bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cumulative Human Impacts on Coral Reefs: Assessing Risk and Management Implications for Brazilian Coral Reefs
Authors: MAGRIS RAFAEL Almeida , Grech Alana , Pressey Robert L.
Published: July 2018

Effective management of coral reefs requires strategies tailored to cope with cumulative disturbances from human activities. In Brazil, where coral reefs are a priority for conservation, intensifying threats from local and global stressors are of paramount concern to management agencies. Using a cumulative impact assessment approach, our goal was to inform management actions for coral reefs in Brazil by assessing their exposure to multiple stressors (fishing, land-based activities, coastal development, mining, aquaculture, shipping, and global warming). We calculated an index of the risk to cumulative impacts: (i) assuming uniform sensitivity of coral reefs to stressors; and (ii) using impact weights to reflect varying tolerance levels of coral reefs to each stressor. We also predicted the index in both the presence and absence of global warming. We found that 16% and 37% of coral reefs had high to very high risk of cumulative impacts, without and with information on sensitivity respectively, and 42% of reefs had low risk to cumulative impacts from both local and global stressors. Our outputs are the first comprehensive spatial dataset of cumulative impact on coral reefs in Brazil, and show that areas requiring attention mostly corresponded to those closer to population centres. We demonstrate how the relationships between risks from local and global stressors can be used to derive strategic management actions.
Gone fishing? Intergenerational cultural shifts can undermine common property co-managed fisheries
Authors: Tam Jordan , Chan Kai M.A. , Satterfield Terre , Singh G.G. , Gelcich Stefan
Published: July 2018

Conventional common property thinking assumes that a central goal of management is to maintain social-ecological systems in a healthy and resilient state, including maintaining the ability of communities to harvest across time and generations. Little research has been done, however, on how common property systems are affected by demographic shifts, the social status of emerging livelihoods, and the employment aspirations of users for their offspring. An empirical case study from Chile (well known for its common property fisheries) suggests that major socio-cultural shifts are now occurring, with a lack of entry by new fishers and an aging population of existing ones. These types of social and cultural changes are increasingly common through globalization and worldwide economic development, and pose significant policy challenges across broad classes of common property systems. The Chilean case reveals that community adaptive capacity can come at the expense of social-ecological common property systems, and highlights the need to consider the broader context of ‘slow’ social variables.
Facilitation by macroalgae [full paper published in Algae 32 (1): 41-46, 2017]
Authors: Scrosati Ricardo Augusto
Published: July 2018

In rocky intertidal habitats, abiotic stress due to desiccation and thermal extremes increases with elevation because of tides. A study in Atlantic Canada showed that, at low elevations where conditions are benign due to the brief low tides, fucoid algal canopies (Ascophyllum nodosum and Fucus spp.) do not affect the structure of benthic communities. However, at middle and high elevations, where low tides last longer, fucoid canopies limit abiotic extremes and increase the richness (number of invertebrate and algal species, except fucoids) of benthic communities. Using the data from that study, this paper compares the intensity of facilitation and its importance (relative to all other sources of variation in richness) between middle and high elevations, which represent intermediate and high stress, respectively. Facilitation intensity was calculated as the percent increase in benthic richness between quadrats with low and high canopy cover, while the importance of facilitation was calculated as the percentage of variation in richness explained by canopy cover. Data for 689 quadrats spanning 350 km of coastline were used. Both the intensity and importance of facilitation were greater at middle elevations than at high elevations. As canopies do not affect benthic communities at low elevations, this study suggests that the facilitation-stress relationship at the community level is unimodal for this marine system. Such a pattern was found for some terrestrial systems dominated by canopy-forming plants. Thus, it might be ubiquitous in nature and, as further studies refine it, it might help to predict community-level facilitation depending on environmental stress.
Nutritional Analysis of Octopus hubbsorum B (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) from the Pacific Ocean, Acapulco, Guerrero, México
Authors: Palacios-Abrantes Juliano , Ruiz Virginia melo , Urbano Brian , Vargas-Martínez Nidia , Falcón-Gerónimo Julia Jimena , Gazga-Urioste Cesar
Published: July 2018

Aim: To establish the micro and macronutrient values of O. hubbsorum B and to evaluate its potential contribution to Mexican diet, since this organism is available all year in the Mexican Pacific Coast. Study Design: Transversal study.Place and Duration of Study: Samples of Octopus hubbsorum were bought from fishermen in Acapulco, in the Mexican Pacific Coast during Autumn 2016. Methodology: Five O. hubbsorum were bought from local fishermen during the second week of Novermber, 2016. Moisture content was determined using the direct drying method. Protein content was determined according to the principle of the Kjeldahl method. Lipid content determination was carried out by the semicontinuous solvent extraction method. Determination of raw fiber was performed by an acid- alkaline digestion. Calcium and iron content was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy, whilst phosphorous content analysis was performed by colorimetry. Results: High amount of water and protein were found in O. hubbsorum B, being 64.15 % and 69.38%, respectively. On the other hand, lipids were low and no fiber was found. Finally, the content of Ca, Fe and P in mg/100g was 24.33, 1.4 and 120.67 respectively.Conclusion: Octopus hubbsorum is a rather good source of proteins. This could help diminishing proteic-caloric malnutrition of people living in coastal areas. However, octopus should be eaten with other nutritional sources to get a balanced diet.
MSP for the anthropocene
Authors: Open Communications for The Ocean OCTO
Published: July 2018

