The Gravettian site of Předmostí I in the central Moravian Plain has yielded a rich and diverse large mammal fauna dated around 25–27,000 14C years BP (ca. 29,500–31,500 cal BP). This fauna includes numerous carnivores (cave lion, wolf, brown bear, polar fox, wolverine) and herbivores (reindeer, large bovine, red deer, muskox, horse, woolly rhinoceros, woolly mammoth) whose trophic position could be reconstructed using stable isotopic tracking (δ13C, δ15N, δ34S) of bone collagen (n = 63). Among large canids, two morphotypes, “Pleistocene wolves” and “Palaeolithic dogs”, were considered, and two human bones attributed to the Gravettian assemblage of Předmostí I were also sampled. The trophic system around the Gravettian settlement of Předmostí I showed the typical niche partitioning among herbivores and carnivores seen in other mammoth-steppe contexts. The contribution of the analyzed prey species to the diet of the predators, including humans, was evaluated using a Bayesian mixing model (SIAR). Lions included great amounts of reindeer/muskox and possibly bison in their diet, while Pleistocene wolves were more focused on horse and possibly mammoth. Strong reliance on mammoth meat was found for the human of the site, similarly to previously analyzed individuals from other Gravettian sites in Moravia. Interestingly, the large canids interpreted as “Palaeolithic dogs” had a high proportion of reindeer/muskox in their diet, while consumption of mammoth would be expected from the availability of this prey especially in case of close interaction with humans. The peculiar isotopic composition of the Palaeolithic dogs of Předmostí I may indicate some control of their dietary intake by Gravettian people, who could have use them more for transportation than hunting purpose.
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RBINS Staff Publications
Lake Tanganyika’s biodiversity and endemicity sparked considerable scientific interest. Its monogeneans, minute parasitic flatworms, have received renewed attention. Their host-specificity and simple life cycle render them ideal for parasite speciation research. Because of the wide ecological and phylogenetic range of its cichlids, Lake Tanganyika is a "natural experiment" to contrast factors influencing monogenean speciation. Three representatives of Bathybatini (Bathybates minor, B. fasciatus, B. vittatus), endemic predatory non-littoral cichlids, host a single dactylogyridean monogenean species. It is new to science and described as Cichlidogyrus casuarinus sp. nov. This species and C. nshomboi and C. centesimus, from which it differs by the distal end of the accessory piece of the male apparatus and the length of its heel, are the only Cichlidogyrus species with spirally coiled thickening of the penis wall. In Cichlidogyrus, this feature was only found in parasites of endemic Tanganyika tribes. The seemingly species poor Cichlidogyrus community of Bathybatini may be attributed to meagre host isolation in open water. The new species infects cichlids that substantially differ phylogenetically and ecologically. This may be an adaptation to low host availability. Cichlidogyrus species infecting African Great Lake cichlids are summarized and proposed as model for the influence of host ecology on disease transmission.
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