Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Myr
Selected AbstractsGeochronological evidence for pervasive Miocene weathering, Minas Gerais, BrazilEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 11 2004Isabela de O. Carmo Abstract 40Ar/39Ar laser incremental-heating analyses of 22 individual grains of supergene cryptomelane from three weathering pro,les, up to 400 km apart, in the Rio Doce valley and Barbacena regions at Minas Gerais, Brazil, show that the formation of weathering pro,les in these regions is contemporaneous, suggesting a strong weathering event in the Middle to Late Miocene (10,8 Ma). The preservation of these Miocene samples at or near the present surface suggests that either erosion rates have been very low in the region since the Miocene or that a much thicker weathering mantle was present in the region originally. Assuming a constant thickness of weathering pro,les in the region throughout the Tertiary, we may calculate weathering front propagation rates of 4,8 m Myr,1 during the past 10 Ma. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Setting the absolute tempo of biodiversity dynamicsECOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 7 2007Andrew P. Allen Abstract Neutral biodiversity theory has the potential to contribute to our understanding of how macroevolutionary dynamics influence contemporary biodiversity, but there are issues regarding its dynamical predictions that must first be resolved. Here we address these issues by extending the theory in two ways using a novel analytical approach: (1) we set the absolute tempo of biodiversity dynamics by explicitly incorporating population-level stochasticity in abundance; (2) we allow new species to arise with more than one individual. Setting the absolute tempo yields quantitative predictions on biodiversity dynamics that can be tested using contemporary and fossil data. Allowing incipient-species abundances greater than one individual yields predictions on how these dynamics, and the form of the species-abundance distribution, are affected by multiple speciation modes. We apply this new model to contemporary and fossil data that encompass 30 Myr of macroevolution for planktonic foraminifera. By synthesizing the model with these empirical data, we present evidence that dynamical issues with neutral biodiversity theory may be resolved by incorporating the effects of environmental stochasticity and incipient-species abundance on biodiversity dynamics. [source] The sedimentary structure of the Lomonosov Ridge between 88°N and 80°NGEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2005Wilfried Jokat SUMMARY While the origin of the 1800-km-long Lomonosov Ridge (LR) in the Central Arctic Ocean is believed to be well understood, details on the bathymetry and especially on the sediment and crustal structure of this unique feature are sparse. During two expeditions in 1991 and 1998 into the Central Arctic Ocean several high quality seismic lines were collected along the margin of the ridge and in the adjacent Makarov Basin (MB). The lines collected between 87°36,N and 80°N perpendicular to and along the LR show a sediment starved continental margin with a variety of geological structures. The different features may reflect the different geological histories of certain ridge segments and/or their different subsidence histories. The sediments in the deep MB have thicknesses up to 2.2 km (3 s TWT) close to the foot of the ridge. At least in part basement reflections characteristics suggest oceanic crust. The acoustically stratified layers are flat lying, except in areas close to the ridge. Seismic units on the LR can be divided into two units based on refraction velocity data and the internal geometry of the reflections. Velocities <3.0 km s,1 are considered to represent Cenozoic sediments deposited after the ridge subsided below sea level. Velocities >4.0 km s,1 are associated with faulted sediments at deeper levels and may represent acoustic basement, which was affected by the Late Cretaceous/Early Cenozoic rift events. Along large parts of the ridge the transition of the two units is associated with an erosional unconformity. Close to the Laptev Sea such an erosional surface may not be present, because of the initial great depths of the rocks. Here, the deeper strata are affected by tectonism, which suggests some relative motion between the LR and the Laptev Shelf. Stratigraphic correlation with the Laptev Sea Shelf suggests that the ridge has not moved as a separate plate over the past 10 Myr. The seismic and regional gravity data indicate that the ridge broadens towards the Laptev Shelf. Although the deeper structure may be heavily intruded and altered, the LR appears to extend eastwards as far as 155°E, a consequence of a long-lived Late Cretaceous rift event. The seismic data across LR support the existence of iceberg scours in the central region of the ridge as far south as 81°N. However, no evidence for a large erosional events due to a more than 1000-m-thick sea ice cover is visible from the data. South of 85°N the seismic data indicate the presence of a bottom simulating reflector along all lines. [source] Geographical and taxonomic influences on cranial variation in red colobus monkeys (Primates, Colobinae): introducing a new approach to ,morph' monkeysGLOBAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Andrea Cardini ABSTRACT Aim, To provide accurate but parsimonious quantitative descriptions of clines in cranial form of red colobus, to partition morphological variance into geographical, taxonomic and structured taxonomic components, and to visually summarize clines in multivariate shape data using a method which produces results directly comparable to both univariate studies of geographical variation and standard geometric morphometric visualization of shape differences along vectors. Location, Equatorial Africa. Methods, Sixty-four three-dimensional cranial landmarks were measured on 276 adult red colobus monkeys sampled over their entire distribution. Geometric morphometric methods were applied, and size and shape variables regressed onto geographical coordinates using linear and curvilinear models. Model selection was done using the second-order Akaike information criterion. Components of variation related to geography, taxon or their combined effect were partitioned using partial regresssion. Multivariate trends in clinal shape were summarized using principal components of predictions from regressions, plotting vector scores on maps as for univariate size, and visualizing differences along main axes of clinal shape variation using surface rendering. Results, Significant clinal variation was found in size and shape. Clines were similar in females and males. Trend surface analysis tended to be more accurate and parsimonious than alternative models in predicting morphology based on geography. Cranial form was relatively paedomorphic in East Africa and peramorphic in central Africa. Most taxonomic variation was geographically structured. However, taxonomic differences alone accounted for a larger proportion of total explained variance in shape (up to 40%) than in size (, 20%). Main conclusions, A strong cline explained most of the observed size variation and a significant part of the shape differences of red colobus crania. The pattern of geographical variation was largely similar to that previously reported in vervets, despite different habitat preferences (arboreal versus terrestrial) and a long period since divergence (c. 14,15 Myr). This suggests that some aspects of morphological divergence in both groups may have been influenced by similar environmental, geographical and historical factors. Cranial size is likely to be evolutionarily more labile and thus better reflects the influence of recent environmental changes. Cranial shape could be more resilient to change and thus better reflects phylogenetically informative differences. [source] Reconstructing the demise of Tethyan plants: