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To understand the community structure and the functional dynamics of phytoplankton over the long term, it is essential to identify rapid changes in the properties of Antarctic phytoplankton communities in relation to ongoing changes in environmental factors due to climate change. This study investigated short-term variability in the phytoplankton biomass and its composition over the summer of 2010 when the sea surface temperature was lowest and chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentrations were the highest, relative to a 15-year monitoring period (1996–2011). We assessed the intraseasonal variability of the phytoplankton assemblage structure and its synchrony with changes in the main environmental variables in Marian Cove of King George Island, Antarctica. Chlorophyll-a concentrations in summer 2010 (January–February) were significantly higher (up to 24 μg L−1) when the high phytoplankton carbon biomass (603 μg C L−1) was dominated by the sympagic diatom Navicula glaciei, the benthic diatoms Licmophora belgicae and Fragilaria striatula, the planktonic diatoms Thalassiosira antarctica and Thalassiosira spp. (cell size

The onset of plant cultivation is one of the most important cultural transitions in human history1–4. Southwestern Amazonia has previously been proposed as an early centre of plant domestication, on the basis of molecular markers that show genetic similarities between domesticated plants and wild relatives4–6. However, the nature of the early human occupation of southwestern Amazonia, and the history of plant cultivation in this region, are poorly understood. Here we document the cultivation of squash (Cucurbita sp.) at about 10,250 calibrated years before present (cal. yr bp), manioc (Manihot sp.) at about 10,350 cal. yr bp and maize (Zea mays) at about 6,850 cal. yr bp, in the Llanos de Moxos (Bolivia). We show that, starting at around 10,850 cal. yr bp, inhabitants of this region began to create a landscape that ultimately comprised approximately 4,700 artificial forest islands within a treeless, seasonally flooded savannah. Our results confirm that the Llanos de Moxos is a hotspot for early plant cultivation and demonstrate that—ever since their arrival in Amazonia—humans have markedly altered the landscape, with lasting repercussions for habitat heterogeneity and species conservation. Archaeological evidence that anthropic landscape changes and crop cultivation in southwestern Amazonia began about 10,000–11,000 years ago confirms that the region is a centre of early plant domestication.

Southern Brazil's highland Araucaria forest is ancient, diverse and unique, but its future is under significant threat from 20th Century habitat loss and 21st Century climate change. Palaeoecological studies have revealed that it expanded rapidly over highland grasslands around 1,000 years ago, but whether this expansion was caused by human land use or climate change has been a topic of considerable debate. Discriminating between these potential drivers has so far not been possible with fossil pollen, however, as the palynological representation of floristic and structural differences in Araucaria forest remains poorly understood. Here, we address this shortcoming using modern pollen rain from moss polsters and vegetation surveys in forest areas with minimal current human disturbance. We show that forest plots with evident structural differences lack consistent differences in their floristic composition and cannot be reliably distinguished by their pollen spectra. We quantify pollen-vegetation relationships for 27 key tree genera of Araucaria forest, showing that, despite significant intra-taxon variability, 22 of these are under-represented or absent in the pollen record. These palynologically under-represented and silent taxa include many of the forest’s most ecologically important tree species, with only Araucaria, Lamanonia, Podocarpus, Myrsine and Clethra being more abundant in the pollen rain than vegetation. Our results suggest that subtle structural changes in Araucaria forest, as well as moderate to significant floristic changes, may not be clearly distinguished in fossil pollen records -- an important limitation when attempting to identify past human and climatic impacts on Araucaria forest via pollen analysis.\ud \ud Key words: Araucaria forest, pollen, moss polsters, modern analogues, human impact

In order to better understand the causes and geographic patterns of Neanderthal demise it is necessary to broaden the focus of existing Neanderthal studies to include new sites from understudied regions, particularly those containing multi-level fossil and lithic records, and to improve regional-scale Neanderthal extinction frameworks using multiple dating techniques. To this end, we present an interdisciplinary study of the stratigraphy, chronology, pollen, fauna, lithic technology and human remains of the last Neanderthal level (Level N4) of Prado Vargas – a cave in northern Iberia, whose geographic location and chronology are ideal for investigating possible socio-economic and climatic influences on Neanderthal decline. Level N4 has yielded a rich Late Mousterian palimpsest indicative of repeated seasonal occupations, as well as a deciduous Neanderthal tooth, confirming the presence of children at the site. A wide range of human activities are detected in Level 4, with subsistence strategies demonstrating knowledgeable exploitation of the natural environs around the area. The site provides evidence for a distinctive recycling economy, including bone retouchers, recycling of cores, and intense (re)use of raw materials, which may reflect recurrent occupations or the particular cultural traditions of a regional group. Level N4 is dated to between 54.7 and 39.8 thousand years ago (ka) according to our new OSL and radiocarbon study. The late Neanderthal inhabitants of Prado Vargas were cold-adapted, and may have already been living in small, separate groups with marked territories and cultural traditions prior to the arrival of Homo sapiens in the Iberia Peninsula., Consejería de Cultura y Turismo de la Junta de Castilla y León y Ayuntamiento Merindad de Sotoscueva. The C14 dating was funded by Fundación Palarq. The OSL dating research was funded by Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Award DE160100743 and ARC Future Fellowship project FT200100816 awarded to M. Demuro. Marta Santamaría is the beneficiary of a predoctoral grant from University of Burgos (UBU). Gala Gómez Merino did tasks of cleaning and conservation of the tooth. We are grateful to Fundación La Escuela (Cornejo), Asociación Naboki (Quisicedo), Casa del Parque del Monumento Natural de Ojo Guareña and Benigno Gómez Pereda.

This paper reviews the past distribution of Aleppo pine woodlands in the Ebro Basin, Northeastern Iberia, from the Mesolithic to Modern times based on wood charcoal data. The aim is to detail the chronological timing and the drivers explaining the long-term presence of Aleppo pine woodlands and associated thermophilous flora. The available charcoal data support the early spread of Pinus halepensis during the Mesolithic (ca. 9000 cal BP) accompanied by Mediterranean trees and shrubs like Quercus sp. evergreen, Juniperus sp., Arbutus unedo, Pistacia lentiscus, Rhamnus/Phillyrea, Cistaceae, and Rosmarinus officinalis, as a local response to global climate change in the Early Holocene. During the arrival and the propagation of the Neolithic culture (ca. 7500–5500 cal BP), anthracological records, as well as regional palynological sequences, demonstrate the progressive replacement of an conifer-dominated open parkland by both Quercus sp. deciduous and evergreen woodlands in response to the Middle Holocene rise in temperature and humidity. This evidence, however, converges with the general idea that the presence and the spread of Pinus halepensis and associated scrubland have usually been attributed to the onset of landscape anthropization. The frequency of xero-thermophilous open scrubland and the use of Aleppo pine for fuel and woodcrafting progressively increased during the Bronze and Iron Ages, and especially in Ibero-Roman and Medieval/Islamic times, when the vegetation landscape in the Middle Ebro Basin was largely deforested as a consequence of increasing demographic pressure, grazing and the establishment of proto-urban centers.

