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Cranial vault thickness (CVT) and its variations provide valuable insights into an individual's biological attributes such as age and sex. This paper aimed to assess the correlations of CVT with age and sex and develop a regression model for age estimation in Malaysian subadults using computed tomography (CT) images. A total of 521 CT images (male/female: 279/242; age range: 0–20 years; Malay/Chinese/Indian: 221/145/155) were included in the study. Correlations of CVT measurements with age and sex, including frontal bone thickness (FBT), occipital bone thickness (OBT), left parietal bone thickness (LPBT), and right parietal bone thickness (RPBT) were assessed and regression formulae were developed for age estimation in subadults. A significant correlation between CVT measurements and age was demonstrated (p < 0.001). Age estimation was most accurate in the younger age group (< 2 years) at frontal and occipital, and accuracy decreases in the older age groups. Additionally, sexual dimorphism was evident in the frontal and parietal bone thickness within the age range of 3–6 years and 16–20 years, respectively. In conclusion, the findings suggested CVT measurements could be used to corroborate other age estimation methods for subadults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal nutritional anemia is a common nutritional metabolic disease. In this paper, a four-year comparative analysis of hemoglobin and feed nutrition of 16 subadult Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens） showed that: when the subadult Pacific walrus taking in insufficient protein for a long time were susceptible to anemia; If the feed structure was not improved, the proportion of animals suffering from anemia remained high. By increasing the proportion of high-protein bait fish in the diet, the anemia rate of subadult Pacific walrus decreased from 68. 75% to 12. 50% after one year. The results showed that adjusting the feed ratio significantly improved the anemia status of subadult Pacific walrus . These results suggested that the long-term insufficient protein intake might be the main cause of anemia in subadult Pacific walrus. Ensuring a protein intake of 4. 71 g or more per kilogram of body mass per day in a subadult Pacific walrus could help improve anemia and hopefully help its hemoglobin restore to the normal range. The study could provide theoretical support for the nutritional requirements of subadult Pacific walruses and the valuable reference for the conservation of marine endangered species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migratory connectivity describes the degree to which migratory populations are mixed across space and time. Unlike adults, subadult birds often exhibit distinct migratory patterns and continually refine their migratory behaviour and destinations as they mature. Consequently, the influence of subadult movements on overall migratory connectivity might be different from that of adults. However, current studies on migratory connectivity often overlook population age structures, predominantly focusing on adults. In this study, we investigated the role of subadult movements in shaping population level connectivity by using satellite tracking data from 214 black-necked cranes, Grus nigricollis , in western China. We first assessed the variances in spatial separation in different age cohorts using the continuous temporal Mantel correlation coefficient with data from 17 juveniles tracked in the same year for 3 consecutive years. We then calculated the continuous temporal migratory connectivity for the entire population (comprising various age groups) from 15 September to 15 November and compared the result to that of the family group (consisting of juveniles and adults only). Our results revealed a positive correlation between temporal variation in spatial separation and age after the juveniles separated from the adults, suggesting that subadults may have fine-tuned their migration paths. Moreover, the migratory connectivity of the all-age cohort was moderate (below 0.6) in the winter season, and notably lower than that of the family group during the autumn period. Given the considerable impact of subadults on migratory connectivity, we recommend using data collected from birds across all age categories to improve the precision of population level migratory connectivity estimates. • Black-necked cranes have moderate migratory connectivity. • Spatial separation between individuals varied between age groups. • Individuals of all ages should be included when calculating migratory connectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The social interactions of grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) pups at a salt marsh breeding site were observed to gain an understanding of the early development of sociality in this species. Pups interacted with their mothers immediately before and after suckling bouts, involving nose-to-nose and nose-to-body types of contact. However, some mother–pup pairs also engaged in play behaviours involving close body contact, with the mother usually taking the initiative by leaning her head over the pup, described as the play "invitation". After the pups were weaned at ~2.5 weeks of age, they gathered around pools of water. There they interacted tentatively, often only touching whiskers or noses, or swam rapidly past a companion with much splashing. They attracted each other's attention by adopting play-like displays with their flippers and heads extended, eventually following each other along channels connecting to the sea. Subadults reprised the contact play of mother–pup pairs; the components of this play are repeated during adult courtship and mating and thus personal relationships developed through nosing and contact play may underscore the social cohesion of the breeding colony. Harbour seals, Phoca vitulina, show the same behaviours, suggesting a similar social network prevailing in this, and possibly other, closely related species. Juvenile grey seals are known to be highly social, interacting with contact behaviours interpreted as gentle play. However, minimal sociality of pups with their mothers and among weaned pups has been suggested. The present study aimed to observe the natural social interactions of pups to track the early ontogeny of their sociality. Pup behaviour at a salt marsh colony on the east coast of England was video-recorded. Pups interacted with their mothers around suckling bouts and after weaning as they gathered around pools. The records were transcribed to spreadsheets in 30 s time segments to estimate the frequency and co-occurrence of different behaviours. Mother-pup interaction comprised nosing contacts and sometimes contact play, involving one laying the head and fore-flipper over the other. Initial weaned pup encounters involved tentative nosing and defensive splashing, indicating contact shyness. However, socially orientated locomotor play, supine posturing, and exaggerated raising of fore- and hind-flippers led to reduced shyness and pups following one another towards the sea. Archive data on subadult interactions and on harbour seal behaviours were re-analysed. Gentle play-like contact between mother–pup, juvenile, and adult pairs is interpreted here