Marine protected areas (MPAs) designate a static spatial zone for protection from some, or all, human activities. With climate change, species are likely to shift in response to warming oceans, quite possibly outside the boundaries of the MPAs that were meant to offer protection. In addition, the designation of an area as a partially-protected MPA may spur unintended human impacts. So how do you plan for climate change and human uses when species migrate? Ecological niche models may offer a solution.
Developing a Framework for Compensatory Mitigation Associated with Ocean Use Impacts on Commercial Fisheries
Authors: SeaPlan
Published: July 2018

This report reviews approaches for compensatory mitigation of economic impacts on commercial fisheries, and proposes alternatives.
Developing Performance Indicators to Evaluate the Management Effectiveness of the Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan
Authors: SeaPlan
Published: July 2018

This report documents the approach used by the state, MA Ocean Partnership and expert advisors to identify a set of environmental, socio-economic, and governance performance indicators recommended for incorporation in the 2009 MA Ocean Plan.
Fishers’ participation in small-scale fisheries. A structural analysis of the Cabo de Palos-Islas Hormigas MPA, Spain
Authors: Semitiel-García María , Noguera-Méndez Pedro
Published: July 2018

The role of traditional fishing institutions appears, paradoxically, to be waning despite scientific support and rhetoric about the value of fishers’ involvement in local marine management. Relational data of fishers have been used in this paper as a lens through which to explore the status of their participation in Marine Protected Area (MPA) management and to identify structural and contextual barriers to participation. Fieldwork was carried out during 2013–2015 in Cabo de Palos-Islas Hormigas MPA (CPH-MPA) using a mixed method approach involving the collection and analysis of data from institutional surveys and community meetings. The analysis shows that the fishers’ self-perception of having low influence in decision-making is consistent with the perception towards fishers of the wider social system. Several barriers and constraints to participation in CPH-MPA management are identified. The inefficient structure of the information exchange network further explained fishers’ feelings of distrust and marginalisation regarding decision-making. Understanding how structural barriers make it difficult to set in motion a collective learning process – necessary for an efficient decision-making process – breaks new ground for the design of interventions. Recommendations include clarifying the scope for participation in an appropriate institutional setting and careful consideration of the space in which dialogue takes place in order to integrate diverse knowledge and to acknowledge differential power relations.
Mercury biomagnification through food webs along a salinity gradient down-estuary from a biological hotspot
Authors: Rumbold Darren , Lange Ted R. , Richards Doug , DelPizzo Gina , Hass Nicole
Published: July 2018

To examine down-estuary effects and how differences in food webs along a salinity gradient might influence mercury (Hg) biomagnification, we conducted a study from 2010 to 2015 in an estuary with a known biological hotspot at its headwaters. Over 907 samples of biota, representing 92 different taxa of fish and invertebrates, seston and sediments were collected from the upper, middle and lower reach for Hg determination and for stable nitrogen and carbon isotope analyses. Trophic magnification slopes (TMS; log Hg versus δ15N), as a measure of biomagnification efficiency, ranged from 0.23 to 0.241 but did not differ statistically among reaches. Hg concentrations were consistently highest, ranging as high as 4.9 mg/kg in top predatory fish, in the upper-reach of the estuary where basal Hg entering the food web was also highest, as evidenced by methylmercury concentrations in suspension feeders. Top predatory fish at the mouth of the estuary contained relatively low [THg], likely due to lower basal Hg. This was nonetheless surprising given the potential for down-estuary biotransport.
Inventory of Marine Ecosystem Services Valuation Tools
Authors: SeaPlan
Published: July 2018

This resource compiles several examples of tools and software used for valuing marine ecosystems services.
Rangjung dorje's variegations of mind: ordinary awareness and pristine awareness in tibetan buddhist literature
Authors: Sheehy Michael
Published: July 2018

Examination of Tibetan Buddhist contemplative and psychological understandings of the operations of ordinary awareness (rnam shes) in comparison with pristine awareness (ye shes), based on a seminal text by the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje (1284-1339).
Making Sense of Sense-Making: Reflections on Enactive and Extended Mind Theories
Authors: Thompson Evan , Stapleton Mog
Published: July 2018