climate-driven range dynamics of Laurus since the PlioceneGLOBAL ECOLOGY, Issue 6 2008Francisco Rodríguez-Sánchez ABSTRACT Aim Climate changes are thought to be responsible for the retreat and eventual extinction of subtropical lauroid species that covered much of Europe and North Africa during the Palaeogene and early Neogene; little is known, however, of the spatial and temporal patterns of this demise. Herein we calibrate ecological niche models to assess the climatic requirements of Laurus L. (Lauraceae), an emblematic relic from the Tethyan subtropical flora, subsequently using these models to infer how the range dynamics of Laurus were affected by Plio-Pleistocene climate changes. We also provide predictions of likely range changes resulting from future climatic scenarios. Location The Mediterranean Basin and Macaronesian islands (Canaries, Madeira, Azores). Methods We used a maximum-entropy algorithm (Maxent) to model the relationship between climate and Laurus distribution over time. The models were fitted both to the present and to the middle Pliocene, based on fossil records. We employed climatic reconstructions for the mid-Pliocene (3 Ma), the Last Glacial Maximum (21 ka) and a CO2 -doubling future scenario to project putative species distribution in each period. We validated the model projections with Laurus fossil and present occurrences. Results Laurus preferentially occupied warm and moist areas with low seasonality, showing a marked stasis of its climatic niche. Models fitted to Pliocene conditions successfully predicted the current species distribution. Large suitable areas existed during the Pliocene, which were strongly reduced during the Pleistocene, but humid refugia within the Mediterranean Basin and Macaronesian islands enabled long-term persistence. Future climate conditions are likely to re-open areas suitable for colonization north of the current range. Main conclusions The climatic requirements of Laurus remained virtually unchanged over the last 3 Myr. This marked niche conservatism imposed largely deterministic range dynamics driven by climate conditions. This species's relatively high drought tolerance might account for the survival of Laurus in continental Europe throughout the Quaternary whilst other Lauraceae became extinct. Climatic scenarios for the end of this century would favour an expansion of the species's range towards northern latitudes, while severely limiting southern populations due to increased water stress. [source] A new Minos vector for eye-specific expression of white+ marker in Ceratitis capitata and in distantly related dipteran speciesINSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2006M. Salvemini Abstract The genetic transformation of insects by transposable elements is based on the use of selectable genetic markers required to identify transgenic individuals. Conserved regulatory sequences can be used to develop single constructs capable of adequate expression of a marker, across a range of different species. We present evidence that the Drosophila GBS regulatory element (Glass-binding site), derived from the Rh1 rhodopsin gene, is able to drive in vivo eye-specific expression of a Ccwhite+ transgene in the Mediterranean fruitfly Ceratitis capitata. The Ceratitis lineage diverged from that of Drosophila,120 Myr ago. As the GBS regulatory sequence seems to be partially conserved in the more distantly related dipteran species Anopheles gambiae (250 Myr), we propose that the GBS may be widely useful for driving eye-specific expression in a wide range of dipteran species. [source] Cooling and inferred exhumation history of the Ryoke metamorphic belt in the Yanai district, south-west Japan: Constraints from Rb,Sr and fission-track ages of gneissose granitoid and numerical modelingISLAND ARC, Issue 2 2001Takamoto Okudaira Abstract The Ryoke metamorphic belt in south-west Japan consists mainly of I-type granitoids and associated low-pressure/high-temperature metamorphic rocks. In the Yanai district, it has been divided into three structural units: northern, central and southern units. In this study, we measured the Rb,Sr whole-rock,mineral isochron ages and fission-track ages of the gneissose granodiorite in the central structural unit. Four Rb,Sr ages fall in a range of ca 89,87 Ma. The fission-track ages of zircon and apatite are 68.9 ± 2.6 Ma and 57.4 ± 2.5 Ma (1, error), respectively. Combining the newly obtained ages with previously reported (Th,)U,Pb ages from the same unit, thermochronologic study revealed two distinctive cooling stages; 1) a rapid cooling (> 40°C/Myr) for a period (~7 Myr) soon after the peak metamorphism (~ 95 Ma) and 2) the subsequent slow cooling stage (~ 5°C/Myr) after ca 88 Ma. The first rapid cooling stage corresponds to thermal relaxation of the intruded granodiorite magma and its associated metamorphic rocks, and to the uplift by a displacement along low-angle faults which initiated soon after the intrusion of the magma. Uplift by the later stage deformation having formed large-scale upright folds resulted in progress of the exhumation during the first stage. The average exhumation velocity of the stage is , 2 mm/yr. During the second stage, the rocks were not accompanied by ductile deformation and were exhumed with the rate of 0.1,0.2 mm/yr. The difference in the exhumation velocity between the first and second cooling stages resulted from the difference in the thickness of the crust and in the activity of ductile deformation between the early and later stages of the orogenesis. [source] A long-standing Pleistocene refugium in southern Africa and a mosaic of refugia in East Africa: insights from mtDNA and the common eland antelopeJOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2010Eline D. Lorenzen Abstract Aim, Previous genetic studies of African savanna ungulates have indicated Pleistocene refugial areas in East and southern Africa, and recent palynological, palaeovegetation and fossil studies have suggested the presence of a long-standing refugium in the south and a mosaic of refugia in the east. Phylogeographic analysis of the common eland antelope, Taurotragus oryx (Bovidae), was used to assess these hypotheses and the existence of genetic signatures of Pleistocene climate change. Location, The sub-Saharan savanna biome of East and southern Africa. Methods, Mitochondrial DNA control-region fragments (414 bp) from 122 individuals of common eland were analysed to elucidate the phylogeography, genetic diversity, spatial population structuring, historical migration and demographic history of the species. The phylogeographic split among major genetic lineages was dated using Bayesian coalescent-based methods and a calibrated fossil root of 1.6 Ma for the split between the common eland and the giant eland, Taurotragus derbianus. Results, Two major phylogeographic lineages comprising East and southern African localities, respectively, were separated by a net nucleotide distance of 4.7%. A third intermediate lineage comprised only three haplotypes, from Zimbabwe in southern Africa. The estimated mutation rate of 0.097 Myr,1 revealed a more recent common ancestor for the eastern lineage (0.21 Ma; 0.07,0.37) than for the southern lineage (0.35 Ma; 0.10,0.62). Compared with the latter, the eastern lineage showed pronounced geographic structuring, lower overall nucleotide diversity, higher population differentiation, and isolation-by-distance among populations. Main conclusions, The data support the hypothesis of Pleistocene refugia occurring in East and southern Africa. In agreement with palynological, palaeovegetation and fossil studies, our data strongly support the presence of a longer-standing population in the south and a mosaic of Pleistocene refugia in the east, verifying the efficacy of genetic tools in addressing such questions. The more recent origin of the common eland inhabiting East Africa could result from colonization following extinction from the region. Only two other dated African ungulate