It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Tuesday, August 03, 2021
More diversity for our farms and forks
Domestication of plants adds to the range of available food
IMAGE: PROF. BRIGITTE POPPENBERGER (R.) AND HER DOCTORAL STUDENT, ADEBIMPE ADEDEJI-BADMUS, SURROUNDED BY EBOLO PLANTS IN A GREENHOUSE OF THE TUM SCHOOL OF LIFE SCIENCES.view more
CREDIT: A. HEDDERGOTT / TUM
Our planet is home to a rich treasury of plant species. Some 300,000 edible plants are available to feed the world’s population, although only a fraction of them is consumed. The three major crops rice, wheat and maize feed half of the world’s population.
These cereals have high yields and are staple crops. They are rich in carbohydrates, and thus are efficient calorie sources. In some countries however, they are often the only food source for the poor, and because certain grain crops such as rice contain very few vitamins and minerals, malnutrition and resulting diseases are the outcome.
Supporting research with neglected crops
Using additional plant species is important for preventing unbalanced diets and for increasing agricultural biodiversity. In this respect, fruit and vegetable are of crucial importance. “Although these orphan crops are often highly important locally and well-adapted to regional climates, they have been neglected in research and breeding activities, since they are minor in terms of global trade,” explains Brigitte Poppenberger, Professor of Biotechnology of Horticultural Crops at TUM.
Therefore, to promote research with neglected crops from Africa, the “African Orphan Crops Consortium” was founded, a consortium of universities, industrial partners and non-governmental organizations that is sequencing the genomes of the 101 most important orphan crop species of Africa, to create essential resources for research and breeding. One of these orphan crops is the leafy vegetable and medicinal plant Ebolo.
Ebolo (Crassocephalum crepidioides), which is used for example in soups, stews and salads, is still mainly collected from the wild. “In some areas, when the demand is high, over-harvesting occurs and threatens natural populations,” says Prof. Poppenberger. Therefore, it is important to establish cultivation techniques for plant production and to improve key characteristics through breeding, and for this purpose a research team at TUM has started to analyze the plant in detail.
Removal of toxins for the domestication of the leafy vegetable Ebolo
The team, headed by Prof. Poppenberger, in collaboration with Prof. Traud Winkelmann from the Leibniz University of Hannover, has demonstrated that Ebolo synthesizes a toxin called jacobine, which is a pyrrolizidine alkaloid. Jacobine is liver-damaging and carcinogenic, even in the smallest of quantities.
“A number of our modern crops such as zucchini, tomatoes, peppers and potatoes can produce highly toxic substances as well, but still, they were domesticated. The removal or reduction of toxins through breeding is often an important step in improving crop species,” explains Prof. Poppenberger.
The research team has succeeded in showing that the formation of jacobine is stimulated by nitrogen deficiency, and that it is absent in the related species Crassocephalum rubens. “That is, of course, an important finding. However, we should not rely solely on this related plant, as Crassocephalum crepdioides has other advantages, such as higher yields, even in very poor growth conditions,” says Prof. Poppenberger.
German-Nigerian cooperation to be continued
The findings regarding the biochemistry and genetics of jacobine biosynthesis will now facilitate the development of cultivation techniques and the breeding of toxin-free varieties, to enable a safe consumption of the plants. Since pyrrolizidine alkaloids are formed by many species as part of the chemical defense system of plants, a more detailed knowledge of the formation of these toxins is also of interest for other plants.
The scientists from Germany and Nigeria will continue to cooperate to promote research with neglected crops. In the case of Ebolo, for example, it will be necessary to test in the fields in Nigeria, if the removal of the toxin has a negative impact on insect resistance. After all, while improved nutritional traits for humans are desired, the plants should not also become ‘tastier’ for harmful insects.
JOURNAL
Frontiers in Plant Science
DOI
10.3389/fpls.2021.702985
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
Not applicable
ARTICLE TITLE
The orphan crop Crassocephalum crepidioides accumulates the pyrrolizidine alkaloid jacobine in response to nitrogen starvation
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
27-Jun-2021
Understanding the emergence of the global warming signal
IMAGE: SPATIAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF THE SECULAR TREND VARIANCES IN (A) JANUARY, (B) APRIL, (C) JULY AND (D) OCTOBER. (E)–(H) AS FOR (A)–(D), BUT FOR THE RATIO OF THE SECULAR TREND TO THE SUM OF THE SECULAR TREND AND MULTI-DECADAL VARIATIONS.view more
CREDIT: @SCIENCE CHINA PRESS
Global warming has been known by the public around the world. The warming trend generally is represented by the warming rate of surface air temperature (SAT). What about the role of the warming trend play on the variability of the SAT? The answer to the question could provide a better view to understand the effect of global warming on the ecoclimate. The paper titled “role of the warming trend on the global land surface air temperature” has published in Science China Earth Sciences in June, 2021.
