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)
Thursday, August 18, 2022
To grow food on Mars, researchers find that alfalfa plants can fertilize the natural soil and marine cyanobacteria can desalinate the high salt water
IMAGE: GROWTH OF RADISH PLANTS IN ALFALFA TREATED BASALTIC REGOLITH SIMULANT SOIL USING FRESH WATER (LEFT), UNFILTERED (MIDDLE) OR FILTERED (RIGHT) BIODESALINATED WATER.view more
CREDIT: KASIVISWANATHAN ET AL., 2022, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0 (HTTPS://CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG/LICENSES/BY/4.0/)
To grow food on Mars, researchers find that alfalfa plants can fertilize the natural soil and marine cyanobacteria can desalinate the high salt water
Article Title: Single housing but not changes in group composition causes stress-related immunomodulations in horses
Author Countries: Germany
Funding: The study was funded by the Ministry of Food, Rural Affairs and Consumer Protection of the State of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
IMAGE: PACK-LIVING DOGS WITH ANIMAL TRAINER AT THE WOLF SCIENCE CENTERview more
CREDIT: ROOOBERT BAYER AT WOLFSCIENCECENTER, CC-BY 4.0 (HTTPS://CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG/LICENSES/BY/4.0/)
A small study did not find evidence that wolves or dogs could form reputations of humans as “generous” or “selfish” with food, after direct or indirect interactions. Hoi-Lam Jim and colleagues at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Austria, present the findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on August 17, 2022.
Among animals that live in groups, forming reputations of individuals can play an important role in cooperation. Because dogs can cooperate with humans, some researchers have hypothesized that dogs can form reputations of individual humans by observing humans’ interactions with a third party. However, research on the topic has produced mixed findings. Additionally, if dogs indeed have this ability, it is unclear whether it evolved during domestication or was already present in their wolf ancestors.
To help clarify, Jim and colleagues conducted a study with nine wolves and six dogs at the Wolf Science Center in Austria. Each test animal observed interactions between two humans and a dog, in which the “generous” human fed the dog and the “selfish” human withheld food. Afterwards, the test animal demonstrated whether they had formed reputations of the humans by choosing which of the two humans to approach. A second phase tested whether each animal formed reputations after interacting directly with humans who either fed them or withheld food.
Statistical analysis of the results suggested that neither the dogs nor the wolves formed reputations of the humans after either indirect observation or direct interaction. Thus, the findings do not support the idea that dogs and wolves are able to form reputations.
However, the wolves did pay more attention to the generous human when observing interactions with a dog. Furthermore, two wolves and three dogs did show preference for the generous human after the combined experience of both indirect observation and direct interaction.
The researchers call for further research on the topic, perhaps involving a larger number of dogs and wolves, and with thoughtful consideration of context. For instance, it may be that some animals are more likely to form reputations in stressful or dangerous situations, although those are not possible to test experimentally for ethical reasons.
The authors add: “Overall, neither dogs nor wolves distinguished between a generous or selfish human after indirect or direct experience. However, wolves showed more attention toward the generous person during the observation phase, and some dogs and wolves did prefer the generous person when looking at indirect and direct experiences combined.”