This paper explores some of the differences between the enactive approach in cognitive science and the extended mind thesis. We review the key enactive concepts of autonomy and sense-making. We then focus on the following issues: (1) the debate between internalism and externalism about cognitive processes; (2) the relation between cognition and emotion; (3) the status of the body; and (4) the difference between ‘incorporation’ and mere ‘extension’ in the body-mind-environment relation.
Caring Cooperators and Powerful Punishers: Differential Effects of Induced Care and Power Motivation on Different Types of Economic Decision Making
Authors: Chierchia Gabriele , Lesemann F. H. Parianen , Snower Dennis , Vogel Mandy , Singer Tania
Published: July 2018

Standard economic theory postulates that decisions are driven by stable context-insensitivepreferences, while motivation psychology suggests they are driven by distinct context-sensitivemotives with distinct evolutionary goals and characteristic psycho-physiological and behavioralpatterns. To link these fields and test how distinct motives could differentially predict different typesof economic decisions, we experimentally induced participants with either a Care or a Power motive,before having them take part in a suite of classic game theoretical paradigms involving monetaryexchange. We show that the Care induction alone raised scores on a latent factor of cooperation-relatedbehaviors, relative to a control condition, while, relative to Care, Power raised scores on a punishment-related factor. These findings argue against context-insensitive stable preferences and theories ofstrong reciprocity and in favor of a motive-based approach to economic decision making: Care andPower motivation have a dissociable fingerprint in shaping either cooperative or punishment behaviors.
Specifying the Self for Cognitive Neuroscience
Authors: Christoff Kalina , Cosmelli Diego , Legrand Dorothée , Thompson Evan
Published: July 2018

Cognitive neuroscience investigations of self-experiencehave mainly focused on the mental attribution of features to the self (self-related processing). In this paper, we highlight another fundamental ,yet neglected, aspect of self-experience, that of being an agent.We propose that this aspect of self-experience depends on self-specifying processes, ones that implicitly specify the self by implementing a functional self/non-self distinction inperception, action, cognition and emotion. We describe two paradigmatic cases – sensorimotor integration andhomeostatic regulation – and use the principles from these cases to show how cognitive control, including emotion regulation, is also self-specifying. We argue that externally directed, attention-demanding tasks, rather than suppressing self-experience, give rise to the self-experience of being a cognitive–affective agent. We conclude with directions for experimental work based onour framework.
Effects of meditation experience on functional connectivity of distributed brain networks
Authors: Hasenkamp Wendy , Barsalou Lawrence
Published: July 2018

This study sought to examine the effect of meditation experience on brain networks underlying cognitive actions employed during contemplative practice. In a previous study, we proposed a basic model of naturalistic cognitive fluctuations that occur during the practice of focused attention meditation. This model specifies four intervals in a cognitive cycle: mind wandering (MW), awareness of MW, shifting of attention, and sustained attention. Using subjective input from experienced practitioners during meditation, we identified activity in salience network regions during awareness of MW and executive network regions during shifting and sustained attention. Brain regions associated with the default mode were active during MW. In the present study, we reasoned that repeated activation of attentional brain networks over years of practice may induce lasting functional connectivity changes within relevant circuits. To investigate this possibility, we created seeds representing the networks that were active during the four phases of the earlier study, and examined functional connectivity during the resting state in the same participants. Connectivity maps were then contrasted between participants with high vs. low meditation experience. Participants with more meditation experience exhibited increased connectivity within attentional networks, as well as between attentional regions and medial frontal regions. These neural relationships may be involved in the development of cognitive skills, such as maintaining attention and disengaging from distraction, that are often reported with meditation practice. Furthermore, because altered connectivity of brain regions in experienced meditators was observed in a non-meditative (resting) state, this may represent a transference of cognitive abilities “off the cushion” into daily life.
Specific reduction in cortisol stress reactivity after social but not attention-based mental training
Authors: Engert Veronika , Kok Bethany , Papassotiriou Ioannis , Chrousos George P. , Singer Tania
Published: July 2018

Psychosocial stress is a public health burden in modern societies. Chronic stress–induced disease processes are,in large part, mediated via the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary system. We asked whether the contemplative mental training of different practice types targetingattentional, socio-affective (for example, compassion), or socio-cognitive abilities (for example, perspective-taking)in the context of a 9-month longitudinal training study offers an effective means for psychosocial stress reduction.Using a multimethod approach including subjective, endocrine, autonomic, and immune markers and testing 313participants in a standardized psychosocial laboratory stressor, we show that all three practice types markedly reducedself-reported stress reactivity in healthy participants. However, only the training of intersubjective skills via socio-affective and socio-cognitive routes attenuated the physiological stress response, specifically the secretion of theHPA axis end-product cortisol, by up to 51%. The assessed autonomic and innate immune markers were not influencedby any practice type. Mental training focused on present-moment attention and interoceptive awareness as im-plemented in many mindfulness-based intervention programs was thus limited to stress reduction on the level ofself-report. However, its effectiveness was equal to that of intersubjective practice types in boosting the associationbetween subjective and endocrine stress markers. Our results reveal a broadly accessible low-cost approach toacquiring psychosocial stress resilience. Short daily intersubjective practice may be a promising method for mini-mizing the incidence of chronic social stress–related disease, thereby reducing individual suffering and relieving asubstantial financial burden on society.
From the Five Aggregates to Phenomenal Consciousness: Toward a Cross-Cultural Cognitive Science
Authors: Davis Jake , Thompson Evan
Published: July 2018