The warming rate generally increases northward from tropics to high-latitudes, with the warming rate over high-latitudes more than two times of that over the tropics. However, the contribution of the warming trend to the SAT variability exhibits different characteristics from the warming rate, with the largest contribution around the tropics and least around the high-latitudes. In other words, the signal of the warming trend may be more significant over the tropics than that over the high-latitudes though the warming rate is much larger in the high-latitudes than that in the tropics.
Generally, less than one-third of annual SAT variations were contributed by the warming trend over large parts of the globe. It seems that the warming may be not an immediate problem for the local environment although its effects were substantial. However, the ratios were up to two-thirds over eastern South America, parts of South Africa and the regions around the southwestern Mediterranean and Sunda islands where the absolute warming rate was moderate but the endemic species were undergoing exceptional loss of habitat. Therefore, the ratio of the warming trend to the SAT variations may be a better measure compared to the absolute warming rate for the local ecoclimate. The warming trend dominate the local SAT variations and may disastrously damage the local ecosystem over these high-ratio regions. If the land SAT maintains the present warming trend in the future, the damage may be sustained in the future. We should also pay more attention to the regions with the high ratio, not the regions with the high absolute warming rate.
See the article:
Zuo Z, Xiao D, He Q. 2021. Role of the warming trend in global land surface air temperature variations. Science China Earth Sciences, 64(6): 866–871, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-020-9775-8
IMAGE: CENOZOIC HUMID/ARID BOUNDARIES IN CHINA FOR THE PALAEOGENE (BOLD LINE) AND THE NEOGENE TO QUATERNARY (DASHED LINE). RED ARROWS SHOW THE NORTHWARD MIGRATION OF THE HUMID ZONE.view more
CREDIT: @SCIENCE CHINA PRESS
The study of the orogenic effects of the Tibetan Plateau uplift on global climate during the Cenozoic has focused almost exclusively on the India-Asia collision zone, the Himalayas. The strong erosion in the Himalayas was assumed to be a primary driver of Cenozoic atmospheric CO2 decline and global cooling predominantly through accelerating silicate chemical weathering in the India-Asia collision zone or through effective burial of organic carbon in the nearby Bengal Fan in South Asia.
However, the size of the India-Asia collision and the associated closure of the Tethys Ocean had a prominent effect on the reorganization of the climatic patterns beyond the collision zone. In an article coauthored with Yibo Yang and Albert Galy at Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Centre de Recherches Pétrographiques et Géochimiques, CNRS-Université de Lorraine, and other ten colleagues, these researchers stated: “the Oligocene-Miocene boundary Asian climatic reorganization linked to the northward migration of the East Asian monsoon into subtropical China is a potentially important but poorly constrained atmospheric CO2consumption process.”
These twelve scholars performed a first-order estimation of the difference in CO2 consumption induced by silicate weathering and organic carbon burial in subtropical China related to the monsoon advance around the late Oligocene. They revealed in the study, which was published in the Science China Earth Sciences, that the northward advance of the East Asian monsoon on tectonically inactive subtropical China induced globally significant silicate weathering atmospheric CO2 sink. That is, an increase in long-term CO2consumption by silicate weathering varies from 0.06 to 0.87×1012 mol·yr-1 depending on erosion flux reconstructions, with an ~50% contribution of Mg-silicate weathering since the late Oligocene. The organic carbon burial flux is approximately 25% of the contemporary CO2 consumption by silicate weathering.
The first-order calculation of CO2 consumption highlighted the very significant role of the weathering of the Mg-rich Yangtze craton and surrounding terranes because the unusual Mg-rich nature of eroded crust not only enhances the tectonic forcing of climate but also can contribute to the rise in the Mg content of the ocean during the Neogene.
