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In many vertebrate societies dominant individuals breed at substantially higher rates than subordinates, but whether this hastens ageing remains poorly understood. While frequent reproduction may trade off against somatic maintenance, the extraordinary fecundity and longevity of some social insect queens highlight that breeders need not always suffer more rapid somatic deterioration than their nonbreeding subordinates. Here, we used extensive longitudinal assessments of telomere dynamics to investigate the impact of dominance status on within-individual age-related changes in somatic integrity in a wild social bird, the white-browed sparrow-weaver (Plocepasser mahali). Dominant birds, who monopolise reproduction, had neither shorter telomeres nor faster telomere attrition rates over the long-term (1-5 years) than their subordinates. However, over shorter (half-year) time intervals dominants with shorter telomeres showed lower rates of telomere attrition (and evidence suggestive of telomere lengthening), while the same was not true among subordinates. Dominants may therefore invest more heavily in telomere length regulation (and/or somatic maintenance more broadly); a strategy that could mitigate the long-term costs of reproductive effort, leaving their long-term telomere dynamics comparable to those of subordinates. Consistent with the expectation that reproduction entails short-term costs to somatic integrity, telomere attrition rates were most severe for all birds during the breeding seasons of wetter years (rainfall is the key driver of reproductive activity in this arid-zone species). Our findings suggest that, even in vertebrate societies in which dominants monopolise reproduction, dominants may experience long-term somatic integrity trajectories indistinguishable from those of their nonreproductive subordinates.

In many cooperatively breeding societies non-breeding individuals help to rear the offspring of breeders. The physiological mechanisms that regulate such cooperative helping behavior are poorly understood, but may have been co-opted, during the evolution of cooperative breeding, from pre-existing mechanisms that regulated parental care. Key among these may be a role for prolactin. Here we investigate whether natural variation in circulating prolactin levels predicts both parental and helper contributions to nestling provisioning in cooperatively breeding white-browed sparrow weavers,Plocepasser mahali. In sparrow weaver groups, a single dominant pair monopolize reproduction and non-breeding subordinates help with nestling feeding. We show that: (i) among parents, dominant females feed nestlings at higher rates, make longer provisioning visits and have higher prolactin levels than dominant males; and (ii) among subordinates, engaged in cooperative helping behavior, those within their natal groups feed nestlings at higher rates and have higher prolactin levels than immigrants. Moreover, continuous variation in prolactin levels positively predicts nestling-provisioning rates and mean provisioning visit durations when all bird classes are combined. These relationships are principally driven by differences among bird classes in both circulating prolactin levels and provisioning traits; the more limited within-class variation in prolactin and provisioning traits were not evidently correlated, highlighting a likely role for additional mechanisms in the fine-scale regulation of care. Our findings broadly support the hypothesis that parental care and cooperative helping behavior are regulated by a common underlying mechanism and highlight the need for experimentation to now establish the causality of any role for prolactin.

