ALBERT

Description: The recurrence of similar evolutionary patterns within different habitats often reflects parallel selective pressures acting upon either standing or independently occurring genetic variation to produce a convergence of phenotypes. This interpretation (i.e. parallel divergences within adjacent streams) has been hypothesized for drainage-specific morphological ‘ecotypes’ observed in polyploid snowtrout (Cyprinidae: Schizothorax ). However, parallel patterns of differential introgression during secondary contact are a viable alternative hypothesis. Here, we used ddRADseq ( N = 35 319 de novo and N = 10 884 transcriptome-aligned SNPs), as derived from Nepali/Bhutanese samples ( N = 48 each), to test these competing hypotheses. We first employed genome-wide allelic depths to derive appropriate ploidy models, then a Bayesian approach to yield genotypes statistically consistent under the inferred expectations. Elevational ‘ecotypes’ were consistent in geometric morphometric space, but with phylogenetic relationships at the drainage level, sustaining a hypothesis of independent emergence. However, partitioned analyses of phylogeny and admixture identified subsets of loci under selection that retained genealogical concordance with morphology, suggesting instead that apparent patterns of morphological/phylogenetic discordance are driven by widespread genomic homogenization. Here, admixture occurring in secondary contact effectively ‘masks’ previous isolation. Our results underscore two salient factors: (i) morphological adaptations are retained despite hybridization and (ii) the degree of admixture varies across tributaries, presumably concomitant with underlying environmental or anthropogenic factors.

Description: The study of faunal remains from archaeological sites is often complicated by the presence of large numbers of highly fragmented, morphologically unidentifiable bones. In Australia, this is the combined result of harsh preservation conditions and frequent scavenging by marsupial carnivores. The collagen fingerprinting method known as zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (ZooMS) offers a means to address these challenges and improve identification rates of fragmented bones. Here, we present novel ZooMS peptide markers for 24 extant marsupial and monotreme species that allow for genus-level distinctions between these species. We demonstrate the utility of these new peptide markers by using them to taxonomically identify bone fragments from a nineteenth-century colonial-era pearlshell fishery at Bandicoot Bay, Barrow Island. The suite of peptide biomarkers presented in this study, which focus on a range of ecologically and culturally important species, have the potential to significantly amplify the zooarchaeological and paleontological record of Australia.

Description: This study aims to analyse human bones exposed to low/medium temperatures (200–650°C) under experimentally controlled conditions, both oxidizing and reducing, using complementary optical and neutron vibrational spectroscopy techniques. Clear differences were observed between the aerobically and anaerobically heated bones. The organic constituents disappeared at lower temperatures for the former ( ca 300°C), while they lingered for higher temperatures in anaerobic environments ( ca 450–550°C). Unsaturated non-graphitizing carbon species (chars) were detected mainly for anaerobically heated samples, and cyanamide formation occurred only at 650°C in reducing settings. Overall, the main changes were observed from 300 to 400°C in anaerobic conditions and from 450 to 500°C in aerobic environments. The present results enabled the identification of specific spectroscopic biomarkers of the effect of moderate temperatures (less than or equal to 650°C) on human bone, thus contributing to a better characterization of forensic and archaeological skeletal remains subject to heating under distinct environmental settings. In particular, these data may provide information regarding cannibalism or ancient bone boiling and defleshing rituals.

Description: Communication is fundamental for the survival of animal species as signals are involved in many social interactions (mate selection, parental care, collective behaviours). The acoustic channel is an important modality used by birds and mammals to reliably exchange information among individuals. In group-living species, the propagation of vocal signals is limited due to the density of individuals and the background noise. Vocal exchanges are, therefore, challenging. This study is the first investigation into the acoustic communication system of the Cape fur seal (CFS), one of the most colonial mammals with breeding colonies of hundreds of thousands of individuals. We described the acoustic features and social function of five in-air call types from data collected at two colonies. Intra-species variations in these vocalizations highlight a potential ability to convey information about the age and/or sex of the emitter. Using two classification methods, we found that the five call types have distinguishable frequency features and occupy distinct acoustic niches indicating acoustic partitioning in the repertoire. The CFS vocalizations appear to contain characteristics advantageous for discrimination among individuals, which could enhance social interactions in their noisy and confusing acoustic environment. This study provides a basis for our understanding of the CFS acoustic communication system.

Description: Preregistration is a method to increase research transparency by documenting research decisions on a public, third-party repository prior to any influence by data. It is becoming increasingly popular in all subfields of psychology and beyond. Adherence to the preregistration plan may not always be feasible and even is not necessarily desirable, but without disclosure of deviations, readers who do not carefully consult the preregistration plan might get the incorrect impression that the study was exactly conducted and reported as planned. In this paper, we have investigated adherence and disclosure of deviations for all articles published with the Preregistered badge in Psychological Science between February 2015 and November 2017 and shared our findings with the corresponding authors for feedback. Two out of 27 preregistered studies contained no deviations from the preregistration plan. In one study, all deviations were disclosed. Nine studies disclosed none of the deviations. We mainly observed (un)disclosed deviations from the plan regarding the reported sample size, exclusion criteria and statistical analysis. This closer look at preregistrations of the first generation reveals possible hurdles for reporting preregistered studies and provides input for future reporting guidelines. We discuss the results and possible explanations, and provide recommendations for preregistered research.

