Browsing by Author "Bobe, René"
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- Genomic variation in baboons from central Mozambique unveils complex evolutionary relationships with other Papio speciesPublication . Santander, Cindy; Molinaro, Ludovica; Mutti, Giacomo; Martínez, Felipe I.; Mathe, Jacinto; Ferreira da Silva, Maria J.; Caldon, Matteo; Oteo-Garcia, Gonzalo; Aldeias, Vera; Archer, Will; Bamford, Marion; Biro, Dora; Bobe, René; Braun, David R.; Hammond, Philippa; Lüdecke, Tina; Pinto, Maria J.; Meira Paulo, Luis; Stalmans, Marc; Regala, Frederico; Bertolini, Francesco; Moltke, Ida; Raveane, Alessandro; Pagani, Luca; Carvalho, Susana; Capelli, CristianBackground Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique hosts a large population of baboons, numbering over 200 troops. Gorongosa baboons have been tentatively identified as part of Papio ursinus on the basis of previous limited morphological analysis and a handful of mitochondrial DNA sequences. However, a recent morphological and morphometric analysis of Gorongosa baboons pinpointed the occurrence of several traits intermediate between P. ursinus and P. cynocephalus, leaving open the possibility of past and/or ongoing gene flow in the baboon population of Gorongosa National Park. In order to investigate the evolutionary history of baboons in Gorongosa, we generated high and low coverage whole genome sequence data of Gorongosa baboons and compared it to available Papio genomes. Results We confirmed that P. ursinus is the species closest to Gorongosa baboons. However, the Gorongosa baboon genomes share more derived alleles with P. cynocephalus than P. ursinus does, but no recent gene flow between P. ursinus and P. cynocephalus was detected when available Papio genomes were analyzed. Our results, based on the analysis of autosomal, mitochondrial and Y chromosome data, suggest complex, possibly male-biased, gene flow between Gorongosa baboons and P. cynocephalus, hinting to direct or indirect contributions from baboons belonging to the “northern” Papio clade, and signal the presence of population structure within P. ursinus. Conclusions The analysis of genome data generated from baboon samples collected in central Mozambique highlighted a complex set of evolutionary relationships with other baboons. Our results provided new insights in the population dynamics that have shaped baboon diversity.
- Modern African ecosystems as landscape-scale analogues for reconstructing woody cover and early hominin environmentsPublication . Negash, Enquye W.; Alemseged, Zeresenay; Barr, W. Andrew; Behrensmeyer, Anna K.; Blumenthal, Scott A.; Bobe, René; Carvalho, Susana; Cerling, Thure E.; Chritz, Kendra L.; McGuire, Elizabeth; Uno, Kevin T.; Wood, Bernard; Wynn, Jonathan G.Reconstructing habitat types available to hominins and inferring how the paleo-landscape changed through time are critical steps in testing hypotheses about the selective pressures that drove the emergence of bipedalism, tool use, a change in diet, and progressive encephalization. Change in the amount and distribution of woody vegetation has been suggested as one of the important factors that shaped early hominin evolution. Previous models for reconstructing woody cover at eastern African hominin fossil sites used global-scale modern soil comparative datasets. Our higher-spatial-resolution study of carbon isotopes in soil organic matter is based on 26 modern African locations, ranging from tropical grass-dominated savannas to forests. We used this dataset to generate a new Eastern Africa -specific Woody Cover Model (EAWCM), which indicates that eastern African hominin sites were up to 13% more wooded than reconstructions based on previous models. Reconstructions using the EAWCM indicate widespread woodlands/bushlands and wooded grasslands and a shift toward C4-dominated landscapes in eastern Africa over the last 6 million years. Our results indicate that mixed tree-C4 grass savannas with 10-80% tree cover (but not pure grasslands with <10 % tree cover) dominated early hominin paleoenvironments. Landscapes with these biomes are marked by exceptional heterogeneity, which posed challenges and offered opportunities to early hominins that likely contributed to major behavioral and morphological shifts in the hominin clade. (c) 2024 Elsevier Ltd.