The study provided a novel perspective on the Cenozoic carbon cycle linked to the Mg-rich nature of the crust affected by such uplift-driven climatic change and illustrated how complex can be the perturbations of global climate and atmospheric CO2 levels by orogenic uplift, and how important is the nature of the crust not only involved in the collision but also around the collision. In past decades, the role of the heterogeneity of the crust and/or the lithosphere has been highlighted in other geosciences disciplines for a long time, and the distinction between mantle-derived and upper crustal rocks was already well integrated in the long-term climate science community. “But to our knowledge”, wrote the twelve researchers, “the key findings of this study (the importance of the composition of the crust, and the spatial extent of the perturbations of global climate and atmospheric CO2 levels by orogenic uplift) suggests that the tectonics affects Cenozoic cooling via modulation of the geological carbon cycle in diverse ways, and such forcing might not be fully extrapolated to older global-scale orogeny.”
See the article:
Yang Y, Galy A, Fang X, France-Lanord C, Wan S, Yang R, Zhang J, Zhang R, Yang S, Miao Y, Liu Y, Ye C. 2021. East Asian monsoon intensification promoted weathering of the magnesium-rich southern China upper crust and its global significance. Science China Earth Sciences, 64(7): 1155–1170, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-020-9781-3
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION U.S. NATIONAL LABORATORY
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (FL), August 2, 2021 – Today at 1:30 p.m. EDT the 2021 International Space Station Research and Development Conference (ISSRDC) will feature a fireside chat on biomanufacturing in space. Gary Rodrigue, director of programs and partnerships at the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), will moderate a discussion with Dr. William Wagner, director of the University of Pittsburgh’s McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The discussion will focus on the value of space-based biomanufacturing and the critical role of the orbiting laboratory in advancing this research area.
Spaceflight studies over the last decade have shown that microgravity can enable a better understanding of fundamental biology and accelerate advancements in health care and medical technologies. Utilizing the low Earth orbit environment for biomedical research could lead to discoveries not possible on Earth. One area that has potential to provide both benefits to Earth and economic value is biomanufacturing in space. Biomanufacturing is the use of biological and nonbiological materials to produce commercially relevant biomolecules and biomaterials for use in preclinical, clinical, and therapeutic applications.
In 2020, CASIS, manager of the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory, hosted a Biomanufacturing in Space Symposium together with the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The symposium brought together thought leaders in the areas of regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and space-based research. The goal of the symposium was to identify the most promising opportunities to leverage the ISS for research and development (R&D) to advance space-based biomanufacturing. The symposium identified multiple opportunities in three key areas: disease modeling using microphysiological systems (also called tissue chips) and organoids, stem cells and stem-cell-derived products, and biofabrication. A perspective paper developed from the symposium was recently published in Preprints.
The ISSRDC session with Dr. Wagner will review the current state of biomedical research on the space station and highlight outcomes from the symposium. The session will also discuss how the ISS National Lab is uniquely positioned to enable R&D to advance space-based biomanufacturing and drive a robust biomanufacturing market in low Earth orbit.
The 10th annual ISSRDC will be held virtually August 3-5. This session will take place August 3, 1:30-2 p.m. EDT. ISSRDC is free to attend, although registration is required. To learn more about ISSRDC, view the latest agenda and speakers, and register, please visit www.issconference.org.
New study finds emperor penguins increasingly threatened by climate change
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, partners publish key findings to support federal protection of species
IMAGE: NEW RESEARCH SHOWS THAT RAPID CLIMATE CHANGE IS INCREASING STRESS ON SPECIES AND ECOSYSTEMS, AND THE RISK OF EXTINCTION WILL ACCELERATE WITH CONTINUED GLOBAL WARMING. EMPEROR PENGUINS LIVE IN THE ICY COASTAL REGIONS OF ANTARCTICA, BUT CURRENT CLIMATE MODELS PROJECT SIGNIFICANT DECLINES IN ANTARCTIC SEA ICE TO WHICH THE EMPEROR PENGUINS’ LIFE CYCLE IS CLOSELY TIED.view more
Woods Hole, MA (August 3, 2021) – A new study published today in Global Change Biology provides valuable new data that highlights how species extinction risk is accelerating due to rapid climate change and an increase in extreme climate events, such as glacial calving and sea ice loss. The study, led by Stephanie Jenouvrier, associate scientist, and seabird ecologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and co-authored by an international team of scientists, policy experts, ecologists, and climate scientists, provided pivotal research and projections tailored for use by the U.S Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS). Their work proposed that emperor penguins be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and this week, USFWS submitted that listing proposal.