The Paleo Data Working Group was launched in May 2020 as a driving force for broader conversations about paleontologic data standards. Here, we present an overview of the “community of practice” model used by this group to evaluate and implement data standards such as those stewarded by Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG). A community of practice is defined by regular and ongoing interaction among individual members, who find enough value in participating, so that the group achieves a self-sustaining level of activity (Wenger 1998, Wenger and Snyder 2000, Wenger et al. 2002). Communities of practice are not a new phenomenon in biodiversity science, and were recommended by the recent United States National Academies report on biological collections (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2020) as a way to support workforce training, data-driven discoveries, and transdisciplinary collaboration. Our collective aim to digitize specimens and mobilize the data presents new opportunities to foster communities of practice that are circumscribed not by research agendas but rather by the need for better data management practices to facilitate research. Paleontology collections professionals in the United States have been meeting to discuss digitization semi-consistently in both virtual and in-person spaces for nearly a decade, largely thanks to support from the iDigBio Paleo Digitization Working Group. The need for a community of practice within this group focused on data management in paleo collections became apparent at the biodiversity_next Conference in October 2019, where we realized that work being done in the biodiversity standards community was not being informed by or filtering back to digitization and data mobilization efforts occurring in the paleo collections community. A virtual workshop focused on georeferencing for paleo in April 2020 was conceived as an initial pathway to bridge these two communities and provided a concrete example of how useful it can be to interweave practical digitization experience with conceptual data standards. In May 2020, the Paleo Data Working Group began meeting biweekly on Zoom, with discussion topics collaboratively developed, presented, and discussed by members and supplemented with invited speakers when appropriate. Topics centered on implementation of data standards (e.g., Darwin Core) by collections staff, and how standards can evolve to better represent data. An associated Slack channel facilitated continuing conversations asynchronously. Engaging domain experts (e.g., paleo collections staff) in the conceptualization of information throughout the data lifecycle helped to pinpoint issues and gaps within the existing standards and revealed opportunities for increasing accessibility. Additionally, when domain experts gained a better understanding of the information science framework underlying the data standards they were better able to apply them to their own data. This critical step of standards implementation at the collections level has often been slow to follow standards development, except in the few collections that have the funds and/or expertise to do so. Overall, we found the Paleo Data Working Group model of knowledge sharing to be mutually beneficial for standards developers and collections professionals, and it has led to a community of practice where informatics and paleo domain expertise intersect with a low barrier to entry for new members of both groups. Serving as a loosely organized voice for the needs of the paleo collections community, the Paleo Data Working Group has contributed to several initiatives in the broader biodiversity community. For example, during the 2021 public review of Darwin Core maintenance proposals, the Paleo Data Working Group shared the workload of evaluating and commenting on issues among its members. Not only was this efficient for us, but it was also effective for the TDWG review process, which sought to engage a broad audience while also reaching consensus. The Paleo Data Working Group has also served as a coordinated point of contact for adjacent and intersecting activities related to both data standards (e.g., those led by the TDWG Earth Sciences and Paleobiology Interest Group and the TDWG Collections Description Interest Group) and paleontological research (e.g., those led by the Paleobiology Database and the Integrative Paleobotany Portal project). Sustaining activities, like those of the Paleo Data Working Group, require consideration and regular attention. Support staff at iDigBio and collections staff focusing on digitization or data projects at their own institutions, as well as a consistent pool of drop-in and occasional participants, have been instrumental in maintaining momentum for the community of practice. Socializing can also help build the personal relationships necessary for maintaining momentum. To this extent, the Paleo Data Working Group Slack encourages friendly banter (e.g., the #pets-of-paleo channel), more general collections-related conversations (e.g., the #physical-space channel), and space for those with sub-interests to connect (e.g., the #morphology channel). While the focus of the group is on data, on an individual level, our group members find it useful to network on a wide variety of topics and this usefulness is critical to sustaining the community of practice. As we look forward to Digital Extended Specimen concepts and exciting developments in cyberinfrastructure for biodiversity data, communities of practice like that exemplified by the Paleo Data Working Group are essential for success. Creating FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) data requires buy-in from data providers, such as those in the paleo collections community. Even beyond FAIR, considering CARE (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics) data means embracing participation from a broad spectrum of perspectives, including those without informatics experience. Here, we provide insight into one model for creating such buy-in and participation.

Specimens of the family Cantharidae Imhoff, 1856 from the Georg Statz Collection (latest Oligocene, Rott Formation, Germany) are studied. Six specimens are relatively complete for species-level determinations, including one with a partial aedeagus visible, a first for soldier beetles preserved as compressions. The new species herein described include: Cantharis (Cantharis) bradburyi sp. nov., C. (C.) lidiae sp. nov., C. (C.) rottensis sp. nov., Podistra (Absidia) quies sp. nov., Rhagonycha (Rhagonycha) carolynae sp. nov. and R. (R.) ultramundana sp. nov.. Notably, these genera are still found in Germany and the present report thus provides support for earlier occurrences of Cantharis, Podistra, and Rhagonycha from the Eocene Baltic amber.

Human societies are structured by what we refer to as ‘institutions’, which are socially created and culturally inherited proscriptions on behaviour that define roles and set expectations about social interactions. The study of institutions in several social science fields has provided many important insights that have not been fully appreciated in the evolutionary human sciences. However, such research has often lacked a shared understanding of general processes of change that shape institutional diversity across space and time. We argue that evolutionary theory can provide a useful framework for synthesizing information from different disciplines to address issues such as how and why institutions change over time, how institutional rules co-evolve with other culturally inherited traits, and the role that ecological factors might play in shaping institutional diversity. We argue that we can gain important insights by applying cultural evolutionary thinking to the study of institutions, but that we also need to expand and adapt our approaches to better handle the ways that institutions work, and how they might change over time. In this paper, we illustrate our approach by describing macro-scale empirical comparative analyses that demonstrate how evolutionary theory can be used to generate and test hypotheses about the processes that have shaped some of the major patterns we see in institutional diversity over time and across the world today. We then go on to discuss how we might usefully develop micro-scale models of institutional change by adapting concepts from game theory and agent-based modelling. We end by considering current challenges and areas for future research, and the potential implications for other areas of study and real-world applications.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Foundations of cultural evolution’.