Citation: Jim H-L, Plohovich M, Marshall-Pescini S, Range F (2022) Wolves and dogs fail to form reputations of humans after indirect and direct experience in a food-giving situation. PLoS ONE 17(8): e0271590. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0271590
Author Countries: Austria
Funding: HLJ and FR were funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF): W1262-B29 (www.fwf.ac.at). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Wolves and dogs fail to form reputations of humans after indirect and direct experience in a food-giving situation
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
17-Aug-2022
South America might have been settled over 18,000 years ago, with evidence of a genetic bottleneck around 12,800 years ago, per Y chromosome genomic analysis
IMAGE: COLORED CIRCLES REPRESENT GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION AND SUB-LINEAGE MEMBERSHIP AS SHOWN IN THE INSET TREE. DIVERGENCE TIMES ESTIMATED IN THIS STUDY ARE REPRESENTED IN ITALICS, IN KYA, AND WITH A 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL BETWEEN PARENTHESES (FOR MORE DETAILS SEE METHODS). THE SIZE OF THE CIRCLES IS RELATED TO THE NUMBER OF SUBJECTS AND IS SPECIFIED WITH THE "N" IN THE BOX TO THE RIGHT. INDIVIDUALS WITH MEXICAN ANCESTRY FROM LOS ANGELES HAVE BEEN ARBITRARILY REPRESENTED IN CITY OF MEXICO.view more
South America might have been settled over 18,000 years ago, with evidence of a genetic bottleneck around 12,800 years ago, per Y chromosome genomic analysis
Article Title: Human Y chromosome sequences from Q Haplogroup reveal a South American settlement pre-18,000 years ago and a profound genomic impact during the Younger Dryas
Author Countries: Argentina
Funding: MM was supported by funding from the Consejo Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICET; http://www.conicet.gov.ar/?lan=en); the PICT2014 #0396, Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (http://www.agencia.mincyt.gob.ar/); and the Fundación Bunge y Born (https://www.fundacionbyb.org/), Argentina. GB was supported by funding from the PIP2013-2015 #325 of the Consejo Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICET; http://www.conicet.gov.ar/?lan=en); and the PICT 2013-2015 #424 of the Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (http://www.agencia.mincyt.gob.ar/), Argentina. CMB was supported by funding from the PIP CONICET 2010 N°1 of the Consejo Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICET; http://www.conicet.gov.ar/?lan=en); the PICT 2005 #16-32450; PICT 2008 #715; PICT 2013 #1611; PICT 2015 #2167; and PICT 2017 #27 of the Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (http://www.agencia.mincyt.gob.ar/), Argentina. PBPS, ACM, EJS, JJZ, MC, MS, DRG, EA and ELAG was supported by funding from the Consejo Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICET; http://www.conicet.gov.ar/?lan=en); PBPS, DRG, and EA was supported by funding from the Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (http://www.agencia.mincyt.gob.ar/), Argentina. CS and MRS was supported by funding from the Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (www.cic.gba.gob.ar), Argentina. JED was supported by funding from the Universidad Nacional de Jujuy, Argentina (www.unju.edu.ar). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Human Y chromosome sequences from Q Haplogroup reveal a South American settlement pre-18,000 years ago and a profound genomic impact during the Younger Dryas
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
17-Aug-2022
Navy dolphins wearing video cameras capture the sights and sounds as they hunt fish and even a sea snake
IMAGE: A. DOLPHIN S WITH CAMERA ATTACHED TO THE LEFT SIDE OF HER HARNESS. B. DOLPHIN S DRILLS INTO THE SEA FLOOR TO SEIZE A FISH. NOTICE THE WHITE OF THE EYE OR SCLERA (ARROW) SHOWS THE EYE ROTATED TOWARD THE FISH. C. DOLPHIN S BRINGS OUT THE FISH WITH LIPS FLARING IN THE POSTERIOR HALF OF THE GAPE AREA TO SHOW THE UPPER TOOTH ROW AND GULAR AREA EXPANDING.view more
CREDIT: RIDGWAY ET AL., 2022, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0 (HTTPS://CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG/LICENSES/BY/4.0/)
Navy dolphins wearing video cameras capture the sights and sounds as they hunt fish and even a sea snake
Article Title: Sights and sounds dolphins, Tursiops truncatus preying on native fish of San Diego Bay and offshore in the Pacific Ocean
Author Countries: U.S.A.
Funding: The authors (SR, DD) received funding from the Office of Naval Research (https://www.onr.navy.mil/). The associated grant number is 12604848. In addition, authors received funding from the National Marine Mammal Foundation (nmmf.org). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
In the face of climate change, breadfruit soon might come to a dinner plate near you.
While researchers predict that climate change will have an adverse effect on most staple crops, including rice, corn and soybeans, a new Northwestern University study finds that breadfruit — a starchy tree fruit native to the Pacific islands — will be relatively unaffected.
