Southwestern France Research Articles

Neanderthal subsistence at Chez-Pinaud Jonzac (Charente-Maritime, France): A kill site dominated by reindeer remains, but with a horse-laden diet?

During the MIS 4 in Southwestern France, Quina Neanderthal from the north of the Aquitaine was characterized by a hunting specialization on the reindeer and the lack of diversity in their diet. They developed task-specific locations dedicated to the capture, the butchery, and the consumption of reindeer, and the whole society seems, in this region, to be dependent on this food resource. In this context, the site of Chez-Pinaud at Jonzac (France) occupies a specific place. First, interpreted as a reindeer kill and butchery site, the recent recovery of the site underlines the importance of the large ungulate (horse and bison) to the faunal spectrum (30% of the NISP). Considering the quantity of meat and grease that these species can provide to hunters, the new zooarchaeological analyses suggest that at least the horse may have played a major role in the diet of the Neanderthal population. Since Jonzac is one of the largest sites for this period, these results relativize the importance of reindeer specialization of the Quina population and the lack of diversityl in their diet.

The Environmental Transformation of “Empty Space”: From Desert to Forest in the Landes of Southwestern France

AbstractThis article explores the environmental transformation of the moorland (landes) of southwestern France from a much maligned “wilderness” or “empty space” to a forested landscape coveted for its productive potential as well as its aesthetic beauty. This occurred in two stages from the eighteenth century to the present and was effected by the French state and local landowners. It bears resemblance to processes of environmental change in North America, Central Asia, and Africa, where states and colonial or imperial powers took measures to develop alleged empty spaces through seizure, development, and settlement. Drawing on paradigms of colonial rule and Henri Lefebvre’s theory regarding the production of space, the article examines the eradication of the “wilderness” of the region of the Landes, which led to the displacement of its pastoral populations and the end of their way of life. It explores the role of technology in consolidating the power of territorial states and empires and the significance of the parallels that can be drawn between the Landes and France’s overseas empire. Finally, it attests to the porosity of the boundary between man-made and natural landscapes, while illuminating the process by which the artificial forested landscape of the Landes ironically came to be redefined and revalorized as “natural” national heritage that was ripe for environmental protection by the second half of the twentieth century.

A long-term perspective on Neanderthal environment and subsistence: Insights from the dental microwear texture analysis of hunted ungulates at Combe-Grenal (Dordogne, France).

Large bovids and cervids constituted major components of the European Middle Palaeolithic faunas and hence a key resource for Neanderthal populations. In paleoenvironmental reconstructions, red deer (Cervus elaphus) occurrence is classically considered as a tree-cover indicator while Bovinae (Bison priscus and Bos primigenius) and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) occurrences are typically associated with open landscapes. However, insights into the ecology of extant ungulate populations show a more complex reality. Exploring the diet of past ungulates allows to better comprehend the hunting strategies of Palaeolithic populations and to reconstruct the modifications through time of past landscapes. By reflecting what animals have eaten during the last days or weeks of their life, dental microwear textures of herbivores link a population and its environment. Here we analyzed, via Dental Microwear Texture Analysis (DMTA), the diet of 50 Bos/Bison, 202 R. tarandus and 116 C. elaphus preyed upon by the Neanderthals that occupied Combe-Grenal rock-shelter, one of the most important Mousterian archaeo-sequences in southwestern France considering its long stratigraphy, abundance of faunal remains and the variations perceptible in Palaeolithic material culture. Grazers and mixed-feeders are the most represented dietary categories among Combe-Grenal's guild of herbivores, highlighting the availability, along the sequence, of open landscapes. The absence of clear changes in the use of plant resources by hunted ungulates through time, even though palaeoenvironmental changes were well-documented by previous studies along the sequence, is interpreted as resulting from the hunting of non-randomly selected prey by Neanderthals, preferentially in open environments. Thus, these results provide further insight into the hunting strategies of Neanderthals and modify our perception of potential links between subsistence and material culture. Combe-Grenal hunters "stayed in the open" through millennia, and were not forced to switch to hunting tactics and material technology adapted to close encounters in forested environments.