Excavations at Abreu Garcia provide a detailed case study of a mound and enclosure mortuary complex used by the southern proto-Jê in the southern Brazilian highlands. The recovery of 16 secondary cremation deposits within a single mound allows an in-depth discussion of spatial aspects of mortuary practices. A spatial division in the placement of the interments adds another level of duality to the mortuary landscape, which comprises: (1) paired mound and enclosures, (2) twin mounds within a mound and enclosure, and (3) the dual division in the mound interior. The multiple levels of nested asymmetric dualism evoke similarities to the moiety system that characterizes modern southern Jê groups, highlighting both the opposition and the complementarity of the social system. The findings offer deeper insight into fundamental aspects of southern proto-Jê social organization, including the dual nature of the community, the manifestation of social structure in the landscape, and its incorporation into mortuary ritual. The results have implications for research design and developing appropriate methodologies to answer culture-specific questions. Furthermore, the parallels among archaeology, ethnohistory, and ethnography enable an understanding of the foundation of modern descendent groups and an assessment of the continuity in indigenous culture beyond European contact.

Carpinus betulus L. is a mesic, usually considered late-successional tree widely distributed in Europe, but almost absent from Iberia, where it is generally assumed that disappeared during the coldest stages of the Wurm. High-resolution pollen analyses were carried out in 14C dated sediments from a drowned estuary (ria) and a small mountain lake. Carpinus pollen identification was confirmed by comparative light and scanning electron microscopy. Hornbeam dynamics are interpreted using palaeoclimatic reconstructions based on independent proxies (diatoms, chironomids and dinocysts). Our results support that hornbeam declined between ca. 60,000 and ca. 9,000 cal yr bp, when multiproxy evidence suggests a major regional relative sea-level rise. Moreover, chironomid-inferred July temperatures show an increase of more than 6 °C between 15,600 and 10,500 cal yr bp, while freshwater aquatics and diatoms indicate a general tendency towards increasing precipitation and a more oceanic climate. Carpinus survived during the Wurm in a variety of habitats in coastal valleys in NW Iberia which had adequate climatic and edaphic conditions. Such habitats might be comparable to the oak-ash, ravine, and hardwood floodplain forests currently existing in other regions of Europe. Large areas of these coastal ecosystems disappeared at the onset of the Holocene, when the sea-level rose. Later hornbeam was apparently unable to compete and expand further inland. Therefore, the sea-level rise combined with the climatically-induced Holocene tree succession and the increasing human impact during the Mid and Late Holocene led to hornbeam progressively becoming a marginal tree in the area.

Although the earliest record of the genus Muscardinus dates from the Middle Miocene in Spain, no mention has been reported since the Lower Pliocene in the Iberian Peninsula. In this paper, Quaternary fossil remains of a hazel dormouse ( Muscardinus avellanarius ) are described, for the first time, in the Iberian Peninsula. These remains constitute the south-westernmost record of the genus in the Eurasian continent during the Late Pleistocene. The fossils, one first upper molar (M1) and two second upper molars (M2), come from Lezetxiki II Cave, an early Late Pleistocene site in northern Spain. The presence of the hazel dormouse agrees with the abundance of rodent species indicative of woodland, suggesting mild climatic conditions and a landscape formed by deciduous forest. This assemblage has been arguably assigned to warm and humid conditions related to an interstadial period in MIS 5. We also present an overview of the palaeogeography of the genus in Europe. The identification of this dormouse reinforces the idea of biological corridors between western Iberia and the rest of Europe during the Pleistocene.

This article presents the results of starch grain and phytolith residue analyses from 14 ceramic fragments recovered in two domestic cooking structures from a southern proto-Je pit house at the Bonin site (Urubici, Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil) dating to 1300–1439 and 1297–1414 cal yr. A.D. The novel application of plant microfossil techniques in this region revealed, for the first time, the consumption of manioc (Manihot esculenta Crantz), beans (Phaseolus sp.), and possibly yams (cf. Dioscorea sp.) in addition to maize (Zea mays L.) and squash (Cucurbita sp.). These findings show that southern proto-Je people had a subsistence economy based on a variety of plant foods and practiced food production more than one century before European Conquest. Contrary to traditional models of southern proto-Je mobility, our data suggest that food production may have allowed populations to settle in the southern Brazilian highland plateau year-round without the need for seasonal movements to the Atlantic forest escarpment and the Atlantic coast environments to procure food. Our data complement archaeological evidence for increased sedentism and social complexity among southern proto-Je groups from A.D. 300–1700, including the construction of large, well-planned pit-house villages, and the creation of a highly structured landscape revolving around funerary/ceremonial structures.

The development of agriculture is one of humankind's most pivotal achievements. Questions about plant domestication and the origins of agriculture have engaged scholars for well over a century, with implications for understanding its legacy on global subsistence strategies, plant distribution, population health and the global methane budget. Rice is one of the most important crops to be domesticated globally, with both Asia (Oryza sativa L.) and Africa (Oryza glaberrima Steud.) discussed as primary centres of domestication. However, until now the pre-Columbian domestication of rice in the Americas has not been documented. Here we document the domestication of Oryza sp. wild rice by the mid-Holocene residents of the Monte Castelo shell mound starting at approximately 4,000 cal. yr BP, evidenced by increasingly larger rice husk phytoliths. Our data provide evidence for the domestication of wild rice in a region of the Amazon that was also probably the cradle of domestication of other major crops such as cassava (Manihot esculenta), peanut (Arachis hypogaea) and chilli pepper (Capsicum sp.). These results underline the role of wetlands as prime habitats for plant domestication worldwide.