Description: Poorly managed waste tyres pose serious environmental and health risks, ranging from air pollution caused by fire, leaching of heavy metals and outbreaks of mosquitos, to destruction of vegetation and coral reefs. We report a previously unrecognized ecological risk to marine organisms from waste tyres. Over 1 year, we made monthly counts of hermit crabs ( n = 1278) invading and/or being trapped within six tyres anchored to the seabed at 8 m depth in Mutsu Bay, Japan. A complementary aquarium experiment in which hermit crabs were released into a tyre confirmed that they could not escape. We report marine-dumped waste tyres to ghost fish in a manner analogous to discarded fishing gear. Because hermit crabs play important roles in coastal food webs as both prey and scavengers, declines in their numbers as a consequence of this ghost fishing might affect coastal ecosystems.

Description: Consolation has been observed in several species, including marmoset monkeys, but it is often unclear to what extent they are empathy-based. Marmosets perform well in at least two of three components of empathy-based consolation, namely understanding others and prosociality, but it is unknown to what extent they show matching with others. We, therefore, tested whether non-aroused individuals would become aroused themselves when encountering an aroused group member (indicated by piloerection of the tail). We found a robust contagion effect: group members were more likely to show piloerection themselves after having encountered an aroused versus relaxed conspecific. Moreover, group members offered consolation behaviours (affiliative approaches) towards the aroused fellow group members rather than the latter requesting it. Importantly, this pattern was shown by both aroused and non-aroused individuals, which suggests that they did not do this to reduce their own arousal but rather to console the individual in distress. We conclude that marmosets have all three components of empathy-based consolation. These results are in line with observations in another cooperative breeder, the prairie vole.

Description: A quality assessment method based on quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker (QAMS) and fingerprint was constructed from 15 batches of dandelion ( Taraxacum mongolicum ), using multivariate chemometric methods (MCM). MCM were established by hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and factor analysis (FA). HCA was especially performed using the R language and SPSS 22.0 software. The relative correction factors of chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, luteolin and apigenin were calculated with cichoric acid as a reference, and their contents were determined. The differences between external standard method (ESM) and QAMS were compared. There was no significant difference ( t -test, p 〉 0.05) in quantitative determination, proving the consistency of the two methods (QAMS and ESM). Dandelion material from Yuncheng, Shandong was used as a reference chromatogram. The fingerprints in 15 batches of dandelion were established by HPLC analysis. The similarity of the fingerprints in different batches of dandelion material was greater than or equal to 0.82. A total of 10 common peaks were identified. This strategy is simple, rapid and efficient in multiple component detection of dandelion. It is beneficial in simplifying dandelion's quality control processes and providing references to enhance quality control for other herbal medicines.

Description: A summary of our analyses in Greater Manchester (GM), and the northwest (NW) region, might be: the NW is like England as a whole only more so. The life expectancy drop in England in 2020 was 1.2 years in men and 0.9 years in women—shocking, but not as high as in the NW. COVID-19 mortality rates were high in England; 25% higher in the NW. Inequalities in mortality are high in England; bigger in the NW. The title, Build Back Fairer , is a deliberate echo of the Build Back Better mantra, showing that the levels of social, environmental and economic inequality in society are damaging health and well-being. As the UK emerges from the pandemic, it would be a tragic mistake to re-establish the status quo that existed pre-pandemic—a status quo marked in England, over the decade from 2010, by a stagnation of health improvement that was more marked than in any rich country other than Iceland and the USA; by widening health inequalities; and by a fall in life expectancy in the most deprived 10% of areas outside London. That stagnation, those social and regional inequalities, and deterioration in health for the most deprived people are markers of a society that is not meeting the needs of its members.

Description: We examined the extent to which the scientific workforce in different fields was engaged in publishing COVID-19-related papers. According to Scopus (data cut, 1 August 2021), 210 183 COVID-19-related publications included 720 801 unique authors, of which 360 005 authors had published at least five full papers in their career and 23 520 authors were at the top 2% of their scientific subfield based on a career-long composite citation indicator. The growth of COVID-19 authors was far more rapid and massive compared with cohorts of authors historically publishing on H1N1, Zika, Ebola, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. All 174 scientific subfields had some specialists who had published on COVID-19. In 109 of the 174 subfields of science, at least one in 10 active, influential (top 2% composite citation indicator) authors in the subfield had authored something on COVID-19. Fifty-three hyper-prolific authors had already at least 60 (and up to 227) COVID-19 publications each. Among the 300 authors with the highest composite citation indicator for their COVID-19 publications, most common countries were USA ( n = 67), China ( n = 52), UK ( n = 32) and Italy ( n = 18). The rapid and massive involvement of the scientific workforce in COVID-19-related work is unprecedented and creates opportunities and challenges. There is evidence for hyper-prolific productivity.