This chapter examines relates current philosophical conceptions of consciousness to the Buddhist scheme known as the five aggregates.
A Simple Model of Attentional Blink
Authors: Amir Nadav , Tishby Naftali , Nelken Israel
Published: July 2018

The attentional blink (AB) effect is the reduced ability of subjects to report a second target stimuli (T2) amonga rapidly presented series of non-target stimuli, when it appears within a time window of about 200-500 msafter a first target (T1). We present a simple dynamical systems model explaining the AB as resulting fromthe temporal response dynamics of a stochastic, linear system with threshold, whose output represents theamount of attentional resources allocated to the incoming sensory stimuli. The model postulates that theavailable attention capacity is limited by activity of the default mode network (DMN), a correlated set ofbrain regions related to task irrelevant processing which is known to exhibit reduced activation followingmental training such as mindfulness meditation. The model provides a parsimonious account relating keyfindings from the AB, DMN and meditation research literature, and suggests some new testable predictions.
Attention please: Positioning attention at the center of curriculum and pedagogy
Authors: Ergas Oren
Published: July 2018

This paper explores two contradictory approaches to the concept of attention as it underlies curriculum theory based on conceptual analysis and empirical studies. The first approach depicts a common curricular-pedagogical conception based on the following premises: 1) Attention is a means for the acquisition of disciplinary knowledge. 2) Sustained voluntary attention is an unrealistic goal given the tendency of the mind to wander, hence the teacher is responsible for sustaining students’ attention. The second approach, stemming from theory and contemporary applications of ‘attentional training’ challenges both premises suggesting that: 1) Attention determines the quality of our life thus its cultivation is an end in itself. 2) The cultivation of sustained voluntary attention through self-practice is feasible and holds significant transformative educational potential. Based on the analysis proposed the paper suggests and exemplifies a balancing approach in which subject matter and attentional training can be integrated with each made subservient to the other at different times toward broadening the scope of education.
Mountains and Valleys: Binocular Rivalry and the Flow of Experience
Authors: Cosmelli Diego , Thompson Evan
Published: July 2018

Binocular rivalry provides a useful situation for studying the relation between the temporal flow of conscious experience and the temporal dynamics of neural activity. After proposing a phenomenological framework for understanding temporal aspects of consciousness, we review experimental research on multistable perception and binocular rivalry, singling out various methodological, theoretical, and empirical aspects of this research relevant to studying the flow of experience. We then review an experimental study from our group explicitly concerned with relating the temporal dynamics of rivalrous experience to the temporal dynamics of cortical activity. Drawing attention to the importance of dealing with ongoing activity and its inherent changing nature at both phenomenological and neurodynamical levels, we argue that the notions of recurrence and variability are pertinent to understanding rivalry in particular and the flow of experience in general.
Schooled in our own minds: Mind wandering and mindfulness in the makings of the curriculum
Authors: Ergas Oren
Published: July 2018

Curriculum discourse focuses understandably, on the formal and enacted curriculum; however, studies demonstrate that much of individuals’ waking hours are spent in task-unrelated thinking and mind-wandering. No less, this pervasive phenomenon has been shown to affect us in many ways that can be linked to education. This paper examines this null-hidden inner curriculum that is enacted within students’ minds when they are not attentive to the formal/enacted curriculum. Drawing on a review of research in cognitive science, the paper develops a theory of ‘the mind as a curriculum deliberator’ and explains how the mind can be seen as ‘schooling itself’. Different states of mind such as mind-wandering, rumination and mindfulness are discussed in terms of their educational effects and a systematic framework that renders them in curricular terms is suggested. Based on this analysis, the paper aims to mobilize this inner curriculum from opaqueness and absence to a more explicit presence in curricular discourse, in an attempt to broaden our understanding of how the mind can both enhance and hinder education.
Developing Attention and Decreasing Affective Bias: Toward a Cross-Cultural Cognitive Science of Mindfulness
Authors: Davis Jake , Thompson Evan
Published: July 2018

A chapter examining classical Buddhist conceptions of mindfulness in relation to modern clinical conceptions of mindfulness. The focus is on affective biases of attention and memory and possibly decreasing such biases through mindfulness practices.
Embodiment or Envatment: Reflections on the Bodily Basis of Consciousness
Authors: Cosmelli Diego , Thompson Evan
Published: July 2018

This chapter argues that the body beyond the brain is required for consciousness.
Sensorimotor Subjectivity and the Enactive Approach to Experience
Authors: Thompson Evan
Published: July 2018