Sur l’expansion des fourmis envahissantes du genre Tapinoma en France (Hymenoptera : Formicidae)

On the expansion of Tapinoma invasive ants in France (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). - The invasive ant Tapinoma magnum has been reported in various places in southwestern France (LENOIR & GALKOWSKI, 2017). This ant seems to spread rapidly in this region from Toulouse to Lyon region, as well as in the Loire Valley and Brittany. It is a big problem for example in Saumur where people cannot access their lawns. Two other species, T. ibericum and T. darioi, are reported from other places up North but do not present a threat currently. The tropical ghost ant T. melanocephalum is also signaled in some places in houses or flats whereas it was only localized in tropical greenhouses.

Exploring Density and Distance Effects on H5n8 Spread in Southwestern France Using a Bayesian Phylodynamic Framework

Exploring Density and Distance Effects on H5n8 Spread in Southwestern France Using a Bayesian Phylodynamic Framework

Fortified architecture of the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem in southwest France, from the 12th to the 15th century

The aim of this paper is to propose a state of knowledge on the castral architecture and protection of the religious establishments founded by the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem in southwestern France from the twelfth to the end of the fifteenth century. The archaeological traces of a fortification implemented from the foundation of the houses in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries are rare. Only the written sources provide a few clues as to the presence of a castral architecture within the commanderies, without it being possible to determine whether it was an architectural legacy linked to the founding of the religious establishment through donations, or whether it was a real desire on the part of the religious community to build, ex nihilo, a castral complex intended to house it. At the end of the Middle Ages, during the Hundred Years' War, the hospital commanderies were the object of an important defense. This fortification of religious houses in a context of insecurity resulted in the construction of towers and enclosures, as well as the defense of churches, barns and agricultural domains. This generalized fortification also concerns the habitat that was agglomerated near the hospital domus.

Opportunities and risks of double cropping in southwestern France with a focus on soybean and sunflower crops

Growing a second food, fodder or bioenergy crop during the fallow period commonly refers to sequential double cropping or relay cropping practices, as a function of sowing date (following or within the primary crop, respectively). Such practice may generate an additional income while supplying support and regulation services. As such, it could be referred as a form of ecologically intensive agriculture but also an opportunity offered by climate change. The decision-making process in the adoption of double cropping relies on many factors related to soil and climate conditions, but also on profit expectation and risk perception. The CASDAR project “3C2A: Three crops in two years” (2019–2023) strived to create references for sequential double cropping in the South-West of France, which encompasses the regions of Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie. The project focused mainly on grain crops and raised the interest of the use of oil-protein crops such as soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) for such practice. As a preliminary contribution of 3C2A project, this paper aims at illustrating the potential interest of soybean and sunflower as double crops in the South-West of France through a qualitative analysis of farmers’ perceptions about the risks and opportunities of double-cropping completed by a 4-years on-farm evaluation of agronomic and economic performances of this practice (110 fields).

“Ah! To Become the Balzac of America!”: The Balzacian Subtext of Sister Carrie

“Ah! To Become the Balzac of America!”: The Balzacian Subtext of <i>Sister Carrie</i>

The beginnings of the Aurignacian in a European framework: where do we stand?

Summary. This contribution is a synthesis on the development of the Aurignacian at a European scale. First, it focuses on Southwestern France to establish an evolutionary model in two successive phases: the Protoaurignacian and the Early Aurignacian. Once defined based on archaeological data (lithic and bone technologies, and when available, ornaments and graphic representations), the model is then confronted with other macro-regions of Europe in order to test its pan-European significance. The results suggest that the Protoaurignacian/Early Aurignacian chrono-cultural succession is not restricted to France and occurs at a continental scale. Moving forward, we propose new avenues to investigate the meaning of this pattern by integrating paleoanthropological and paleogenomic data, and by considering the role of settlement dynamics. We also address the relevance of the so-called ‘transitional industries’ which strictly precede the emergence of the Protoaurignacian in the regions considered.