as a universal mode of social bonding, underscoring the social structure of both grey and harbour seals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fecal fungal diversity of three giant pandas （Ailuropoda melanoleuca） at 14,16,21,26,31 and 36 months old from Beijing Zoo were tested respectively using MiSeq sequencing platform. The composition and dynamics of fungal flora from young to subadult were quantified. Results showed that： there was no difference in richness and diversity of fungal community among three pandas. The diversity and richness of fungal community was the highest at 26-month-old. At the level of phylum, the fecal fungi were mainly Ascomycota. The fungal community at 36-month-old was different from those of the other age groups, mainly relative to Basidiomycota, Phragmoplastophyta, unclassified_d__Eukaryota, un⁃ classified_k__Metazoa __Animalia_ and unclassified_k__Fungi, etc., suggesting that the fungal composition of the 36- month-old giant pandas was also changed significantly, after stopping from being fed with milk. According to the predic⁃ tion of fungal analysis, the fungi of three giant pandas were mainly characterized to be saprophytic type. The research find⁃ ings can provide basic data for evaluation of intestinal microecological health of subadult giant pandas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding space use and how it changes over time is critical in animal ecology. The subadult period is the transition from juvenile to adult. Adults and subadults have different biological requirements in summer, resulting in differential space use patterns. We tagged 66 White-naped Cranes (Antigone vipio) in eastern Mongolia, including 22 adults and 44 hatch-year juveniles, using GPS/GSM trackers from July to August, 2017–2019. The objectives are to characterize and compare space use, especially home ranges of adults and subadults, of White-naped Cranes and to investigate patterns in summer. We split the entire summering period into 6 stages (pre-incubation, incubation/nestling, pre-molting, molting/post-molting, post-fledging, moving to another area before autumn migration) and estimated home ranges, core areas using kernel density estimates (KDE) and minimum convex polygons (MCPs). We found that subadults exhibit wider home range movements than adults and that subadults' ranging areas (corresponding to the home range of adults) decreased from the first half to the second half of the summer. Breeding adults had the smallest home ranges, while one-year-old and two-year-old subadults had equally the largest ranging areas but which decreased significantly when subadults reached sexual maturity at three years old. Throughout the summer, the changing pattern of breeders was generally opposite to that of subadults. All subadult age groups had the largest ranging areas when breeders' home ranges were the smallest during the incubation/nestling stage. This study highlights the difference between adults and subadults and contributes to subadult ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological data are frequently nonlinear, heteroscedastic and conditionally dependent, and often researchers deal with missing data. To account for characteristics common in biological data in one algorithm, we developed the mixed cumulative probit (MCP), a novel latent trait model that is a formal generalization of the cumulative probit model usually used in transition analysis. Specifically, the MCP accommodates heteroscedasticity, mixtures of ordinal and continuous variables, missing values, conditional dependence and alternative specifications of the mean response and noise response. Cross-validation selects the best model parameters (mean response and the noise response for simple models, as well as conditional dependence for multivariate models), and the Kullback–Leibler divergence evaluates information gain during posterior inference to quantify mis-specified models (conditionally dependent versus conditionally independent). Two continuous and four ordinal skeletal and dental variables collected from 1296 individuals (aged birth to 22 years) from the Subadult Virtual Anthropology Database are used to introduce and demonstrate the algorithm. In addition to describing the features of the MCP, we provide material to help fit novel datasets using the MCP. The flexible, general formulation with model selection provides a process to robustly identify the modelling assumptions that are best suited for the data at hand.

OBJECTIVES: Effective allometry research relies on appropriate size variables; however, two of the largest obstacles in subadult (ontogenetic) allometry research is small sample sizes and unknown dimensions. This study overcomes a barrier of ontogenetic allometry research by proposing alternative size variables that do not require additional calculations for use in subadult allometry research and retain general patterns among long bones when stature is used for size. MATERIALS AND METHODS Diaphyseal measurements, stature, and age were collected from computed tomography (CT) and full‐body radiographic images for a sample of subadults between birth and 13 years from the United States (U.S., n = 308) and South Africa (Z.A., n = 25). Nineteen alternative size variables were evaluated using reduced‐major‐axis regression to identify the closest one‐to‐one relationship to stature. The applicability across samples was then evaluated using the selected alternative size variables. RESULTS: Radius midshaft breadth (RMSB), femur midshaft breadth (FMSB), and the geometric mean of midshaft breadths (GM midshaft) yielded the closest isometric relationships to stature. Allometric relationships among long bones are maintained when using stature, FMSB, and GM midshaft as size variables for both the U.S. and Z.A. samples. DISCUSSION A large, modern dataset facilitated an investigation into alternative size variables that can be used for single‐bone ontogenetic allometry. Generalizability of the model suggests FMSB and GM midshaft are persistent across populations. This methodology identifies alternative size variables appropriate for other allometry research and offers a robust approach even when historically relied upon size variables are unknown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A central goal of ecology is to understand how environmental variation affects populations. Long-term studies of marked individuals can quantify the effects of environmental variation on key life-history traits. We monitored the survival and growth of 336 individually marked juvenile eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus), a large herbivore living in a seasonal but unpredictable environment. During our 12-year study, the population experienced substantial variation in rainfall, forage biomass, and density. We used structural equation modeling to determine how variation in temperature and rainfall affected juvenile survival and growth through its effect on forage biomass and population density. Independently of population density, forage biomass had strong positive effects on survival from 10 to 21 months. At low population density, forage biomass also had a positive effect on skeletal growth to 26 months. Increasing maternal body condition improved rearing success for daughters but not for