The enactive approach offers a distinctive view of how mental life relates to bodily activity at three levels: bodily self-regulation, sensorimotor coupling, and intersubjective interaction. This paper concentrates on the second level ofsensorimotor coupling. An account is given of how the subjectively lived body and the living body of the organism are related (the body-body problem) via dynamic sensorimotor activity, and it is shown how this account helps to bridge the explanatory gap between consciousness and the brain. Arguments by O’Regan, Noë, and Myin that seek to account for the phenomenal character of perceptual consciousness in terms of ‘bodiliness’ and ‘grabbiness’ are considered. It is suggested that their account does not pay sufficient attention to two other key aspects of perceptual phenomenality: the autonomous nature of the experiencing self or agent, and the pre-reflective nature of bodily self-consciousness.
Neural responsivity during soft drink intake, anticipation, and advertisement exposure in habitually consuming youth
Authors: Burger Kyle Stanley
Published: July 2018

OBJECTIVE: Although soft drinks are heavily advertised, widely consumed, and have been associated with obesity, little is understood regarding neural responsivity to soft drink intake, anticipated intake, and advertisements. METHODS: Functional MRI was used to assess examine neural response to carbonated soft drink intake, anticipated intake and advertisement exposure as well as milkshake intake in 27 adolescents that varied on soft drink consumer status.RESULTS: Intake and anticipated intake of carbonated Coke® activated regions implicated in gustatory, oral somatosensory, and reward processing, yet high-fat/sugar milkshake intake elicited greater activation in these regions versus Coke intake. Advertisements highlighting the Coke product vs. non-food control advertisements, but not the Coke logo, activated gustatory and visual brain regions. Habitual Coke consumers vs. non-consumers showed greater posterior cingulate responsivity to Coke logo ads, suggesting that the logo is a conditioned cue. Coke consumers exhibited less ventrolateral prefrontal cortex responsivity during anticipated Coke intake relative to non-consumers. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that soft drinks activate reward and gustatory regions, but are less potent in activating these regions than high-fat/sugar beverages, and imply that habitual soft drink intake promotes hyper-responsivity of regions encoding salience/attention toward brand specific cues and hypo-responsivity of inhibitory regions while anticipating intake.
Variability in Reward Responsivity and Obesity: Evidence from Brain Imaging Studies
Authors: Burger Kyle Stanley
Published: July 2018

Advances in neuroimaging techniques have provided insight into the role of the brain in the regulation of food intake and weight. Growing evidence demonstrate that energy dense, palatable foods elicit similar responses in reward-related brain regions that mimic those of addictive substances. Currently, various models of obesity’s relation to reward from food have been theorized. There is evidence to support a theory of hypo-responsivity of reward regions to food, where individuals consume excess amounts to overcome this reward deficit. There is also data to support a theory of hyper-responsivity of reward regions, where individuals who experience greater reward from food intake are at risk for overeating. However, these seemingly discordant theories are static in nature and do not account for the possible effects of repeated overeating on brain responsivity to food and initial vulnerability factors. Here we review data that support these theories and propose a dynamic vulnerability model of obesity that appears to offer a parsimonious theory that accommodates extant findings.
The Indication of Mid Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO) from Cibulakan Formation, Bogor Basin, Indonesia
Authors: Kapid Rubiyanto , Santoso Wahyi Dwijo , Ikhsan Ben , Jambak M. Ali , Irawan Dasapta Erwin
Published: July 2018

Nannoplankton have been proven as tools to identify rapid climate shifts in sedimentary records. Here, we took 58 samples from Early Miocene to Late Miocene sediments of Cibulakan Formation (Bogor Basin, Indonesia), to evaluate climatic benchmarks for Middle Miocene Climate Optimum in the tropical region. The total Helicosphaera carteri and Umbilicosphaera jafari were counted to identify the salinity signal. We identify seven-biostratigraphy zones of Cibulakan Fm, indicating the change of seawater temperature and salinity. We suggest warmer temperature in Middle Miocene as the effect of MMCO. The temperature increased until Late Miocene triggered by global increasing temperature at Pacific Ocean and widely distributed flow of terrestrial water at North West Java Basin.
Early Bursts of Disparity and the Reorganization of Character Integration
Authors: Wagner Peter
Published: July 2018

Evolutionary biologists commonly explain “early bursts” of morphological disparity (i.e., diversity of anatomical types) in terms of subsequent integration among characters reducing probabilities of characters change. However, modules of linked characters themselves evolve, changing which characters are linked to one another and potentially allowing for rapid increases in disparity. Early bursts fit the expectations of integration/modularity reorganization in two ways: early disparity exceeds the expectations of simple independent change models, and early bursts correlate with stratigraphic incompatibility suggesting that multicharacter changes are followed by independent changes. This suggests that integrated changes sustained by the beneficial effects of some characters lead to selection for reduced integration among those characters, allowing both for reversals to primitive states for some characters and still different novel states for others. Subsequent reorganization of integration and modularity later constrains disparity. Thus, although modularity and integration might limit disparity most of the time, they periodically elevate disparity greatly.
Crocodyliform Feeding Traces on Juvenile Ornithischian Dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Kaiparowits Formation, Utah
Authors: Boyd Clint A , Drumheller Stephanie K , Gates Terry A.
Published: July 2018

