A prehistoric thoroughfare between the Ganges and the Himalayas

The greater Himalayan region, including the Tibetan plateau in the north and the Gangetic plain in the south, served as the principal prehistoric thoroughfare for the peopling of East and Southeast Asia. The descendants of ancient migrants through this region ultimately settled lands as far away as New Zealand, Madagascar and the Americas. Several of the keys to understanding the ethnogenesis of human diversity in Asia include the Father Tongue correlation, possible refugia during the Last Glacial Maximum and the hypothesis that language families may have arisen as the result of demographic bottlenecks in prehistory. Ethnolinguistically informed inferences based on Asian Y chromosomal phylogeography permit a reconstruction of episodes of ethnolinguistic prehistory which lie beyond the linguistic event horizon, i.e. beyond the time depth empirically accessible to historical linguistics. The origins of the language families which make up the hypothetical Uralo-Siberian and East Asian linguistic phyla are argued to have lain in the northeastern corner of the Indian subcontinent. Several other Asian language families are shown to be tied to the subcontinent. The Centripetal Migration model, which assumes that migrations in quest of a better life unfolded in both centrifugal and centripetal directions with respect to technologically more advanced centres of civilisation, is opposed to the Farming Language Dispersal theory, which assumes that all linguistic dispersals were driven by agricultural centrifugal migration.

Fixed and Flexible: Coexistence of Obligate and Facultative Migratory Strategies in a Freshwater Fish

Migration is an important event in many animal life histories, but the degree to which individual animals participate in seasonal migrations often varies within populations. The powerful ecological and evolutionary consequences of such partial migration are now well documented, but the underlying mechanisms are still heavily debated. One potential mechanism of partial migration is between-individual variation in body condition, where animals in poor condition cannot pay the costs of migration and hence adopt a resident strategy. However, underlying intrinsic traits may overrule such environmental influence, dictating individual consistency in migratory patterns. Unfortunately, field tests of individual consistency compared to the importance of individual condition on migratory propensity are rare. Here we analyse 6 years of field data on roach migration, gathered by tagging almost 3000 individual fish and monitoring their seasonal migrations over extended periods of time. Our aims were to provide a field test of the role of condition in wild fish for migratory decisions, and also to assess individual consistency in migratory tendency. Our analyses reveal that (1) migratory strategy, in terms of migration/residency, is highly consistent within individuals over time and (2) there is a positive relationship between condition and the probability of migration, but only in individuals that adopt a migratory strategy at some point during their lives. However, life-long residents do not differ in condition to migrants, hence body condition is only a good predictor of migratory tendency in fish with migratory phenotypes and not a more general determinant of migratory tendency for the population. As resident individuals can achieve very high body condition and still remain resident, we suggest that our data provides some of the first field evidence to show that both facultative and obligate strategies can co-exist within populations of migratory animals.

There and back again: migration in freshwater fishes

Animal migration is an amazing phenomenon that has fascinated humans for long. Many freshwater fishes also show remarkable migrations, whereof the spectacular mass migrations of salmonids from the spawning streams are the most well known and well studied. However, recent studies have shown that migration occurs in a range of freshwater fish taxa from many different habitats. In this review we focus on the causes and consequences of migration in freshwater fishes. We start with an introduction of concepts and categories of migration, and then address the evolutionary causes that drive individuals to make these migratory journeys. The basis for the decision of an individual fish to migrate or stay resident is an evaluation of the costs and benefits of different strategies to maximize its lifetime reproductive effort. We provide examples by discussing our own work on the causes behind seasonal migration in a cyprinid fish, roach (Rutilus rutilus (L., 1758)), within this framework. We then highlight different adaptations that allow fish to migrate over sometimes vast journeys across space, including capacity for orientation, osmoregulation, and efficient energy expenditure. Following this we consider the consequences of migration in freshwater fish from ecological, evolutionary, and conservation perspectives, and finally, we detail some of the recent developments in the methodologies used to collect data on fish migration and how these could be used in future research.

