Natural History Museum Vienna

Insects are the most speciose group of animals, but the phylogenetic relationships of many major lineages remain unresolved. We inferred the phylogeny of insects from 1478 protein-coding genes. Phylogenomic analyses of nucleotide and amino acid sequences, with site-specific nucleotide or domain-specific amino acid substitution models, produced statistically robust and congruent results resolving previously controversial phylogenetic relations hips. We dated the origin of insects to the Early Ordovician [~479 million years ago (Ma)], of insect flight to the Early Devonian (~406 Ma), of major extant lineages to the Mississippian (~345 Ma), and the major diversification of holometabolous insects to the Early Cretaceous. Our phylogenomic study provides a comprehensive reliable scaffold for future comparative analyses of evolutionary innovations among insects.

In response to the 2013 Update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics, the Future Circular Collider (FCC) study was launched, as an international collaboration hosted by CERN. This study covers a highest-luminosity high-energy lepton collider (FCC-ee) and an energy-frontier hadron collider (FCC-hh), which could, successively, be installed in the same 100 km tunnel. The scientific capabilities of the integrated FCC programme would serve the worldwide community throughout the 21st century. The FCC study also investigates an LHC energy upgrade, using FCC-hh technology. This document constitutes the second volume of the FCC Conceptual Design Report, devoted to the electron-positron collider FCC-ee. After summarizing the physics discovery opportunities, it presents the accelerator design, performance reach, a staged operation scenario, the underlying technologies, civil engineering, technical infrastructure, and an implementation plan. FCC-ee can be built with today's technology. Most of the FCC-ee infrastructure could be reused for FCC-hh. Combining concepts from past and present lepton colliders and adding a few novel elements, the FCC-ee design promises outstandingly high luminosity. This will make the FCC-ee a unique precision instrument to study the heaviest known particles (Z, W and H bosons and the top quark), offering great direct and indirect sensitivity to new physics.

By sequencing 523 ancient humans, we show that the primary source of ancestry in modern South Asians is a prehistoric genetic gradient between people related to early hunter-gatherers of Iran and Southeast Asia. After the Indus Valley Civilization's decline, its people mixed with individuals in the southeast to form one of the two main ancestral populations of South Asia, whose direct descendants live in southern India. Simultaneously, they mixed with descendants of Steppe pastoralists who, starting around 4000 years ago, spread via Central Asia to form the other main ancestral population. The Steppe ancestry in South Asia has the same profile as that in Bronze Age Eastern Europe, tracking a movement of people that affected both regions and that likely spread the distinctive features shared between Indo-Iranian and Balto-Slavic languages.

Abstract: We review the physics opportunities of the Future Circular Collider, covering its e+e-, pp, ep and heavy ion programmes. We describe the measurement capabilities of each FCC component, addressing the study of electroweak, Higgs and strong interactions, the top quark and flavour, as well as phenomena beyond the Standard Model. We highlight the synergy and complementarity of the different colliders, which will contribute to a uniquely coherent and ambitious research programme, providing an unmatchable combination of precision and sensitivity to new physics.

Abstract: In response to the 2013 Update of the European Strategy for Particle Physics (EPPSU), the Future Circular Collider (FCC) study was launched as a world-wide international collaboration hosted by CERN. The FCC study covered an energy-frontier hadron collider (FCC-hh), a highest-luminosity high-energy lepton collider (FCC-ee), the corresponding 100 km tunnel infrastructure, as well as the physics opportunities of these two colliders, and a high-energy LHC, based on FCC-hh technology. This document constitutes the third volume of the FCC Conceptual Design Report, devoted to the hadron collider FCC-hh. It summarizes the FCC-hh physics discovery opportunities, presents the FCC-hh accelerator design, performance reach, and staged operation plan, discusses the underlying technologies, the civil engineering and technical infrastructure, and also sketches a possible implementation. Combining ingredients from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the high-luminosity LHC upgrade and adding novel technologies and approaches, the FCC-hh design aims at significantly extending the energy frontier to 100 TeV. Its unprecedented centre of-mass collision energy will make the FCC-hh a unique instrument to explore physics beyond the Standard Model, offering great direct sensitivity to new physics and discoveries.