Crocodyliforms serve as important taphonomic agents, accumulating and modifying vertebrate remains. Previousdiscussions of Mesozoic crocodyliform feeding in terrestrial and riverine ecosystems have often focused on larger taxa and their interactions with equally large dinosaurian prey. However, recent evidence suggests that the impact of smaller crocodyliforms on their environments should not be discounted. Here we present direct evidence of feeding by a small crocodyliform on juvenile specimens of a ‘hypsilophodontid’ dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) Kaiparowits Formation of southern Utah. Diagnostic crocodyliform bite marks present on a left scapula and a right femur, as well as a partial probable crocodyliform tooth crown (ovoid in cross-section) preserved within a puncture on the right femur, comprise the bulk of the feeding evidence. Computed tomography scans of the femoral puncture reveal impact damage to the surrounding bone and that the distal tip of the embedded tooth was missing prior to the biting event. This is only the second reported incidence of a fossil crocodyliform tooth being found embedded directly into prey bone. These bite marks provide insight into the trophic interactions of the ecosystem preserved in the Kaiparowits Formation. The high diversity of crocodyliforms within this formation may have led to accentuated niche partitioning, which seems to have included juvenile dinosaurian prey.
Braincase redescription of Efraasia minor Huene, 1908 (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) from the Late Triassic of Germany, with comments on the evolution of the sauropodomorph braincase
Authors: Bronzati Mario , Rauhut Oliver W M
Published: July 2018

The braincase anatomy of the sauropodomorph dinosaur Efraasia minor (Late Triassic, Norian, Löwenstein Formation of Germany) is redescribed in detail, adding new information based on CT-Scan data. We discuss the evolution of sauropodomorph braincases from a phylogenetic perspective, focusing on non-neosauropodan representatives. For this, we revised braincase characters used in data matrices focused on these assemblage of taxa. This led to the recognition of problems with some of the phylogenetic characters, which did not accurately reflect the morphological variation observed among taxa within the group. We also discuss the presence of a divided metotic foramen in members of the group. This has implications for the recognition of soft tissues associated with braincase foramina in non-sauropodan sauropodomorphs, and we propose that the the path for the jugular vein was either through the posterior foramen resulting from this division or through the foramen magnum. Finally, our study demonstrates a series of differences regarding braincase anatomy between “prosauropods” and sauropod taxa. However, it remains unclear if these differences might be due to a drastic morphological change at the basis of the Sauropoda or if they simply reflect the lack of braincase materials of non-neosauropodan sauropods, which might exhibit transitional morphologies.
Abnormal xiphosurids, with possible application to Cambrian trilobites
Authors: Bicknell Russell DC , Pates Stephen , Botton Mark L.
Published: July 2018

Xiphosurida comprise an archetypal arthropod group of considerable interest to both biological and palaeontological researchers. This appeal is generated by a combination of unique anatomical features, utility as modern analogues for extinct arthropod groups, and an impressive fossil record. Although xiphosurids have been extensively studied, there are few published examples of abnormal specimens. Abnormalities in xiphosurids have mostly been attributed to injuries (either self-inflicted, from mating, or predation) or teratologies (developmental and genetic malfunctions). Here we summarise all previously recorded extant xiphosurid abnormalities and describe new examples of injuries and teratologies to Limulus polyphemus and Tachypleus tridentatus. Furthermore, we present the first evidence of injured fossil xiphosurids: Euproops danae and Mesolimulus walchi. We identify two main groups of telson teratologies and document new ‘U’ shaped cephalothoracic injuries to the anterior cephalothoracic margins of L. polyphemus and T. tridentatus. We show ‘V’ and ‘W’ shaped injuries to E. danae and M. walchi cephalothoracic sections. A further specimen of E. danae is described, which likely represents plastic deformation of a recently moulted exoskeleton, rather than an abnormality sensu stricto. We compare injuries on extant xiphosurids to extinct Cambrian trilobite injuries to suggest that rare cephalic injuries to trilobites were incurred during soft-shelled exoskeletal stages. Reviewing xiphosurid injuries through time is a pivotal step towards understanding how Recent and extinct arthropods responded to injuries.
A novel method of estimating pterosaur skeletal mass using computed tomography scans
Authors: Martin-Silverstone Elizabeth , Palmer Colin
Published: July 2018

