A rapid survey of herpetofaunal diversity in Nijhum Dwip National Park, Bangladesh

The ecological effects of habitat use by herpetofaunal species vary widely and recognizing relative habitat value will help to improve conservation theory and practice in a particular landscape. To understand how different habitat uses influence diversity in riparian landscapes, we studied reptile and amphibian assemblages across major habitats (agricultural land, forest, human habitation, and waterbodies) in Nijhum Dwip National Park, Bangladesh. A total of 35 herpetofaunal species were found; among them, 17 were directly observed and 18 were reported from a questionnaire survey. Among the observed species, the Asian Common Toad Duttaphrynus melanostictus was the most commonly seen (relative abundance 0.32). We found that forest habitat contained a greater diversity of herpetofauna than other habitats followed by agricultural land, human habitation, and waterbodies. We also found 8 habitat specialist species and 9 generalist species in this study. Our results show that different habitats support different species assemblages in Nijhum Dwip National Park, signifying the importance of diversified habitats for the herpetofaunal population. Understanding this importance is crucial for identifying matrix environments that can complement the forest habitats of sensitive as well as specialist herpetofaunal species.

Population genetics of Hyphaene thebaica Mart., in Rabigh province, Saudi Arabia: Implications for conservation

Hyphaene thebaica is a perennial plant distributed in desert and subtropical regions of the world. In Rabigh Province, western Saudi Arabia, the few persisting populations of this species are exposed to many threats, including overcutting and, recently, human habitation. These threats are predicted to be exacerbated with the advancement of aridification caused by climate change. The conservation and revival of the diminished populations of H. thebaica requires an assessment of their genetic diversity and genetic differentiation. To accomplish this objective, we applied 10 simple sequence repeat (SSR) primer pairs, with which all are polymorphic loci. These polymorphic loci were used to determine the population genetics of 60 plant accessions sampled from 5 populations of H. thebaica located in five sites in Rabigh Province: Wadi EL Khaneg, Wadi Al Johfa, Wadi Al Hakak and Wadi Khurieba and Wadi Kuliayah . Low to moderate levels of genetic diversity were found in all populations (the values of the PPL% ranged between 52.5% and 22.5%) along with a decreased value of HT (0.388) and a considerable inbreeding value (F= 0.4552), which verified an obvious shortage of heterozygotes. High genetic differentiation among the populations and a low level of gene flow suggest isolation among the H. thebaica populations, which caused a severe deficiency in gene migration. The data obtained herein will inspire several recommendations for conservation the existing populations, including seed preservation, and management of human activities. All of these actions are urgently needed to prevent imminent extinction.

Why don’t we look to the west?

Paleontological data indicate that the beginning of Java Island’s human habitation took place at the Plio-Pleistocene boundary, around 2.4 Ma, along with uplift process and glacial-interglacial cycles. However, the oldest Homo erectus fossil was mainly found in the eastern part of Java Island where age-dating indicates that they were from ca. 1.5 Ma, especially along the riverbanks of Bengawan Solo and Brantas, such as Perning, Sangiran, Kedungbrubus, Ngandong, Ngawi, Trinil, and Sambungmacan.Recently, Pleistocene sites were discovered from the western part of Java, e.g., Rancah (Ciamis), Semedo (Tegal), and Bumiayu (Brebes) with their archeological, paleontological, and paleoanthropological potentials. This work will present the significance of the potential, especially paleoanthropological data from the new sites, and their implications to the Quaternary prehistory research strategies determination in the future.We present new geological, archeological, paleontological, and paleoanthropological evidence from those mentioned sites. The result shows that the distribution of Homo erectus were extended to the western part of Java, between 1.8-1.7 Ma, older than the oldest previous finding of Homo erectus from Perning and Sangiran. This finding suggests a new window of the human arrival on this island. So, why don’t we look to the west? Intensive research in the future should be addressed to the western part of Java Island.