sons. High population density reduced skeletal growth to 26 months for both sexes. Rainfall had an increasingly positive effect on forage biomass at high temperatures, indicating a seasonal effect on food availability. Our study reveals interacting effects of environmental variation on juvenile survival and growth for a large mammal with a conservative reproductive strategy that experiences substantial stochasticity in food availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant knowledge gaps persist on snow leopard demography and reproductive behavior. From a GPS-collared population in Mongolia, we estimated the timing of mating, parturition and independence. Based on three mother–cub pairs, we describe the separation phase of the cub from its mother as it gains independence. Snow leopards mated from January–March and gave birth from April–June. Cubs remained with their mother until their second winter (20–22 months of age) when cubs started showing movements away from their mother for days at a time. This initiation of independence appeared to coincide with their mother mating with the territorial male. Two female cubs remained in their mothers' territory for several months after initial separation, whereas the male cub quickly dispersed. By comparing the relationship between body size and age of independence across 11 solitary, medium-to-large felid species, it was clear that snow leopards have a delayed timing of separation compared to other species. We suggest this may be related to their mating behavior and the difficulty of the habitat and prey capture for juvenile snow leopards. Our results, while limited, provide empirical estimates for understanding snow leopard ecology and for parameterizing population models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age structure of breeding populations may be important in the evaluation of population health and may indicate when populations are susceptible to decline. However, few long-lived species have well understood age distributions. We investigated the breeding age distribution in a long-lived species, the Swainson's Hawk, in a population that was monitored for 40 years and whose population has grown fourfold over the course of the study. We observed 279 known-aged Swainson's Hawks 1315 times during our study. The average age of breeding Swainson's Hawks in the Butte Valley across all surveyed years was 8.3 ± 4.3 years. The oldest known-aged individual in our population was 26 years old and the average age at death (individuals presumed dead) was 9.2 ± 5.5 years old (n = 160). There was no difference in longevity between males (mean ± SE; 9.7 ± 0.6 years old, n = 85) and females (9.0 ± 0.7 years old, n = 69). The proportion of subadults breeding (n = 56) was related to population growth, with a greater proportion of subadults breeding when the growth rate was higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the complexities of avian migration is important for ecological and conservation biological studies. While much progress has been made in studying relatively small-sized birds, migratory behavior of large and long-lived species such as cranes is not fully understood and experimentation on such species is difficult. In December 2015, four hand-reared Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis) subadults were found in northeast China, which is not the normal wintering ground for this species. Using GPS-GSM transmitters, migration performance of four hand-reared and three wild Red-crowned Cranes was monitored between 2015 and 2018. Wild individuals followed a north-south migration route along the east coast of China, while hand-reared cranes took an abnormal west-east migration route for the first two years. After reaching sexual maturity in 2017, one of the hand-reared individuals rectified its abnormal migration route and obtained a regular north-south migration route. Results indicate that it is critical to include experienced migrants in the releasing group to guarantee correct migration direction when implementing re-wilding projects in Red-crowned Cranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crested porcupine Hystrix cristata is undergoing a marked range expansion in Italy, and it is reaching the northern regions, where it was historically absent. We studied its dispersal ability by marking 86 subadult individuals through coloured tapes on dorsal quills, in contrasting environmental context (i.e. coastal scrubland, deciduous woodland, suburbs, rural areas and farmlands), in Southern Tuscany. Recaptures occurred only for 14 (16.3%) of them, allowing us to evaluate dispersal patterns, which ranged from 180 to 4896 m. We showed that no sexual difference occurred in dispersal distances, as expected by the monogamous mating system of this rodent. The season did not affect dispersal patterns significantly, although most of these movements occurred at the peak of the main reproductive season. Dispersal distance increased with increasing home range and with increasing woodland cover (i.e. % of study site covered by woodland). Forest reexpansion in Italy may thus have promoted the range expansion by this species during the last 40 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estudios Atacameños is the property of Estudios Atacamenos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Biological sex is foundational to the work of forensic anthropologists and bioarcheologists. The lack of reliable biological sex estimation methods for subadults has, thus, greatly limited forensic and bioarcheological analyses. Auricular surface elevation showed promise as a subadult sex estimation method in previous studies. This study examined two auricular surface elevation evaluation methods on four subadult samples of known age, sex, and ancestry. Samples were scored as "male," "female," or "indeterminate" and results were examined with chi‐square analysis. No consistent sex estimation pattern, accuracy, or predictive value was produced between samples. Only one test was significant using Fisher's exact test analysis (FET = 7.501, p < 0.022): the composite approach on the Hamann‐Todd sample. While age, sample size, or developmental factors may play a role in these results, clearly sample variation does as well. This study found auricular surface elevation was not a useful subadult sex estimation method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sella turcica has gained importance as a stable bony landmark in cephalometric studies. This study explored the changes that accompany postnatal ontogeny of the sella turcica until full development and verified its contribution in age estimation and sexual assignment among Egyptians. Six selected measurements of the sella turcica of 215 Egyptian patients were assessed using multidetector computed tomography. The patients represented different ages and were referred to the Diagnostic and Interventional Radiological Department, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University. The gathered data were then subjected to statistical analysis, including correlation and regression analysis. The measurements of the sella showed a strong correlation with age. Three selected measurements demonstrated significant sexual dimorphism: sella width and anterior and median height in