Body mass estimates provide valuable information about the ecology and biomechanics of extinct animals. They have particular importance for flying animals, as mass directly influences flight capabilities, and so behaviour. For pterosaurs, which include the largest animals ever to have flown, previous methods of mass estimation have produced a wide range of values, especially for larger species. These highly variable mass estimates prevent a reliable reconstruction of flight capabilities and leave a number of other important issues unresolved. We describe a new mass estimation method, in which computed tomography (CT) data is used to calculate the volume of cortical material, from which skeletal mass may be estimated, and apply it to the wing bones of ornithocheirid pterosaurs. The method produces substantially higher skeletal mass estimates for the first wing phalanges than other comparable methods, suggesting that existing methods of pterosaur mass estimation may be unreliable.
The systematic position of the enigmatic thyreophoran dinosaur Paranthodon africanus, and the use of basal exemplifiers in phylogenetic analysis
Authors: Raven Tom , Maidment Susannah C. R.
Published: July 2018

The first African dinosaur to be discovered, Paranthodon africanus was found in 1845 in the Lower Cretaceous of South Africa. Taxonomically assigned to numerous groups since discovery, in 1981 it was described as a stegosaur, a group of armoured ornithischian dinosaurs characterised by bizarre plates and spines extending from the neck to the tail. This assignment has been subsequently accepted. The type material consists of a premaxilla, maxilla, a nasal, and a vertebra, and contains no synapomorphies of Stegosauria. Several features of the maxilla and dentition are reminiscent of Ankylosauria, the sister-taxon to Stegosauria, and the premaxilla appears superficially similar to that of some ornithopods. The vertebral material has never been described, and since the last description of the specimen, there have been numerous discoveries of thyreophoran material potentially pertinent to establishing the taxonomic assignment of the specimen. An investigation of the taxonomic and systematic position of Paranthodon is therefore warranted. This study provides a detailed re-description, including the first description of the vertebra. Numerous phylogenetic analyses demonstrate that the systematic position of Paranthodon is highly labile and subject to change depending on which exemplifier for the clade Stegosauria is used. The results indicate that the use of a basal exemplifier may not result in the correct phylogenetic position of a taxon being recovered if the taxon displays character states more derived than those of the basal exemplifier, and we recommend the use, minimally, of one basal and one derived exemplifier per clade. Paranthodon is most robustly recovered as a stegosaur in our analyses, meaning it is one of the youngest and southernmost stegosaurs.
Wear, tear and systematic repair: Testing models of growth dynamics in conodonts with high-resolution imaging
Authors: Shirley Bryan , Grohganz Madleen , Bestmann Michel , Jarochowska Emilia
Published: July 2018

Conodont elements are the earliest mineralised vertebrate dental tools and the only ones capable of extensive repair. Two models of conodont growth, as well as the presence of a larval stage, have been hypothesised. We analysed normally and pathologically developed elements to test these hypotheses and identified three ontogenetic stages characterised by different anisometric growth and morphology. The distinction of these stages is independently corroborated by differences in tissue strontium content. The onset of the last stage is marked by the appearance of wear resulting from mechanical food digestion. At least five episodes of damage and repair could be identified in the normally developed specimen. In the pathological element, function was compromised by development of abnormal denticles. This development can be reconstructed as addition of new growth centres out of the main growth axis during an episode of renewed growth. Our findings support the model of periodic retraction of elements and addition of new growth centres. Changes in strontium content coincident with distinct morphology and lack of wear in the early life stage indicate that conodonts might have assumed their mature feeding habit of predators or scavengers after an initial larval stage characterised by a different feeding mode.
The oldest known fur seal
Authors: Boessenecker Robert , Churchill Morgan
Published: July 2018

The poorly known fossil record of fur seals and sea lions (Otariidae) does not reflect their current diversity and widespread abundance. This limited fossil record contrasts with the more complete fossil records of other pinnipeds such as walruses (Odobenidae). The oldest known otariids appear 5-6 Ma after the earliest odobenids, and the remarkably derived craniodental morphology of otariids offers few clues to their early evolutionary history and phylogenetic affinities among pinnipeds. We report a new otariid, Eotaria crypta, from the early middle Miocene “Topanga” Formation (15-17.5 Ma) of southern California, represented by a partial mandible with well-preserved dentition. Eotaria crypta is geochronologically intermediate between “enaliarctine” stem pinnipedimorphs (16.6-27 Ma) and previously described otariid fossils (7.3-12.5 Ma), as well as morphologically intermediate by retaining an M2 and a reduced M1 metaconid cusp and lacking P2-4 metaconid cusps. Eotaria crypta eliminates the otariid ghost lineage and confirms that otariids evolved from an “enaliarctine”-like ancestor.
Sea level regulated tetrapod diversity dynamics across the Jurassic/Cretaceous interval
Authors: Tennant Jonathan , Mannion Philip D. , Upchurch Paul
Published: July 2018