Water availability is a stronger driver of soil microbial processing of organic nitrogen than tree species composition

AbstractSoil organic nitrogen (N) cycling processes constitute a bottleneck of soil N cycling, yet little is known about how tree species composition may influence these rates, and even less under changes in soil water availability such as those that are being induced by climate change. In this study, we used a 12‐year‐old tree biodiversity experiment in southwestern France to assess the interactive effects of soil water availability (half of the blocks seasonally irrigated to double precipitation) and tree species composition (monocultural vs. mixed plots of coniferous Pinus pinaster, and of broadleaf Betula pendula). We measured gross protein depolymerisation rates using a novel high‐throughput isotope pool dilution method, along with soil microbial biomass carbon and N to calculate microbial biomass‐specific activities of soil organic N processes. Overall, high soil water availability led to a 42% increase in soil protein depolymerisation rates compared to the unirrigated plots, but we found no effect of species composition on these soil organic N cycling processes. When investigating the interactive effect of tree species mixing and soil water availability, the results suggest that mixing tree species had a negative effect on soil organic N cycling processes in the non‐irrigated blocks subject to dry summers, but that this effect tended to become positive at higher soil water availability in irrigated plots. These results put forth that soil water availability could influence potential tree species mixing effects on soil organic N cycling processes in dry conditions.Highlights Tree species (with different litter C:N ratios) had little effect on protein depolymerisation Increasing water availability via irrigation accelerated depolymerisation rates No interactive effect between tree species mixing and water availability, although trends emerged Positive trend of mixing under high water availability and negative trend under low water

The prevalence and characteristics of and the association between MIH and HSPM in South-Western France.

Molar-incisor hypomineralisation (MIH) and hypomineralised second primary molars (HSPM) involve qualitative structural developmental anomalies of tooth enamel, affecting the first permanent molars (FPM) and the second primary molars, respectively. This developmental anomaly of systemic origin has important consequences for oral health. To determine the prevalence of MIH and HSPM in south-western France and explore the distribution of hypomineralised lesions on permanent and primary molars. Amongst 856 children (aged 7-9 years) in schools randomly selected by the Academy of Bordeaux (Ministry of Education), the FPM, permanent incisors and the second primary molars were examined by two examiners trained and calibrated for the diagnostic criteria for MIH and HSPM of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry. Molar-incisor hypomineralisation was present in 160 children (18.7%) and HSPM in 81 children (9.5%); 4.9% had both HSPM and MIH (42 of 856). Hypomineralised lesions were present in 1-4 FPM in affected individuals (mean=2.4) and were distributed in an asymmetrical manner with widely varying severity at the tooth and individual level. A child with HSPM was more likely to have MIH than a child without HSPM (95% CI OR=6.0 [3.7-9.7]; p < .0001). Molar-incisor hypomineralisation and HSPM have three main asymmetrical characteristics: tooth location, severity of hypomineralisation and number of teeth affected.

Sea lamprey nests promote the diversity of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages.

The habitat heterogeneity hypothesis states that increased habitat heterogeneity promotes species diversity through increased availability of ecological niches. We aimed at describing the local-scale (i.e. nest and adjacent substrate) effects of nests of the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus L.) as ecosystem engineer on macroinvertebrate assemblages. We hypothesized that increased streambed physical heterogeneity caused by sea lamprey spawning would modify invertebrate assemblages and specific biologic traits and promote reach-scale diversity. We sampled thirty lamprey nests of the Nive River, a river of the south western France with a length of 79.3 km and tributary of the Adour River, in three zones: the unmodified riverbed (upstream) and zones corresponding to the nest: the area excavated (pit) and the downstream accumulation of pebbles and cobbles (mound). The increased habitat heterogeneity created by lamprey was accompanied by biological heterogeneity with a reduced density of invertebrates (3777 ± 1332 individuals per m2 in upstream, 2649 ± 1386 individuals per m2 in pit and 3833 ± 1052 individuals per m2 in mound) and number of taxa (23.5 ± 3.9 taxa for upstream, 18.6 ± 3.9 taxa in pit and 21.2 ± 4.5 taxa for mound) in the pit compared to other zones. However the overall taxa diversity in nest increased with 82 ± 14 taxa compared to the 69 ± 8 taxa estimated in upstream zone. Diversity indices were consistent with the previous results indicating a loss of α diversity in pit but a higher β diversity between a pit and a mound than between two upstream zones, especially considering Morisita index accounting for taxa abundance. Trait analysis showed high functional diversity within zones with a reduced proportion of collectors, scrapers, shredders, litter/mud preference and small invertebrates in mound, while the proportion of "slabs, blocks, stones and pebbles" preference and largest invertebrates increased. Pit presented the opposite trend, while upstream had globally intermediate trait proportions. Our results highlight important effects on species and functional diversity due to habitat heterogeneity created by a nest-building species, what can ultimately influence food webs and nutrient processes in river ecosystems.