Effective identification of species using short DNA fragments (DNA barcoding and DNA metabarcoding) requires reliable sequence reference libraries of known taxa. Both taxonomically comprehensive coverage and content quality are important for sufficient accuracy. For aquatic ecosystems in Europe, reliable barcode reference libraries are particularly important if molecular identification tools are to be implemented in biomonitoring and reports in the context of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). We analysed gaps in the two most important reference databases, Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) and NCBI GenBank, with a focus on the taxa most frequently used in WFD and MSFD. Our analyses show that coverage varies strongly among taxonomic groups, and among geographic regions. In general, groups that were actively targeted in barcode projects (e.g. fish, true bugs, caddisflies and vascular plants) are well represented in the barcode libraries, while others have fewer records (e.g. marine molluscs, ascidians, and freshwater diatoms). We also found that species monitored in several countries often are represented by barcodes in reference libraries, while species monitored in a single country frequently lack sequence records. A large proportion of species (up to 50%) in several taxonomic groups are only represented by private data in BOLD. Our results have implications for the future strategy to fill existing gaps in barcode libraries, especially if DNA metabarcoding is to be used in the monitoring of European aquatic biota under the WFD and MSFD. For example, missing species relevant to monitoring in multiple countries should be prioritized for future collaborative programs. We also discuss why a strategy for quality control and quality assurance of barcode reference libraries is needed and recommend future steps to ensure full utilisation of metabarcoding in aquatic biomonitoring.

The retrieval of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences from four Neandertal fossils from Germany, Russia, and Croatia has demonstrated that these individuals carried closely related mtDNAs that are not found among current humans. However, these results do not definitively resolve the question of a possible Neandertal contribution to the gene pool of modern humans since such a contribution might have been erased by genetic drift or by the continuous influx of modern human DNA into the Neandertal gene pool. A further concern is that if some Neandertals carried mtDNA sequences similar to contemporaneous humans, such sequences may be erroneously regarded as modern contaminations when retrieved from fossils. Here we address these issues by the analysis of 24 Neandertal and 40 early modern human remains. The biomolecular preservation of four Neandertals and of five early modern humans was good enough to suggest the preservation of DNA. All four Neandertals yielded mtDNA sequences similar to those previously determined from Neandertal individuals, whereas none of the five early modern humans contained such mtDNA sequences. In combination with current mtDNA data, this excludes any large genetic contribution by Neandertals to early modern humans, but does not rule out the possibility of a smaller contribution.

We report genome-wide ancient DNA from 49 individuals forming four parallel time transects in Belize, Brazil, the Central Andes, and the Southern Cone, each dating to at least ∼9,000 years ago. The common ancestral population radiated rapidly from just one of the two early branches that contributed to Native Americans today. We document two previously unappreciated streams of gene flow between North and South America. One affected the Central Andes by ∼4,200 years ago, while the other explains an affinity between the oldest North American genome associated with the Clovis culture and the oldest Central and South Americans from Chile, Brazil, and Belize. However, this was not the primary source for later South Americans, as the other ancient individuals derive from lineages without specific affinity to the Clovis-associated genome, suggesting a population replacement that began at least 9,000 years ago and was followed by substantial population continuity in multiple regions.