Reconstructing deep time trends in biodiversity remains a central goal for palaeobiologists, but our understanding of the magnitude and tempo of extinctions and radiations is confounded by uneven sampling of the fossil record. In particular, the Jurassic/Cretaceous (J/K) boundary, 145 million years ago, remains a poorly understood interval, despite an apparent minor extinction and the radiation of numerous important clades. Here, we apply a rigorous subsampling approach to a comprehensive tetrapod fossil occurrence dataset to assess the group’s macroevolutionary dynamics across the J/K transition. Although much of the signal is exclusively European, almost every higher tetrapod group was affected by a substantial decline across the boundary, culminating in the extinction of several important clades and the ecological release and radiation of numerous modern tetrapod groups. Variation in eustatic sea level was the primary driver of these patterns, controlling biodiversity through availability of shallow marine environments and via allopatric speciation on land.
Marine tethysuchian crocodyliform from the ?Aptian-Albian (Early Cretaceous) of the Isle of Wight, England
Authors: Young Mark T. , Steel Lorna , Foffa Davide , Price Trevor , Naish Darren , Tennant Jonathan
Published: July 2018

A marine tethysuchian crocodyliform from the Isle of Wight, most likely from the Upper Greensand Formation (late Albian, Early Cretaceous), is described. However, we cannot preclude it being from the Ferruginous Sands Formation (late Aptian), or more remotely, the Sandrock Formation (late Aptian-early Albian). The specimen consists of the anterior region of the right dentary, from the tip of the dentary to the incomplete fourth alveolus. This specimen increases the known geological range of marine tethysuchians back into the late Early Cretaceous. While we refer it to Tethysuchia incertae sedis, there are seven anterior dentary characteristics which suggest a possible relationship with the Maastrichtian-Eocene clade Dyrosauridae. We also review 'middle' Cretaceous marine tethysuchians, including putative Cenomanian dyrosaurids. We conclude that there is insufficient evidence to be certain that any known Cenomanian specimen can be safely referred to Dyrosauridae, as there are some cranial similarities between basal dyrosaurids and Cenomanian-Turonian marine 'pholidosaurids'. Future study of middle Cretaceous tethysuchians could help unlock the origins of Dyrosauridae and improve our understanding of tethysuchian macroevolutionary trends.
Reconstructing paleoclimate and paleoecology using fossil leaves
Authors: Peppe Daniel J. , Baumgartner Aly , Flynn Andrew G. , Blonder Benjamin
Published: July 2018

Plants are strongly influenced by their surrounding environment, which makes them reliable indicators of climate and ecology. The relationship between climate, ecology, plant traits and the geographic distribution of plants based on their climatic tolerances have been used to develop plant-based proxies for reconstructing paleoclimate and paleoecology. These proxies are some of the most accurate and precise methods for reconstructing the climate and ecology of ancient terrestrial ecosystems and have been applied from the Cretaceous to the Quaternary. Despite their utility, the relationships between plant traits and climate that underlie these methods are confounded by other factors such as leaf life-span and phylogenetic history. Work focused on better understanding these confounding factors, incorporating the influence of phylogeny and leaf economic spectrum traits into proxies, expanding modern leaf trait-climate and ecology calibration datasets to additional biogeographic areas and climate regimes, and developing automated computer algorithms for measuring leaf traits are important growing research areas that will help considerably improve plant-based paleoclimate and paleoecological proxies.
Ammonite aptychi from the Lower Jurassic (Toarcian) near Whitby, North Yorkshire, UK
Authors: Lomax Dean , Hyde Benjamin G.
Published: July 2018

Ammonite aptychi from the Lower Jurassic of Port Mulgrave near Whitby, U.K., are reported for the first time in association with ammonites of the Family Hildoceratidae, Subfamily Harpoceratinae. The aptychi are preserved in shale, varying in their completeness and exhibiting a range of sizes, but are identified as Cornaptychus sp. and cf. Lamellaptychus sp. Some Cornaptychus specimens are preserved with ammonites identified as Tiltoniceras antiquum. The aptychi, especially Cornaptychus, are comparable with aptychi associated with ammonites of the Harpoceratinae elsewhere, notably in the Posidonia Shale of Toarcian age in Germany. The ammonite aptychi were further analysed using an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) in order to determine their composition and assess whether this might have implications for their occurrence and preservation potential compared with that of the ammonite shells.
Pleistocene survival of an archaic dwarf baleen whale (Mysticeti: Cetotheriidae).
Authors: Boessenecker Robert
Published: July 2018

Pliocene baleen whale assemblages are characterized by a mix of early records of extant mysticetes, extinct genera within modern families, and late surviving members of the extinct family Cetotheriidae. Although Pleistocene baleen whales are poorly known, thus far they include only fossils of extant genera, indicating late Pliocene extinctions of numerous mysticetes alongside other marine mammals. Here, a new fossil of the late Neogene cetotheriid mysticete Herpetocetus is reported from the Lower to Middle Pleistocene Falor Formation of Northern California. This find demonstrates that at least one archaic mysticete survived well into the Quaternary Period, indicating a recent loss of a unique niche and a more complex pattern of Plio-Pleistocene faunal overturn for marine mammals than has been previously acknowledged. This discovery also lends indirect support to the hypothesis that the pygmy right whale (Caperea marginata) is an extant cetotheriid, as it documents another cetotheriid nearly surviving to modern times.