Contains fulltext : 212424.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Policymakers are focused on reducing the public health burden of obesity. The UK average percentage of adults classified as obese is 26%, which is double that of the global average. Over a third of UK adults report using at least one weight management aid. Yet, many people still struggle to change their diet-related behaviour, despite having the awareness, intention and capability to do so. This 'intention-behaviour gap' may be because most existing dietary-choice interventions focus on individual decision-making, ignoring the effects of environmental cues on human behaviour. Behaviour change interventions that 'nudge' people into making healthier choices by modifying the food environment have been shown to be effective. However, this type of intervention is typically challenging for policymakers to implement for economic, ethical and public accessibility reasons. To overcome these concerns, policymakers should consider ‘boosting’ interventions. Boosting involves enhancing competences that help people make decisions consistent with their goals. Here, we outline cognitive training as a boosting intervention to tackle obesity. We synthesize the evidence for one type of cognitive training (go/no-go training) that may be effective at modifying food-related decisions and reducing body weight. We offer evidence-based recommendations for an obesity-focused Public Health Wales behaviour change programme. 7 p.

The enhancing Paleontological and Neontological Data Discovery API (ePANDDA) project (NSF ICER 1821039) has developed an application programming interface (API) to integrate online paleontological and neontological databases, including the Paleobiology Database, iDigBio, and iDigPaleo. This connectivity provides a synthetic resource of information on all aspects of specimens, taxa, and localities. Here we present a case study that demonstrates how the ePANDDA API is being utilized to aid the digitization and dissemination of natural history collections, connect relevant disassociated data, and create added value to each of those resources. The Invertebrate Paleontology Collection at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHMLA) is presently contributing data to the NSF-funded Fossil Insect Collaborative TCN (http://fossilinsects.colorado.edu). A cornerstone of the “Fossil Insects of L.A.” contribution (NSF DBI 1702342) is the historic Georg Statz Collection of fossil insects from the Rott Formation (Oligocene) of Germany. This collection of spectacularly preserved compression fossils was extensively described between the 1920s and 1940s, creating a comprehensive published record, which has been entered into the Paleobiology Database. Several thousand specimens of Statz’ collection, including over 900 type specimens, left Europe in the 1950s to be permanently reposited at the NHMLA. While important to their long-term conservation, this move has hampered collection access by the research community. The ePANDDA project will be able to link specimen record data hosted in iDigBio with bibliographic and taxonomic data reposited in the Paleobiology Database. In addition, programmatic development of the Paleobiology Database now allows for the tracking of fossil occurrences at the resolution of individual specimen records, and better documents the institutions with which those specimens are reposited. Therefore, images of NHMLA specimens, together with historic photographs, drawings, and annotations, will be discoverable through the Paleobiology Database and associated with the bibliographic records within which they were originally described or listed. Seamless search and discovery among these online resources enriches the potential of the historic Statz collection and augments its value for both research and education. We anticipate greater visibility of this and other NHMLA collections as a result of creating such linkages.

The Invertebrate Paleontology Collection at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHMLA) has received support from the United States National Science Foundation (NSF DBI 1702342) to digitize the museum’s unique and historic collection of 28,000+ fossil insects. The primary goal of this project, “Fossil Insects of L.A.”, is to increase access to these collections for both research and education. Key collections to be become discoverable through iDigBio and iDigPaleo include the Georg Statz Collection (Oligocene, Rott Formation, Germany) and three faunas from Southern California: Barstow (Miocene), Rancho La Brea (Pleistocene), and McKittrick (Pleistocene). Fossil Insects of L.A. constitutes the final contribution to the Fossil Insect Collaborative Thematic Collections Network (TCN), a consortium of institutions that have been digitizing the largest fossil insect collections in the United States. As a project beginning at the tail-end of the TCN’s active funding, Fossil Insects of L.A. is actively leveraging existing TCN knowledge and resources to streamline workflows and efficiently achieve project goals. In addition to basing imaging and preservation protocols on those designed by TCN partners, Fossil Insects of L.A. is using a layered approach to provide high-quality taxonomic information without sacrificing the pace of specimen digitization. Previously unidentified specimens are initially identified only to Order, allowing them to quickly continue through the digitization process; specimens can then be re-examined by experienced project participants and external experts, who are able to reference the specimen images generated during digitization. A critical and novel aspect of this component of the project’s workflow is the concurrent digitization of the literature associated with the Statz Collection. These data will be used as a test case for the "Enhancing Paleontological and Neontological Data Discovery API" (ePANDDA) project (NSF ICER 1821039), which seeks to associate related datasets found in iDigBio, iDigPaleo, and the Paleobiology Database. Fossil Insects of L.A. will digitize and make 10,960 specimens publically available online, of which over 6,200 will include images. An additional 15,684 specimen records from the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits will also be included in the data mobilization. In doing so, Fossil Insects of L.A. intends to dramatically enhance the research potential of these formerly hidden collections, as well as synthesize and demonstrate digitization best practices generated through the TCN.