Vegetation and environmental changes in Northern Anatolia between 134 and 119 ka recorded in Black Sea sediments

This multiproxy study on SE Black Sea sediments provides the first detailed reconstruction of vegetation and environmental history of Northern Anatolia between 134 and 119 ka. Here, the glacial–interglacial transition is characterized by several short-lived alternating cold and warm events preceding a meltwater pulse (~ 130.4–131.7 ka). The latter is reconstructed as a cold arid period correlated to Heinrich event 11. The initial warming is evidenced at ~ 130.4 ka by increased primary productivity in the Black Sea, disappearance of ice-rafted detritus, and spreading of oaks in Anatolia. A Younger Dryas-type event is not identifiable. The Eemian vegetation succession corresponds to the main climatic phases in Europe: i) the Quercus–Juniperus phase (128.7–126.4 ka) indicates a dry continental climate; ii) the Ostrya–Corylus–Quercus–Carpinus phase (126.4–122.9 ka) suggests warm summers, mild winters, and high year-round precipitation; iii) the Fagus–Carpinus phase (122.9–119.5 ka) indicates cooling and high precipitation; and iv) increasing Pinus at ~ 121 ka marks the onset of cooler/drier conditions. Generally, pollen reconstructions suggest altitudinal/latitudinal migrations of vegetation belts in Northern Anatolia during the Eemian caused by increased transport of moisture. The evidence for the wide distribution of Fagus around the Black Sea contrasts with the European records and is likely related to climatic and genetic factors.

Jahrbuch für Migrationsrecht 2012/2013. Annuaire du droit de la migration 2012/2013

Das vorliegende «Jahrbuch für Migrationsrecht» befasst sich mit dem Thema «Ehe und Familie im Migrationsrecht» und geht der Frage nach, welche Folgen das Bestehen von Familien, in denen mindestens eine Person eine ausländische Staatsangehörigkeit hat, für das Ausländerrecht, für das Internationale Privatrecht (vor allem in Hinblick auf das islamische Recht) und das Staatsangehörigkeitsrecht hat. Ein weiterer Beitrag befasst sich mit den Auswirkungen der Dublin-III-Verordnung auf das schweizerische Asylverfahren. Der dokumentarische Teil des Jahrbuchs beschlägt den Zeitraum des letzten Jahres von Mitte 2012 bis Mitte 2013 und berichtet umfassend über die Praxis des Bundesgerichts, des Bundesverwaltungsgerichts, zum ersten Mal auch der kantonalen Gerichte, des Europäischen Gerichtshofes für Menschenrechte und anderer Menschenrechtsorgane mit Bedeutung für das Migrationsrecht (Ausländerrecht, Asylrecht und Bürgerrecht) und des Gerichtshofes der Europäischen Union. Nachgezeichnet wird die Rechtsentwicklung in der Schweiz auf Bundes- und Kantonsebene, in der EU und in weiteren internationalen Gremien, einschliesslich der Menschenrechtsorgane der UNO. Der Band enthält eine Bibliografie des schweizerischen Migrationsrechts. Le présent « Annuaire du droit de la migration » est consacré au thème du mariage et de la famille dans le droit des migrations. Il traite ainsi des conséquences pour le droit des étrangers, le droit international privé (en particulier par rapport au droit islamique) et le droit de la nationalité de l’augmentation du nombre de familles composées d’au moins un ressortissant étranger. Les répercussions du règlement Dublin III sur la procédure d’asile suisse sont par ailleurs également présentées. Cet Annuaire couvre ensuite la période allant du milieu de l’année 2012 au milieu de l’année 2013 et rapporte de manière détaillée l’évolution de la jurisprudence se rapportant au droit des migrations (droit des étrangers, droit de l’asile et droit de la nationalité) du Tribunal fédéral, du Tribunal administratif fédéral, des tribunaux cantonaux – pour la première fois –, de la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme et d’autres organes de défense de ces droits ainsi que de la Cour de justice de l’Union européenne. Les développements juridiques survenus en Suisse (tant au niveau cantonal que fédéral), au sein de l’Union européenne, ainsi que dans d’autres instances internationales, y compris les organes de défense des droits de l’homme de l’ONU, sont également exposés dans cet ouvrage. L’Annuaire contient enfin une bibliographie du droit suisse de la migration.