subjects 20–25 years old. Six regression equations were derived. The accuracy achieved by the combined parameters in the younger group (<25 years old) was higher than that in the older individuals. This study provides useful tools in the determination of age and sex in both forensic and bioarcheological disciplines. However, further studies concerning the shape are strongly suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The approach to Gran Canaria's pre‐Hispanic period has traditionally been dominated by a romantic and propitious view of its indigenous populations advocating a historical evolution on the margin of the conflicts and contradictions common to any society. Yet new data indicate that the ancient Canarians were subject to high rates of internal violence linked to the island's isolation and harsh biogeographical conditions, as well as marked personal differences and a strong hierarchization of the social order. However, the effects of such a degree of violence among the subadult population remain unknown. The study of the assemblage of the victims, particularly the younger members of society, requires a global analysis of the historical conditions to determine whether this violence was exceptional or habitual. The findings of this study point to a prevalence of trauma among subadults (surpassing 20%), thus bolstering the notion of a society with widespread physical violence affecting the whole population or at least that above the age of 5 or 6 years. The data also suggest widespread violence within the framework of interpersonal relationships rather than violence directed specifically against the population's younger sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The development of third molars can be evaluated with medical imaging to estimate age in subadults. The appearance of third molars on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) differs greatly from that on radiographs. Therefore a specific staging technique is necessary to classify third molar development on MRI and to apply it for age estimation. Aim: To develop a specific staging technique to register third molar development on MRI and to evaluate its performance for age estimation in subadults. Materials and methods: Using 3T MRI in three planes, all third molars were evaluated in 309 healthy Caucasian participants from 14 to 26 years old. According to the appearance of the developing third molars on MRI, descriptive criteria and schematic representations were established to define a specific staging technique. Two observers, with different levels of experience, staged all third molars independently with the developed technique. Intra- and inter-observer agreement were calculated. The data were imported in a Bayesian model for age estimation as described by Fieuws et al. (2016). This approach adequately handles correlation between age indicators and missing age indicators. It was used to calculate a point estimate and a prediction interval of the estimated age. Observed age minus predicted age was calculated, reflecting the error of the estimate. Results: One-hundred and sixty-six third molars were agenetic. Five percent (51/1096) of upper third molars and 7% (70/1044) of lower third molars were not assessable. Kappa for inter-observer agreement ranged from 0.76 to 0.80. For intra-observer agreement kappa ranged from 0.80 to 0.89. However, two stage differences between observers or between staging sessions occurred in up to 2.2% (20/899) of assessments, probably due to a learning effect. Using the Bayesian model for age estimation, a mean absolute error of 2.0 years in females and 1.7 years in males was obtained. Root mean squared error equalled 2.38 years and 2.06 years respectively. The performance to discern minors from adults was better for males than for females, with specificities of 96% and 73% respectively. Conclusion: Age estimations based on the proposed staging method for third molars on MRI showed comparable reproducibility and performance as the established methods based on radiographs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home range shifts prior to natal dispersal have been rarely documented, yet the events that lead a subadult to abandon a portion of its home range and venture into unfamiliar territories, before eventually setting off to look for a site to reproduce, are probably related to the causes of dispersal itself. Here, we used a combination of manual radio-tracking and an Automated Radio Telemetry System to continuously study the movements of a subadult male ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), a solitary carnivore with sex-biased dispersal, on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, for 18 months from May 2003 through October 2004. The subadult ocelot’s parents were also radio-tracked to record possible parent-offspring interactions within their home ranges. At the age of ca. 21 months the subadult gradually began to shift its natal home range, establishing a new one used until the end of the study, in an area that had previously been used by another dispersing subadult male. Only three parent-offspring interactions were recorded during the four months around the time the range-shift occurred. The apparent peaceful nature of these encounters, along with the slow transition out of a portion of his natal home range, suggest the subadult was not evicted from his natal area by his parents. The timing of the shift, along with the subadult’s increase in weight into the weight range of adult ocelots four months after establishing the new territory, suggests that predispersal home range shifts could act as a low risk and opportunistic strategy for reaching adult size, while minimizing competition with parents and siblings, in preparation for an eventual dispersal into a new breeding territory. Rev. Biol. Trop. 56 (2): 779-787. Epub 2008 June 30.Los desplazamientos del ámbito hogareño de mamíferos subadultos previos a la dispersión natal rara vez han sido documentados. Sin embargo, los eventos que llevan a un animal subadulto a abandonar una parte de su ámbito natal, antes de buscar un sitio definitivo donde reproducirse, pueden estar relacionados con las causas de la dispersión en si. En este estudio, utilizamos una combinación de radio-telemetría manual y un Sistema de Radio-Telemetría Automatizado para estudiar de manera continua los movimientos de un ocelote (Leopardus pardalis) macho subadulto, un carnívoro solitario con dispersión sesgada sexualmente, en la Isla de Barro Colorado, Panamá, durante 18 meses (mayo 2003 hasta octubre 2004). Los padres del ocelote subadulto también fueron monitoreados por radio-telemetría para registrar posibles interacciones entre padres e hijo en sus ámbitos hogareños. A la edad aproximada de 21 meses, el ocelote subadulto comenzó a desplazar gradualmente su ámbito hogareño natal, estableciendo uno nuevo que fue ocupado hasta el final del estudio, en un área que había sido ocupada previamente por otro macho subadulto en dispersión. Se registraron solamente tres interacciones entre padres e hijo en los cuatro meses del desplazamiento. La aparente naturaleza pacífica de estos encuentros, junto con el lento abandono de una parte de su ámbito hogareño natal, sugieren que el subadulto no fue expulsado de su área natal por sus padres. El momento del desplazamiento, junto con el incremento en peso del subadulto (al peso propio de un adulto) cuatro meses después de haber establecido su nuevo territorio, sugiere que los desplazamientos del ámbito hogareño previos a la dispersión natal podrían actuar como una estrategia oportunista y de bajo riesgo para alcanzar el tamaño adulto, minimizando la competencia con padres y hermanos, en preparación para una dispersión final a un nuevo territorio para reproducirse.