Because breadfruit is resilient to predicted climate change and particularly well-suited to growing in areas that experience high levels of food insecurity, the Northwestern team believes breadfruit could be part of the solution to the worsening global hunger crisis.
The study will be published on Aug. 17 in the journal PLOS Climate.
“Breadfruit is a neglected and underutilized species that happens to be relatively resilient in our climate change projections,” said Northwestern’s Daniel Horton, a senior author on the study. “This is good news because several other staples that we rely on are not so resilient. In really hot conditions, some of those staple crops struggle and yields decrease. As we implement strategies to adapt to climate change, breadfruit should be considered in food security adaptation strategies.”
Despite having “fruit” in its name, breadfruit is starchy and seedless, playing a culinary role more like a potato. Closely related to jackfruit, the nutrient-rich food is high in fiber, vitamins and minerals. In tropical parts of the world, people have been eating breadfruit for thousands of years — whether steamed, roasted, fried or fermented. Breadfruit also can be turned into flour, in order to lengthen its shelf life and be exported.
“Breadfruit trees can live for decades and provide a large amount of fruits each year,” Zerega said. “In some cultures, there is a tradition to plant a breadfruit tree when a child is born to ensure the child will have food for the rest of their life.”
But because tropical regions are becoming warmer and wetter, Yang, Horton and Zerega wanted to see if climate change would affect breadfruit’s ability to grow.
To conduct the study, the researchers first determined the climate conditions required to cultivate breadfruit. Then, they looked at how these conditions are predicted to change in the future (between the years 2060 and 2080). For future climate projections, they looked at two scenarios: an unlikely scenario that reflects high greenhouse-gas emissions and a more likely scenario in which emissions stabilize.
In both scenarios, areas suitable for breadfruit cultivation remained mostly unaffected. In the tropics and subtropics, the suitable area for growing breadfruit decreased by a modest 4.4 to 4.5%. The researchers also found suitable territory where growing breadfruit trees could expand — particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where breadfruit trees are not traditionally grown but could provide an important and stable source of food.
“Despite the fact that climate will drastically change in the tropics, climate is not projected to move outside the window where breadfruit is comfortable,” Yang said. “From a climate perspective, we can already grow breadfruit in sub-Saharan Africa. There is a huge swath of Africa, where breadfruit can grow to various degrees. It just has not been broadly introduced there yet. And, luckily enough, most varieties of breadfruit are seedless and have little-to-no likelihood of becoming invasive.”
According to Zerega, once established, a breadfruit tree can withstand heat and drought much longer than other staple crops. But the benefits don’t end there. Because it’s a perennial crop, it also requires less energy input (including water and fertilizer) than crops that need to be replanted every year, and, like other trees, it sequesters carbon dioxide from the atmosphere over the tree’s lifetime.
“A lot of places where breadfruit can grow have high levels of food insecurity,” Yang said. “Oftentimes, they combat food insecurity by importing staple crops like wheat or rice, and that comes with a high environmental cost and carbon footprint. With breadfruit, however, these communities can produce food more locally.”
As climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exacerbate global food insecurity, the Northwestern team believes production of breadfruit and other neglected and underutilized foods could be scaled up to build more resilience in the global food system, while bolstering the biodiversity of food production.
“Climate change further emphasizes the need to diversify agriculture, so the world doesn’t rely on a small number of crop species to feed a large number of people,” Zerega said. “Humans rely heavily on a handful of crops to provide most of our food, but there are thousands of potential food crops among the approximately 400,000 described plant species. This points to the need to diversify agriculture and crops globally.”
The study, “Potential of breadfruit cultivation to contribute to climate-resilient low latitude food systems,” was supported by Northwestern University’s Office of the Provost.
CAPTION
Breadfruit and bananas at a fruit stand on the island of St. Vincent.