Background. Maternal vaginal colonization with Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B Streptococcus [GBS]) is a precursor to chorioamnionitis, fetal infection, and neonatal sepsis, but the understanding of specific factors in the pathogenesis of ascending infection remains limited. Methods. We used a new murine model to evaluate the contribution of the pore-forming GBS β-hemolysin/ cytolysin (βH/C) to vaginal colonization, ascension, and fetal infection. Results. Competition assays demonstrated a marked advantage to βH/C-expressing GBS during colonization. Intrauterinefetal demiseand/orpreterm birthwere observed in 54% of pregnantmice colonized withwild-type (WT) GBS and 0% of those colonized with the toxin-deficient cylE knockout strain, despite efficient colonization and ascension by bothstrains. Robust placentalinflammation, disruptionofmaternal-fetal barriers, and fetal infection were more frequent in animals colonized with WT bacteria. Histopathologic examination revealed bacterial tropism for fetal lung and liver. Conclusions. Preterm birth and fetal demise are likely the direct result of toxin-induced damage and inflammation rather than differences in efficiency of ascension into the upper genital tract. These data demonstrate a distinct contribution of βH/C to GBS chorioamnionitis and subsequent fetal infection in vivo and showcase a model for this most proximal step in GBS pathogenesis.

2 Abstract: Abaco Island, Bahamas, contains a large number of conical hills that strongly resemble cone karst, a dissolutional landform associated with karst processes in tropical carbonate localities around the world. Field investigation demonstrated that the conical hills are roughly symmetrical in shape and consist of mid to late Pleistocene eolian calcarenites (carbonate sand dunes) partly mantled by talus. The original hummocky depositional topography of the eolian ridges has been dissected by a variety of processes including dissolution pit formation that enhances slope failure, vegetative disruption of the rock surface, and fire-induced exfoliation of the bedrock. The original asymmetrical shape of continuous dune ridges has thus been modified into a series of hills with a symmetrical cone shape, in which the steeper leeward depositional slopes of the dunes have been masked by talus to create a lesser slope that approximates the dip of the exposed bedrock slope of the more gentle windward depositional faces of the dunes. The conical hills are primarily constructional in nature, modified by mass-wasting slope processes only partly influenced by dissolution; therefore these conical hills are not true cone karst, but pseudokarst, despite their cone shape and their development in soluble carbonate rock. Abaco is the only island in the Bahamian Archipelago with both high eolian relief and a significant positive water budget; that water budget supports the degree of dissolution and forest growth necessary to create the root wedging and fire- induced exfoliation that most modify the steep leeward slopes of the dunes. As the eolian calcarenites were deposited only during the brief glacioeustatic sea-level highstands of the last few hundred thousand years, the development of cone-shaped hills in these eogenetic rocks has been geologically very rapid.

Background: Obese, pregnant women have exacerbated inflammation and insulin resistance that put them and their fetus at risk for adverse prenatal outcomes and future risk of cardiometabolic disease. Our objective was to determine the effects of 10 weeks of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation on glucose tolerance and markers of inflammation in healthy, overweight/obese, pregnant women. Method: Using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 60 women, with a pregravid body mass index ≥ 25 consumed placebo or DHA (800 mg DHA, algal oil) capsules for 10 weeks from 26 to 36 weeks gestation. Erythrocyte DHA (EDHA), plasma tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) were measured at 36 weeks. Homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), beta cell function (HOMA-B %), and insulin sensitivity (HOMA-S %) were calculated from glucose and insulin measurements during a 2-hour meal challenge at 36 weeks. Data were analyzed using SPSS (version 22) and SAS (version 9.3). Results: After supplementation, the mean EDHA increased by 25% and decreased by 14% in the DHA or placebo group, respectively (P