Jomon hunter–gatherers in Japan commonly show Neolithic characteristics, such as intensive utilization of potteries, grinding stones, and many plant food sources. In this study, breastfeeding and weaning practices in a Jomon hunter–gatherer population are investigated to evaluate two hypotheses concerning the relations between utilization of potteries/plant foods and early weaning and children's diet around and after the weaning process. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios were investigated for 46 subadult and 47 adult human skeletons excavated from the Yoshigo site of the Late/Final Jomon period (approximately 4000–2300 years BP) in eastern Japan. A new analytical procedure was developed and residuals of nitrogen isotope ratios were calculated to cancel out the effect of positive correlation in the carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios. Age changes in the residuals showed that the age at the end of weaning in the Yoshigo population was 3.5 years (2.3–5.5 years in 95% credible interval), which is not younger than that in typical non-industrialized populations and the other skeletal hunter–gatherer populations. Furthermore, most infants were probably weaned using a combination of the same food sources as those eaten by adults. These results suggest that the utilization of pottery and plant food per se is not a sole determinant of the age at the end of weaning in past human populations, and a special diet was not always applied during and just after the weaning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Intersecciones en Antropología is the property of Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Extensive research has examined the effects of social isolation in neonatal and adult animal populations, but few studies have examined the effect of social isolation in early adulthood. Animals reaching reproductive age often experience extensive social changes as they leave their natal site, and a social stressor like isolation may uniquely affect this age group. Furthermore, adolescence is a time when sex differences in behavior become more pronounced. As such, the effects of social stressors are likely to vary by sex. In this study, we used noninvasive methods to evaluate stress responses to social change in male and female subadult chickens (Gallus gallus). Half of the birds experienced regular sessions of social isolation over the course of 2 wk, while the other half were never isolated. Subsequently, all of the animals were exposed to a suite of three novel probes, including an open-field test. We monitored the birds' behavioral (head movements) and physiological (fecal glucocorticoid metabolites, FGM) response to the tests. Our results indicate that, for subadult chickens, the effect of social isolation is sex dependent: Male FGM and behavioral responses did not change with subsequent experiences, in contrast to females. Females also exhibited more social reinstatement behavior compared to males. Our results are consistent with the expectations of differences between the sexes based on changes in the social environment due to sex-biased dispersal patterns. For both sexes, the FGM and behavioral responses varied independently, which highlights the necessity for multiple measures of stress in animal populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of an examination of scurvy in the commingled subadult remains (minimum number of individuals = 70) of the Spring Street Presbyterian Church. This historic congregation in New York City had active burial vaults from 1820 to 1846. Scurvy is a vitamin C deficiency that results in haemorrhaging at the sites of muscle origin and insertion, particularly around the skull. These resulting lesions can occur in subadults undergoing growth, weaning and dietary stress. Applying diagnoses suggested by recent research, this article examines specific sites on the skull for lesions consistent with and suggestive of scurvy. Findings include 30 elements that display associated pathology. This population data are drawn from maxillae, sphenoids and orbits. Two osteobiographies are also presented. By connecting the biological data to the socio-cultural environment of the church, this article raises questions of how to interpret the presence and absence of scurvy in a commingled collection. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) have adapted to an annual cyclic regime of feeding and fasting, which is extreme in seasonal sea ice regions of the Arctic. As a consequence of climate change, sea ice breakup has become earlier and the duration of the openwater period through which polar bears must rely on fat reserves has increased. To date, there is limited empirical data with which to evaluate the potential energetic capacity of polar bears to withstand longer fasts.Wemeasured the incoming and outgoingmass of inactive polar bears (np142) that were temporarily detained by Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship during the open-water period near the town of Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, in 2009–2014. Polar bears were given access to water but not food and held for a median length of 17 d. Median mass loss rates were 1.0 kg/d, while median mass-specific loss rates were 0.5%/d, similar to other species with high adiposity and prolonged fasting capacities. Mass loss by unfed captive adult males was identical to that lost by free-ranging individuals, suggesting that terrestrial feeding contributes little to offsetmass loss. The inferred metabolic rate was comparable to a basal mammalian rate, suggesting that while on land, polar bears can maintain a depressed metabolic rate to conserve energy. Finally, we estimated time to starvation for subadults and adult males for the on-land period. Results suggest that at 180 d of fasting, 56%–63% of subadults and 18%–24% of adult males in this study would die of starvation Results corroborate previous assessments on the limits of polar bear capacity to withstand lengthening ice-free seasons and emphasize the greater sensitivity of subadults to changes in sea ice phenology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late-medieval and post-medieval writings report that scurvy was a widespread condition in medieval and early historical Poland. Archaeological and historical data indicate that the diet of children was based on foods poor in vitamin C and contained small amounts of raw plant products. Also, historians emphasise that in medieval and post-medieval Poland, there were seasonal fluctuations in food availability, frequently accompanied by poor harvests. Both resulted in long periods of poor nutrition, which affected children most severely. The aim of this study was to investigate skeletal manifestations of scurvy in subadult remains from medieval and post-medieval