated with human activity. Judging by the flint collection from the old excavations, the site was inhabited by representatives of the Pushkari type. New research yielded two archaeological layers that are very poor in flint artefacts. Concerning fauna, the faunal spectrum is restricted in both layers, with the woolly mammoth, the woolly rhinoceros, the horse and the reindeer in the lower and upper layers. In the upper layer there are also the bison, the fox and the hare. According to taphonomic observations, the bones had remained for a long time at an open air before being buried, in subsurface in a wet environment but few submitted to precipitations in link with permafrost activities. Particularly in the lower layer (2) some remains appear to be in place, while others seem to have been imported by hydraulic phenomena, either from the top of the promontory or from the Desna River. In the upper layer (1), some bones show possible anthropogenic impacts of breakage, linked to marrow recovery. In both layers we have some cranial and postcranial elements, mainly from adults sensu lato which could correspond to human predation. They could correspond to temporary camps of quite small human groups, potentially occupied at the end of the cold season/beginning of the warm season.

Performance of the sea turtle Lepidochelys olivacea hatchlings from a hatchery on the Pacific coast of Guatemala

Sea turtles are marine species that are generally in danger of extinction. The conservation strategies in the different countries are attempting to preserve these species and should be constantly updating their policies according to research results taking place on site. The most abundant and frequent species of sea turtle that nest in the Pacific Coast of Guatemala is Lepidochelys olivacea (Eschscholtz, 1829), therefore human predation has been historically high. The solution to this predation, since the 1970s, as a conservation strategy was to place eggs in enclosed protected spaces called hatcheries, where collectors must give 20% of the nest as a conservation quota. Since this program leads to no natural nests (in situ) remaining on the beaches, the good functioning of the hatcheries plays a fundamental role in the conservation process to work. To understand and predict the fitness of the hatchlings being produced in Guatemalan hatcheries, crawling performance and self-righting performance were measured in 210 hatchlings of the Multiple Uses Area of Hawaii, in the Pacific Coast of Guatemala. The results of the performance were contrasted with incubation conditions to provide an insight into how the management may influence it. We found that self-righting may be a more meaningful measure of variable behavior than crawling performance, showing that there was little variation due to the homogeneous environment of the hatcheries. We can conclude that a greater number of eggs result in faster self-righting, while deeper nests produce hatchlings with slower rates of self-righting.

Late Pleistocene South American megafaunal extinctions associated with rise of Fishtail points and human population

In the 1970s, Paul Martin proposed that big game hunters armed with fluted projectile points colonized the Americas and drove the extinction of megafauna. Around fifty years later, the central role of humans in the extinctions is still strongly debated in North American archaeology, but little considered in South America. Here we analyze the temporal dynamic and spatial distribution of South American megafauna and fluted (Fishtail) projectile points to evaluate the role of humans in Pleistocene extinctions. We observe a strong relationship between the temporal density and spatial distribution of megafaunal species stratigraphically associated with humans and Fishtail projectile points, as well as with the fluctuations in human demography. On this basis we propose that the direct effect of human predation was the main factor driving the megafaunal decline, with other secondary, but necessary, co-occurring factors for the collapse of the megafaunal community.

Ecomorphology of Ostrea edulis (Linnaeus, 1758) in Kuala Gigieng Waters, Aceh Besar District

Ostrea edulis is one of the most common types of meat oysters and is commonly consumed by people in Kuala Gigieng, but until now there is not much scientific information about this species. The purpose of this study was to describe the ecomorphology of Ostrea edulis in Kuala Gigieng waters. This research was conducted from August to September 2013 in Kuala Gigieng Waters, Aceh Besar District. The method used in this research is purposive sampling. Identification of samples based on shell morphological characteristics including the exterior and interior of the shell using a magnifier lamp. The results showed that Ostrea edulis found in Kuala Gigieng waters had round, rough, hard, thick and uneven shells. The two valves are also not the same size, where the left valve is more concave than the right valve which tends to be flat. This is a form of the adaptation pattern of Ostrea edulis in Kuala Gigieng which tends to have a medium sand and clay sand substrate with a fairly high predation from both natural and human predation.

