A new species of the genus Epeolus Latreille, 1802 (Hymenoptera, Apoidea: Apidae) from the Pamirs, with a checklist of Central Asian species

Epeolus rasnitsyni Astafurova et Proshchalykin, sp. n. is described and illustrated from the Pamir Mountains (Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajiki¬stan). An updated checklist of the ten species of Epeolus so far known from Central Asia is provided.

Origin of modern humanity in the light of system analysis

ABSTRACT This paper describes dynamic process of a small sapient group development, left Africa about 130 ka BP, which led to the fact that they, having turned into modern humans – Homo sapiens sapiens, became the only human species that dominates on the Earth. It is shown how, in the course of this process, one branch of the sapiens captured an enclave in Levant from Neanderthals, and the other settled in Asia, mainly in Southeast. How, after explosion of Toba stratovolcano 72 ka BP, almost all Asian sapiens died, with the exception of three small groups that survived this Catastrophe: in Khatlon valley among Pamir mountains in the north, on Timor in the south, and also Big Luzon in the east, which gave the beginning of three types of modern mankind – northern, southern and eastern. Further, the northerners and easterners (with a lag of ~ 15 kyr) settled the depopulated territories in Asia, and the southerners – lands in Sahul that had never known a man before. After that, the northerners achieved victory in war in Europe, as a result of which Neanderthals disappeared forever, and survived a new, at least, all-European catastrophe – the explosion of Archiflegreo stratovolcano 39.3 ka BP. Then they re-settled in depopulated lands of Europe and cold northeastern Asian territories (from which they were later driven out by newcomers from east), and in south there was a meeting of easterners with southerners on the so-called Wallace Line. A group of northerners at the same time invaded Africa, and drove out there aboriginal archaic sapiens gradually almost completely. All elements of this process, the description of which was obtained through the use of a system analysis of available information, not only fully agree with archaeological, anthropological, paleogenetic, paleoclimatic, geological, physical and other data known to us, but also answer almost all questions about the origin and ways of modern mankind expansion and remove those contradictions and problems, which discuss in scientific community. RESUMEN En este trabajo se describe el proceso dinámico de desarrollo de un pequeño grupo de sapiens, que abandonó África alrededor de 130 ka BP, y que condujo a que, convertidos en humanos modernos -Homo sapiens sapiens-, se convirtieran en la única especie humana que domina la Tierra. Se muestra cómo, en el curso de este proceso, una rama del sapiens capturó un enclave en Levante de los neandertales, y la otra se asentó en Asia, principalmente en el sureste. Cómo, tras la explosión del estratovolcán Toba 72 ka BP, murieron casi todos los sapiens asiáticos, con la excepción de tres pequeños grupos que sobrevivieron a esta catástrofe: en el valle de Khatlon, entre las montañas de Pamir, en el norte, en Timor, en el sur, y también en el Gran Luzón, en el este, lo que dio lugar al inicio de tres tipos de humanidad moderna: norteños, sureños y orientales. Además, los norteños y orientales (con un desfase de ~ 15 kyr) se asentaron en los territorios despoblados de Asia, y los sureños, en tierras de Sahul que nunca habían conocido al hombre. Después, los norteños consiguieron la victoria en la guerra en Europa, como resultado de la cual los neandertales desaparecieron para siempre, y sobrevivieron a una nueva catástrofe, al menos, totalmente europea: la explosión del estratovolcán Archiflegreo 39,3 ka BP. Luego se reasentaron en tierras despobladas de Europa y en territorios fríos del noreste de Asia (de los que fueron expulsados más tarde por los recién llegados del este), y en el sur se produjo un encuentro de orientales con sureños en la llamada Línea Wallace. Un grupo de norteños invadió al mismo tiempo África, y expulsó allí a los sapiens arcaicos aborígenes gradualmente casi por completo. Todos los elementos de este proceso, cuya descripción se obtuvo mediante el uso de un sistema de análisis de la información disponible, no sólo concuerdan plenamente con los datos arqueológicos, antropológicos, paleogenéticos, paleoclimáticos, geológicos, físicos y otros conocidos por nosotros, sino que también responden a casi todas las preguntas sobre el origen y las formas de expansión de la humanidad moderna y eliminan aquellas contradicciones y problemas, que se discuten en la comunidad científica.

A rangewide distribution model for the Pallas’s cat (Otocolobus manul): identifying potential new survey regions for an understudied small cat

Knowledge about the current distribution of threatened and/or understudied species is a fundamental component of conservation biology. Mapping species distributions based on recent known occurrences is particularly important for those that are rare or declining. Too often, cryptic species go undetected throughout parts of their range, whereas others just receive less research attention. We used contemporary presence data for the Pallas’s cat (Otocolobus manul), a small cryptic felid, to characterize potential rangewide and regional habitat for the species and identify those abiotic and biotic variables most influencing its distribution. Several regions lacking contemporary occurrence records contain potential habitat for Pallas’s cats, including the Koh-i-Baba Mountains of Afghanistan, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, steppes of Inner Mongolia, Kunlun Mountains of China, and Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and China. Some of these areas have not been included in prior rangewide distribution assessments. The distribution of pikas (Ochotona spp.), small mammals that likely represent a critical prey species everywhere they are sympatric, was the most important factor affecting the Pallas’s cat’s distribution. This suggests Pallas’s cats may be prey specialists, and that pika presence and habitat are critical considerations for future Pallas’s cat surveys and in the development of regional conservation actions.

Measurements meet human observations: integrating distinctive ways of knowing in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan to assess local climate change

In mountain environments dimensions of climate change are unclear because of limited availability of meteorological stations. However, there is a necessity to assess the scope of local climate change, as the livelihood and food systems of subsistence-based communities are already getting impacted. To provide more clarity about local climate trends in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan, this study integrates measured climate data with community observations in the villages of Savnob and Roshorv. Taking a transdisciplinary approach, both knowledge systems were considered as equally pertinent and mutually informed the research process. Statistical trends of temperature and snow cover were retrieved using downscaled ERA5 temperature data and the snow cover product MOD10A1. Local knowledge was gathered through community workshops and structured interviews and analysed using a consensus index. Results showed, that local communities perceived increasing temperatures in autumn and winter and decreasing amounts of snow and rain. Instrumental data records indicated an increase in summer temperatures and a shortening of the snow season in Savnob. As both knowledge systems entail their own strengths and limitations, an integrative assessment can broaden the understanding of local climate trends by (i) reducing existing uncertainties, (ii) providing new information, and (iii) introducing unforeseen perspectives. The presented study represents a time-efficient and global applicable approach for assessing local dimensions of climate change in data-deficient regions.