The relationships of post-Palaeozoic echinoids at family level are established through phylogenetic analysis of 169 taxa and 306 skeletal characters (excluding pedicellariae). Previous phylogenetic analyses of echinoids have either examined specific subgroups in detail or have looked at a relatively small number of taxa selected from across the class, with sparse sampling potentially affecting the reliability of results adversely. Our new analyses represent a compromise between encompassing the diversity of form that exists, while keeping the number of taxa to a level that does not make rigorous analysis impossibly time-consuming. In constructing the taxon-character data matrix we have encountered a surprising lack of primary data on plating pattern, lantern, and girdle structure for many supposedly "well-known" taxa. A well-resolved phylogenetic hypothesis was obtained and is used as the basis for a formal classification. Characters generally have a high retention index (>0.7) but low consistency index (<0.25) suggesting that, although characters are largely retained after they first evolve, most also undergo occasional reversal or convergence. Although parts of the resulting trees are only weakly supported (e.g. the precise sister group of the Irregularia), other parts are unambiguously resolved. Not unexpectedly, deep nodes are often not supported by unique apomorphies and higher taxa acquire their characteristic set of features over time. Diagnoses based on crown group taxa thus often fail to encompass fossil stem-group members adequately. Establishing the relationships of taxa at the root of large groups is hampered by limited character resolution. The influence of fossil taxa on the topology was explored by comparing the tree topologies obtained with and without their inclusion. We show that removal of fossils from stem groups makes no difference where their crown group is morphologically conservative, but has a major influence where extant sister groups are separated by large morphological gaps. Completeness of the echinoid record and its match to the stratigraphical record of first occurrences is tested using various metrics and found to be highly congruent, with irregular echinoids showing a higher congruence than regular ones.

Abstract In this chapter, we address the perennial question of what is citizen science? by asking the related question, why is it challenging to define citizen science? Over the past decade and a half, we have seen the emergence of typologies, definitions, and criteria for qualifying citizen science. Yet, citizen science as a field seems somewhat resistant to obeying a limited set of definitions and instead attracts discussions about what type of activities and practices should be included in it. We explore how citizen science has been defined differently, depending on the context. We do that from a particularly European perspective, where the variety of national and subnational structures has also led to a diversity of practices. Based on this background, we track trade-offs linked to the prioritisation of these different objectives and aims of citizen science. Understanding these differences and their origin is important for practitioners and policymakers. We pay attention to the need for definitions and criteria for specific contexts and how people in different roles can approach the issue of what is included in a specific interpretation of citizen science.

Global climate change is a major threat to biodiversity. Large-scale analyses have generally focused on the impacts of climate change on the geographic ranges of species and on phenology, the timing of ecological phenomena. We used long-term monitoring of the abundance of breeding birds across Europe and the United States to produce, for both regions, composite population indices for two groups of species: those for which climate suitability has been either improving or declining since 1980. The ratio of these composite indices, the climate impact indicator (CII), reflects the divergent fates of species favored or disadvantaged by climate change. The trend in CII is positive and similar in the two regions. On both continents, interspecific and spatial variation in population abundance trends are well predicted by climate suitability trends.

BACKGROUND: A robust molecular phylogeny is fundamental for developing a stable classification and providing a solid framework to understand patterns of diversification, historical biogeography, and character evolution. As the sixth largest angiosperm family, Lamiaceae, or the mint family, consitutes a major source of aromatic oil, wood, ornamentals, and culinary and medicinal herbs, making it an exceptionally important group ecologically, ethnobotanically, and floristically. The lack of a reliable phylogenetic framework for this family has thus far hindered broad-scale biogeographic studies and our comprehension of diversification. Although significant progress has been made towards clarifying Lamiaceae relationships during the past three decades, the resolution of a phylogenetic backbone at the tribal level has remained one of the greatest challenges due to limited availability of genetic data. RESULTS: We performed phylogenetic analyses of Lamiaceae to infer relationships at the tribal level using 79 protein-coding plastid genes from 175 accessions representing 170 taxa, 79 genera, and all 12 subfamilies. Both maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses yielded a more robust phylogenetic hypothesis relative to previous studies and supported the monophyly of all 12 subfamilies, and a classification for 22 tribes, three of which are newly recognized in this study. As a consequence, we propose an updated phylogenetically informed tribal classification for Lamiaceae that is supplemented with a detailed summary of taxonomic history, generic and species diversity, morphology, synapomorphies, and distribution for each subfamily and tribe. CONCLUSIONS: Increased taxon sampling conjoined with phylogenetic analyses based on plastome sequences has provided robust support at both deep and shallow nodes and offers new insights into the phylogenetic relationships among tribes and subfamilies of Lamiaceae. This robust phylogenetic backbone of Lamiaceae will serve as a framework for future studies on mint classification, biogeography, character evolution, and diversification.