Poland. Following standards described by Ortner and colleagues, anatomical sites pathognomonic of scurvy in subadults (<17 years) were assessed for abnormal porosity and hypertrophic bone among skeletons excavated from three sites: Ostrów Lednicki (dated to the 11th-14th centuries AD), Cedynia (10th-14th centuries AD) and Słaboszewo (14th-17th centuries AD). In total, 3.6% of all examined children were found to bear traces of vitamin C deficiency. The prevalence of scorbutic lesions was 4.5% for Cedynia, 2.6% for Ostrów Lednicki and 3.6% for Słaboszewo. The majority of affected children were less than 7 years of age. Scurvy was likely more widespread in the living populations than it appears from the calculation of skeletal markers, because some individuals might have recovered or died before obvious traces became apparent. Also, in some children, scurvy might not have reached an advanced stage, identifiable in the skeletal material. The prevalence of scurvy reflects not only dietary patterns but also food storage and preparation techniques adopted in the Polish territories during the Middle Ages, which contributed to low intakes of vitamin C. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pars basilaris of the occipital bone is often found intact when fetal or infant bones are discovered. In the literature, several methods use measurements of this bone for juvenile's age-at-death estimation, but it has already been demonstrated that they can come along methodological and statistical biases. In this study, new age prediction formulas were created from a learning sample of 208 CT scans of fetuses and infants from Marseilles (France) with normal development. The two statistically validated models, with a prediction interval of 95 % of reliability, were tested on a separate sample of 68 individuals, for which we ensured that they did not show any developmental pathology. Models show an average of 97.06 % of correct age estimates, compared to less than 26.6 % when using previously published which tend to overestimate age. The new age estimation formulas make it possible to estimate fetuses and infants age with very good results up to 2 postnatal months. Results are both reliable and precise enough for forensic practice, and we provide an automated tool (a simple excel spreadsheet) to ensure an easy and quick access to the application of this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Los términos 'subadulto' e 'inmaduro' han sido aplicados en forma vaga e inconsistente en la literatura sobre rapaces. Además, los sistemas de registro de envejecimiento basados en el calendario generan cambios en los códigos a pesar de que no ocurren cambios en la apariencia exterior u otros criterios utilizados para determinar la edad, y no pueden ser utilizados en las regiones ecuatoriales donde las aves pueden reproducirse desde el uno de enero. Para clarificar y añadir consistencia a la terminología de muda y de plumaje en rapaces, presentamos un grupo estandarizado de términos de clases de edad y de códigos para reemplazar los términos que no han sido definidos universalmente. Proponemos una terminología basada en un ciclo y una codificación que aplique una nomenclatura precisa sobre la muda y el plumaje para aves rapaces de las que se conoce la edad, y presentamos una cronología de mudas y plumajes, así como sus códigos, para su uso en rapaces de América del Norte. En los casos en los que la edad real no pueda ser determinada, proponemos el uso del término 'pre-definitivo' (o 'inmaduro') para rapaces que no son ni adultos ni juveniles. [Traducción del equipo editorial] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social organization of many reptile species that are rare in the wild remains rather unexplored due to difficulties when setting experiments in the field. Behavioral analysis of standard social situations in laboratory conditions is considered an indirect method to reveal social behavior in the field. We studied two rare species of geckos, Teratoscincus scincus and Teratoscincus keyserlingii , inhabiting sand dunes of Uzbekistan and Eastern Iran. A series of experiments was carried out to quantify responses in social interactions among conspecific adults as well as reactions of these towards conspecific/heterospecific subadults and juveniles. We also assessed the effect of species and sex on recorded behavior. Finally, the reaction to threat stimuli simulating predator attack was analyzed. The species effect was recorded only in the response to a simulated predatory attack: T. scincus typically escaped whereas larger T. keyserlingii attacked the stimulus. In accordance with the sexual competition hypothesis, agonistic interactions were nearly exclusively confined to male–male encounters while females were tolerant to each other. Male–female encounters regularly resulted in mating attempts, which suggests that females are not strongly selective in choosing partners. Therefore, male aggression can be linked to mate guarding or territoriality. Adults’ lack of interest in immature geckos may indicate generalized tolerance of adults towards young. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-fledging dispersal and site fidelity are poorly understood, particularly for sea ducks that spend the majority of their annual cycle at sea. This is the first description of movements and their timing for first-year (juvenile) and second-year (subadult) King Eiders Somateria spectabilis in relation to their attendant females. We fitted satellite transmitters that operated for 2 years to 63 hatch-year birds and 17 attendant females at breeding areas in northern Alaska in 2006-2009. Our goals were to describe the spatio-temporal distribution of pre-breeding individuals and adult females that had been successful breeders. We also examined fidelity to wing moulting and wintering areas as well as natal philopatry. Juveniles did not appear to follow attendant adults, although they did winter in the same three general wintering areas, suggesting that genetic inheritance and social factors may have roles in the initial migration from the breeding area. Additionally, juveniles were more variable in the timing and duration of migration, moved longer distances during the winter, and were less faithful to moulting and wintering areas than adults, indicating that individual exploration and acquired navigational memory played a role in subsequent migrations. Most (75%) subadult females returned to natal areas, probably prospecting for future nesting sites, whereas subadult males were widely dispersed at sea. Timing and duration of moult migration and wing moult of adult females that were presumed to be successful breeders differed from those of unsuccessful breeders due to the extended time that the former spent on the breeding grounds. Temporal and spatial segregation of post-fledging King Eiders from adults has direct management implications in terms of resource development and population dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pathological skull of a 5–7 year old child from Saint-Jean-des-Vignes (Saône-et-Loire, north-eastern France) dated to the 5–6th century AD is described. Morphological and radiographic features, metrical data and Computed Tomography (CT) scans are used to study the osteological abnormalities