phylogenies have been published, applying different methods, and the similarity of dates obtained from the three distinct approaches indicates a significant event c. 200 ka, which left a strong genetic signature across a range of ungulate taxa. [source] Phylogenetic relationships, diversification and biogeography in Neotropical Brotogeris parakeetsJOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 9 2009Camila C. Ribas Abstract Aim, We present a molecular phylogenetic analysis of Brotogeris (Psittacidae) using several distinct and complementary approaches: we test the monophyly of the genus, delineate the basal taxa within it, uncover their phylogenetic relationships, and finally, based on these results, we perform temporal and spatial comparative analyses to help elucidate the historical biogeography of the Neotropical region. Location, Neotropical lowlands, including dry and humid forests. Methods, Phylogenetic relationships within Brotogeris were investigated using the complete sequences of the mitochondrial genes cyt b and ND2, and partial sequences of the nuclear intron 7 of the gene for Beta Fibrinogen for all eight species and 12 of the 17 taxa recognized within the genus (total of 63 individuals). In order to delinetae the basal taxa within the genus we used both molecular and plumage variation, the latter being based on the examination of 597 skin specimens. Dates of divergence and confidence intervals were estimated using penalized likelihood. Spatial and temporal comparative analyses were performed including several closely related parrot genera. Results,Brotogeris was found to be a monophyletic genus, sister to Myiopsitta. The phylogenetic analyses recovered eight well-supported clades representing the recognized biological species. Although some described subspecies are diagnosably distinct based on morphology, there was generally little intraspecific mtDNA variation. The Amazonian species had different phylogenetic affinities and did not group in a monophyletic clade. Brotogeris diversification took place during the last 6 Myr, the same time-frame as previously found for Pionus and Pyrilia. Main conclusions, The biogeographical history of Brotogeris implies a dynamic history for South American biomes since the Pliocene. It corroborates the idea that the geological evolution of Amazonia has been important in shaping its biodiversity, argues against the idea that the region has been environmentally stable during the Quaternary, and suggests dynamic interactions between wet and dry forest habitats in South America, with representatives of the Amazonian biota having several independent close relationships with taxa endemic to other biomes. [source] The Indochinese,Sundaic zoogeographic transition: a description and analysis of terrestrial mammal species distributionsJOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 5 2009David S. Woodruff Abstract Aim, We describe the distributions of mammal species between the Indochinese and Sundaic subregions and examine the traditional view that the two faunas show a transition near the Isthmus of Kra on the Thai,Malay peninsula. Location, Species distributions are described along a 2000-km transect from 20° N (northernmost Thailand) to 1° N (Singapore). Methods, For the 325 species of native non-marine mammals occurring along the transect we used published records to provide a database of their distributional records by degree of latitude. Results, Along the transect we found 128 Indochinese species with southern range limits, 121 Sundaic species with northern range limits, four un-assignable endemics and 72 widespread species. In total, 152 southern and 147 northern range limits were identified, and their distribution provides no evidence for a narrow faunal transition near the Isthmus of Kra (10°30, N) or elsewhere. Range limits of both bats and non-volant mammals cluster in northernmost peninsular Malaysia (5° N) and 800 km further north, where the peninsula joins the continent proper (14° N). The clusters of northern and southern range limits are not concordant but overlap by 100,200 km. Similarly, the range limits of bats and non-volant mammals cluster at slightly different latitudes. There are 30% fewer species and range limits in the central and northern peninsula (between 6 and 13° N), and 35 more widely distributed species have range gaps in this region. In addition, we found 70 fewer species at the southern tip of the peninsula (1° N) than at 3,4° N. Main conclusions, The deficiencies of both species and species range limits in the central and northern peninsula are attributed to an area effect caused by repeated sea-level changes. Using a new global glacioeustatic curve developed by Miller and associates we show that there were > 58 rapid sea-level rises of > 40 m in the last 5 Myr that would have resulted in significant faunal compression and local population extirpation in the narrow central and northern parts of the peninsula. This new global sea-level curve appears to account for the observed patterns of the latitudinal diversity of mammal species, the concentration of species range limits north and south of this area, the nature and position of the transition between biogeographical subregions, and possibly the divergence of the faunas themselves during the Neogene. The decline of species diversity at the southern end of the transect is attributed to a peninsula effect similar to that described elsewhere. [source] Inter-ocean dispersal is an important mechanism in the zoogeography of hakes (Pisces: Merluccius spp.)JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 6 2001W. Stewart Grant Aim To present new genetic data and to review available published genetic data that bear on the phylogeny of hakes in the genus Merluccius. To construct a zoogeographical model from a summary phylogenetic tree with dated nodes. To search for an explanation of antitropical distributions in hakes. To assess peripheral isolate, centrifugal and vicariance models of speciation in view of the molecular phylogeny and zoogeography of hakes. Locations Northern and southern Atlantic Ocean, eastern Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Methods Electrophoretic analysis of 20 allozyme loci in 10 species of hakes. Phylogenetic tree construction with parsimony and bootstrap methods. Reanalysis of previous genetic data. Analysis of zoogeographical patterns with geographical distributions of molecular genetic markers. Results Phylogenetic analyses of new and previous allozyme data and previous mitochondrial DNA data indicate a deep genetic partition between Old- and New-World hakes with genetic distances corresponding to 10,15 Myr of separation. This time marks a widening rift between Europe and North America and a rapid drop in ocean temperatures that subdivided an ancestral population of North Atlantic hake. Two Old-World clades spanning the equator include pairs of sister taxa separated by tropical waters. Divergence times between these pairs of sister-taxa variously date to the early Pliocene and late Pleistocene. Amongst New-World hakes, pairs of sister taxa are separated by equatorial waters, by the Southern Ocean, and by the Panama Isthmus. These genetic separations reflect isolation by the rise of the Isthmus 3,4 Ma and by Pliocene and Pleistocene dispersals. Pairs of species occurring in sympatry or parapatry in six regions do not reflect sister-species relationships, but appear to reflect allopatric divergence and back dispersals of descendent species. Some geographically isolated regional populations originating within the last few hundreds of thousands of years merit subspecies designations. Conclusions Vicariance from tectonic movement of continental plates or ridge formation cannot account for the disjunct distributions of most hake sister taxa. Molecular genetic divergences place the origin of most hake species diversity in the last 2,3 Myr, a period of negligible tectonic activity. Distributions of many hake species