SUMMARY The Patagonian fjords have been recognized as a major region of relatively high primary productivity systems during spring–summer bloom periods, where ironorganic matter forms may be essential complexes involved in key growth processes connected to the carbon and nitrogen cycles. We used two dissolved organic matter (DOM) types, marine polysaccharide and siderophore, as a model to understand how they affect the bioavailability of Fe to phytoplankton and bacteria and to assess their ecological role in fjord systems. A 10-day microcosm study was performed in the Comau Fjord during summer conditions (March 2012). Pico-, nano-, and microphytoplankton abundance, total chlorophyll-a and bacteria abundance, and bacterial secondary production estimates were analyzed in five treatments: (i) control (no additions), (ii) only nutrients (NUT: PO4 ,N O 3, Si), (iii) nutrients + Fe(II), (iv) polysaccharide (natural diatoms extracted: 1–3 beta Glucan), and (v) Hexandentate Desferroxiamine B (DFB, siderophore). Our results showed that while DFB reduced Fe bioavailability for almost all phytoplankton assemblages in the fjord, polysaccharide did not have effects on the iron bioavailability. At Nutrients + Fe and Polysaccharide treatments, chlorophyll-a concentration abruptly increased from 0.9 to 20 mg m

Here, we present the interannual distribution of Dinophysis acuminata and Protoceratium reticulatum over a 10-year period in the Reloncav&iacute, Fjord, a highly stratified fjord in southern Chile. A realized subniche approach based on the Within Outlying Mean Index (WitOMI) was used to decompose the species&rsquo, realized niche into realized subniches (found within subsets of environmental conditions). The interannual distribution of both D. acuminata and P. reticulatum summer blooms was strongly influenced by climatological regional events, i.e., El Ni&ntilde, o Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Southern Annual Mode (SAM). The two species showed distinct niche preferences, with blooms of D. acuminata occurring under La Ni&ntilde, a conditions (cold years) and low river streamflow whereas P. reticulatum blooms were observed in years of El Ni&ntilde, o conditions and positive SAM phase. The biological constraint exerted on the species was further estimated based on the difference between the existing fundamental subniche and the realized subniche. The observed patterns suggested that D. acuminata was subject to strong biological constraint during the studied period, probably as a result of low cell densities of its putative prey (the mixotrophic ciliate Mesodinium cf. rubrum) usually observed in the studied area.

Patagonian fjord systems, and in particular the fjords and channels associated with the Baker/Pascua Rivers, are currently under conspicuous natural and anthropogenic perturbations. These systems display very high variability, where limnetic and oceanic features overlap generating strong vertical and horizontal physicochemical gradients. The CIMAR 14-Fiordos cruise was conducted in the Chilean fjords located between 47° and 50°S during the spring (October–November) of 2008. The main objectives were to study vertical and horizontal gradients in physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the water column, and to assess plankton dynamics and trophic carbon fluxes in the fjords and channels of central-south Patagonia. The water column was strongly stratified, with a pycnocline at ca. 20 m depth separating a surface layer of silicic acid-rich freshwater discharged by rivers, from the underlying nitrate- and orthophosphate-rich Subantarctic waters. The outflows from the Baker and Pascua Rivers, which range annually between 500 and 1500 m3 s−1, generate the strong land–ocean gradient in salinity (1–32 psu) and inorganic nutrient concentrations (2–8 and 2–24 μM in nitrate and silicic-acid, respectively) we observed along the Baker Fjord. The POC:chl-a ratio fluctuated from 1087 near the fjord’s head to 175 at its oceanic end in the Penas Gulf. This change was mainly due to an increase in diatom dominance and a concurrent decrease in allochthonous POC towards the ocean. Depth-integrated net primary production (NPP) and bacterial secondary production (BSP) fluctuated between 49 and 1215 and 36 and 150 mg C m−2 d−1, respectively, with higher rates in oceanic waters. At a time series station located close to the Baker River mouth, the average NPP was lower (average 360 mg C m−2 d−1) than at more oceanic stations (average 1063 mg C m−2 d−1), and numerically dominated (45%) by the picoplankton (

Phytolith reference collections are a fundamental prerequisite for accurate interpretation of fossil phytolith assemblages used in reconstructing vegetation histories. As part of a multi-disciplinary research project studying Late Holocene landscape transformations associated with pre-Columbian raised field complexes in the coastal savannas of French Guiana, phytolith production in selected plant species with high environmental and economic significance native to the region was examined. A total of 49 families, 92 genera, and 108 species were analysed. Phytolith abundance in each specimen was rated qualitatively and morphotypes described following modern standards of nomenclature. Of the 92 non-Poaceae species tested, 37 contributed phytoliths that are diagnostic to at least the family level. Two of these are newly-discovered phytolith morphotypes isolated from Protium guianense (Burseraceae) and Thelypteris confluens (Thelypteridaceae [Pteridophyta]) which have not been described previously. This work represents the first systematic undertaking to establish a phytolith reference collection of French Guiana flora. Results reinforce the usefulness of phytolith analysis for distinguishing ecologically significant taxa, and therefore major vegetation formations. The creation of a comprehensive reference collection for French Guiana improves taxonomic resolution and has provided the necessary ground work for the interpretation of palaeoevironmental and archaeological records in the region.

We describe the southwesternmost specimen of Sicista betulina (Mammalia; Dipodidae) and of the genus Sicista found to date in Eurasia, which comes from the early Late Pleistocene (MIS 5) site of Lezetxiki II (Arrasate, Basque Country, Spain), in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Sicista is a relatively common taxon in Quaternary deposits, although not numerically abundant due to ecological and taphonomical reasons. In the light of the new discovery, we briefly but comprehensively review the palaeogeography and palaeoecology of the genus in Europe. Average colder and drier conditions during the Pleistocene allowed Sicista to get as far south as Chios Island in the Aegean Sea, and as far west as Lezetxiki in the Iberian Peninsula. A cold, moderately humid environment, with dominant grasslands and coniferous forests, inferred from the palaeobiological associations (including human remains) at Lezetxiki II, was ideal for S. betulina given its current ecological requirements.