“Scientists have a responsibility to make people aware of the need for change through objective evidence,” explained Jenouvrier. “With the help of a dedicated team, we put together this paper for the USFWS to provide additional analyses of future projections and help inform policy and protection for the species.”
The study presents the projected dynamics of all known emperor penguin colonies under different greenhouse gas emission scenarios using a climate‐dependent meta-population model that includes for the first time, the effects of extreme climate events based on the observational satellite record of colonies.
According to co-author Shaye Wolf, Climate Science Director at the Center for Biological Diversity, “Protection of species through legal frameworks should facilitate conservation actions that in turn should help mitigate climate change impacts.” Co-author Judy Che-Castaldo of the Lincoln Park Zoo added, “The study is framed in the context of the U.S Endangered Species Act, one of the most progressive pieces of legislation in relation to species protection.”
The study demonstrates that extreme events impact the resiliency, redundancy, and representation (3Rs) of emperor penguins. Resiliency is the ability to withstand stochastic (or random) disturbance, which may be measured through population size, growth rate, and connectivity among populations. Redundancy is the ability to withstand catastrophic events, and considers the number, distribution, resiliency, and connectivity of populations. Representation is the ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions, and is related to capturing the geographic, genetic, and life history variation that exists across the species’ ecological setting. Together, the 3Rs encompass aspects that contribute to species persistence (e.g., demography, spatial distribution, diversity) and are important for assessing climate threats in the foreseeable future. The study shows that if sea ice declines at the rate projected by climate models under current energy-system trends and policies, the 3Rs would be dramatically reduced and almost all colonies would become quasi-extinct by 2100.
The novel results described in the paper also have important implications for assessing climate change risks to other species. According to the authors, rapid climate change is increasing stress on species and ecosystems, and the risk of extinction will accelerate with continued global warming. Emperor penguins live in the icy coastal regions of Antarctica, but current climate models project significant declines in Antarctic Sea ice to which the emperor penguins’ life cycle is closely tied. The study reinforces the need for legal recognition and enhanced precautionary management, particularly given continued increases in greenhouse gas emissions.
“Emperor penguins live in a delicate balance with their environment, there is a sea ice ‘Goldilocks’ zone”, said Jenouvrier. “If there is too little sea ice, chicks can drown when sea ice breaks up early; if there is too much sea ice, foraging trips become too long and more arduous, and the chicks may starve.”
“Given the species’ reliance upon sea ice for breeding, molting, and feeding, the most important threat for emperor penguins is climate change, which would lead to Antarctic Sea ice losses over this century,” explained Marika Holland a climate scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research. “Trends in warming and consequential sea ice losses through the end of the century are clear and unidirectional under all projections from all climate models.”
Christophe Barbraud, from the Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, has been studying emperor penguins for decades, and added, “The long-term monitoring of emperor penguins at Pointe Géologie, Antarctica, over the past 70 years was critical to decipher how sea ice affects the bird’s life cycle. This knowledge, together with recent satellite imagery, provided necessary information to build and validate population models.”
“The high-resolution satellite images provided critical remote access to places we’d never be able to see otherwise. As it turns out, sometimes colonies “blink”, seemingly because of drastic changes in the environment that we are still working to solve,” added Michelle LaRue of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota.
Extreme events, as observed through the satellite records, amplify the projected declines by previous studies. If greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise at levels similar to today—causing temperatures to rise and Antarctic Sea ice to shrink—penguin population numbers will diminish slowly until about 2040, after which they would decline at a much steeper rate as sea ice coverage drops below a usable threshold, with the species being quasi -extinct as 98% colonies will have disappeared by 2100.
Phil Trathan, the head of conservation biology with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), has studied Antarctic penguins for over 30 years. “Near-term global policy decisions under Paris Agreement objectives are intended to limit temperature increases to well below 2°C. This would ensure safe places for the emperor penguin, halting dramatic global population declines. As such, the future of emperor penguins ultimately depends upon decisions made today. The most important action is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to limit further warming”.
“We hope that global society will listen to science and meet the moment. Protecting these systems requires legal frameworks that must be appropriately founded and based on the best available scientific evidence. Building an international framework will be key, but in the meantime immediate efforts should focus on those tools already in place, such as the ESA”.