appear to have resulted from dispersals and back dispersals across both warm equatorial waters and cool waters in the Southern Ocean, driven by oscillations in climate and ocean temperatures. Genetic and ecological divergence prevents hybridization and competitive exclusion between sympatric species pairs in six regions. Sister-taxa relationships and estimates of divergence are consistent with the modified peripheral isolate model of speciation in which vicariances, range expansions and contractions, dispersals and founder events lead to isolated populations that subsequently diverge to form new species. [source] Granulite facies thermal aureoles and metastable amphibolite facies assemblages adjacent to the Western Fiordland Orthogneiss in southwest Fiordland, New ZealandJOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 5 2009A. H. ALLIBONE Abstract In southwest New Zealand, a suite of felsic diorite intrusions known as the Western Fiordland Orthogneiss (WFO) were emplaced into the mid to deep crust and partially recrystallized to high- P (12 kbar) granulite facies assemblages. This study focuses on the southern most pluton within the WFO suite (Malaspina Pluton) between Doubtful and Dusky sounds. New mapping shows intrusive contacts between the Malaspina Pluton and adjacent Palaeozoic metasedimentary country rocks with a thermal aureole ,200,1000 m wide adjacent to the Malaspina Pluton in the surrounding rocks. Thermobarometry on assemblages in the aureole indicates that the Malaspina Pluton intruded the adjacent amphibolite facies rocks while they were at depths of 10,14 kbar. Similar P,T conditions are recorded in high- P granulite facies assemblages developed locally throughout the Malaspina Pluton. Palaeozoic rocks more than ,200,1000 m from the Malaspina Pluton retain medium -P mid-amphibolite facies assemblages, despite having been subjected to pressures of 10,14 kbar for > 5 Myr. These observations contradict previous interpretations of the WFO Malaspina Pluton as the lower plate of a metamorphic core complex, everywhere separated from the metasedimentary rocks by a regional-scale extensional shear zone (Doubtful Sound Shear Zone). Slow reaction kinetics, lack of available H2O, lack of widespread penetrative deformation, and cooling of the Malaspina Pluton thermal anomaly within c. 3,4 Myr likely prevented recrystallization of mid amphibolite facies assemblages outside the thermal aureole. If not for the evidence within the thermal aureole, there would be little to suggest that gneissic rocks which underlie several 100 km2 of southwest New Zealand had experienced metamorphic pressures of 10,14 kbar. Similar high- P metamorphic events may therefore be more common than presently recognized. [source] Age and early metamorphic history of the Sanbagawa belt: Lu,Hf and P,T constraints from the Western Iratsu eclogiteJOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 5 2009S. ENDO Abstract Two distinct age estimates for eclogite-facies metamorphism in the Sanbagawa belt have been proposed: (i) c. 120,110 Ma based on a zircon SHRIMP age for the Western Iratsu unit and (ii) c. 88,89 Ma based on a garnet,omphacite Lu,Hf isochron age from the Seba and Kotsu eclogite units. Despite the contrasting estimates of formation ages, petrological studies suggest the formation conditions of the Western Iratsu unit are indistinguishable from those of the other two units,all ,20 kbar and 600,650 °C. Studies of the associated geological structures suggest the Seba and Western Iratsu units are parts of a larger semi-continuous eclogite unit. A combination of geochronological and petrological studies for the Western Iratsu eclogite offers a resolution to this discrepancy in age estimates. New Lu,Hf dating for the Western Iratsu eclogite yields an age of 115.9 ± 0.5 Ma that is compatible with the zircon SHRIMP age. However, petrological studies show that there was significant garnet growth in the Western Iratsu eclogite before eclogite facies metamorphism, and the early core growth is associated with a strong concentration of Lu. Pre-eclogite facies garnet (Grt1) includes epidote,amphibolite facies parageneses equilibrated at 550,650 °C and ,10 kbar, and this is overgrown by prograde eclogite facies garnet (Grt2). The Lu,Hf age of c. 116 Ma is strongly skewed to the isotopic composition of Grt1 and is interpreted to reflect the age of the pre-eclogite phase. The considerable time gap (c. 27 Myr) between the two Lu,Hf ages suggests they may be related to separate tectonic events or distinct phases in the evolution of the Sanbagawa subduction zone. [source] Coupled Lu,Hf and Sm,Nd geochronology constrains garnet growth in ultra-high-pressure eclogites from the Dabie orogenJOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 7 2008H. CHENG Abstract Ultra-high-pressure eclogites from the Dabie orogen that formed over a range in temperatures (,600 to > 700 °C) have been investigated with combined Lu,Hf and Sm,Nd geochronology. Three eclogites, sampled from Zhujiachong, Huangzhen and Shima, yield Lu,Hf ages of 240.0 ± 5.0, 224.4 ± 1.9 and 230.8 ± 5.0 Ma and corresponding Sm,Nd ages of 222.5 ± 5.0, 217.6 ± 6.1 and 224.2 ± 2.1 Ma respectively. Well-preserved prograde major- and trace-element zoning in garnet in the Zhujiachong eclogite suggests that the Lu,Hf age mostly reflects an early phase of garnet growth that continued over a time interval of c. 17.5 Myr. For the Huangzhen eclogite, despite preserved elemental growth zoning in garnet, textural study reveals that the Lu,Hf age is biased towards a later garnet growth episode rather than representing early growth. The narrow time interval of <6.6 Myr defined by the difference between Lu,Hf and Sm,Nd ages indicates a short final garnet growth episode and suggests a rapid cooling stage. By contrast, the rather flat element zoning in garnet in the Shima eclogite suggests that Lu,Hf and Sm,Nd ages for this sample have been reset by diffusion and are cooling ages. The new Lu,Hf ages point to an initiation of prograde metamorphism prior to c. 240 Ma for the Dabie orogen, while the exact peak metamorphic timing experienced by specific samples ranges between c. 230 to c. 220 Ma. [source] Formation of eclogite, and reaction during exhumation to mid-crustal levels, Snowbird tectonic zone, western Canadian ShieldJOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 9 2007J. A. BALDWIN Abstract A re-evaluation of the P,T history of eclogite within the East Athabasca granulite terrane of the Snowbird tectonic zone, northern Saskatchewan, Canada was undertaken. Using calculated pseudosections in combination with new garnet,clinopyroxene and zircon and rutile trace element thermometry, peak metamorphic conditions are constrained to ,16 kbar and 750 °C, followed by near-isothermal decompression to ,10 kbar. Associated with the eclogite are two types of occurrences of sapphirine-bearing rocks preserving a rich variety of reaction textures that allow examination of the retrograde history below 10 kbar. The first occurs as a 1,2 m zone adjacent to the eclogite body with a peak assemblage of garnet,kyanite,quartz interpreted to have formed during the eclogite facies metamorphism. Rims of orthopyroxene and plagioclase developed around garnet, and sapphirine,plagioclase and spinel,plagioclase symplectites developed around kyanite. The second variety of sapphirine-bearing rocks occurs in kyanite veins within the eclogite. The veins involve orthopyroxene, garnet and plagioclase layers spatially organized around a central kyanite layer that are interpreted to have formed following the eclogite facies metamorphism. The layering has itself been modified, with, in particular, kyanite being replaced by sapphirine,plagioclase, spinel,plagioclase and corundum,plagioclase symplectites, as well as the kyanite being replaced by sillimanite. Petrological modelling in the CFMAS system examining chemical potential gradients between kyanite and surrounding quartz indicates that these vein textures