An investigation of outdoor recreational users' willingness to participate in aquatic invasive plant control

Aquatic invasive plants (AIP) can have major ecological and socioeconomic impacts. Effective management is therefore essential. Because many biological invasions occur in places used for outdoor recreation, recreational user engagement is widely advocated. However, few studies have been conducted on recreational user engagement in biological control, and those that exist have placed surprisingly little emphasis on several predictors used in the field of outdoor studies. This study explored the factors influencing recreational users' willingness to participate in the control of AIP at a freshwater lake in south-western France. Five actions were proposed (i.e. changing the way one uses the lake, informing others about the plants, being part of a manual removal collective, sending information to a participative citizen observatory, giving money). In a first step, I demonstrated that the proportion of the individuals' responses on the five willingness to engage is statistically different. In a second step, I estimated binomial regressions to model willingness to participate in the various management actions. Predictors drawn from the invasion sciences and outdoor research studies were included. Recreational factors were highly significant in predicting willingness to participate. Good knowledge of the invasive plants and participation in water-based activities were also strong positive incentives to participate. The influences of perceived impacts (both positive and negative) and education were ambivalent. The study confirms that not all forms of participation in the control of biological invasion are considered of equal value. To increase the scale of community-based management, it is therefore important to define precisely what is being asked of the recreational user.

Assessing future shifts in habitat suitability and connectivity to old-growth forests to support the conservation of the endangered giant noctule.

Suitable climate and availability of habitats for roosting, foraging, and dispersing are critical for the long-term persistence of bat species. The giant noctule (Nyctalus lasiopterus) represents one of the lesser-known European bats, especially regarding the environmental factors which shape its distribution. We integrated climate-based ecological niche models with information about topography and rivers' network to model weighted suitability for N. lasiopterus in the western Palearctic. The weighted suitability map was then used to estimate connectivity among the distinct occurrence localities of N. lasiopterus, as well as from these latter towards European old-growth forests, under current conditions and different combinations of future timeframes (2030, 2050, 2070) and shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs 3.70 and 5.85). Current weighted suitability is highest in Andalusia, northern Iberia, southwestern France, peninsular Italy, coastal Balkans and Anatolia, with dispersed suitable patches elsewhere. A north-eastward shift of weighted suitability emerges in the considered future scenarios, especially under SSP 5.85. The major current ecological corridors for N. lasiopterus are predicted within a 'belt' connecting northern Spain and southwestern France, as well as in the Italian Alps. However, following changes in weighted suitability, connectivity would increase in central-eastern Europe in the future. The bioclimatic niche of the western N. lasiopterus populations does not overlap with those of the central and eastern ones, and it only overlaps with climatic conditions characterizing old-growth forests in western Europe. The outcomes of our analyses would help in designing specific conservation measures for the distinct groups of giant noctule populations, favoring the possibility of range expansion and movement towards forested habitats.

Anguimorph lizards from the lower Eocene (MP 10–11) of the Cos locality, Phosphorites du Quercy, France, and the early evolution of Glyptosaurinae in Europe