We present a simple sieving methodology to aid the recovery of large cultigen pollen grains, such as maize ( Zea mays L.), manioc ( Manihot esculenta Crantz), and sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas L.), among others, for the detection of food production using fossil pollen analysis of lake sediments in the tropical Americas. The new methodology was tested on three large study lakes located next to known and/or excavated pre-Columbian archaeological sites in South and Central America. Five paired samples, one treated by sieving, the other prepared using standard methodology, were compared for each of the three sites. Using the new methodology, chemically digested sediment samples were passed through a 53 µm sieve, and the residue was retained, mounted in silicone oil, and counted for large cultigen pollen grains. The filtrate was mounted and analysed for pollen according to standard palynological procedures. Zea mays (L.) was recovered from the sediments of all three study lakes using the sieving technique, where no cultigen pollen had been previously recorded using the standard methodology. Confidence intervals demonstrate there is no significant difference in pollen assemblages between the sieved versus unsieved samples. Equal numbers of exotic Lycopodium spores added to both the filtrate and residue of the sieved samples allow for direct comparison of cultigen pollen abundance with the standard terrestrial pollen count. Our technique enables the isolation and rapid scanning for maize and other cultigen pollen in lake sediments, which, in conjunction with charcoal and pollen records, is key to determining land-use patterns and the environmental impact of pre-Columbian societies.

Although sparsely populated today, the Llanos de Mojos, Bolivia, sustained large sedentary societies in the Late Holocene (ca. 500 to 1400 AD). In order to gain insight into the subsistence of these people, we undertook macrobotanical and phytolith analyses of sediment samples, and starch grain and phytolith analyses of artifact residues, from four large habitation sites within this region. Macrobotanical remains show the presence of maize (Zea mays), squash (Cucurbita sp.), peanut (Arachis hypogaea), cotton (Gossypium sp.), and palm fruits (Arecaceae). Microbotanical results confirm the widespread use of maize at all sites, along with manioc (Manihot esculenta), squash, and yam (Dioscorea sp.). These integrated results present the first comprehensive archaeobotanical evidence of the diversity of plants cultivated, processed, and consumed, by the pre-Hispanic inhabitants of the Amazonian lowlands of Bolivia.

This paper presents the late Holocene vegetation and fire history record from Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero, Misiones, NE Argentina (26° 30′ 55.35″ S, 53° 59′ 44.73″ W). The pollen and charcoal content of the 194 cm deep sediment core dating to ca. 1840 cal yr BP permitted the recognition of three distinct zones. Zone CC - 1 (before ca. 1810 cal yr BP) was characterised by a forest dominated by Myrtaceae that also included other forest taxa like Alchornea , Trema and Moraceae/Urticaceae. The presence of Zea mays (maize) pollen grains around 1840 cal yr BP suggests the presence of pre-Colombian groups in the region who practiced food-production. Zone CC - 2 (ca. 1810 to ca. 40 cal yr BP) witnessed the establishment of an herbaceous wetland in the locality as evidenced by the formation of peat and the increase in wetland taxa, in particular the Cyperaceae, indicating the change to a wetter and less seasonal climate that appears to be coeval with pollen records and soil-depth profiles' carbon isotope records documented in other regions of the southern Brazilian highlands during the late Holocene. The basal section of this zone also documents the arrival of Araucaria angustifolia trees to the region, the presence of maize, and a moderate increase in fires that could be related to more intense human activity in the region. The upper section of this zone shows a slight increase in A. angustifolia paralleled by a raise of other typical elements of mixed Araucaria forests like Clethra , Ilex , Myrsine and Podocarpus . Zone CC - 3 (ca. 40 cal yr BP–today) shows a major increase in trees and ferns (particularly Osmunda ) at the expense of sedges and grasses evidencing a local change from a wetland dominated herbaceous vegetation to the one dominated by arboreal taxa and ferns that exists today. This zone also shows a reduction in regional fires and the disappearance of local fires that seems to be associated to the creation of the Parque Provincial Cruce Caballero. Poaceae pollen percentages remained relatively low throughout the sequence indicating that the region did not support Campos (grassland) vegetation but was a forested landscape during the late Holocene.

a Sociedad de Ciencias Aranzadi, Zorroagagaina 11, 20014 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain Departamento de Estratigrafia y Paleontologia, Universidad del Pais Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnologia, Apartado 644, Bilbao, Spain Departamento de Geografia, Prehistoria y Arqueologia, Universidad del Pais Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibersitatea, Tomas y Valiente s/n, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain

Mixotrophy, the combination of autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrition in the same organism, is widespread in planktonic algae. Several reports from temperate and high-latitude fjords in Scandinavia suggest the occurrence of a niche in late summer and autumn during post-bloom conditions in which mixotrophic algae can become important grazers in pelagic ecosystems, accessing the nutrients bound in their prey to overcome nutrient limitation. Here, we experimentally determined the trophic modes and bacterivory rates for the nanoplankton community (2–20 μm) in Aysen Fjord located in the Chilean Northern Patagonia during two contrasting seasons: winter and spring. While mixotrophic nanoplankton was virtually absent from the system in spring, in winter at occasions it even constituted the dominant trophic group of the nanoplankton with abundances of >900 cells mL−1. This indicates a second niche for mixotrophs in winter, when mixotrophy allows overcoming light limitation.

Questions that still surround the origin and early dispersals of maize ( Zea mays L.) result in large part from the absence of information on its early history from the Balsas River Valley of tropical southwestern Mexico, where its wild ancestor is native. We report starch grain and phytolith data from the Xihuatoxtla shelter, located in the Central Balsas Valley, that indicate that maize was present by 8,700 calendrical years ago (cal. B.P.). Phytolith data also indicate an early preceramic presence of a domesticated species of squash, possibly Cucurbita argyrosperma . The starch and phytolith data also allow an evaluation of current hypotheses about how early maize was used, and provide evidence as to the tempo and timing of human selection pressure on 2 major domestication genes in Zea and Cucurbita . Our data confirm an early Holocene chronology for maize domestication that has been previously indicated by archaeological and paleoecological phytolith, starch grain, and pollen data from south of Mexico, and reshift the focus back to an origin in the seasonal tropical forest rather than in the semiarid highlands.

The co-existence of phytoplankton assemblages under similar environmental conditions has allowed the identification of functional groups made up of species with similar morphological and physiological characteristics. Species belonging to similar functional groups in turn can be grouped in the three basic adaptive strategies C (colonist-invasives), S (stress-tolerants) and R (ruderals), these strategies being based on the species tolerances to different combinations of the degree of mixing and nutrient availability. In this study, we evaluated the applicability of the C‐S‐R strategies approach to marine diatom-dominated phytoplankton assemblages from fjords of southern Chile. Surface/volume ratios (S/V) and maximum linear dimensions were used to group the species in the three strategies regardless of their phylogenetic relationships. Multivariate statistical analyses (multiple correspondence and canonical correspondence) allowed us to identify three diatom groups. Group D1, made up of species with S/V . 1.5 mm 21 (Pseudo-nitzschia spp. group delicatissima, Cylindrotheca closterium, Leptocylindrus minimus), was correlated mainly with nitrate concentrations. In group D2, several species of the genus Chaetoceros (S/V � 1 mm 21 ) were also correlated with nitrate. Species with attenuated forms and S/V ranging between 0.5 and 0.8 mm 21 (Skeletonema costatum, Talassionema nitzschioides, Rhizosolenia setigera) made up group D3, which was associated with stratified conditions and high silicate.

