Origin and evolutionary relationships of giant Galápagos tortoises

Perhaps the most enduring debate in reptile systematics has involved the giant Galápagos tortoises (Geochelone nigra), whose origins and systematic relationships captivated Charles Darwin and remain unresolved to this day. Here we report a phylogenetic reconstruction based on mitochondrial DNA sequences from Galápagos tortoises and Geochelone from mainland South America and Africa. The closest living relative to the Galápagos tortoise is not among the larger-bodied tortoises of South America but is the relatively small-bodied Geochelone chilensis, or Chaco tortoise. The split between G. chilensis and the Galápagos lineage probably occurred 6 to 12 million years ago, before the origin of the oldest extant Galápagos island. Our data suggest that the four named southern subspecies on the largest island, Isabela, are not distinct genetic units, whereas a genetically distinct northernmost Isabela subspecies is probably the result of a separate colonization. Most unexpectedly, the lone survivor of the abingdoni subspecies from Pinta Island (“Lonesome George”) is very closely related to tortoises from San Cristóbal and Española, the islands farthest from the island of Pinta. To rule out a possible recent transplant of Lonesome George, we sequenced DNA from three tortoises collected on Pinta in 1906. They have sequences identical to Lonesome George, consistent with his being the last survivor of his subspecies. This finding may provide guidance in finding a mate for Lonesome George, who so far has failed to reproduce.

Capture of a protein synthesis-dependent component of long-term depression

Hippocampal-based behavioral memories and hippocampal-based forms of synaptic plasticity, such as long-term potentiation, are divisible into short- and long-term phases, with the long-term phase requiring the synthesis of new proteins and mRNA for its persistence. By contrast, it is less clear whether long-term depression (LTD) can be divisible into phases. We here describe that in stable hippocampal organotypic cultures, LTD also is not a unitary event but a multiphase process. A prolonged stimulus of 900 stimuli spaced at 1 Hz for 15 min induces a late phase of LTD, which is protein- and mRNA synthesis-dependent. By contrast, a short train of the same 900 stimuli massed at 5 Hz for 3 min produces only a short-lasting LTD. This short-lasting LTD is capable of capturing late-phase LTD. The 5-Hz stimulus or the prolonged 1-Hz stimulus in the presence of protein synthesis inhibitors each can be transformed into an enduring late phase of depression when the prolonged stimulus is applied to another input in the same population of neurons.

Rapidly induced auditory plasticity: The ventriloquism aftereffect

Cortical representational plasticity has been well documented after peripheral and central injuries or improvements in perceptual and motor abilities. This has led to inferences that the changes in cortical representations parallel and account for the improvement in performance during the period of skill acquisition. There have also been several examples of rapidly induced changes in cortical neuronal response properties, for example, by intracortical microstimulation or by classical conditioning paradigms. This report describes similar rapidly induced changes in a cortically mediated perception in human subjects, the ventriloquism aftereffect, which presumably reflects a corresponding change in the cortical representation of acoustic space. The ventriloquism aftereffect describes an enduring shift in the perception of the spatial location of acoustic stimuli after a period of exposure of spatially disparate and simultaneously presented acoustic and visual stimuli. Exposure of a mismatch of 8° for 20–30 min is sufficient to shift the perception of acoustic space by approximately the same amount across subjects and acoustic frequencies. Given that the cerebral cortex is necessary for the perception of acoustic space, it is likely that the ventriloquism aftereffect reflects a change in the cortical representation of acoustic space. Comparisons between the responses of single cortical neurons in the behaving macaque monkey and the stimulus parameters that give rise to the ventriloquism aftereffect suggest that the changes in the cortical representation of acoustic space may begin as early as the primary auditory cortex.

Unforeseen Americas: the making of New World societies in anthropological perspective.

The European discovery and settlement of the Americas revealed unforeseen dimensions and gave rise to unpremeditated ways of coping with the resulting problems. This paper traces out the enduring social and cultural implications of this foundational encounter.