- Pliocene hominins from East Turkana were associated with mesic environments in a semiarid basinPublication . Villaseñor, Amelia; Uno, Kevin T.; Kinyanjui, Rahab N.; Behrensmeyer, Anna K.; Bobe, René; Advokaat, Eldert L.; Bamford, Marion; Carvalho, Susana; Hammond, Ashley S.; Palcu, Dan V.; Sier, Mark J.; Ward, Carol V.; Braun, David R.During the middle Pliocene (similar to 3.8-3.2 Ma), both Australopithecus afarensis and Kenyanthropus platyops are known from the Turkana Basin, but between 3.60 and 3.44 Ma, most hominin fossils are found on the west side of Lake Turkana. Here, we describe a new hominin locality (ET03-166/168, Area 129) from the east side of the lake, in the Lokochot Member of the Koobi Fora Formation (3.60-3.44 Ma). To reconstruct the paleoecology of the locality and its surroundings, we combine information from sedimentology, the relative abundance of associated mammalian fauna, phytoliths, and stable isotopes from plant wax biomarkers, pedogenic carbonates, and fossil tooth enamel. The combined evidence provides a detailed view of the local paleoenvironment occupied by these Pliocene hominins, where a biodiverse community of primates, including hominins, and other mammals inhabited humid, grassy woodlands in a fluvial floodplain setting. Between <3.596 and 3.44 Ma, increases in woody vegetation were, at times, associated with increases in arid-adapted grasses. This suggests that Pliocene vegetation included woody species that were resilient to periods of prolonged aridity, resembling vegetation structure in the Turkana Basin today, where arid-adapted woody plants are a significant component of the ecosystem. Pedogenic carbonates indicate more woody vegetation than other vegetation proxies, possibly due to differences in temporospatial scale and ecological biases in preservation that should be accounted for in future studies. These new hominin fossils and associated multiproxy paleoenvironmental indicators from a single locale through time suggest that early hominin species occupied a wide range of habitats, possibly including wetlands within semiarid landscapes. Local-scale paleoecological evidence from East Turkana supports regional evidence that middle Pliocene eastern Africa may have experienced large-scale, climate-driven periods of aridity. This information extends our understanding of hominin environments beyond the limits of simple wooded, grassy, or mosaic environmental descriptions. (c) 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Quantifying traces of tool use: a novel morphometric analysis of damage patterns on percussive toolsPublication . Caruana, Matthew V.; Carvalho, Susana; Braun, David R.; Presnyakova, Darya; Haslam, Michael; Archer, Will; Bobe, René; Harris, John W. K.Percussive technology continues to play an increasingly important role in understanding the evolution of tool use. Comparing the archaeological record with extractive foraging behaviors in nonhuman primates has focused on percussive implements as a key to investigating the origins of lithic technology. Despite this, archaeological approaches towards percussive tools have been obscured by a lack of standardized methodologies. Central to this issue have been the use of qualitative, non-diagnostic techniques to identify percussive tools from archaeological contexts. Here we describe a new morphometric method for distinguishing anthropogenically-generated damage patterns on percussive tools from naturally damaged river cobbles. We employ a geomatic approach through the use of three-dimensional scanning and geographical information systems software to statistically quantify the identification process in percussive technology research. This will strengthen current technological analyses of percussive tools in archaeological frameworks and open new avenues for translating behavioral inferences of early hominins from percussive damage patterns.