ABSTRACT Squamate faunas from the lower Eocene of Europe are rare. A newly discovered lower Eocene (MP 10–11) Cos locality in southwestern France has yielded an assemblage of anguimorph lizards that sheds light on the early evolution of this group. Among them is a new glyptosaurine lizard Sullivania gallica gen. et sp. nov., based on frontal material with a unique pattern and distribution of polygonal osteoderms that is distinct from that of the middle and late Eocene Placosaurus from France. It slightly resembles the stratigraphically older glyptosaurine Gaultia silvaticus from the earliest Eocene of North America, but differs from it in several aspects. Although fossils of some members of Glyptosaurinae (sensu this paper; Glyptosaurini in previous taxonomies—Glyptosaurinae is returned to the family level originally proposed by Marsh) have been documented rarely from the middle and mainly from the late Eocene of Europe, they are virtually unknown from the lower Eocene. One isolated osteoderm is referred only to Anguioidea indet. This specimen resembles osteoderms seen in Anguinae, provided that the absence of tuberclulate ornamentation is not caused by abrasion. Varanoids are represented by an isolated frontal referred to Palaeovaranidae indet. It possesses a complex ornamentation composed of mounds on the dorsal surface. A maxilla is identified as an indeterminate varanoid based on the plicidentine infolding along the bases of the preserved teeth. Although incomplete, this Cos lizard assemblage is an important and rare discovery that provides a glimpse into the ecosystems and paleobiodiversity of the lower Eocene in western Europe.

Flow path monitoring by discontinuous time-lapse ERT: An application to survey relationships between secondary effluent infiltration and roots distribution

The infiltration of secondary treated effluent (STE) into the soil downstream of wastewater treatment plants is becoming increasingly common in a climate change context. In STE infiltration, STE is discharged onto the soil over a large surface allowing for a gradual infiltration of the water. This paper investigates a novel time-lapse electrical resistivity tomography strategy to evaluate the impact of STE infiltration on the water pathways of two planted loamy-soil trenches located in a Fluvisol region in southwestern France. The system has been monitored for 3 years using discontinuous monitoring of electrical resistivity tomography during four saline tracer tests. Results show that: 1) the new methodology has successfully highlighted the evolution of water pathways in the soil over time; 2) such evolution is in agreement with reeds root distribution in the trenches which seems to be affected by water quality i.e. sludge losses and TSS, for this study case. Indeed, for the infiltration trench receiving STE with lower pollution levels (2.2 mg TSS. L−1, 26 mg COD. L−1), the infiltration capacity is maintained over the years (4–6 mm h−1) and reed roots developed deeper in the soil. A sludge deposit present at the bottom of the second infiltration trench receiving higher pollution levels (7.2 mg TSS. L−1, 45 mg COD. L−1, plus episodic sludge release) could lead roots to develop close to the surface affecting the infiltration capacity which did not evolve over time. This work highlights the importance of long-term flow pathway monitoring in understanding the hydraulic behavior of infiltration surfaces submitted to STE.

Forecasting sunflower grain yield using remote sensing data and statistical models

Forecasting crop production a few weeks before harvest is of strategical interest for the cooperatives which collect, store and market grains. The recent development of Sentinel satellites opened new avenues for yield forecasting at field and farm level, thanks to their operational spatial resolution and revisiting time. In this study, we combined remote sensing data (in-season green area index, GAI) and statistical modeling to forecast sunflower yield at field level for a range of cultivars and crop practices over different small production areas and years in southwestern France. From 2014–2016, 359 sunflower fields were monitored throughout the growing season in the ‘Haute-Garonne’ and ‘Gers’ administrative departments (SW France). From the satellite GAI estimates, two variables were calculated: GAImax (maximum GAI, between F1 stage and F1 + 10 days) and GAD (Green Area Duration). Different statistical modeling procedures were tested namely a linear regression (LR), a second degree polynomial regression (PR), a random forest regressor (RF) and a Gaussian process (GP). In each case, the models were tested using either GAD, GAImax or both variables, and each model was trained using in a first time GAD and GAImax obtained with linear interpolation, and in a second time, the same variables computed using the double sigmoid interpolation. In a perspective of yield prediction, GAD was calculated from anthesis to maturity but also from anthesis to 10/07, 20/07, 30/07 and 10/08 using remote sensing data. Sunflower grain yield at maturity was predicted with 10 models differing by their forms and the agronomic variables involved. At individual level, GY was slightly better predicted by models including GAD + GAImax or GAD, while models based only on GAImax were the less accurate. This was consistent with the major importance of post-anthesis radiation interception and senescence dynamics in the development of grain yield in sunflower. Better predictions were achieved in 2014, then in 2015 and finally 2016. However, at the grain catchment area level, PR models including GAD were the most accurate ones with absolute errors ranging from 0.53 to 4.68 q.ha−1 as a function of years. Only the predictions obtained with 2014 data and over the 3 years were sufficiently accurate to be of operational value for a cooperative manager.