probably formed during further essentially isothermal decompression, ultimately reaching ,7 kbar and 750 °C. These results indicate that the final reaction in these rocks occurred at mid-crustal levels at upper amphibolite facies conditions. Previous geochronological and thermochronological constraints bracket the time interval of decompression to <5,10 Myr, indicating that ,25 km of exhumation took place during this interval. This corresponds to minimum unroofing rates of ,2,5 mm year,1 following eclogite facies metamorphism, after which the rocks resided at mid-crustal levels for 80,100 Myr. [source] SHRIMP U-Pb zircon dating from Sulu-Dabie dolomitic marble, eastern China: constraints on prograde, ultrahigh-pressure and retrograde metamorphic agesJOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 7 2006F. L. LIU Abstract Laser Raman spectroscopy and cathodoluminescence (CL) images show that zircon from Sulu-Dabie dolomitic marbles is characterized by distinctive domains of inherited (detrital), prograde, ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) and retrograde metamorphic growths. The inherited zircon domains are dark-luminescent in CL images and contain mineral inclusions of Qtz + Cal + Ap. The prograde metamorphic domains are white-luminescent in CL images and preserve a quartz eclogite facies assemblage of Qtz + Dol + Grt + Omp + Phe + Ap, formed at 542,693 °C and 1.8,2.1 GPa. In contrast, the UHP metamorphic domains are grey-luminescent in CL images, retain the UHP assemblage of Coe + Grt + Omp + Arg + Mgs + Ap, and record UHP conditions of 739,866 °C and >5.5 GPa. The outermost retrograde rims have dark-luminescent CL images, and contain low- P minerals such as calcite, related to the regional amphibolite facies retrogression. Laser ablation ICP-MS trace-element data show striking difference between the inherited cores of mostly magmatic origin and zircon domains grown in response to prograde, UHP and retrograde metamorphism. SHRIMP U-Pb dating on these zoned zircon identified four discrete 206Pb/238U age groups: 1823,503 Ma is recorded in the inherited (detrital) zircon derived from various Proterozoic protoliths, the prograde domains record the quartz eclogite facies metamorphism at 254,239 Ma, the UHP growth domains occurred at 238,230 Ma, and the late amphibolite facies retrogressive overprint in the outermost rims was restricted to 218,206 Ma. Thus, Proterozoic continental materials of the Yangtze craton were subducted to 55,60 km depth during the Early Triassic and recrystallized at quartz eclogite facies conditions. Then these metamorphic rocks were further subducted to depths of 165,175 km in the Middle Triassic and experienced UHP metamorphism, and finally these UHP metamorphic rocks were exhumed to mid-crustal levels (about 30 km) in the Late Triassic and overprinted by regional amphibolite facies metamorphism. The subduction and exhumation rates deduced from the SHRIMP data and metamorphic P,T conditions are 9,10 km Myr,1 and 6.4 km Myr,1, respectively, and these rapid subduction,exhumation rates may explain the obtained P,T,t path. Such a fast exhumation suggests that Sulu-Dabie UHP rocks that returned towards crustal depths were driven by buoyant forces, caused as a consequence of slab breakoff at mantle depth. [source] Thermal evolution of the orogenic lower crust during exhumation within a thickened Moldanubian root of the Variscan belt of Central EuropeJOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 2 2006L. TAJ, MANOVá Abstract At the eastern margin of the Bohemian Massif (Variscan belt of Central Europe), large bodies of felsic granulite preserve mineral assemblages and structures developed during the early stages of exhumation of the orogenic lower continental crust within the Moldanubian orogenic root. The development of an early steep fabric is associated with east,west-oriented compression and vertical extrusion of the high-grade rocks into higher crustal levels. The high-pressure mineral assemblage Grt-Ky-Kfs-Pl-Qtz-Liq corresponds to metamorphic pressures of ,18 kbar at ,850 °C, which are minimum estimates, whereas crystallization of biotite occurred at 13 kbar and ,790 °C during decompression with slight cooling. The late stages of the granulite exhumation were associated with lateral spreading of associated high-grade rocks over a middle crustal unit at ,4 kbar and ,700 °C, as estimated from accompanying cordierite-bearing gneisses. The internal structure of a contemporaneously intruded syenite is coherent with late structures developed in felsic granulites and surrounding gneisses, and the magma only locally explored the early subvertical fabric of the felsic granulite during emplacement. Consequently, the emplacement age of the syenite provides an independent constraint on the timing of the final stages of exhumation and allows calculation of exhumation and cooling rates, which for this part of the Variscan orogenic root are 2.9,3.5 mm yr,1 and 7,9.4 °C Myr,1, respectively. The final part of the temperature evolution shows very rapid cooling, which is interpreted as the result of juxtaposition of hot high-grade rocks with a cold upper-crustal lid. [source] Exhumation rates and age of metamorphism in the Sanbagawa belt: new constraints from zircon fission track analysisJOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 1 2004S. Wallis Abstract Zircon fission track dating and track length analysis in the high-grade part of the Asemigawa region of the Sanbagawa belt demonstrates a simple cooling history passing through the partial annealing zone at 63.2 ± 5.8 (2 ,) Ma. Combining this age with previous results of phengite and amphibole K,Ar and 40Ar/39Ar dating gives a cooling rate of between 6 and 13 °C Myr,1, which can be converted to a maximum exhumation rate of 0.7 mm year,1 using the known shape of the P,T path. This is an order of magnitude lower than the early part of the exhumation history. In contrast, zircon fission track analyses in the low-grade Oboke region show that this area has undergone a complex thermal history probably related to post-orogenic secondary reheating younger than c. 30 Ma. This event may correlate with the widespread igneous activity in south-west Japan around 15 Ma. The age of subduction-related metamorphism in the Oboke area is probably considerably older than the generally accepted range of 77,70 Ma. [source] Geochemical and stable isotope resetting in shear zones from Täschalp: constraints on fluid flow during exhumation in the Western AlpsJOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 2 2003I. Cartwright Abstract Fluid flow at greenschist facies conditions during exhumation of the western Alps occurred in several penecontemporaneous systems, including shear zones at lithological contacts, deformed contacts between serpentinite bodies and metabasalts, albite veins within metabasalts, and calcite + quartz veins within calcareous schists. Fluid flow in shear zones that juxtapose metasediments and ophiolitic rocks within the Piemonte Unit reset O and H isotope ratios. ,18O values are buffered by the wall rocks; however, calculated fluid ,2H values are similar within all the shear zones suggesting that they formed an interconnected network. The similarity of ,2H values of the sheared rocks and those of unsheared calcareous schists suggests that the fluids were derived from, or had equilibrated with, the schists that envelop the ophiolite rocks. Time-integrated fluid fluxes at the sheared contacts estimated from changes in Si in metabasalts were up to 105 m3 m,2, with the fluid flowing up temperature driven either by topography or seismic pumping. Individual shear zones were active for c. 2,3 Myr, implying average fluid fluxes of up to 10,9 m3 m,2 s,1. Rocks in shear zones within the ophiolite away from contacts with the metasediments show much less marked isotopic and geochemical changes, implying that fluid volumes decreased into the ophiolite unit, consistent with the source of fluids being