- Sex-mediated gene flow in grayfoot chacma baboons (Papio ursinus griseipes) in Gorongosa National Park, MozambiquePublication . Silva, Maria Joana Ferreira da; Tralma, Paula; Colmonero-Costeira, Ivo; Cravo-Mota, Mariana; Farassi, Rassina; Hammond, Philippa; Lewis-Bevan, Lynn; Bamford, Marion K.; Biro, Dora; Lüdecke, Tina; Mathe, Jacinto; Bobe, René; Capelli, Cristian; Martínez, Felipe I.; Carvalho, SusanaDispersal behavior influences gene flow and the spatial distribution of genetic diversity, which is crucial for a species' evolutionary trajectory and population persistence under environmental changes. We used gene flow as a proxy to investigate dispersal patterns in the grayfoot chacma baboon (Papio ursinus griseipes) in Gorongosa National Park (GNP), central Mozambique. The baboons inhabit a mosaic landscape with a seasonally variable environment. Thirty-two years ago, GNP was the epicenter of a major war that severely reduced apex predators, resulting in limited mammalian predation on baboons. We aimed to characterize genetic diversity, examine the extent and direction of sex-biased gene flow at different time frames and investigate changes in population size and recent migration events. We collected 121 non-invasive DNA samples and analyzed uni- and bi-parentally inherited markers, comprising mitochondrial DNA, autosomal and Y-linked microsatellites, at two geographic locations (GNP and Catap & uacute; Forest Reserve) 150 km apart. We observed high genetic diversity and no evidence of a recent population decline. We identified six mitochondrial haplotypes, including a genetically distinct one in Catapu Forest Reserve. We found molecular evidence for historical and current male-mediated gene flow and female philopatry. Our results highlight the resilience of dispersal patterns in Papio sp. in diverse and seasonally variable ecosystems which have been disturbed by anthropogenic activities.
- The biogeography of our evolutionary history Jonathan Kingdon origin Africa: safaris in deep time London: William Collins. 2023Publication . Bobe, RenéAs a species, Homo sapiens is a palimpsest of adaptations that evolved in our ancestors in response to specific challenges in ancient environments. In this view, those ancient environments are written in our anatomy, physiology, behavior, and genes. For many millions of years, the environments of our evolution have been primarily African, and thus the environments of our African ancestors have become part of us. In his latest book, Origin Africa, Jonathan Kingdon takes us through safaris in deep time that explore and illustrate the environments, geology, and evolution of Africa over many millions of years.
- The first Miocene fossils from coastal woodlands in the southern East African RiftPublication . Bobe, René; Aldeias, Vera; Alemseged, Zeresenay; Anemone, Robert L.; Archer, Will; Aumaître, Georges; Bamford, Marion K.; Biro, Dora; Bourlès, Didier L.; Doyle Boyd, Melissa; Braun, David R.; Capelli, Cristian; d’Oliveira Coelho, João; Habermann, Jörg M.; Head, Jason J.; Keddadouche, Karim; Kupczik, Kornelius; Lebatard, Anne-Elisabeth; Lüdecke, Tina; Macôa, Amélia; Martínez, Felipe I.; Mathe, Jacinto; Mendes, Clara; Paulo, Luis Meira; Pinto, Maria; Presnyakova, Darya; Püschel, Thomas A.; Regala, Frederico; Sier, Mark; Ferreira da Silva, Maria Joana; Stalmans, Marc; Carvalho, SusanaThe Miocene was a key time in the evolution of African ecosystems witnessing the origin of the African apes and the isolation of eastern coastal forests through an expanding arid corridor. Until recently, however, Miocene sites from the southeastern regions of the continent were unknown. Here, we report the first Miocene fossil teeth from the shoulders of the Urema Rift in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. We provide the first 1) radiometric ages of the Mazamba Formation, 2) reconstructions of paleovegetation in the region based on pedogenic carbonates and fossil wood, and 3) descriptions of fossil teeth. Gorongosa is unique in the East African Rift in combining marine invertebrates, marine vertebrates, reptiles, terrestrial mammals, and fossil woods in coastal paleoenvironments. The Gorongosa fossil sites offer the first evidence of woodlands and forests on the coastal margins of southeastern Africa during the Miocene, and an exceptional assemblage of fossils including new species.