Low-mass relics of early star formation

The earliest stars to form in the Universe were the first sources of light, heat and metals after the Big Bang. The products of their evolution will have had a profound impact on subsequent generations of stars. Recent studies of primordial star formation have shown that, in the absence of metals (elements heavier than helium), the formation of stars with masses 100 times that of the Sun would have been strongly favoured, and that low-mass stars could not have formed before a minimum level of metal enrichment had been reached. The value of this minimum level is very uncertain, but is likely to be between 10(-6) and 10(-4) that of the Sun. Here we show that the recent discovery of the most iron-poor star known indicates the presence of dust in extremely low-metallicity gas, and that this dust is crucial for the formation of lower-mass second-generation stars that could survive until today. The dust provides a pathway for cooling the gas that leads to fragmentation of the precursor molecular cloud into smaller clumps, which become the lower-mass stars.     

Predicting distributions of known and unknown reptile species in Madagascar

Despite the importance of tropical biodiversity, informative species distributional data are seldom available for biogeographical study or setting conservation priorities. Modelling ecological niche distributions of species offers a potential solution; however, the utility of old locality data from museums, and of more recent remotely sensed satellite data, remains poorly explored, especially for rapidly changing tropical landscapes. Using 29 modern data sets of environmental land coverage and 621 chameleon occurrence localities from Madagascar (historical and recent), here we demonstrate a significant ability of our niche models in predicting species distribution. At 11 recently inventoried sites, highest predictive success (85.1%) was obtained for models based only on modern occurrence data (74.7% and 82.8% predictive success, respectively, for pre-1978 and all data combined). Notably, these models also identified three intersecting areas of over-prediction that recently yielded seven chameleon species new to science. We conclude that ecological niche modelling using recent locality records and readily available environmental coverage data provides informative biogeographical data for poorly known tropical landscapes, and offers innovative potential for the discovery of unknown distributional areas and unknown species.     

桂林唐家湾地区上泥盆统桂林组碳酸盐岩微相

广西桂林唐家湾地区上泥盆统桂林组发育8种微相类型,即灰泥岩、球粒-泥粒岩/颗粒岩、生物屑粒泥岩、棘皮-泥粒岩、枝状层孔虫-颗粒岩、层孔虫-棘皮-泥粒岩/颗粒岩、枝状层孔虫-棘度-泥粒岩/漂砾灰岩、鲕粒-球粒泥粒岩/颗粒岩。由于海平面变化及水体盐度变化形成3种沉积旋回类型。桂林组碳酸盐岩是在地形平坦的浅水台地或台隆上沉积的。由于受台盆相间的古地理格局的控制,只出现过短暂的风暴潮高能沉积,并导致生物组合分异度低。     

A uniform approach to multidimensional scaling

We present a method and an algorithm that puts interval and ordinal multidimensional scaling at two ends of a continuum. Theory and simulation show that the method compares favorably with classical scaling methods. A parameter is identified that produces scaling that combines benefits of interval, and ordinal scaling.     

Carapace ontogeny of the bromeliad dwelling ostracod Elpidium bromeliarum Müller, 1880 (Crustacea: Ostracoda)

Ostracods have discontinuous development, marked by ecdyses, and determinate growth. Ontogenetic studies have suggested a pattern of nine postembryonic stages (eight juvenile phases and the adult) for the main freshwater ostracod superfamilies Cypridoidea, Cytheroidea and Darwinuloidea. However, cases of a supposed extra moult in the adult stage have been proposed for some ostracod species, which would amount to 10 postembryonic growth stages. One such example is Elpidium bromeliarum Müller, 1880, a cytheroidean that inhabits tank-bromeliads. The present study is aimed at investigating the ontogenetic development of E. bromeliarum using width and length measurements, as well as carapace and appendage morphology in order to test the existing hypothesis of an additional growth stage in adults of this species. Our results revealed nine postembryonic growth stages (eight juvenile and the adult), with sexual dimorphism beginning its expression in the last juvenile stage. Thus, the ontogenetic development of E. bromeliarum agrees with the overall pattern observed for podocopid ostracods and the hypothesis of 10 postembryonic growth stages was not corroborated. We argue that the inability to differentiate juveniles from adults, or different species from one another, may have misled to the assumption of an additional moult in E. bromeliarum.