the metasediments. Fluids were generated by dehydration reactions that were intersected during exhumation and, while many rocks show the affects of fluid,rock interaction, large-scale fluid flow between major units was not common. [source] The Tertiary collision-related thermal history of the NW HimalayaJOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 9 2002G. Foster Abstract Garnet-whole rock Sm-Nd data are presented for several samples from the Indian plate in the NW Himalaya. These dates, when combined with the P-T evolution of the Indian plate rocks, allow a thorough reconstruction of the prograde thermal evolution of this region (including the Nanga Parbat Haramosh Massif) during the early Cenozoic. Combining these data with Rb-Sr mineral separate ages, enables us to constrain the post-peak cooling history of this region of the Himalaya. The data presented here indicate that the upper structural levels of the cover rocks of the Nanga Parbat Haramosh Massif, and similar rocks in the Kaghan Valley to the south-west, were buried to pressures of c. 10 kbar and heated to temperatures of c. 650 °C at 46,41 Ma. The burial of the lower structural levels of the cover rocks of the Nanga Parbat Haramosh Massif, to similar depths but at higher temperatures of c. 700 °C, occurred slightly later at 40,36 Ma, synchronous with the imbrication and exhumation of the amphibolite- and eclogite-grade rocks of the Kaghan Valley. In contrast, the cover rocks of the Nanga Parbat Haramosh Massif were not imbricated or exhumed at this time, remaining buried beneath the Kohistan-Ladakh Island Arc until the syntaxis-forming event that occurred in the last 10 Myr. The timing of tectonic events in the north-western Himalaya differs from that experienced by the rocks of the Central Himalaya in that the earliest stage of burial in the NW Himalaya predates that of the Central Himalaya by c. 6 Myr. This difference may result from the diachronous nature of the Indo-Asian collision or may simply be a reflection of differing timing at different structural levels. [source] Polyphase zircon in ultrahigh-temperature granulites (Rogaland, SW Norway): constraints for Pb diffusion in zirconJOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 8 2002A. Möller Abstract SHRIMP U,Pb ages have been obtained for zircon in granitic gneisses from the aureole of the Rogaland anorthosite,norite intrusive complex, both from the ultrahigh temperature (UHT; >900 °C pigeonite-in) zone and from outside the hypersthene-in isograd. Magmatic and metamorphic segments of composite zircon were characterised on the basis of electron backscattered electron and cathodoluminescence images plus trace element analysis. A sample from outside the UHT zone has magmatic cores with an age of 1034 ± 7 Ma (2,, n = 8) and 1052 ± 5 Ma (1,, n = 1) overgrown by M1 metamorphic rims giving ages between 1020 ± 7 and 1007 ± 5 Ma. In contrast, samples from the UHT zone exhibit four major age groups: (1) magmatic cores yielding ages over 1500 Ma (2) magmatic cores giving ages of 1034 ± 13 Ma (2,, n = 4) and 1056 ± 10 Ma (1,, n = 1) (3) metamorphic overgrowths ranging in age between 1017 ± 6 Ma and 992 ± 7 Ma (1,) corresponding to the regional M1 Sveconorwegian granulite facies metamorphism, and (4) overgrowths corresponding to M2 UHT contact metamorphism giving values of 922 ± 14 Ma (2,, n = 6). Recrystallized areas in zircon from both areas define a further age group at 974 ± 13 Ma (2,, n = 4). This study presents the first evidence from Rogaland for new growth of zircon resulting from UHT contact metamorphism. More importantly, it shows the survival of magmatic and regional metamorphic zircon relics in rocks that experienced a thermal overprint of c. 950 °C for at least 1 Myr. Magmatic and different metamorphic zones in the same zircon are sharply bounded and preserve original crystallization age information, a result inconsistent with some experimental data on Pb diffusion in zircon which predict measurable Pb diffusion under such conditions. The implication is that resetting of zircon ages by diffusion during M2 was negligible in these dry granulite facies rocks. Imaging and Th/U,Y systematics indicate that the main processes affecting zircon were dissolution-reprecipitation in a closed system and solid-state recrystallization during and soon after M1. [source] Interaction of metamorphism, deformation and exhumation in large convergent orogensJOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 1 2002R. A. Jamieson Abstract Coupled thermal-mechanical models are used to investigate interactions between metamorphism, deformation and exhumation in large convergent orogens, and the implications of coupling and feedback between these processes for observed structural and metamorphic styles. The models involve subduction of suborogenic mantle lithosphere, large amounts of convergence (, 450 km) at 1 cm yr,1, and a slope-dependent erosion rate. The model crust is layered with respect to thermal and rheological properties , the upper crust (0,20 km) follows a wet quartzite flow law, with heat production of 2.0 ,W m,3, and the lower crust (20,35 km) follows a modified dry diabase flow law, with heat production of 0.75 ,W m,3. After 45 Myr, the model orogens develop crustal thicknesses of the order of 60 km, with lower crustal temperatures in excess of 700 °C. In some models, an additional increment of weakening is introduced so that the effective viscosity decreases to 1019 Pa.s at 700 °C in the upper crust and 900 °C in the lower crust. In these models, a narrow zone of outward channel flow develops at the base of the weak upper crustal layer where T,600 °C. The channel flow zone is characterised by a reversal in velocity direction on the pro-side of the system, and is driven by a depth-dependent pressure gradient that is facilitated by the development of a temperature-dependent low viscosity horizon in the mid-crust. Different exhumation styles produce contrasting effects on models with channel flow zones. Post-convergent crustal extension leads to thinning in the orogenic core and a corresponding zone of shortening and thrust-related exhumation on the flanks. Velocities in the pro-side channel flow zone are enhanced but the channel itself is not exhumed. In contrast, exhumation resulting from erosion that is focused on the pro-side flank of the plateau leads to ,ductile extrusion' of the channel flow zone. The exhumed channel displays apparent normal-sense offset at its upper boundary, reverse-sense offset at its lower boundary, and an ,inverted' metamorphic sequence across the zone. The different styles of exhumation produce contrasting peak grade profiles across the model surfaces. However, P,T,t paths in both cases are loops where Pmax precedes Tmax, typical of regional metamorphism; individual paths are not diagnostic of either the thickening or the exhumation mechanism. Possible natural examples of the channel flow zones produced in these models include the Main Central Thrust zone of the Himalayas and the Muskoka domain of the western Grenville orogen. [source] Distinguishing between seafloor alteration and fluid flow during subduction using stable isotope geochemistry: examples from Tethyan ophiolites in the Western AlpsJOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 5 2000Miller Large amounts of fluid, bound up in the hydrated upper layers of the ocean crust, are consumed at convergent margins and released in subduction zones through devolatilization. The liberated fluids may play an integral role in subduction zone processes, including the generation of arc-magmas. However, exhumed subduction zone rocks often record little evidence of large-scale fluid flow, especially at deeper levels within the subduction zone. Basaltic pillows from the high-pressure Corsican and Zermatt-Saas ophiolites show a range of ,18O values that overall reflect seafloor alteration prior to subduction. However, comparison between the ,18O values of the cores and rims of the