Seasonal Distribution and Movements of Shortnose Sturgeon and Atlantic Sturgeon in the Penobscot River Estuary, Maine

Relatively little is known about the distribution and seasonal movement patterns of shortnose sturgeon Acipenser brevirostrum and Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus occupying rivers in the northern part of their range. During 2006 and 2007, 40 shortnose sturgeon (66-113.4 cm fork length [FL]) and 8 Atlantic sturgeon (76.2-166.2 cm FL) were captured in the Penobscot River, Maine, implanted with acoustic transmitters, and monitored using an array of acoustic receivers in the Penobscot River estuary and Penobscot Bay. Shortnose sturgeon were present year round in the estuary and overwintered from fall (mid-October) to spring (mid-April) in the upper estuary. In early spring, all individuals moved downstream to the middle estuary. Over the course of the summer, many individuals moved upstream to approximately 2 km of the downstream-most dam (46 river kilometers [rkm] from the Penobscot River mouth [rkm 0]) by August. Most aggregated into an overwintering site (rkm 36.5) in mid-to late fall. As many as 50% of the tagged shortnose sturgeon moved into and out of the Penobscot River system during 2007, and 83% were subsequently detected by an acoustic array in the Kennebec River, located 150 km from the Penobscot River estuary. Atlantic sturgeon moved into the estuary from the ocean in the summer and concentrated into a 1.5-km reach. All Atlantic sturgeon moved to the ocean by fall, and two of these were detected in the Kennebec River. Although these behaviors are common for Atlantic sturgeon, regular coastal migrations of shortnose sturgeon have not been documented previously in this region. These results have important implications for future dam removals as well as for rangewide and river-specific shortnose sturgeon management.

The Role of the Right Posterior Parietal Cortex in Letter Migration between Words

When briefly presented with pairs of words, skilled readers can sometimes report words with migrated letters (e.g., they report hunt when presented with the words hint and hurt). These letter migration phenomena have been often used to investigate factors that influence reading such as letter position coding. However, the neural basis of letter migration is poorly understood. Previous evidence has implicated the right posterior parietal cortex (PPC) in processing visuospatial attributes and lexical properties during word reading. The aim of this study was to assess this putative role by combining an inhibitory TMS protocol with a letter migration paradigm, which was designed to examine the contributions of visuospatial attributes and lexical factors. Temporary interference with the right PPC led to three specific effects on letter migration. First, the number of letter migrations was significantly increased only in the group with active stimulation (vs. a sham stimulation group or a control group without stimulation), and there was no significant effect on other error types. Second, this effect occurred only when letter migration could result in a meaningful word (migration vs. control context). Third, the effect of active stimulation on the number of letter migrations was lateralized to target words presented on the left. Our study thus demonstrates that the right PPC plays a specific and causal role in the phenomenon of letter migration. The nature of this role cannot be explained solely in terms of visuospatial attention, rather it involves an interplay between visuospatial attentional and word reading-specific factors.

Mobilities and Pottery Production Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives

Our workshop aims at a deeper understanding of various itineraries of pottery and dif-ferent forms of human mobilities in which pottery is relevant, bringing together archae-ological and anthropological perspectives. For thousands of years, pottery has been an important part of many societies’ material culture and therefore a major research topic in both disciplines. In past and present societies the material existence of ceramic vessels is informed by various movements across time and space but also by periods of stasis: from the mo-ment of their production until their exclusion from daily practices, either disposed as waste, excluded as funerary objects or stored as collectibles. In their seemingly endless material durability, ceramic vessels might outlive their human producers, distributors or consumers and travel farther and longer. Still they are embedded in the regimes of human mobility, ranging from daily subsistence-based mobility to long-term migrations. In such processes, pottery shifts between spatial, temporal, social, economic and cultural contexts. Thereby ceramic vessels are appropriated and integrated in new contexts of action and meaning, sometimes leading to material transformations. This workshop takes place in the context of our archaeological research project „Mobili-ties, Entanglements and Transformations in Neolithic Societies on the Swiss Plateau (3900-3500 BC)“ to which our PhDs are connected. We address the above outlined topic by analysing the production of pottery. Based on dendrochronologically dated settle-ments between 3900 and 3500 BC, two regional pottery styles and their local variations are well known, Pfyn and Cortaillod. The vessels share the same habitus and were made of clays and temper deriving from the settlements’ surroundings. However, some vessels specific to other pottery styles are also present on the sites. They are characteristic for pottery styles known from more or less far off regions (Michelsberg, Munzingen or Néo-lithique Moyen Bourguignon). Some of them were travelling objects, as their non local raw materials show. Others seem to have been produced locally, pointing to long-term mobility and a change of residence from neighbouring social groups.