An examination of the late Holocene environmental and cultural sequences of the southern Brazilian highlands indicates that the colonisation of this region by the Taquara/Itarare people is associated with the expansion of Araucaria forest resulting from the onset of wetter climatic conditions in the region, which started between around 1410 and 900 cal. yr BP. The more intense and permanent human occupation of this region is associated with the advance of Araucaria forest, which provided Taquara/Itarare groups with a newly abundant and reliable resource: Araucaria seeds. In addition, we review the evidence for landscape transformation associated with the beginning of food-production in the region. Charcoal records show that local populations may have practiced slash-and-burn agriculture at lower elevations since the beginning of the late Holocene around 4320 cal. yr BP, and continued this practice during the second part of the late Holocene.

We present reconstructions of late Holocene changes in the source of organic matter and siliceous export production in the Relocanví Fjord (41°S, 72°W), Northern Chilean Patagonia, based on organic carbon content, δ13Corg, N/C ratio, diatom assemblages and biogenic silica contents from three sediment cores. The age models are based on a combination of 210Pb profiles, AMS 14C dating, and on the first occurrence of the diatom Rhizosolenia setigera f. pungens, as a stratigraphic marker in the fjords. The cores span the last 300 to 700 yr. Diatoms dominate the siliceous assemblages in the three cores (98% on average). Our results suggest that precipitation seasonality in the region of Reloncaví was high in CE 1300–1400 and CE 1700–1850, with a clear decreasing trend since CE 1850. The latter trend is in agreement with instrumental records and tree-ring reconstructions. These fluctuations seem to be associated with the Southern Annular Mode (SAM).

In a coastal area of southern Chile (41° S), the major ammonium assimilating enzyme glutamine synthetase (GS) was detected in a green dinoflagellate bloom during April 2003. High chlorophyll a concentrations (1000 μg L -1 ) attributable to Gymnodinium cf. chlorophorum in surface waters were associated with high and very low nitrate reductase activities. Coincident with the bloom, dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations were near the detection limit (NO 3 - + NH 4 +

The structure of the zooplankton foodweb and their dominant carbon fluxes were studied in the upwelling system off northern Chile (Mejillones Bay; 23°S) between October 2000 and December 2002. High primary production (PP) rates (1–8 gC m−2 d−1) were mostly due to the net-phytoplankton size fraction (>23 μm). High PP has been traditionally associated with the wind-driven upwelling fertilizing effect of equatorial subsurface waters, which favour development of a short food chain dominated by a few small clupeiform fish species. The objective of the present work was to study the trophic carbon flow through the first step of this “classical chain” (from phytoplankton to primary consumers such as copepods and euphausiids) and the carbon flow towards the gelatinous web composed of both filter-feeding and carnivorous zooplankton. To accomplish this objective, feeding experiments with copepods, appendicularians, ctenophores, and chaetognaths were conducted using naturally occurring plankton prey assemblages. Throughout the study, the total carbon ingestion rates showed that the dominant appendicularian species and small copepods consumed an average of 7 and 5 μgC ind−1 d−1, respectively. In addition, copepods ingested particles mainly in the size range of nano- and microplankton, whereas appendicularians ingested in the range of pico- and nanoplankton. Small copepods and appendicularians removed a small fraction of total daily PP (range 6–11%). However, when the pico- + nanoplankton fractions were the major contributors to total PP (oligotrophic conditions), grazing by small copepods increased markedly to 86% of total PP. Under these more oligotrophic conditions, the euphausiids grazing increased as well, but only reached values lower than 5% of total PP. During this study, chaetognaths and ctenophores ingested an average of 1 and 14 copepods ind−1 d−1, respectively. In terms of biomass consumed, the potential impact of carnivorous gelatinous zooplankton on the small-size copepod community (preferred prey) was important (2–12% of biomass removed daily). However, their impact produced more significant results on copepod abundance (up to 33%), which suggests that carnivorous gelatinous zooplankton may even modulate (control) the abundance of some species as well as the size structure of the copepod community.

A total of 20 samples from sites LU-69 and PU-165 were processed, identified, and counted at the University of Exeter Archaeobotany Laboratory. Phytolith extractions from the archaeological sediments followed standard procedures. Samples were deflocculated in a shaker with Calgon for 24 h. Clays were washed by gravitational sedimentation, carbonates were removed using hydrochloric acid, and organic matter was removed with nitric acid and potassium chlorate when necessary. Samples were floated in a zinc bromide solution at a specific density of 2.3 g/ml, dried in acetone, and mounted in Permount. In order to maximize the recovery of important phytoliths of different size classes, such as those that derive from the rinds of Cucurbita fruits and leaves and cobs of maize, archaeological sediments were separated by wet sieving into silt (2–50 µm) and sand (50–2,000 µm) fractions. The entire extract recovered from the sand fraction was scanned in search for Cucurbita phytoliths and other large arboreal and economic plant forms. Extended counts of the silt fraction were carried out in order to obtain a large sample of cross-shaped phytoliths in order to detect the presence of maize leaf phytoliths. Only sample No. 28 from PU-165 did not contain crosses, which prevented carrying out the discriminant function to test the presence of a maize leaf phytolith.

The timing of Neanderthal disappearance and the extent to which they overlapped with the earliest incoming anatomically modern humans (AMHs) in Eurasia are key questions in palaeoanthropology. Determining the spatiotemporal relationship between the two populations is crucial if we are to understand the processes, timing and reasons leading to the disappearance of Neanderthals and the likelihood of cultural and genetic exchange. Serious technical challenges, however, have hindered reliable dating of the period, as the radiocarbon method reaches its limit at ∼50,000 years ago. Here we apply improved accelerator mass spectrometry (14)C techniques to construct robust chronologies from 40 key Mousterian and Neanderthal archaeological sites, ranging from Russia to Spain. Bayesian age modelling was used to generate probability distribution functions to determine the latest appearance date. We show that the Mousterian ended by 41,030-39,260 calibrated years bp (at 95.4% probability) across Europe. We also demonstrate that succeeding 'transitional' archaeological industries, one of which has been linked with Neanderthals (Châtelperronian), end at a similar time. Our data indicate that the disappearance of Neanderthals occurred at different times in different regions. Comparing the data with results obtained from the earliest dated AMH sites in Europe, associated with the Uluzzian technocomplex, allows us to quantify the temporal overlap between the two human groups. The results reveal a significant overlap of 2,600-5,400 years (at 95.4% probability). This has important implications for models seeking to explain the cultural, technological and biological elements involved in the replacement of Neanderthals by AMHs. A mosaic of populations in Europe during the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition suggests that there was ample time for the transmission of cultural and symbolic behaviours, as well as possible genetic exchanges, between the two groups.