Breeding Ecology of the Pied Avocet, Recurvirosrta avosetta (Charadriiformes, Recurvirostridae), in Tiffech Lake (Souk Ahras, Northeastern Algeria)

The Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta Linnaeus, 1758) is a sedentary species in Northeastern Algeria, although numbers present increase during spring and summer. Nesting occurs on the dikes and lakes placed at the different pools of the saltpans. In this study, the breeding ecology of the Pied Avocet was studied during the 2017 breeding season in Tiffech lake wetland (868 m in elevation), Northeastern Algeria. The Pied Avocets arrived, at Tiffech Lake in early February and usually spent a few days in flocks before dispersing to set up territories. Egg-laying occurred from 11 April to 21 June, with two distinct peaks (last 15 days of April and May) and incubation period was 27.0 days. The present study indicates the expanded, breeding season. Clutch and egg size of this high-elevation population was comparable to lowland counterparts. Hatching success was 85.77 % and mean net productivity was 0.63 chicks per nest. Entire nest failure from human predation and sheep grazing was responsible for most egg losses.

Subjectivity in the Age of Pandemics

The current pandemic that originated in a “wet” market in Wuhan has often been compared to the threat we face with climate change. The former originated in the trade in wild animals, which has driven many species to the point of extinction. In fact, we face an unprecedented rate of species loss due to pressures on habitats, pollution, and human predation. The threat of climate change originates with our uncontrolled use of fossil fuels, which, in making large parts of the globe uninhabitable, imperils our own species. The rationality (or lack thereof) that is exhibited here concerns our relation to the earth. We regard it simply as a means for our purposes. Separating ourselves from it, we follow the Biblical injunction to have “dominion” over it. In this, we express a conception of subjectivity that is exemplified by Descartes and Kant. To overcome this, I argue, we need a different sense of what it means to be a subject, one that takes it as a sustaining ground and points to the earth as the ultimate subject.

Overkill, glacial history, and the extinction of North America’s Ice Age megafauna

The end of the Pleistocene in North America saw the extinction of 38 genera of mostly large mammals. As their disappearance seemingly coincided with the arrival of people in the Americas, their extinction is often attributed to human overkill, notwithstanding a dearth of archaeological evidence of human predation. Moreover, this period saw the extinction of other species, along with significant changes in many surviving taxa, suggesting a broader cause, notably, the ecological upheaval that occurred as Earth shifted from a glacial to an interglacial climate. But, overkill advocates ask, if extinctions were due to climate changes, why did these large mammals survive previous glacial−interglacial transitions, only to vanish at the one when human hunters were present? This question rests on two assumptions: that previous glacial−interglacial transitions were similar to the end of the Pleistocene, and that the large mammal genera survived unchanged over multiple such cycles. Neither is demonstrably correct. Resolving the cause of large mammal extinctions requires greater knowledge of individual species’ histories and their adaptive tolerances, a fuller understanding of how past climatic and ecological changes impacted those animals and their biotic communities, and what changes occurred at the Pleistocene−Holocene boundary that might have led to those genera going extinct at that time. Then we will be able to ascertain whether the sole ecologically significant difference between previous glacial−interglacial transitions and the very last one was a human presence.

Interspecific Interactions I: Predation and Parasitism

Predation and parasitism are dominant forms of interspecific interactions in aquatic ecosystems. Predation effects have been more commonly quantified in aquatic ecosystems than disease. Diet studies documenting predation are substantially more common that routine monitoring for disease in aquaculture systems. The simplest predator–prey models predict lagged cycles of prey and their predators. Density-dependent regulation of the prey or predator population is required for stable coexistence of predator and prey populations. Predator–prey models are extended with the incorporation of non-linear functional responses, which can result in multiple equilibria. The behavior and dynamics of natural predators hold important insights in our consideration of human predation on aquatic resource species. Disease outbreaks have wrought tremendous impacts on a very broad spectrum of aquatic species. For economically important species, these impacts include significant economic costs to fishing communities and aquaculture facilities.