Pollinators: Their Relevance in Conservation and Sustainable Agro-Ecosystem

Survival and reproduction of several wild plants and crops is mostly by insects pollinator, their recognition and importance have been increased in this climatic changing scenario, which affects the various aspects of their life cycle. According to an estimate, approximately 30,000 species of bees are known in entomology, and about 190 species of bees have been reported to be associated with pollination. There can be an established link between seed production and pollinator diversity, for the plants with a generalist pollination system. The increasing of human habitation affects insect pollinators in various ways, i.e. of habitat destruction, results in low availability of food sources, nesting, oviposition, resting, and mating sites. Pollinator availability restraints the geographical distribution of plant species, i.e. to develop an ecological niche of certain plant species. Failure of pollinator- plant interaction mutualism results in lower seed production and sometimes extirpation of plant population has been recorded. The declining pollinators’ population strengthens existing plant-pollinator interaction or allows new pant pollinator interaction to form. Maintaining the commercial and wild pollinator populations and preventing future shortages of pollination services, therefore, is extremely significant.

Psychology of Dwelling and Visual Appropriations—An Anthropological Application

We find ourselves situated within a world that can be experienced visually, for the first time, in its wholeness. Using conceptual analysis, we intend to show that notions born within the practice of habitation, such as the sense of place, place attachment, and hearth, can help us evaluate the psychological implications of the images of Earth taken from space. We chose a phenomenological approach to human habitation because it allows concepts pertaining to connected and inherently interdisciplinary fields, for instance environmental psychology or human geography, to be reunited under the umbrella of an anthropological interpretation. The sensory and imaginary connotations of the notion of place may be noticed starting from the distinction between space as mathematical abstraction and concrete places being experienced directly. An analysis of the nature of this connection leads to the finding that we actively imagine and reimagine the surrounding world as an unfolding space in which we are constantly attempting to dwell. What is of particular interest for us is the manner in which technologically-mediated visual experience may inspire cognitive representations or may generate profound emotions, such as the attachment to a particular place. Therefore, the value of imagination for the anthropology of habitation is not rendered by its compensatory role, but by its link to ontogenesis. Familiar places, which continue to attract us, are capable of triggering unique imaginary processes, reveries which refer us to the primordial steps of ontogenesis with outmost intensity. The process of subjective appropriation of the world begins with that privileged space of origin specific to each of us, the space which we identify with most intensely. Thus, the psychological impact of the image of Earth from space: we become intensely aware that this planet is our Place within a hostile universe.

Yorùbá Values and the Environment

This essay deploys Yorùbá ontology, epistemology and axiology to construct a Yorùbá ecological philosophy, or ecosophy. It argues that in contrast with the Judeo-Christian tradition of environmental anthropomorphic domination as the destiny of humanity or American pragmatism which encourages no stable traditions of values but what conduces to desired ends, the Yorùbá value system is by far more advanced in being more eco-respecting, eco-friendly and geared toward sustainable human habitation in a world in which he/she constitutes one small fraction of sentience. The essay developed around the responses to the following questions: a) What are values? b) How are values derived? c) Are there Yorùbá values? d) What is the environment? e) How are concepts of the environment derived? f) What is the relationship between values and the environment? g) What is the relationship between Yorùbá values and the environment? h) What are the inferences these have for one-health approach to the environment and sustainable human global co-existence?

Geomorphologic Change in Nagavali River Basin: Geospatial Approach

The Nagavali river basin (NRB), along east coast of India investigated for its land use and land cover changes (LULCC) in the golden spike period of Anthropocene Epoch. Attempts made to assess the vicissitudes, causes, and consequences of natural resources, and soil/water resources of the NRB in last three decades as significant changes in hydro-climatic variables occurred. The interstate basin is well developed in lower reaches (north Andhra Pradesh) whereas upper stretches, South Odisha is less organized. GIS and remote sensing are efficient tools for an ideal study of LULCC of the area. Present work evaluates the dynamics of LULCC of NRB. LANDSAT-5, LANDSAT-8, of 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020, respectively, were digitally classified for land use land cover mapping. The changing aspects of LULCC critically analyzed for three span, 1990–2000, 2000–2010 and 2010–2020. Through Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of the NRB examined carefully to assess the recent LULCC pattern. Major changes are sue to exchanges of areas are in between forest and built-up land followed by water body. The transformations are from forest to human habitation; especially built-up area that constitutes major percentage of the total landscape. The study shows that emphasis is necessary on more water consolidation projects in the upper Nagavali Basin considering the long-term LULC trend analysis.