Abstract Segment 9 of male Raphidioptera, comprising tergite, sternite, gonocoxites, gonostyli and gonapophyses, is a benchmark for homologies in the male and female terminalia of the three Neuropterida orders Raphidioptera, Megaloptera and Neuroptera. The segments relating to genitalia are 9, 10 and 11 in males and 7, 8 and 9 in females. Results from holomorphological and recent molecular cladistic analyses of Neuropterida agree in supporting the sister‐group relationships between: (1) the Raphidioptera and the clade Megaloptera + Neuroptera, and (2) the suborder Nevrorthiformia and all other Neuroptera. The main discrepancy between the results of these studies is the nonmonophyly of the suborder Hemerobiiformia in the molecular analysis. The monophyly of the Megaloptera (which has been repeatedly questioned) is further corroborated by a hitherto overlooked ground pattern autapomorphy: the presence of eversible sacs within the complex of the fused gonocoxites 11 in Corydalidae and Sialidae. The recently discovered paired complex of gonocoxites 10 (parameres) in Nipponeurorthus (Nevrorthidae) indicates that the curious apex of sternite 9 of Nevrorthus and Austroneurorthus is the amalgamation of the sclerites of gonocoxites 10 with sternite 9, interpreted as synapomorphic. In the molecular study, the Nevrorthidae, Sisyridae and Osmylidae branch off in consecutive splitting events, a result that is supported by the analysis of male genital sclerites reported here. Extraordinary parallel apomorphies (e.g. excessive enlargement and modification of gonocoxites 10 ending in a thread‐like ‘penisfilum’) in derived representatives of Coniopterygidae, Berothidae, Rhachiberothidae and Mantispidae corroborate the dilarid clade of the morphological analysis and leads us to hypothesize a sister‐group relationship of the Coniopterygidae with the dilarid clade. A re‐interpretation of the tignum of Chrysopidae as gonocoxites 11 means that the structure previously called the gonarcus represents the fused gonocoxites 9. In Hemerobiidae, the corresponding sclerite is consequently also homologized as fused gonocoxites 9. The enlargement of the lateral wings of the gonocoxites in both families is interpreted as a synapomorphy. Excessive enlargement of gonostyli 11 in the Polystoechotid clade and Myrmeleontiformia supports a sister‐group relationship of these two clades. The occurrence of certain serial homologues of female genitalia structures (gonocoxites and gonapophyses), such as the digitiform processus together with the flat appendices in segment 8 of certain Myrmeleontidae, or the wart‐like processus together with the flat circular sclerites in segment 7 of certain Berothidae, as well as the presence of gonocoxites 8 as pseudosternites in certain Nemopteridae and Coniopterygidae, are probably character reversals. The digitiform processus of tergite 9 (pseudogonocoxites) in Rhachiberothidae and Austroberothella (Berothidae) are either independently developed acquisitions with a function in oviposition, or are homologous sclerites, possibly of epipleurite origin.

Techniques that are currently available for estimating stature and body mass from European skeletal remains are all subject to various limitations. Here, we develop new prediction equations based on large skeletal samples representing much of the continent and temporal periods ranging from the Mesolithic to the 20th century. Anatomical reconstruction of stature is carried out for 501 individuals, and body mass is calculated from estimated stature and biiliac breadth in 1,145 individuals. These data are used to derive stature estimation formulae based on long bone lengths and body mass estimation formulae based on femoral head breadth. Prediction accuracy is superior to that of previously available methods. No systematic geographic or temporal variation in prediction errors is apparent, except in tibial estimation of stature, where northern and southern European formulae are necessary because of the presence of relatively longer tibiae in southern samples. Thus, these equations should bebroadly applicable to European Holocene skeletal samples.