The international team that carried out the study highlights how this work cuts across the boundaries of science disciplines and how interdisciplinary science is key in protecting the future of this iconic species.
“This study provides the best available science for projecting emperor penguin populations in the context of future climate change and informs policy makers about whether the emperor penguin warrants listing under the ESA,” concluded Jenouvrier. “The future of this iconic species depends on immediate actions to decarbonize society and increased protections for species endangered by climate change.
CAPTION
New research shows that rapid climate change is increasing stress on species and ecosystems, and the risk of extinction will accelerate with continued global warming. Emperor penguins live in the icy coastal regions of Antarctica, but current climate models project significant declines in Antarctic Sea ice to which the emperor penguins’ life cycle is closely tied.
Funding was provided by: National Science Foundation (NSF) and National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
The call of the emperor penguin: Legal responses to species threatened by climate change. Global Change Biology, 00, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15806
Authors and affiliations:
Authors: Stephanie Jenouvrier,1 Che-Castaldo Judy2*, Shaye Wolf3*, Marika Holland4*, Sara
Labrousse5*, Michelle LaRue6,7#, Barbara Wienecke8#, Peter Fretwell9#, Christophe Barbraud10#,
Noah Greenwald3#, Julienne Stroeve11,12, 13# and Philip N. Trathan9
8. Australian Antarctic Division, 203 Channel Highway, Kingston TAS 7052, Australia
9. British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB30ET, UK.
10. Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS UMR7372, 79360 Villiers en Bois, France
11. Centre for Earth Observation Science, University of Manitoba, Canada
12. National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado, USA Cooperative Institute
for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, USA
13. Earth Sciences Department, University College London, London, UK
About Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution:
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is a private, non-profit organization on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Established in 1930, its primary mission is to understand the ocean and its interaction with the Earth as a whole, and to communicate an understanding of the ocean’s role in the changing global environment. WHOI’s pioneering discoveries stem from an ideal combination of science and engineering—one that has made it one of the most trusted and technically advanced leaders in basic and applied ocean research and exploration anywhere. WHOI is known for its multidisciplinary approach, superior ship operations, and unparalleled deep-sea robotics capabilities. We play a leading role in ocean observation and operate the most extensive suite of data-gathering platforms in the world. Top scientists, engineers, and students collaborate on more than 800 concurrent projects worldwide—both above and below the waves—pushing the boundaries of knowledge and possibility. For more information, please visit www.whoi.edu
JOURNAL
Global Change Biology
DOI
10.1111/gcb.15806
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Meta-analysis
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
Animals
ARTICLE TITLE
The call of the emperor penguin: Legal responses to species threatened by climate change
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
3-Aug-2021
Two new genera and species of conifers discovered from upper Cretaceous in Hokkaido, Japan
IMAGE: LONGITUDINAL SECTIONS (TOP) AND CROSS SECTIONS (BOTTOM) OF THE FOSSIL SEED CONES FROM TWO NEWLY DESCRIBED GENERA OF CRETACEOUS CONIFERS: (A) NISHIDASTROBUS JAPONICUM GEN. ET SP. NOV.; (B) OHANASTROBUS HOKKAIDOENSIS GEN. ET SP. NOV. (PUBLISHED IN ATKINSON ET AL. 2021, AVAILABLE AT HTTPS://CDNSCIENCEPUB.COM/DOI/FULL/10.1139/CJB-2021-0005).view more
CREDIT: BRIAN A. ATKINSON, PH.D.
DALLAS (Aug. 3, 2021) – Illustrations depicting the dinosaur era – whether in books or movies – are often accompanied by lush greenery. And during the Cretaceous period, the trees commonly dominating a wide range of Earth’s terrestrial environments were conifers – similar to the pines, spruces cypresses and cedars that populate the earth today. These conifers played a key role in ecosystems, providing nourishment, nutrients, and habitat for a range of prehistoric creatures.