Potential of breadfruit cultivation to contribute to climate-resilient low latitude food systems
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
17-Aug-2022
Breadfruit & The True Story of Mutiny on the Bounty with Diane Ragone
May 10, 2020 TeachEthnobotany
Does bread grow on trees? Exploring breadfruit with Diane Ragone
Dr. Ragone earned a PhD and MSc in Horticulture from the University of Hawaii. Numerous researchers and students have worked with her to systematically study NTBG’s signature living collection to describe and better understand breadfruit. She has written or co-authored more than 100 publications on breadfruit, ethnobotany, horticulture, and agroforestry.
AgriLife research to study lice-mammal coevolution
Project could help reduce lice-mammal infestations
A Texas A&M AgriLife Research project will take a deep look at the ages-long interaction between parasitic lice and mammal species, including humans.
Jessica Light, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research evolutionary biologist, will lead a research group investigating coevolution in mammals and parasitic lice. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Sam Craft)
Researchers will study the evolutionary relationship between sucking lice and a wide range of placental mammal hosts, including humans and other primates, rodents and seals. Researchers hope to answer why various louse species parasitize specific hosts and what makes these species good hosts.
Principal investigator Jessica Light, Ph.D., AgriLife Research evolutionary biologist in the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Bryan-College Station, said very little is known about Anoplura lice, or sucking lice. Researchers hope to shed light on the biological and physical characteristics in lice that have co-evolved with mammals over 90 million years.
Understanding these blood-feeding parasites and disease vectors presents obvious potential public and animal health benefits, Light said. But the team’s initial goals are to produce foundational data regarding louse biology and build the first comprehensive species-level tree for sucking lice that parasitize mammalian hosts.
Light said the broader implications of the project include reducing parasite infestations. The study’s findings could offer insights into parasite host-choice and movement from host to host that help reduce or mitigate infestations and subsequent consequences.
“We hope to build an understanding of the relationship with genetic data and scientifically preserved samples,” she said. “We are going to build a hypothesis about the relationships with genetic data and compare what we find in lice to that of their hosts and try to understand what that evolutionary history or what that association has looked like over time.”
Identifying lice, mammal traits that lend to parasitism
The project will investigate how the evolutionary history, genetics and morphology of sucking lice determine associations with their mammal hosts and how those relationships may have changed over time, Light said. The research will also identify potential genetic and physical traits important among lice that may be used to study other parasite species.
A louse under magnification. Anoplura lice include 600 sucking species that are similar in shape and size but have characteristics such as claws, mouthparts and digestive ability that aid host specialization. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Jessica Light)
The study will include genome sequencing and other high-throughput technology and techniques to follow louse ancestry and identify species divergences in the past. Fossil records will be used to determine times of divergences and allow researchers to cross-reference sucking louse divergences with their mammal hosts.
This will help scientists date sucking louse diversification events/timing, follow the evolution of characteristics of interest and assess their biogeographical histories and distributions relative to their hosts.
“Sucking lice are a model system in some respects because their life cycle constrains them to particular hosts,” she said. “They don’t have wings to fly like mosquitoes and do not jump like fleas. So, they almost solely rely on host-to-host contact to spread.”
Creating a public database, educational tools on lice
There are over 600 species of lice within the Anoplura group. Light said the species have similar shape and size but also have identifiable differences and preferred hosts.
Researchers want to know if lice associate with specific mammals based on characteristics like mouth parts that can pierce skin or hides, claws that can cling better to specific species or the ability to digest hosts’ blood, she said.
The research team will examine sucking louse morphology using community science initiatives and advanced micro-CT scanners, allowing them to categorize internal anatomy and explore how various organ systems may be responding to different hosts.
The team will create a database of morphological characteristics that is open to other researchers and for public use, she said.
The project will also include an educational element, Light said. Undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral researchers will train with cutting-edge methodologies and the data obtained will generate college-level curriculum for students and virtual reality educational tools for the public to learn about lice diversity and traits.
“In terms of morphology and genetics, we are really just scratching the surface regarding the features and functions found in lice,” she said. “Parasites are understudied organisms in general, so we hope gaining a better understanding of lice can enlighten us about the parasite-host relationships and ultimately lead to better ways to address problems they create.”