Summary Eight palaeogeographic-palinspastic sketches are presented for intervals from Late Oligocene to Pliocene times for the circum-Mediterranean area and the Paratethys. They are based primarily on accurate correlation of marine and continental biogeographic events and take into account the generally accepted ideas of plate tectonics. The marine and continental connections that can be inferred contribute important information on the geological evolution of the Eastern Mediterranean.

The extinct aurochs (Bos primigenius primigenius) was a large type of cattle that ranged over almost the whole Eurasian continent. The aurochs is the wild progenitor of modern cattle, but it is unclear whether European aurochs contributed to this process. To provide new insights into the demographic history of aurochs and domestic cattle, we have generated high-confidence mitochondrial DNA sequences from 59 archaeological skeletal finds, which were attributed to wild European cattle populations based on their chronological date and/or morphology. All pre-Neolithic aurochs belonged to the previously designated P haplogroup, indicating that this represents the Late Glacial Central European signature. We also report one new and highly divergent haplotype in a Neolithic aurochs sample from Germany, which points to greater variability during the Pleistocene. Furthermore, the Neolithic and Bronze Age samples that were classified with confidence as European aurochs using morphological criteria all carry P haplotype mitochondrial DNA, suggesting continuity of Late Glacial and Early Holocene aurochs populations in Europe. Bayesian analysis indicates that recent population growth gives a significantly better fit to our data than a constant-sized population, an observation consistent with a postglacial expansion scenario, possibly from a single European refugial population. Previous work has shown that most ancient and modern European domestic cattle carry haplotypes previously designated T. This, in combination with our new finding of a T haplotype in a very Early Neolithic site in Syria, lends persuasive support to a scenario whereby gracile Near Eastern domestic populations, carrying predominantly T haplotypes, replaced P haplotype-carrying robust autochthonous aurochs populations in Europe, from the Early Neolithic onward. During the period of coexistence, it appears that domestic cattle were kept separate from wild aurochs and introgression was extremely rare.

BACKGROUND: Arthropods comprise the largest and most diverse phylum on Earth and play vital roles in nearly every ecosystem. Their diversity stems in part from variations on a conserved body plan, resulting from and recorded in adaptive changes in the genome. Dissection of the genomic record of sequence change enables broad questions regarding genome evolution to be addressed, even across hyper-diverse taxa within arthropods. RESULTS: Using 76 whole genome sequences representing 21 orders spanning more than 500 million years of arthropod evolution, we document changes in gene and protein domain content and provide temporal and phylogenetic context for interpreting these innovations. We identify many novel gene families that arose early in the evolution of arthropods and during the diversification of insects into modern orders. We reveal unexpected variation in patterns of DNA methylation across arthropods and examples of gene family and protein domain evolution coincident with the appearance of notable phenotypic and physiological adaptations such as flight, metamorphosis, sociality, and chemoperception. CONCLUSIONS: These analyses demonstrate how large-scale comparative genomics can provide broad new insights into the genotype to phenotype map and generate testable hypotheses about the evolution of animal diversity.