Peopling Prehistoric Coastlines: Identifying Mid-Holocene Forager Settlement Strategies in Northern Norway

In circumpolar regions, coastlines offer rich constellations of diverse resources and have long been a focus of human habitation. Despite the rich archaeological records that are located along many northern coastlines, there is a relatively limited understanding of the range of factors that informed local settlement strategies. Northern Norway has one of the world’s longest and best-preserved archaeological records of coastal habitation due to post-glacial uplift. Occupation begins in the early Holocene and appears to peak in the mid-Holocene. Our aim in this paper is to investigate the constraints and opportunities that informed the mid-Holocene settlement patterns, between c. 5000 and 0 BC. We present new data that were generated by intensive field surveys and undertake a qualitative multi-scalar analysis of site-locational choices, evaluating the influences of geography, topography and seasonal resource availability. Having identified stretches of the rugged coast as uninhabitable, we proceeded with analyses of the rest of the coastline. Our results indicate that all major settlements were sited to provide safe boat landing, good vantage points and shelter from storms. From these habitation sites, boat technology would have provided flexible access to diverse resources that were available throughout the year, and within a limited travel radius. We also demonstrate that these settlement strategies contrast with the way that the same coastlines were inhabited by pioneering groups in the early Holocene but appear to have some similarities with mid-Holocene coastal settlement patterns in Newfoundland and the Aleutian Islands. Overall, our results suggest that the multiple resources available along northern coastlines often enabled populations to occupy relatively localized areas for long periods. Longer-range mobility and interaction may instead have been primarily driven by socio-political factors rather than subsistence needs.

Mars: new insights and unresolved questions

Mars exploration motivates the search for extraterrestrial life, the development of space technologies, and the design of human missions and habitations. Here, we seek new insights and pose unresolved questions relating to the natural history of Mars, habitability, robotic and human exploration, planetary protection, and the impacts on human society. Key observations and findings include: – high escape rates of early Mars' atmosphere, including loss of water, impact present-day habitability; – putative fossils on Mars will likely be ambiguous biomarkers for life; – microbial contamination resulting from human habitation is unavoidable; and – based on Mars' current planetary protection category, robotic payload(s) should characterize the local martian environment for any life-forms prior to human habitation. Some of the outstanding questions are: – which interpretation of the hemispheric dichotomy of the planet is correct; – to what degree did deep-penetrating faults transport subsurface liquids to Mars' surface; – in what abundance are carbonates formed by atmospheric processes; – what properties of martian meteorites could be used to constrain their source locations; – the origin(s) of organic macromolecules; – was/is Mars inhabited; – how can missions designed to uncover microbial activity in the subsurface eliminate potential false positives caused by microbial contaminants from Earth; – how can we ensure that humans and microbes form a stable and benign biosphere; and – should humans relate to putative extraterrestrial life from a biocentric viewpoint (preservation of all biology), or anthropocentric viewpoint of expanding habitation of space? Studies of Mars' evolution can shed light on the habitability of extrasolar planets. In addition, Mars exploration can drive future policy developments and confirm (or put into question) the feasibility and/or extent of human habitability of space.

The Ancient Civilizations

This chapter provides an interpretive synthesis of the current state of knowledge of the pre-Columbian civilizations of Central America from the time of earliest human habitation until European contact. In terms of cultural affinities, the northern portion of the area formed the southeastern periphery of the culture area of Mesoamerica, and the southern regions pertained to the Isthmo-Colombian area (or Intermediate Area). With its relatively high population density, the area is highly susceptible to volcanic, seismic, and climatic natural disasters such as droughts, tropical storms, flooding, and landslides, and the same was true in the past. A recurrent theme in the study of ancient Central American civilizations is the impact of natural disasters and societal responses to cataclysmic events.