In a recently published paper, a team of American paleobotanists describe two new genera of ancient conifers based on two beautifully preserved 3-D fossil seed cones. The scientific paper describing the find – titled “Ancient diversity and turnover of cunninghamioid conifers (Cupressaceae): two new genera from the Upper Cretaceous of Hokkaido, Japan” – has been published online in the prestigious, peer-reviewed scientific journal, Botany.Co-authors of the report are Brian A. Atkinson, Ph.D., assistant professor at University of Kansas and curator of paleobotany at the Biodiversity Institute, Lawrence, Kan.; Dori L. Contreras, Ph.D., curator of paleobotany, Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas, Texas; Ruth A. Stockey, Ph.D., professor, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Ore.; and Gar W. Rothwell, Ph.D., distinguished professor emeritus, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio. Read their manuscript and view renderings, here.
The fossils are named Ohanastrobus hokkaidoensisandNishidastrobus japonicumin honor of Tamiko Ohana (National Museum of Nature and Science, Tsukuba, Japan) and Professor Harufumi Nishida (Chuo University, Hachioji, Japan) for their contributions to paleobotany.
These cones belong to the Cupressaceae (cypress) family, which was widespread and important in many ecosystems during the age of dinosaurs. This is especially true for one of the oldest lineages of family – the cunninghamioids. The two new genera show that cunninghamioids had very diverse forms and were particularly important components of Cretaceous ecosystems of eastern Asia.
“What’s interesting about these two new genera, specifically, is that they represent part of the last heyday of cunninghamioids before the group’s diversity declined toward the end of the Cretaceous,” said Contreras. “Today we are left with only one living genus, Cunninghamia, which are large evergreen trees that grow in the forests of China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Laos.”
The two new cones showed combinations of unique features that indicated they were different from each other and all previously known species, therefore they have been named as two new genera. Differences include their more cylindrical shape compared to the modern Cunninghamia and most other extinct genera, the number and form of their cone scales, and many aspects of their internal anatomy.
How the discoveries were unearthed and analyzed
The cones come from the Cretaceous of Japan and are permineralizations, a type of fossil which preserves all the details of the cells that make up the cones. To study them, the team of paleobotanists used a method called the cellulose acetate peel technique. The fossils are originally cut with a rock saw in two halves vertically to get a "longitudinal section" and then cut perpendicular to that to get a "cross section” (see image).
The cut surfaces are polished and then etched with an acid. A sheet of acetate film is placed on the surface with acetone, which adheres to the fossil surface. The film is then removed, leaving a microscopically thin peel of the fossil specimen attached to the film. The process is repeated so that the successive peel slices can be studied under microscopes to understand the three-dimensional anatomy of the specimens and describe them in detail.
As part of their findings, the research team analyzed and compiled the records of all cunninghamioid and similar conifers to understand how their diversity has changed through time. They show that during the Jurassic to Cretaceous there was a much greater diversity of this important group of conifers, both by the number of different genera (at least 12 fossil genera compared to only one living genus!) and species, and by the variation in the form of their cones. The living genus Cunninghamia appears during the Campanian and maintains a nearly continuous fossil record through to today, while nearly all other extinct genera of cunninghamioid Cupressaceae disappear by the close of the Campanian (~72 million years ago).
The two new species expand the known diversity of the cunninghamioids before their decline toward the end of the Cretaceous and further demonstrate the importance of these conifers in Cretaceous ecosystems, particularly in eastern Asia.
###
About the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum. The KU Biodiversity Institute studies the life of the planet for the benefit of the Earth and its inhabitants. The institute, including the KU Natural History Museum, accomplishes this mission through the acquisition, curation and study of collections of plants, animals, fossil material and cultural artifacts for undergraduate, graduate and public education, as well as research and public and professional service. The Biodiversity Institute’s worldwide collection of over 10 million specimens and 1.5 million archaeological artifacts encompass the study of archaeology, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, mammals, plants, parasites, insects, and fossil plants and animals. The KU Natural History Museum is home to four floors of public exhibits including the historic Panorama; live snakes and insects; vertebrate and invertebrate fossils; parasites and microbes; and the flora and fauna of the Great Plains. The museum provides content-rich, hands-on informal science learning for school groups in grades K–12. These programs have reached more than 40,000 participants over the past decade. The museum also offers a wide range of public programs and events. To learn more, please visit https://biodiversity.ku.edu.