in comparison with normal skulls of individuals of similar age and geographic origin. The combination of features is consistent with the diagnosis of Down syndrome (e.g. brachycrany, metopism, hypodontia, periodontitis, a flattened occiput, vault thinness, and an open cranial base angle), although none is pathognomonic of the disease in isolation. Cases of Down syndrome in past populations are rare, frequently poorly described or discovered out of context. This case represents the earliest and youngest example of the condition in the archaeological record. The context and funerary treatment of this child suggests that he/she was not stigmatized by other members of the community, who afforded a normal mode of burial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Introduction: Sex determination is the first step in the identification of corpses and skeletal remains. The mandible is the largest and strongest bone of the face and has high durability. It is known that skeletal features vary by population, thus the need to establish population-specific standards. In this study, for the first time, we investigated mandibular anthropometric parameters for sex determination in subadult Iranian cadavers. Methods: Eight mandibular anthropometric parameters were measured in 45 Iranian cadavers below the age of 20 (23 males and 22 females corpses), and the relationships of these variables with gender were determined. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, ROC curve, cross tabulation and discriminant analysis in SPSS 13. Results: No significant statistical difference was seen in the mandibular anthropometric values between the two genders in samples below the age of 12. In the 12–19 age group, accuracy of symphysial height and bigonial breadth in differentiation of gender was 69% and 86.2% respectively. Conclusion: Although mandibular anthropometric parameters are not helpful in sex determination below the age of 12, if for some reasons such as explosions, air disasters and other accidents, only the mandible is available, symphysial height and mandibular bigonial breadth could be used to determine the gender with high accuracy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cephalopod life cycles generally share a set of stages that take place in different habitats and are adapted to specific, though variable, environmental conditions. Throughout the lifespan, individuals undertake a series of brief transitions from one stage to the next. Four transitions were identified: fertilisation of eggs to their release from the female (1), from eggs to paralarvae (2), from paralarvae to subadults (3) and from subadults to adults (4). An analysis of each transition identified that the changes can be radical (i.e. involving a range of morphological, physiological and behavioural phenomena and shifts in habitats) and critical (i.e. depending on environmental conditions essential for cohort survival). This analysis underlines that transitions from eggs to paralarvae (2) and from paralarvae to subadults (3) present major risk of mortality, while changes in the other transitions can have evolutionary significance. This synthesis suggests that more accurate evaluation of the sensitivity of cephalopod populations to environmental variation could be achieved by taking into account the ontogeny of the organisms. The comparison of most described species advocates for studies linking development and ecology in this particular group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This is the first regional analysis of the impact of Romanisation on subadult dietary patterns and related health parameters in Britain. A sample of 200 subadults from late Iron Age (LIA) and Romano-British (RB) Dorset were examined for dental health and specific metabolic diseases, and a sub-sample of 29 individuals were selected for nitrogen and carbon isotope analysis. The results showed that dental health declined in the Romano-British period and the incidence of scurvy and rickets rose. Increased consumption of marine foods in the RB period is indicated by an increase in δ13C between the LIA and RB subadults. After early childhood, there was no age-dependent variation in dietary protein in the RB and LIA populations from Dorset. We propose that these changes related to the introduction of urban living, Romanised diets and population migration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In a study examining the range, distribution, and habitat use of the ringed seal, Phoca hispida, in Canada's Western Arctic, eight ringed seals were live-captured, instrumented with satellite-linked (SLTDR-16) transmitters, and released at Cape Parry, Northwest Territories, Canada, on 17 - 19 September 2001 and 7 - 8 September 2002. Locations accepted by the filtering process were received from seven of the eight tagged seals (5 subadults, 1 adult female, 1 pup) over periods ranging from 35 to 207 days (mean 99 d, SD 66). Mean rates of travel were 0.91 m/s (SE 0.011, n = 7) in the Canadian Beaufort Sea, 0.92 m/s (SE 0.014, n = 7) offshore of Alaska's North Slope, and 0.79 m/s (SE 0.008, n = 5) in the Chukchi Sea. On average, the seals took 32 days (range 19 - 56 d) to migrate between Cape Parry and Point Barrow, almost always remaining within 100 km of shore and over the continental shelf or slope, and covering an average migration distance of 2138 km. Dive depths for all groupings were mainly in the 4 - 80 m range (adult female: 63 - 73%; subadults: 54 - 73%; pup: 64 - 82%), with only the adult female diving deeper than 80 m on occasion, mainly in the Canadian Beaufort Sea (15.1% of her dives). The subadults and pup dove mainly for more than 1 to 5 min (60% and 55%, respectively), while a large proportion of the adult female's dives were longer (34% for > 1 to 5 min; 31% for > 5 to 8 min; 5.4% for > 8 min). The tracks of the westward migrating seals revealed a routing through three political jurisdictions (including oil and gas industry lease areas in all three) over a period of about two months. This pattern highlights the importance of cooperation between the United States, Canada, and Russia in managing this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Since its discovery and description, the systematic position of the kipunji (Rungwecebus kipunji) has been a matter of debate. Although it was first placed in the mangabey genus Lophocebus, subsequent molecular studies indicated that the kipunji is most closely related to baboons (Papio). However, the kipunji does not appear to possess cranial features typical of Papio, thus necessitating the erection of a new genus, Rungwecebus. The recovery of an M2-stage subadult male kipunji voucher specimen, in addition to the original M1-stage subadult male voucher specimen, has since allowed further study. Here, we describe the craniodental morphology of the newly acquired kipunji specimen and present a phylogenetic analysis of Rungwecebus craniodental morphology using quantitative and qualitative characters. We examined the skulls of 76 M1- and M2-stage subadult males representing all extant papionin genera, taking note of character states that are static throughout ontogeny. To control for ontogenetic changes, only those characters expressing unchanged character states between subadult and adult specimens were coded for Rungwecebus and entered into a larger, recently published 151-character matrix of adult male morphology. To account for allometry, the narrow allometric coding method and the general allometric coding method were applied. The resulting most parsimonious trees suggest that Rungwecebus is phylogenetically closest to Lophocebus, a result consistent with initial morphological descriptions. However, due to the large amount of missing data for Rungwecebus, there are low bootstrap support values associated with any relationships within the larger Theropithecus/Papio/Lophocebus/Rungwecebus grouping. Taken in combination with previous molecular, phenetic, and ecological studies, the results of this study suggest that Rungwecebus is best regarded as a distinct genus closely related to Papio, Lophocebus, and Theropithecus. Adult morphological specimens are necessary to fully understand the adult kipunji morphotype, and its phylogenetic position will only be more precisely resolved with additional morphological and molecular data. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Age estimation in the subadult skeleton can be rather precise when the epiphyses and dentition are present, but incomplete or commingled remains still present a challenge. Histomorphometric age-at-death estimation methods developed for use on adults are based on the age-associated accumulation of osteons. In the growing skeleton, there is a poor correlation between osteon numbers and age until the latter half of the second decade. As a result, there has been no histological aging method for use in subadults. The analysis of the rib cortex of 72 subadults ranging in age from 2 to 21 years has identified a series of developmental changes in the bone microstructure that can be used to estimate age. This qualitative method utilizes the systematic changes in rib cortical morphology to classify ribs into one of four age phases. This method can be applied to immature skeletons in forensic, archaeological, and paleontological contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home range shifts prior to natal dispersal have been rarely documented, yet the events that lead a subadult to abandon a portion of its home range and venture into unfamiliar territories, before eventually setting off to look for a site to reproduce, are probably related to the causes of dispersal itself. Here, we used a combination of manual radio-tracking and an Automated Radio Telemetry System to continuously study the movements of a subadult male ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), a solitary carnivore with sex-biased dispersal, on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, for 18 months from May 2003 through October 2004. The subadult ocelot's parents were also radio-tracked to record possible parent-offspring interactions within their home ranges. At the age of ca. 21 months the subadult gradually began to shift its natal home range, establishing a new one used until the end of the study, in an area that had previously been used by another dispersing subadult male. Only three parent-offspring interactions were recorded during the four months around the time the range-shift occurred. The apparent peaceful nature of these encounters, along with the slow transition out of a portion of his natal home range, suggest the subadult was not evicted from his natal area by his parents. The timing of the shift, along with the subadult's increase in weight into the weight range of adult ocelots four months after establishing the new territory, suggests that predispersal home range shifts could act as a low risk and opportunistic strategy for reaching adult size, while minimizing competition with parents and siblings, in preparation for an eventual dispersal into a new breeding territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dentition is widely recognized as the set of developmental markers that appear to show the least variability against chronological age; these markers are thus widely used in forensic anthropological investigations. As a possible alternative, we investigate here the potential of mandibular morphology as a developmental marker for estimating age at death in subadults. The sample analyzed comprises 79 known age and sex subadult individuals of South African Bantu and African American origin. Linear measurements of ramus height were obtained from the mathematical conversion of three-dimensional landmark data. A series of regression analyses were then performed to predict age by using the measurement of ramus height; results were cross-validated using a jackknife procedure. Our results show that ramus height can be used to predict age in the subadult skeleton with accuracy, closely approaching that of standards based on the dentition (standard error rates are between ±1.1 years and ±2.4 years). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimation of stature in adult forensic cases with available long bones of the limbs is routine, but such estimation is less common in subadult cases. Long bones from subadult cases are often used to estimate age, but in some instances stature may be helpful or even critical for identification. Few published regression equations exist for consultation in such cases. Data from the longitudinal growth study conducted by the Child Research Council in Denver in the mid-1900s are utilized to produce dual-sex and single-sex regression equations for the six long bones of the limbs (humerus, radius, ulna, femur, tibia, and fibula) and for the combined femur+tibia length. All measurements are from radiographs and are of diaphyseal length. Examples show that similar results can be obtained using a two-step process of “ballpark” estimation from published tables of the Denver data, but these new regressions allow a one-step standard error estimate for the means. Regressions are further compared with those previously published by Finnish researchers, which are generally broadly comparable. More routine stature estimation in subadult cases is encouraged both as an aid to possible identification and as a test of the available regression equations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been numerous attempts, with varying degrees of success, to differentiate males from females on the basis of the immature skeleton. We investigate here whether the mandible can discriminate immature individuals by sex; the techniques we apply are from the field of geometric morphometrics. The application of these methods in forensic anthropology is still relatively new; thus, an important aspect of this research is that it demonstrates potential applications in this discipline. The sample comprises 96 known age and sex subadult individuals; the three-dimensional coordinates of 38 landmarks are analyzed using the shape analysis software morphologika. Multivariate regressions indicated no significant sexual dimorphism in the subadult sample; this result is supported by poor cross-validated classification accuracy (59%). Our results suggest that the subadult mandible is not dimorphic (to the extent that dimorphism is not evident within the sample we studied); thus, sex determination using previously described criteria is likely to yield poor results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]