Gefangen im Nullsummenspiel - Eine Bewertung der MEI-Umsetzungsvorschläge

Die Annahme der Volksinitiative "gegen Masseneinwanderung" vom 9. Februar 2014 verankert Art. 121a in der Schweizer Bundesverfassung. Auch ein Jahr nach der Abstimmung bleibt unklar, wie und ob die Initiative umgesetzt werden soll und kann. Wir finden, es braucht eine systematische Analyse aller Umsetzungsvorschläge anhand eines möglichst klaren Bewertungsrasters. Das Diskussionspapier untersucht die Machbarkeit der generellen Zielsetzung der Initiative, indem verschiedene Umsetzungsvorschläge bewertet werden. Diese werden in einem zweidimensionalen Bewertungsraster eingeordnet wodurch Gestaltungsspielräume und Zielkonflikte lokalisiert werden können (siehe Resultate auf Seite 20). Die Autoren ziehen folgende Schlussfolgerung für den Umsetzungsprozess: Die Masseneinwanderungsinitiative enthält in ihrem Kern einen Zielkonflikt. Die Einführung staatlicher Steuerungsinstrumente bei gleichzeitiger Wahrung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Interessen ist nicht möglich. Deshalb braucht es eine politische Entscheidung, welches Ziel höher gewichtet werden soll: wirtschaftliche Prosperität oder "eigenständig gesteuerte Migration". Anstatt den Glauben an die Quadratur des Kreises weiterhin aufrecht zu erhalten, wäre es aus Respekt gegenüber der direkten Demokratie und der Berechenbarkeit der zukünftigen Migrations-und Europapolitik zielführender, eine Entscheidung über die Gewichtung dieser einander entgegenstehenden politischen Ziele möglichst rasch anzugehen.

Variationen der regionalen Personenfreizügigkeit: Die schrittweise Öffnung des Arbeitsmarktes

Während die Schweiz, Europa und die USA an ihren präferierten Bestimmungen zur Personenfreizügigkeit festhalten, entstehen im globalen Süden neue Formen der regulierten Arbeitsmarktöffnung. Dieser Beitrag illustriert das weite Spektrum der juristischen Möglichkeiten für eine regulierte, schrittweise Öffnung des Arbeitsmarkts, so wie sie heute zwischen Entwicklungsländern am Entstehen ist. Da zudem ein Zusammenhang zwischen Personenfreizügigkeit und nachhaltigem Wirtschaftswachstum besteht, insbesondere in Verbindung mit regionaler wirtschaftlicher Integration zwischen Entwicklungsländern, erhält der Diskurs über Variationen der regionalen Personenfreizügigkeit auch eine migrations- und aussenpolitische Dimension. Dies bedeutet, dass der Schweiz im Rahmen von Freihandelsabkommen eine Reihe von Möglichkeiten offen stehen, den Arbeitsmarkt schrittweise für internationale Talente zu öffnen, und sich ein Engagement für die wirtschaftliche Integration in südlichen Regionen auch für den Wirtschaftsstandort Schweiz lohnt.

The scaling of genetic diversity in a changing and fragmented world

Most species do not live in a constant environment over space or time. Their environment is often heterogeneous with a huge variability in resource availability and exposure to pathogens or predators, which may affect the local densities of the species. Moreover, the habitat might be fragmented, preventing free and isotropic migrations between local sub-populations (demes) of a species, making some demes more isolated than others. For example, during the last ice age populations of many species migrated towards refuge areas from which re-colonization originated when conditions improved. However, populations that could not move fast enough or could not adapt to the new environmental conditions faced extinctions. Populations living in these types of dynamic environments are often referred to as metapopulations and modeled as an array of subdivisions (or demes) that exchange migrants with their neighbors. Several studies have focused on the description of their demography, probability of extinction and expected patterns of diversity at different scales. Importantly, all these evolutionary processes may affect genetic diversity, which can affect the chance of populations to persist. In this chapter we provide an overview on the consequences of fragmentation, long-distance dispersal, range contractions and range shifts on genetic diversity. In addition, we describe new methods to detect and quantify underlying evolutionary processes from sampled genetic data.