pillows suggests that the ,18O values of the pillow rims at least have been modified during subduction and high-pressure metamorphism. Pillows that have not undergone high-pressure metamorphism generally have rims with higher ,18O values than their cores, whereas the converse is the case in pillows that have undergone high-pressure metamorphism. This reversal in the core to rim oxygen isotope relationship between unmetamorphosed and metamorphosed pillows is strong evidence for fluid,rock interaction occurring during subduction and high-pressure metamorphism. However, the preservation of different ,18O values in the cores and rims of individual pillows and within and between different pillows suggests that fluid flow within the subduction zone was strongly channelled. Resetting of the ,18O values in the pillow rims was probably due to fluid-hosted diffusion that occurred over relatively short time-scales (<1 Myr). [source] A mitochondrial phylogeography of Brachidontes variabilis (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) reveals three cryptic speciesJOURNAL OF ZOOLOGICAL SYSTEMATICS AND EVOLUTIONARY RESEARCH, Issue 4 2007M. Sirna Terranova Abstract This study examined genetic variation across the range of Brachidontes variabilis to produce a molecular phylogeography. Neighbour joining (NJ), minimum evolution (ME) and maximum parsimony (MP) trees based on partial mitochondrial DNA sequences of 16S-rDNA and cytochrome oxidase (COI) genes revealed three monophyletic clades: (1) Brachidontes pharaonis s.l. from the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea; (2) B. variabilis from the Indian Ocean; (3) B. variabilis from the western Pacific Ocean. Although the three clades have never been differentiated by malacologists employing conventional morphological keys, they should be ascribed to the taxonomic rank of species. The nucleotide divergences between Brachidontes lineages (between 10.3% and 23.2%) were substantially higher than the divergence between congeneric Mytilus species (2.3,6.7%) and corresponded to interspecific divergences found in other bivalvia, indicating that they should be considered three different species. Analysis of the 16S-rDNA sequences revealed heteroplasmy, indicating dual uniparental inheritance (DUI) of mtDNA in the species of Brachidontes collected in the Indian Ocean, but not in the species in the Pacific nor in the species in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. When we employed the conventional estimate of the rate of mitochondrial sequence divergence (2% per million years), the divergence times for the three monophyletic lineages were 6,11 Myr for the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean Brachidontes sp. and 6.5,9 Myr for the Red Sea and Indian Ocean Brachidontes sp. Thus, these species diverged from one another during the Miocene (23.8,5.3 Myr). We infer that a common ancestor of the three Brachidontes species probably had an Indo-Pacific distribution and that vicariance events, linked to Pleistocene glaciations first and then to the opening of the Red Sea, produced three monophyletic lineages. Riassunto Lo studio filogeografico è stato condotto su tutto l'areale di Brachidontes variabilis (Krauss, 1848) attraverso l'analisi di sequenze mitocondriali (16S-rDNA e COI) che hanno separato i campioni in tre cladi monofiletici. Diversi algoritmi (NJ, ME e MP) hanno elaborato alberi con la stessa topologia, in cui è possibile riconoscere: (1) Brachidontes pharaonis s.l. dell'area Mar Mediterraneo , Mar Rosso; (2) Brachidontes variabilis dell' Oceano Indiano; (3) Brachidontesvariabilis dell'Oceano Pacifico. Il loro grado di divergenza è sufficientemente alto da potere ascrivere al rango di specie i singoli cladi, nonostante non siano stati ancora individuati i caratteri tassonomici distintivi, a causa della grande variazione morfologica. La divergenza nucleotidica tra le tre linee di Brachidontes era compresa tra 10.3% e 23.2%, in un range di valori superiori a quelli trovati nel confronto tra specie congeneriche di Mytilus sp (2.3,6.7%). Utilizzando il tasso evolutivo, che convenzionalmente viene applicato ai valori di divergenza genetica di geni mitocondriali (2% per milioni di anni), si sono ricavati tempi di divergenza corrispondenti a 6,11 milioni di anni tra Oceano Indiano e Pacifico, e a 6.5,9 milioni di anni tra Mar Rosso e Oceano Indiano. Le tre linee evolutive sembrano essersi separate durante il Miocene. Probabilmente un comune antenato con distribuzione Indo-Pacifica può essere andato incontro a processi di vicarianza e/o di dispersione legati alle glaciazioni pleistoceniche prima e all'apertura del Mar Rosso dopo. [source] Molecular phylogeny of three subspecies of common carp Cyprinus carpio, based on sequence analysis of cytochrome b and control region of mtDNAJOURNAL OF ZOOLOGICAL SYSTEMATICS AND EVOLUTIONARY RESEARCH, Issue 4 2004J. Zhou Abstract The complete cytochrome b and the control region of mtDNA (about 2070 bp in total) of 10 strains belonging to three subspecies of the common carp, including three wild subspecies (the Yangtze River wild common carp ,Cyprinus carpio haematopterus, Yuanjiang River wild common carp ,Cyprinus carpio rubrofuscus and Volga River wild common carp ,Cyprinus carpio carpio) and seven domestic strains (Xingguo red carp, Russian scattered scaled mirror carp, Qingtian carp, Japanese Koi carp, purse red carp, Big-belly carp, German mirror carp) were sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the 10 strains form three distinct clades, corresponding to C. c. haematopterus, C. c. rubrofuscus and C. c. carpio respectively. Purse red carp, an endemic domestic strain in Jiangxi province of China, showed a higher evolution rate in comparison with the other strains of C. c. haematopterus, most probably because of intensive selection and a long history of domestication. Base variation ratios among the three subspecies varied from 0.78% (between C. c. haematopterus and C. c. rubrofuscus) to 1.47%(between C. c. carpio and C. c. rubrofuscus). The topography of the phylogenetic tree and the geographic distribution of three subspecies closely resemble each other. The divergence time between C. c. carpio and the other two subspecies was estimated to be about 0.9 Myr and about 0.5 Myr between C. c. haematopterus and C. c. rubrofuscus. Based on phylogenetic analysis, C. c. rubrofuscus might have diverged from C. c. haematopterus. Zusammenfassung Die gesamte Cytochrom b- und die Kontrollregion der mtDNA (etwa 2070 bp insgesamt) wurde für zehn Stämmen der drei Unterarten des Flußkarpfens sequenziert. Die Stämme umfassen die drei wild lebenden Subspecies (den Jangtsekiang Flußkarpfen -- Cyprinus carpio haematopterus, den Juanjiang Flußkarpfen -- Cyprinus carpio rubrofuscus und den Wolga-Flußkarpfen -- Cyprinus carpio carpio) und sieben domestizierte Stämme (Roter Xingguo-Karpfen, Russischer zerstreutschuppiger Spiegelkarpfen, Qingtian-Karpfen, Japanischer Koi-Karpfen, Roter Spitzmaulkarpfen, Big-Belly-Karpfen, Deutscher Spiegelkarpfen). Die phylogenetische Analyse zeigt drei distinkte Claden, die den Unterarten C. c. haematopterus, C. c. rubrofuscus und C. c. carpio entsprechen. Der rote Spitzmaulkarpfen, eine endemische, domestizierte Form aus der Provinz Jiangxi Chinas, zeigt im Vergleich mit anderen Stämmen der Unterart C. c. haematopterus die höchste Evolutionsrate, vermutlich durch die starke Selektion und die lange Zeit der Domestikation bedingt. Die Basensubstitutionsrate zwischen den drei Unterarten variiert zwischen 0.78% (zwischen C. c. haematopterus und C. c. rubrofuscus) und 1.47% (zwischen C. c. carpio und C. c. rubrofuscus). Die Topographie des phylogenetischen Baums und die geographische Verteilung der drei Subspecies entsprechen einander sehr stark. Die Divergenzzeit zwischen C. c. carpio und den beiden anderen Unterarten wird auf 0.9 Mil. Jahre geschätzt und die zwischen C. c. haematopterus und C. c. rubrofuscus auf 0.5 Mil Jahre. Nach der phylogenetischen Analyse