Flexibility within Quina lithic production systems and tool-use in Northern Italy: implications on Neanderthal behavior and ecology during early MIS 4

The Quina Mousterian is one of the well-defined Middle Paleolithic techno-complexes. Despite the pivotal research carried out in south-western France, the presence of this techno-complex across the rest of Europe is still poorly documented. Here we apply a techno-functional approach, combining technological and use-wear analyses, for reconstructing lithic core-reduction, tool-reduction, and tool use at De Nadale Cave, a single-layered Mousterian site with Quina features located in northern Italy and dated to the early MIS 4. Our results indicate that the flexible core reduction strategies identified at De Nadale show some similarities with the Quina knapping method, in addition to the adoption of centripetal methods on single surfaces. Variations of this scheme identified at De Nadale are the exploitation of lateral and narrow fronts which are aimed to the production of elongated, small blanks. A parallel, ramified reduction is applied to limace cores and Quina or demi-Quina scrapers having diversified purpose (mixed matrix). These blanks are exploited as tools and cores-on-flakes from which thinner, usable flakes or bladelets are detached. The use-wear identified on both scrapers and reaffutage flakes further confirm this behavior, demonstrating the use of both tools, albeit for different tasks (i.e., scraping and cutting). We discuss the ecological implications of this behavior within the Quina Mousterian. The high frequency of retouched tools and Quina or demi-Quina scrapers seems to accompany the highly mobile human groups associated with this techno complex and their seasonally organized subsistence strategies. Finally, by combining available multidisciplinary data on paleoenvironment, subsistence, and chronology, we were able to embed the neanderthal settlement of De Nadale in a regional and Western European frame, underlining the importance of the Quina Mousterian in Western Eurasia between MIS 4 and early MIS 3.

The management of symbolic raw materials in the Late Upper Paleolithic of South-Western France: a shell ornaments perspective

Personal ornaments manufactured on marine and fossil shell are a significant element of Upper Palaeolithic symbolic material culture, and are often found at considerable distances from Pleistocene coastlines or relevant fossil deposits. Here, we report on a significant collection of shell objects (n=377) from the Upper Magdalenian site of Rochereil (Dordogne, France). Despite the location of the site at more than 200km from the Pleistocene coast, the majority of the shells recovered here are unmodified, suggesting that transport and accumulation of shell raw material was an important component in the production of symbolic technologies some 16 15,000 years ago. A detailed comparative and microscopic reanalysis of this assemblage explores which species were selected, examines technological and taphonomic modification of the material, and compares this collection with the use of similar shell ornaments in the wider Magdalenian world.

Physical properties of soils under conservation agriculture: A multi-site experiment on five soil types in south-western France

Soil properties, under the major influence of agricultural practices in cultivated fields, influence the distribution and quality of water and vary greatly in space and time. In conservation agriculture (CA), the combination of practices implemented can modify water retention and circulation. In this study, fields managed under CA and adjacent fields with regular ploughing (CONV) were used to characterize the water functioning of soils in the Adour-Garonne basin in south-western France. Hydraulic conductivity (KS), bulk density and available water capacity (AWC) of the soils were measured to a depth of 50 cm on multiple dates to assess their temporal dynamics. Mean KS was 1.5–3.0 times as high under CA (100–160 mm h−1) as under CONV (50–70 mm h−1), depending on the soil. CA had less temporal variability in infiltration capacity than CONV. Under CONV, infiltration was generally high after ploughing but decreased rapidly (by a factor of 2–20) depending on the soil and depth studied. AWC was significantly higher in the surface horizon (0–5 cm) under CA than under CONV, but the difference remained small (≤10 %) at the scale of the soil profile. In contrast, rooting depth, and thus the ability to use this AWC, was higher under CA. Thus, the changes in soil water functioning under CA seem to be related more to improved functioning of the AWC (through greater and more stable infiltration over time) and use by crops (through increased root exploration) than to an increase in the AWC itself. These elements make it possible to better evaluate effects of CA implementation on crop water supply and quantitative water management under CA.