About the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. A top cultural attraction in Dallas/Fort Worth and a Michelin Green Guide three-star destination, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science is a nonprofit educational organization located in the heart of Dallas, Texas. With a mission to inspire minds through nature and science, the Perot Museum delivers exciting, engaging and innovative visitor and outreach experiences through its education, exhibition, and research and collections programming for children, students, teachers, families and life-long learners. A trusted science resource for all of North Texas, the Museum is committed to preparing the next generation of STEM workers by supporting K-12 schools and educators through highly accessible programs. The 180,000-square-foot facility in Victory Park opened in December 2012 and is now recognized as the symbolic gateway to the Dallas Arts District. Future scientists, mathematicians and engineers will find inspiration and enlightenment through 11 permanent exhibit halls on five floors of public space; a children’s museum; a flexible-space, traveling exhibition hall; and a theater. Designed by 2005 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate Thom Mayne and his firm Morphosis Architects, the Victory Park museum has been lauded for its artistry and sustainability. To learn more, please visit perotmuseum.org.
JOURNAL
Botany
DOI
10.1139/cjb-2021-0005
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
Not applicable
ARTICLE TITLE
Ancient diversity and turnover of cunninghamioid conifers (Cupressaceae): two new genera from the Upper Cretaceous of Hokkaido, Japan
Financial scandals or just normal human behavior? Neuroeconomists at the University of Zurich have shown in an experimental setting that most people are willing to steal half of the earnings of a large group if their personal gain exceeds 100 euro, even though the very same people are generous toward individuals.
In recent years, thegeneral publichas steadily lost confidence in financial institutions, economic authorities, and in particular, in corporate managers. People hold a view that key economic actors will do anything for profits, including harming large groups of fellow human beings.
And yet, modern behavioral economics and psychology tell a completely different story: Laboratory data has shown that people willingly share monetary gains with others, dislike inequality, and are very often generous. Recent evidence shows that dishonesty levels as measured in certain laboratory tasks are surprisingly low. The message is that people are prosocial and, if given opportunity, cheat just a little.
Opportunity to rob half of the gains from others
How can both observations be simultaneously true? Are high-level economic actors simply different? To find out, Carlos Alós-Ferrer, NOMIS Professor for Decision and Neuroeconomic Theory at the University of Zurich and his team designed the Big Robber Game, an experimental setting with 640 participants in a standard student sample. Students were placed in groups of 32, where all subjects were engaged in some remunerated activity and earned the same amount of money. Half of the participants, the robbers, were given the opportunity to anonymously steal half the earnings of the other 16 members of their group (and one of the 16 robber's decisions was actually implemented), which corresponded to more or less 100 Euros. But they could also steal less, say one-third, or one-tenth or nothing at all. So, what did they do?
Overwhelmingly ruthless in anonymous groups
More than half of all robbers went to the extreme and took the maximum possible, which was half of the earnings of all others. Over 80 percent took one-third or more, and almost nobody declined to rob. The students revealed an overwhelming willingness to inflict significant monetary harm to a large group of others. Furthermore, the decision to take the maximum was made on average more quickly than the decision to refrain from it, revealing a weaker moral struggle in the former case
However, the very same study, participants displayed predominantly prosocial behavior in standard bilateral games. When asked how they wanted to split 10 Euros with just one other participant, they voluntarily transferred some money, even when the other person was powerless to retaliate if no money came. In general, their actions revealed that they disliked inequality. "Thus, the very same people displayed selfishness in the large high-impact decisions affecting a large group and generosity in the small bilateral, low-stakes interactions," Alós-Ferrer says. "This behavior arose spontaneously within our student population, with no significant differences due to gender or field of studies. Therefore, there is no need for arguments about high-level economic actors being different. The roots of corporate scandals seem to be in all of us."
Tradeoff between personal gain and other-regarding concerns
The finding that people behave selfishly toward a large group while being generous toward individuals suggests that harming many individuals might be easier than harming just one, in line with existing evidence that people are more willing to help one individual rather than many. According to the authors, the study also reflects the tradeoff between personal gain and other-regarding concerns: When facing an individual in a bilateral game, appropriating a given monetary amount can result in a large interpersonal difference. When appropriating income from a large group of people, the same personal gain involves a smaller percentual difference, and hence it is more likely to offset the inequality aversion. Alós-Ferrer says, "In economically relevant situations, many human decision makers might be willing to inflict significant harm on a relatively large number of people for personal gain, as long as that gain is of sufficient magnitude. Even more strikingly, in Western societies, 100 Euros might already be enough."
More information:Carlos Alós-Ferrer et al, Generous with individuals and selfish to the masses,Nature Human Behaviour(2021).DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01170-0