BACKGROUND: Approximately two hundred human burials were discovered on the edge of a paleolake in Niger that provide a uniquely preserved record of human occupation in the Sahara during the Holocene ( approximately 8000 B.C.E. to the present). Called Gobero, this suite of closely spaced sites chronicles the rapid pace of biosocial change in the southern Sahara in response to severe climatic fluctuation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Two main occupational phases are identified that correspond with humid intervals in the early and mid-Holocene, based on 78 direct AMS radiocarbon dates on human remains, fauna and artifacts, as well as 9 OSL dates on paleodune sand. The older occupants have craniofacial dimensions that demonstrate similarities with mid-Holocene occupants of the southern Sahara and Late Pleistocene to early Holocene inhabitants of the Maghreb. Their hyperflexed burials compose the earliest cemetery in the Sahara dating to approximately 7500 B.C.E. These early occupants abandon the area under arid conditions and, when humid conditions return approximately 4600 B.C.E., are replaced by a more gracile people with elaborated grave goods including animal bone and ivory ornaments. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The principal significance of Gobero lies in its extraordinary human, faunal, and archaeological record, from which we conclude the following: The early Holocene occupants at Gobero (7700-6200 B.C.E.) were largely sedentary hunter-fisher-gatherers with lakeside funerary sites that include the earliest recorded cemetery in the Sahara.Principal components analysis of craniometric variables closely allies the early Holocene occupants at Gobero with a skeletally robust, trans-Saharan assemblage of Late Pleistocene to mid-Holocene human populations from the Maghreb and southern Sahara.Gobero was abandoned during a period of severe aridification possibly as long as one millennium (6200-5200 B.C.E).More gracile humans arrived in the mid-Holocene (5200-2500 B.C.E.) employing a diversified subsistence economy based on clams, fish, and savanna vertebrates as well as some cattle husbandry.Population replacement after a harsh arid hiatus is the most likely explanation for the occupational sequence at Gobero.We are just beginning to understand the anatomical and cultural diversity that existed within the Sahara during the Holocene.

Aims. We study the evolution of the rotation and the high energy X-ray, extreme ultraviolet (EUV), and Ly- α emission for F, G, K, and M dwarfs, with masses between 0.1 and 1.2 M ⊙ , and provide a freely available set of evolutionary tracks for use in planetary atmosphere studies. Methods. We develop a physical rotational evolution model constrained by observed rotation distributions in young stellar clusters. Using rotation, X-ray, EUV, and Ly- α measurements, we derive empirical relations for the dependences of high energy emission on stellar parameters. Our description of X-ray evolution is validated using measurements of X-ray distributions in young clusters. Results. A star’s X-ray, EUV, and Ly- α evolution is determined by its mass and initial rotation rate, with initial rotation being less important for lower mass stars. At all ages, solar mass stars are significantly more X-ray luminous than lower mass stars and stars that are born as rapid rotators remain highly active longer than those born as slow rotators. At all evolutionary stages, habitable zone planets receive higher X-ray and EUV fluxes when orbiting lower mass stars due to their longer evolutionary timescales. The rates of flares follow similar evolutionary trends with higher mass stars flaring more often than lower mass stars at all ages, though habitable zone planets are likely influenced by flares more when orbiting lower mass stars. Conclusions. Our results show that single decay laws are insufficient to describe stellar activity evolution and highlight the need for a more comprehensive description based on the evolution of rotation that also includes the effects of short-term variability. Planets at similar orbital distances from their host stars receive significantly more X-ray and EUV energy over their lifetimes when orbiting higher mass stars. The common belief that M dwarfs are more X-ray and EUV active than G dwarfs is justified only when considering the fluxes received by planets with similar effective temperatures, such as those in the habitable zone.

Large impacts provide a mechanism for resurfacing planets through mixing near-surface rocks with deeper material. Central peaks are formed from the dynamic uplift of rocks during crater formation. As crater size increases, central peaks transition to peak rings. Without samples, debate surrounds the mechanics of peak-ring formation and their depth of origin. Chicxulub is the only known impact structure on Earth with an unequivocal peak ring, but it is buried and only accessible through drilling. Expedition 364 sampled the Chicxulub peak ring, which we found was formed from uplifted, fractured, shocked, felsic basement rocks. The peak-ring rocks are cross-cut by dikes and shear zones and have an unusually low density and seismic velocity. Large impacts therefore generate vertical fluxes and increase porosity in planetary crust.