The reproductive cycle of the Chilean edible sea urchin, Loxechinus albus , was studied in two areas of the Magellan region, the Cockburn Channel (53°43´S, 70°42´W) and Dawson Island (53°43´S, 72°00´W). Eleven monthly samplings were carried out from April 1996 to May 1997 in each area and samples of between 88 and 100 organisms were collected. Test diameter, total wet weight, and wet gonad weight was measured for each organism. Sex, gonad index, maturity index and gametogenic condition were estimated for each organism through histological analyses. The results indicate that L. albus in the Magellan region has an annual reproductive cycle in which the temporal sequence of different gametogenic processes can not be distinguished accurately due to the rapid and continuous gonadal recovery and gamete production after the spawning period. Although mature organisms were present most of the year, simultaneous spawning of males and females occurred from August to September in Dawson Island and from July to September in the Cockburn Channel. Gametes of those organisms that became mature after the spawning period were resorbed by nutritive phagocytes. Results from this study suggest that small-scale variability of spawning period in the Magellan region may be explained by the differences in food type and availability among areas. Our results also suggest that the Magellan region is an exception to the latitudinal pattern of spawning period reported for most of the Chilean coast. This large-scale variability may be explained by the simultaneous occurrence of low temperatures and short days during late winter and early spring.

Anthropogenic (aquaculture) changes in environment nutrient concentrations may affect phytoplankton (biomass and taxa composition) in marine coastal waters off the Chilean Patagonia. The effects of adding nitrate (NO3 −) to natural phytoplankton assemblages were evaluated considering biomass, cell abundance, and taxonomic composition. Microcosm experiments were performed in the spring, summer, and winter in the Comau Fjord located in Subantarctic Patagonia. At the end of the experiments, NO3 − decreased rapidly and was undetectable in treatments, indicating a strong NO3 − deficiency associated with an exponential increase in Chl-a concentrations, particulate organic nitrogen, and carbon in these treatments. Moreover, given the depleted nitrate concentrations of the spring and summer experiments, the micro-phytoplankton taxa structure shifted from mixed diatom and dinoflagellate assemblages (Ceratium spp., Dinophysis spp., Coscinodiscus sp., Rhizosolenia pungens) to assemblages dominated by blooms of the classic chain-forming diatoms found in temperate and cold waters such as Chaetoceros spp., Skeletonema spp., and Thalassiosira spp. Thus, nitrogen sources (i.e., nitrate, ammonia) may influence phytoplankton abundance and biomass accumulation dynamics in the northern section of Patagonia. It also emphasizes the importance of diatom taxa in regards to the short-term response of phytoplankton to changing environmental nutrient conditions due to natural (decreasing freshwater stream flow) and anthropogenic (aquaculture) events. This situation may be one of the future scenarios in the Patagonian fjords, thus stressing the needs for active environmental monitoring and impact assessment.

The formation, functioning and emergent properties of patterned landscapes have recently drawn increased attention, notably in semi-arid ecosystems. We describe and analyze a set of similarly spectacular landforms in seasonal tropical wetlands. Surales landscapes, comprised of densely packed, regularly spaced mounds, cover large areas of the Orinoco Llanos. Although descriptions of surales date back to the 1940's, their ecology is virtually unknown. From data on soil physical and chemical properties, soil macrofauna, vegetation and aerial imagery, we provide evidence of the spatial extent of surales and how they form and develop. Mounds are largely comprised of earthworm casts. Recognizable, recently produced casts account for up to one-half of total soil mass. Locally, mounds are relatively constant in size, but vary greatly across sites in diameter (0.5-5 m) and height (from 0.3 m to over 2 m). This variation appears to reflect a chronosequence of surales formation and growth. Mound shape (round to labyrinth) varies across elevational gradients. Mounds are initiated when large earthworms feed in shallowly flooded soils, depositing casts that form 'towers' above water level. Using permanent galleries, each earthworm returns repeatedly to the same spot to deposit casts and to respire. Over time, the tower becomes a mound. Because each earthworm has a restricted foraging radius, there is net movement of soil to the mound from the surrounding area. As the mound grows, its basin thus becomes deeper, making initiation of a new mound nearby more difficult. When mounds already initiated are situated close together, the basin between them is filled and mounds coalesce to form larger composite mounds. Over time, this process produces mounds up to 5 m in diameter and 2 m tall. Our results suggest that one earthworm species drives self-organizing processes that produce keystone structures determining ecosystem functioning and development.

International audience; Parasitoids belonging to Amoebophryidae (Marine ALVeolate Group II or MALV II) infecting dinoflagellates were investigated in Reloncavi Fjord (southern Chile) in the austral summer 2009. Of the 12 dinoflagellate species recorded during monthly sampling, Prorocentrum micans, Dinophysis acuminata, and Phalacroma rotundata were infected by Amoebophrya spp. To assess parasitoid control of host populations, the short-term dynamics of Amoebophrya spp. were followed for 21 d during a bloom of P. micans. Host mortality induced by Amoebophrya spp. (% hosts killed per day) was estimated by dividing prevalence by the generation time of these parasitoids. Parasitism by Amoebophrya spp. was responsible for similar to 10% of P. micans mortality between 8 and 17 March. The small subunit rDNA genes of individual parasitoids infecting different host cells were sequenced, and like most environmental sequences retrieved from this ecosystem in January and February, all belonged to the MALV II Clade 4. However, as soon as the P. micans bloom was detected, the MALV II genetic composition changed drastically, with the detection of Clades 1, 4 (a different sub-cluster than before), 5, 6, and 12. Our results suggest that different types of parasitoids belonging to Amoebophryidae likely infect dinoflagellates in Reloncavi Fjord, offering the first demonstration of the presence of important genetic diversity in MALV II inhabiting an ecosystem where dinoflagellate hosts are not the usual dominant phytoplanktonic organisms.