dürfte sich C. c. rubrofuscus von C. c. haematopterus abgespalten haben. [source] Necks-for-sex or competing browsers?JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY, Issue 1 2010A critique of ideas on the evolution of giraffe Abstract Recent years have witnessed a resurgence in tests of the evolution and origin of the great height and long neck of the giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis. The two main hypotheses are (1) long necks evolved through competition with other browsers allowing giraffe to feed above them (,competing browsers' hypothesis); or (2) the necks evolved for direct use in intra-sexual combat to gain access to oestrous females (,necks-for-sex' hypothesis). Here, we review recent developments and their relative contribution in explaining giraffe evolution. Trends from Zimbabwean giraffes show positive allometry for male necks and isometry for female necks relative to body mass, while comparative analyses of the cervical versus the total vertebral column of the giraffe, okapi and fossil giraffe suggest selection specifically on neck length rather than on overall height. Both support the necks-for-sex idea. Neither study, however, allows us to refute one of the two ideas. We suggest new approaches for quantifying the relative importance of the two hypotheses. A direct analysis of selection pressure on neck length via survival and reproduction should clarify the mechanism maintaining the trait, while we predict that short robust ossicones should have arisen concurrently with incipient neck elongation if sexual selection was the main selective driver. The main challenge for the competing browser hypothesis is to explain why giraffe have remained about 2 m taller than their tallest competitors for over 1 Myr, whereas the sexual selection hypothesis cannot provide an adaptive explanation for the long neck of female giraffe. We conclude that probably both mechanisms have contributed to the evolution and maintenance of the long neck, and their relative importance can be clarified further. [source] The latest Ordovician Hirnantia Fauna (Brachiopoda) in time and spaceLETHAIA, Issue 3 2002RONG JIA-YU The diachronous temporal and spatial distribution of the Hirnantia brachiopod fauna and the complicated pattern of terminal Ordovician events are documented through biostratigraphical analysis of the Ordovician-Silurian boundary strata in S China, Sibumasu, Xizang and elsewhere. The duration of these events (longer than the half Myr derived from isotopic excursions) indicates that they were not abrupt and instantaneous. The presence of some core taxa of the Hirnantia fauna in the upper P. pacificus Biozone (known from their earliest occurrence in China) signals the start of increased water ventilation due to the invasion of cool water across the Yangtze Basin. Low- and higher-diversity Hirnantia faunas related to onshore, shallow-water and to offshore, deeper-water environments, respectively, developed first in the basal and upper N. extraordinarius-N. ojsuensis Biozone. Disappearance of most of the fauna in the early N. persculptus Biozone suggests that the glacial maximum started to decline. The presence of the Hirnantia fauna in the upper N. persculptus to the lower P. acuminatus biozones indicates the continuation of cool water environments in some places. The diachronous disappearance of deteriorating environments (earlier in later Hirnantian and finally in the early Rhuddanian) is associated with geographical heterogeneity. Occurrences of atrypids, pentamerids and spiriferids along with key elements of the Hirnantia fauna in N Guizhou provide a link between the Late Ordovician radiation and Early Silurian recovery of these major brachiopod groups. [source] Archaeabacterial lipids in drill core samples from the Bosumtwi impact structure, GhanaMETEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 11 2008Marina ESCALA The Bosumtwi crater in Ghana (West Africa) is a relatively young (1.07 Myr) structure with a rim-to-rim diameter of about 10.5 km. In a preliminary study targeting the subsurface microbial life in the impact structure, seven samples of the impact breccia from the central uplift of the Bosumtwi crater were analyzed for the presence of typical archaeal membrane-lipids (GDGTs). These have been detected in four of the samples, at a maximum depth of 382 m below the lake surface, which is equivalent to 309 m below the surface sediment. The concentration of the GDGTs does not show a trend with depth, and their distribution is dominated by GDGT-0. Possible origins of these lipids could be related to the soils or rocks predating the impact event, the hydrothermal system generated after the impact, or due to more recent underground water [source] 39Ar- 40Ar dating of the Zagami Martian shergottite and implications for magma origin of excess 40ArMETEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 7 2008Donald D. BOGARD 1992, 1999). Like several shergottites, Zagami contains excess 40Ar relative to its formation age. To understand the origin of this excess 40Ar, we made 39Ar- 40Ar analyses on plagioclase and pyroxene minerals from two phases representing different stages in the magma evolution. Surprisingly, all these separates show similar concentrations of excess 40Ar, ,1 × 10,6 cm3/g. We present arguments against this excess 40Ar having been introduced from the Martian atmosphere as impact glass. We also present evidence against excess 40Ar being a partially degassed residue from a basalt that actually formed ,4 Gyr ago. We utilize our experimental data on Ar diffusion in Zagami and evidence that it was shock-heated to only ,70 °C, and we assume this heating occurred during an ejection from Mars ,3 Myr ago. With these constraints, thermal considerations necessitates either that its ejected mass was impossibly large, or that its shock-heating temperature was an order of magnitude higher than that measured. We suggest that this excess 40Ar was inherited from the Zagami magma, and that it was introduced into the magma either by degassing of a larger volume of material or by early assimilation of old, K-rich crustal material. Similar concentrations of excess 40Ar in the analyzed separates imply that this magma maintained a relatively constant 40Ar concentration throughout its crystallization. This likely occurred through volatile degassing as the magma rose toward the surface and lithostatic pressure was released. These concepts have implications for excess 40Ar in other shergottites. [source] 182Hf- 182W chronometry and the early evolution history in the acapulcoite-lodranite parent bodyMETEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 4 2008Der-Chuen LEE Unlike the more evolved achondrites originating from differentiated asteroids,e.g., eucrites and angrites,bulk rock acapulcoites and lodranite are characterized by distinct 182W deficits relative to the terrestrial W, as well as to the undifferentiated chondrites, ,w varies from ,2.7 to ,2.4. This suggests that live- 182Hf was present during the formation of acapulcoites and lodranites, and their parent body probably had never experienced a global melting event. Due to the large uncertainties associated with the isochron for each sample, the bulk isochron that regressed through the mineral separates from all 3 samples has provided the best estimate to date for the timing of metamorphism in the acapulcoite-lodranite parent body, 5 (+6/-5) Myr after the onset of the solar system. It is thus inconclusive whether acapulcoites and lodranites have shared the same petrogenetic origin, based on the Hf-W data of this study. Nevertheless, the formation of acapulcoite-lodranite clan appears to have post-dated the metal-silicate segregation in differentiated asteroids. This can be explained by a slower accretion rate for the acapulcoite-lodranite parent body, or that it had never accreted to a critical mass that could allow the metal-silicate segregation to occur naturally. [source] | ||||||||||||||||