The combined influence of freshwater inputs and wind-driven upwelling may generate contrasting environmental conditions over small spatial scales in the coastal ocean. Over two consecutive years (mid-2006 through to mid-2008), we compared the springtime and wintertime composition, biomass, and primary production of the main phytoplankton groups at two coastal stations (RV and UW) near the Itata River mouth in the upwelling area off central Chile. Hydrographic and nutrient profiles showed distinct seasonal features: a relatively weak surface thermocline and weak river influence at both stations in spring, and in winter a stronger surface halocline at station RV, located closer to the river mouth. At both stations, primary production (24–8000 mg C m−2 d−1) and chlorophyll-a concentrations (5–20 mg Chl-a m−3) were highest in the spring, with a dominance of microphytoplankton (Chaetoceros spp., Thalassiosira spp.). Total primary production and chlorophyll-a in the winter corresponded mostly to smaller size fractions (pico- and nanoplankton), which dominated the phytoplankton community (>50%) in terms of carbon biomass at station RV. At this river-influenced station, small autotrophic and heterotrophic groups (

Grazing experiments were used to study the trophic interactions among plankton components in a stratified fjord of southern Chile. A strong pycnocline (7-10 m) separating the low-salinity layer from the deeper, high-salinity, marine layer, affected the composition, abundance and distribution of phytoplankton and zooplankton every season. Nanoflagellates averaging 59% were consistently the main components of the plankton biomass in both layers. The microphytoplankton contribution was always higher within the marine layer. Cladocerans and some small copepods showed a vertical gradient with greater abundances in the low-salinity layer, whereas medium-large copepods and euphausiids were more abundant below the pycnocline. Podon leuckarti averaged an ingestion rate of 3.1 μg C ind. ― 1 day ―1 , consisting mostly of particles from the nanoplankton size spectrum. Given significant clearance on ciliates and athecate dinoflagellates plus high ingestion rates of heterotrophic nanoflagellates it seems that this species selects for microzooplankton and that heterotrophic components are important in their diet. Calanus australis ingested 15 μg C ind. ―1 day ―1 on average, covering a wide spectrum of prey sizes (5—65 μm equivalent spherical diameter) and diversity, with active selection for ciliates. The average ingestion rate for Euphausia vallentini was 78.7 μg C ind. ― 1 day ―1 , including wide variety of prey sizes but no apparent selectivity. The potential grazing impact (11%) on primary productivity, together with high abundances, feeding selectivity on nanoplankton and production of unconsolidated fecal material indicate that cladocerans could have a double positive feedback effect on the microbial loop, thereby having an important impact by modifying the composition and structure of the planktonic community in Comau Fjord in spring-summer.

The contribution of phototrophic nanoflagellates (PNF) as primary producers and het- erotrophic (HNF) and mixotrophic (MNF) nanoflagellates as major grazers of bacterioplankton was assessed during a 3 yr study in a highly productive, river-influenced coastal upwelling area under contrasting seasons (winter/non-upwelling vs. spring/upwelling). Sampling was conducted at 2 stations — around a river plume and at an intensive seasonal upwelling site — with contrasting en- vironmental gradients. The MNF were evaluated functionally for the possession of photo- pigments and experimentally for the ability to take up prey, specifically fluorescently labeled bacteria (FLB). During the short-term experiments, we estimated grazing rates over FLB for 2 size categories of HNF and MNF. Both bacterial production (BP) and nanophytoplankton primary production (PP) were higher in the river plume area. PNF abundance ranged from 6 × 10 9 to 411 × 10 9 cells m �2 , whereas HNF abundance fluctuated between 27 × 10 9 and 267 × 10 9 cells m �2 . In contrast, the abundance of MNF was usually low, with a maximum of ~7 × 10 9 cells m �2 . For MNF, ingestion rates were between 7.3 and 30.7 bacteria per flagellate and hour (bact flag �1 h �1 ), whereas HNF in- gestion ranged from 2 to 7.5 bact flag �1 h �1 . However, since HNF dominated in terms of abundance, they were the dominant grazers on bacterioplankton populations. Estimates of grazing pressure for the microbial food web showed that MNF were capable of removing 1 to 51% BP d �1 , whereas HNF could control BP, eliminating from 24% BP d �1 up to more than 100% BP d �1 . Given the area's relatively high nutrient condition, the elevated MNF biomass in the river plume and the greater bacterivory impact from MNF in winter, it seems that light and, thus, the energy/carbon limitation could be the main trigger for mixotrophy in this river-influenced coastal upwelling area.

Comment to: Hucke-Gaete, R. 2011. Whales might also be an important component in Patagonian fjord ecosystems: Comment to Iriarte et al. AMBIO 40(1). (This issue). Our contribution (Iriarte et al. 2010) focused on a more general vision, engulfing almost all Patagonian fjord and channel systems under the umbrella of “ecosystem services” (ES). Ecosystem services offer a promising means for aligning conservation, production and socio-economic goals, while simultaneously increasing human welfare and protecting biodiversity, engaging a wider range of places, people, policies, and financing resources. This approach allowed us to integrate organisms of all size spectra (from bacteria to whales) and all types of systems (from the headwaters of the forested watersheds downstream to the related pelagic and benthic coastal marine ecosystems). Furthermore, we gave particular emphasis in the assessment of selected ES, including water quality, carbon sinking and sequestration, the production of pelagic fisheries, and the impact of top predators in the Patagonian fjords. This conceptual model described some ES selected (e.g. water availability and regulation, nutrient cycle, food production, climate regulation) as functions of ecosystem processes (e.g. water reserve and flux, nutrient availability and recycling, carbon flux as energy, climate processes modulating biological processes) and forested watershed-fjord dynamics, human disturbances and climate change. Thus, these ES could be used in the design of comprehensive management recommendations. Hucke-Gaete (2011) points out an interesting aspect, particularly in terms of carbon export (Pershing et al. 2010) and its impact on the tertiary level of consumers in oceanic upwelling trophic webs (Alava 2009), of the role of whales, when present, in semi-enclosed systems. Although not yet quantified, the role of whales in pelagic food webs associated with semi-enclosed Patagonian systems should be highly relevant in areas with enhanced water exchange between the adjacent coastal region and wide-open, relatively deep, semi-enclosed areas (i.e. Corcovado Gulf; Straits of Magellan). Abundant whales have often been observed in these systems, which seem to be important feeding and nursing grounds, during the productive season (austral spring and summer) (Hucke-Gaete et al. 2004). In addition, whales constitute a major mechanism for recycling iron through feeding on krill and the production of unconsolidated iron-rich faeces. The faecal iron content (145.9 mg kg−1) has been reported to be 10 million times higher than in the surrounding Antarctic waters (Nicol et al. 2010). Thus, whales might contribute significantly to maintaining the sustained high primary production (PP) levels found in the area. Ideally, we would be able to calculate this contribution (expressed as maximum recycled iron in mg) by using an actual estimate of PP (this can be extrapolated from Iriarte et al. (2007) and Gonzalez et al. (2010) and the number of whales per 1000 km−2, considering the total carbon (in tons) that each of these large cetaceans are able to consume. Unfortunately, these calculations cannot be made given the current lack of relevant data. Another fertilization mechanism not mentioned by Hucke-Gaete is the mixing effect exerted by whales in semi-enclosed systems. If vertically migrating organisms such as krill can affect the physical structure of the upper ocean through turbulent mixing associated with their diurnal vertical migrations (Kunze et al. 2006; Kajita and Dabri 2009), whales could be expected to have a similar effect, disrupting the physical structure during swimming. The effects of whales and vertically migrating animals on ocean chemistry and physical structures may affect the whole system in different ways and on different spatial/temporal scales. Among others, certain euphausiid species (i.e. Euphausia vallentini) and blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) seem to be key components in maintaining high levels of PP during the productive season, thereby stabilizing the food web structure in some Patagonia fjord systems.

International audience; This paper summarizes phytolith analyses from four pre-Columbian agricultural raised-field sites of the coastal savannahs of French Guiana—Savane Grand Macoua, Piliwa, Bois Diable and K-VIII—and carbon isotope analyses from the first-named site. The combined phytolith and 13C isotope analyses evidence the transformation of the landscape from a relatively homogeneous wetland vegetation comprised of a mixture of C4 and C3 plants (the latter including Cyperaceae and other herbaceous monocots such as Marantaceae and Heliconia, Oryzoideae grasses, and other plants typical of frequently flooded areas) to the construction of raised fields that were dominated by C4 plants (maize and other Panicoideae grasses). Our analysis proves the utility of phytoliths for tracing the agricultural history of landscapes, showing that, as in other parts of the Central and South American lowlands, maize (Zea mays) was one important crop cultivated in raised fields. We also estimated the productivity of raised-field agriculture, showing that in combination with other subsistence activities, it certainly had the capacity to sustain sizeable populations. (source éditeur)

En ambientes de condiciones fluctuantes y drásticas, las adaptaciones fisiológicas y bioquímicas pueden llegar a ser importantes en la estructuración de ensambles fitoplantónicos. El objetivo de este estudio fue establecer si la actividad enzimática de fitoplancton, como un indicador de su metabolismo interno dominante, se relaciona con la bio-masa autotrófica. Las áreas geográficas estudiadas correspondieron a: islas Shetlands del Sur (62°S), bahía de Mejillones (22°S) y seno de Reloncaví (41°30’S). En las áreas seleccionadas y mediante una aproximación de terreno, se colectaron muestras para análisis enzimático del metabolismo intermediario del nitrógeno (nitrato reductasa y glutamina sintetasa), biomasa autotrófica y análisis de nutrientes disueltos inorgánicos. En términos de la actividad enzimática fraccionada por tamaño se observó una disminución de la actividad de nitrato reductasa (bS Reloncaví = -0,93; bB Mejillones = -0,65) y glutamina sintetasa (bS Reloncaví = -0,79) con el incremento del tamaño corporal del fitoplancton. Estas pendientes, menores a -1,0, señalan la relativa importancia de ensambles fitoplanctónicos dominados por diatomeas en aguas costeras ricas en nutrientes inorgánicos nitrogenados. Durante el desarrollo de una floración de una especie de dinoflagelado se detectó una elevada actividad de glutamina sintetasa (GS), sugiriendo que ciertas especies de dinoflagelados prefieren las formas de nitrógeno reducido (amonio y urea) en comparación a nitrato o nitrito. La estimación, vía actividad enzimática, de la razón f con valores > 0,5 y < 0,5, sugiere la importante contribución de las diatomeas a la producción nueva (basada en nitrato) en comparación a los flagelados, los cuales contribuyen significativamente a la producción regenerada (basada en amonio), respectivamente

Emmer wheat (Triticum diccocum) has been positively identified from the stratigraphically oldest ceramic- and domesticated livestock-bearing level of El Mirón Cave in the Cantabrian Cordillera. The grain is AMS 14C-dated to 5550±40 BP. This date is congruent with six others from the same layer, higher within which were found other grains of wheat, including einkorn as well as emmer. Although wild ungulates (mainly red deer) were still hunted, abundant ovicaprines, together with small numbers of cattle and pigs, appear in this level-for the first time in the 40,000-year record at El Mirón. Potsherds (undecorated, but of very good quality) also appear abruptly and abundantly. However, the associated lithic assemblage contains specific tool types also found in late Mesolithic contexts in Cantabrian Spain. In addition to the full suite of Neolithic indicators at El Mirón, as confirmed by less unambiguous early agro-pastoral evidence from other sites in the Vasco-Cantabrian region, there are megalithic monuments both in the vicinity of the cave and throughout the region that are similarly dated. All these data tend to suggest that Neolithic adaptations—already present about a millennium earlier not only along the Mediterranean coast, but also much closer, to the southeast of the Cordillera—were quickly adopted as “a package” by Cantabrian Mesolithic foragers, possibly as a consequence of social contacts with Neolithic groups in southern France and/or the upper Ebro basin of north-central Spain., Financial support for the El Mirón Prehistoric Project has been provided by the US National Science Foundation, the Fundación Marcelino Botín, the L.S.B.Leakey Foundation, the National Geographic Society, the Gobierno de Cantabria, the University of New Mexico and the Spanish Ministerio de Educación. We gratefully acknowledge the material help of the Town of Ramales and the Universidad de Cantabria, as well as the extraordinary efforts of our students and colleagues in excavations and analyses since 1996. Drafting was done by E. Castiglioni (wheat grain), R. Stauber (map and section) and E. Torres (site plan). LP-C worked under a CSIC post-doctoral contract within the I3P Program, funded by the European Social Fund. LZ did her research with a post-doctoral grant from the Basque Government (BF101.12). Her analysis and that of MJI were done within the framework of a Research Group (9/UPV00155.130-14570/2002) at the University of the Basque Country.